Chapter 12: The Breaking Point (my continuation)
Kael woke up alone this time, but the evidence of Ronan was everywhere.
His bed reeked of them both—sweat, cum, blood from shallow claw marks that had already healed into faint pink lines across his chest and thighs. His hole throbbed with a deep, satisfied ache, still loose and sloppy from how many times Ronan had filled him during the night. He could feel the remnants every time he shifted: warm, sticky, leaking slowly onto the sheets like a brand he couldn't wash off.
He growled low in his throat, cock twitching hard despite the exhaustion. Fucking rogue.
Downstairs, the pack was tense. Whispers followed him as he descended. Marcus kept his eyes down, but the young beta's nose twitched. The scent was impossible to hide now. Ronan's musk had sunk into Kael's skin like it belonged there.
"Alpha," Marcus said carefully. "The eastern ridge… the rogue scent is stronger. Mixed with yours. The elders are asking questions."
Kael's jaw tightened. "I said I'd handle it."
He handled it the only way his body would let him.
The ridge called him again under the fading light of dusk. This time Ronan wasn't waiting casually. He was pacing, shirtless, jeans barely hanging on his hips, cock already hard and straining against the denim. His eyes snapped to Kael the second he appeared—burning with the same frustration Kael felt.
"You're late," Ronan snarled.
Kael didn't answer with words. He slammed into him instead.
They crashed together like two storms colliding—fists, claws, mouths. Ronan shoved him against a tree hard enough to crack the bark. Kael flipped them, pinning Ronan face-first into the rough trunk, yanking his jeans down in one brutal tug.
"No more games," Kael growled against Ronan's ear, cock sliding between those firm cheeks, slick with his own leaking arousal. "You're going to take it this time."
Ronan laughed, dark and ragged, pushing back against him. "Make me, alpha."
Kael thrust in raw—deep, merciless, bottoming out in one savage stroke. Ronan's moan was guttural, claws gouging the tree. Kael fucked him like he was trying to punish the bond itself: hard, punishing snaps of his hips, one hand fisted in Ronan's dark hair, the other gripping a hip hard enough to bruise.
But Ronan wasn't passive. He clenched around Kael on every pull, milking him, driving him insane. When Kael slowed to savor the tight heat, Ronan bucked back violently, nearly throwing him off balance.
They rolled in the dirt—fighting for position even while joined. Ronan ended up on top for a brutal stretch, riding Kael with powerful rolls of his hips, hand wrapped around Kael's throat. Then Kael flipped them again, folding Ronan nearly in half, pounding down into him until Ronan's cock was spurting between their stomachs untouched.
Neither submitted. Not really.
They came like that—growling, biting, claws drawing fresh blood—Kael filling Ronan deep while Ronan marked his chest with ropes of cum. When it was over they lay tangled, chests heaving, still connected.
Ronan's voice was rough against Kael's neck. "The moon's pushing harder. I can feel it trying to make one of us bend."
Kael's arms tightened around him, possessive despite everything. "Then we break it instead."
Ronan pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. A dangerous, hungry smile curved his lips. "Or we break each other trying."
Far below, pack howls rose—search parties getting closer. The real world was closing in. Rogues. Territory. Pride. Power.
But up on the ridge, under the blood-tinged sky, two unbreakable alphas stayed locked together, neither willing to be the first to pull away.
The bond wasn't done with them.
And neither were they.