35. Aurelia

Chapter 35

Aurelia

A week later I sat at the table in my apartment with my journal, notes, and various maps spread around me. I rested my elbows on the hard surface with my head in my hands.

"Everything okay, miss?" Leala asked, pausing as she walked by.

I continued staring downward. "I've been all through these journals and all through my notes. I've pored over the maps. Alexander mentioned hills—really steep, treacherous hills—multiple times. I recall he once talked about damn near falling off his horse. I know he went to that location multiple times. That's the packaging plant, I'm sure of it."

"Well then, that's great!"

"I don't have a name, and there are somewhere between five and seven places that fit the description, given his propensity to exaggerate. And that's if I'm getting it right."

"Five to seven is something, and a lot more than they had to go on. Now you can compare those with the Everlass sales, right? Didn't you say that?"

I'd forgotten about that, so sure I'd find something to lead me to Granny's other location. "Yeah, I guess."

"Well then. You have something. And given the beta's tightening up of the kingdom, we have time to look into it. I've heard all his tests have gone smoothly?—"

A gentle tap sounded at the door before the handle turned and Hadriel stuck his head in. "Oh good, you're here. Listen to this!"

He practically bounded into the room, took a look at all the stuff spread across the table, and pulled a chair back so that he wasn't right on top of it.

"I did it!" His large smile stretched his little mustache. " I did it! "

"Did what?" Leala crossed her arms over her chest.

"Saved the day. Well, there was the beta's expert setup and the fact that Micah finally came through, and the towns and cities were all locked down for the most part—but besides all of that, I have saved the fucking day."

I sat back into my chair, too grumpy to be excited by his glowing enthusiasm.

"As you probably don't know because I didn't tell you," he went on, "I could not get any sort of hint about how Granny's spies were getting into the kingdom. No one was talking! Not one to be deterred, I took to the second largest town. Why the second largest? Because they?—"

"Skip forward," Leala said.

He frowned at her. "Well, that town has two taverns?—"

"Let's just get to where you actually saved the day," Leala pressed, and I furrowed my brow to stop the smile that threatened to spread across my face.

Hadriel sent her a hostile glare for a moment before turning back to me with a haughty expression. "Well, I got talking to this one old woman, a real grumpy type who doesn't trust anyone. She would only talk to me because she thought I was part of the queen's guard—long story. Anyway, apparently she overheard two boys talking—" He put out his hand. "To her, ‘boys' means anyone under sixty. Anyway , they were way back in the corner and didn't notice her lurking back there. I sought her out specifically because of her location. She's a regular?—"

"Does this story have a conclusion?" Leala's continued annoyance made the fight against that smile even harder.

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. She didn't recognize those guys from the bar. They weren't regulars. Well, she overheard them talking about a way to slip into the castle at the dead of night."

I lifted my eyebrows, suddenly all ears—and also concerned about whatever hole they might've found in Weston's defense.

Hadriel nodded with glee at our interest. "They haven't been back since. I got their descriptions and checked the other tavern. Nothing. Then I went to the other towns, the village—nothing. So, I got this bright idea?—"

"To take a class in concise storytelling?" Leala said.

"I went to the squares and started loitering around the towns. And this morning... I found one of them!" He pumped a fist in the air. "He runs a stall in the city market. He sells baked goods!"

Leala dropped her hands. "Please tell me you told the beta instead of coming back here to gloat."

"Leala, my darling, don't be so dense. Of course I ran straight to the beta. I told him what I knew, and he had the guards grab the guy and do a sweep of his house." He sat back in the chair, face smug and his arms spread wide. "In a little cubby under the floorboards in the bedroom... were mostly empty crates of Granny's product!"

I gasped, adrenaline making my head feel light. "I thought they'd searched houses before."

"They did a generalized sweep, but the hiding place was hard to find—very discreet. The beta himself was the one to spot it. I gave the description of the other guy, but they haven't found him. Doesn't matter, though—they took the one I did find in for questioning. They'll get something out of him. It's only a matter of time before we start to unravel who else is working for her."

Happiness filled me, as did relief. She was still out there, but at least we were starting to close the door on how easily she could get in here. In the meantime, I'd been working diligently on fixing my product to get it ready for market. Soon we'd start edging her out of that, as well. Those efforts would buy me time to look for more clues to help us locate the packaging place. It was a start, at least.

"Excellent work, Hadriel," I said, my mood finally lightening.

He twisted and patted himself on the back. "I'll keep looking, just in case they can't get anything out of the guy in questioning, but this is good."

"What about the hole in our defenses, though?" Leala asked.

Hadriel shook his head. "It's a decoy. It's there precisely for this scenario. One of two. I'm telling you, the beta has thought of everything. He's fucking good. I mean, I knew he was good, but he's fucking good ."

My admiration for Weston intensified, heightening my love, the feeling burning and throbbing deep in my middle. It bled down to my core, tightening me up and sending sparks of desire through the bond to him.

I felt him receive it, felt his body tighten, his ardor rise.

He needed something special tonight, like me waiting in his chambers, offering myself to my alpha.

"Okay, well..." Face flushed, body on fire, I stood, collecting everything and putting things away.

"What am I missing?" Hadriel half stood from his chair. "What happened?"

"I already laid out that little nighty that Cecil brought down this morning," Leala told me, clearly reading the situation. "It's on your bed. And make sure to dash into the washroom to freshen up."

"Ah." Hadriel finished standing. "Yeah, he deserves a good fuck for his talents, I agree. Suck him dry, love. Well, I'm off."

Leala had laid out a little satin nighty, draping the soft, shiny crimson material across the top of a bed I still hadn't slept in. Heat still coursing through me, I felt him start to head my way now, though from a great distance. He must've been visiting one of the towns or villages. I took a moment in the mirror to pay some attention to my hair. After that, I dusted my face with a little makeup and began to brush my teeth, noticing a pop of color in the washroom where it shouldn't be.

I reached for it, crinkling the paper as I pulled it off the shelf, and then slowed when I realized where it had been sitting.

I stopped completely when I realized what was missing from that location.

My gaze fell to the peach-colored paper and Weston's familiar scrawl.

The claiming is set for next week. I'm tired of waiting.

No more Product X.

Wait for me on our bed, legs spread.

It's time to start our family.

A surge of primal desire nearly stopped my heart. I wondered if he'd put this here after I'd left for the morning, but I realized he hadn't been near my apartment. He must've had Leala do it.

The dots began to connect: the nighty already set out, Weston starting back at the first sign I'd felt sexy thoughts, Leala specifically telling me to duck into the washroom.. .

Excitement and desire and more excitement and world-ending love crashed into me all at once. I clutched the note in one tight fist as I started to shake, my smile so big it felt glued on.

He wanted to make a baby.

With me.

Nature willing, I would get to have a baby!

"Leala!" I shouted, turning for the door and then stopping to rinse my mouth and make sure I'd wiped my face. "Leala?—"

"Yes, miss?" Leala stopped up short when I nearly ran into her. She noticed the note in my hand and smiled. "Congratulations! Shall we get you ready? Maybe we'll tie you up so he can have full control and can do what he likes. Or maybe we'll have you defy him by sitting on the couch and running from him when he tries to make you do what he says. I think you'll be tremendously satisfied either way. What would he like best?"

I froze with my mouth open, unable to speak with the throbbing desire suddenly pounding in my core. My pussy was so wet it leaked down my thigh. I'd never dived headfirst into primal kink, or any kink, only following his lead when it happened in the moment, but there was no denying my lust or my sudden, desperate urge to do either of those things. Both of them.

"Hmm," Leala said, tapping her lips as she studied me. "He's going to breed you, and for that, I think he needs to chase and then dominate you. That sounds perfect for the moment." She winked at what was probably my stunned expression, because she'd nailed it. "I'm really good at knowing what gets people off. It's a gift. Okay, c'mon, let's go get ready."

Back in my room, she stripped me of the nighty.

"He wants you to wear this, and to start the fun, we will not be doing what he wants." She tossed a pair of red, lacy panties on the bed. "No crotch. We want to defy him, but we want him to turn to jelly when he finally forces you to submit." Then another nighty made of black silk, the material cut to drape down my body to my ankles with a slit up both sides to my upper thigh. "This will do."

Once I'd slipped the nightgown on, she mussed my hair just a bit, darkened the makeup around my eyes, and took me through the secret passageway to his chambers.

"How much time?" she asked.

Before I could assess how far away he was, the feeling in the bond let me know his cock was throbbing and he'd be wound up when he reached me. He was as eager, and desperate, for this as I was.

I couldn't stop myself from blurting that out, but quickly regained my composure enough to tell her that he was getting closer and coming fast.

"Then this is perfect," she said, letting us into and ushering me to the front of the room. His valet, Niles, turned when we approached. To his credit, he didn't glance down at my attire or waste any time asking what we were up to.

"I've put out some wine and nibbles," he told us, finishing the setup on the table. "I was just about to light the candles... but maybe you had other plans? I see you've changed the dress code."

He looked at Leala without expression or comment; he was simply trying to gauge the new direction. They were both very good at their jobs.

"Light the candles, yes," Leala said, leaving me standing there stupidly as she adjusted the pillows on the couch. "Pour a glass of wine. Just one for her. Half full. Leave the bottle near the edge of the table, uncorked."

It was a good thing our situation started how it did and not in any normal way, because I wouldn't have had the first clue as to how to seduce him. Leala was doing all the heavy lifting.

He was on the castle grounds now. I could feel him winding closer.

"He's coming," I said, suddenly out of breath and incredibly nervous. I wasn't even sure what I was nervous for. I loved him, I wanted him, I wanted us, I wanted this . It was a dream come true to even try for a baby. To be with him, to have a warm home and all these fine things...

I felt like I was living in a dreamland.

Leala directed me to the couch and instructed me to lie on the pillows with my upper half propped up, my knees together and to the side, and my hair styled around me on the pillow.

"Now." She held out her hand while looking at me, and Niles filled it with the glass of wine. She handed it off to me, directing me to hold it near my lips, my elbow resting on the arm of the couch in front of me. She glanced around and then pointed at the light Weston used for reading. "Turn that one on. The rest go off."

Niles did as instructed before standing behind her, looking down at me as well.

"Perfect," he said with a nod. "He won't know up from down when he lays eyes on her."

A smile spread across Leala's lips. "Excellent. Okay, let's get out of here and leave them to it." She winked at me. "Have fun."

They both left together, heading out the back way.

"But wait, do I"—I reduced to a murmur when the latch clicked on the secret door—"take a sip?"

Anticipation rolled through the bond as he drew nearer and nearer. I sensed he thought he was going to walk through the door, maybe grab two glasses of wine, one for each of us, and head back to his feast—me.

Instead, he was going to get a little sport.

My own anticipation kicked up, and my stomach started to swirl. He was closer now, in the castle. Even closer, now nearing the hall. Maybe in the hall; I couldn't tell. The bond was not precise when it came to distance, at least not for me.

My breath kicked up, the wine starting to roll around the glass as my hand shook. I didn't dare try to take a sip now. I'd end up wearing it.

Just outside, the key scraped the lock. The bolt clicked over.

The door swung open and he stepped into the doorway, all business, looking toward the table...

He froze, his gaze snapping to me before slowly sliding over my face and to the half-filled glass, down to my heaving bust and on to my closed legs. His movements turned fluid, graceful, as the predator emerged and he became the alpha someone had dared to defy.

He took one step into the room and closed the door behind him. The metal clinked over, locking us in. My swallow was audible.

"What do you think you are doing, Little Wolf?" he said in a dark, raspy voice.

It was almost like I heard Leala in the back of my head: Now take a sip.

Nonchalant, somehow no longer shaking, I did. The wine was sweet on my tongue; his eyes were fire as they watched.

"I said .. ." He took another step, and I could see his cock straining at his pants. Molten desire seared through the bond. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be on our bed with your legs spread, waiting for your alpha like a good girl."

My breath felt heavy, and my wetness dampened my thighs. "If my alpha wants me to do his bidding, he'll have to try a lot harder than leaving a little note."

His wolf pushed up close to the surface, so present I could almost see him moving behind Weston's intense, lust-filled eyes. Mine was right there, too, lapping up the intoxicating power and desire that kept flowing back and forth between us, wanting this with everything in her. She'd always wanted this: her mate, his brood.

"Is that right?" He took another step toward me, holding up his arm so he could unclasp the buttons on his sleeve, then undoing the other sleeve. Task complete, he shrugged out of his coat and draped it over the back of the nearest chair.

I raised the glass up to rub it against my lips once, twice, and then slid my tongue across. His whole body tensed; he watched the movement with a feral glint in his eyes. I pressed my lips to the edge and gulped down the rest, so bloody thankful Leala hadn't filled it all the way up.

I sat up and dropped my feet to the floor, my knees tightly pressed together, hidden within the fabric of the nightgown. Chaste. Defiant.

The bond pulsed power, primal desire, spiraling passion. And along with it, an alpha's need to force submission.

My stomach quivered with adrenaline, with nervousness, with the rush of pushing this man to his limits.

"Maybe you need to learn what happens when you stand up to your alpha, Little Wolf." He shrugged out of his shirt, his big, broad, glorious chest on full display. His power now pumped into the room, heady and erotic. "I'll give you one last chance. Spread your legs like a good girl and get ready for your alpha's thick cock. I'm going to pump you full of cum and breed that little pussy, and when I'm done, you're going to beg for more."

My breath hitched; I was on fire now. Somehow, I managed to stand without dropping the glass, my legs shaking with adrenaline, with the excitement of what would happen when his power and strength was unleashed and he took me, forced me to take his knot, rutted into me again and again.

"Or maybe it's you who needs to go lie on the bed and wait for your mistress to make use of you." I crossed to the table, setting down the glass.

Watching me with that predator's intensity, he worked at his pants. I stalled in getting more wine, watching. His power ratcheted higher, and suddenly I realized mine was draining. His wolf was sucking it all into them.

A flurry of apprehension ran through me. I wasn't sure if I should rip it back, stop the flow, or let his wolf take it all and then consume us. I'd lost track of the game as I looked into those intense gray eyes. All I knew was this feeling of primal lust and the sense of being caught in the snare of this powerful, dominant wolf.

"Are you nervous?" He dropped his pants. His large, thick cock sprang free. I salivated, almost wishing he would tell me to drop to my knees and worship him. He took a step toward me.

"No," I whispered, taking a step back, nearly daunted by his size, by his slowly stalking toward me. I was so fucking excited for him to catch me.

"No?" Another step, corralling me into the corner. "Do you want me to take you against that wall there? I don't think that would be very comfortable, not for the first time we try for a baby."

Who gave two shits about comfortable? I'd fuck this man upside down if that was what he offered.

He prowled forward, closing down the space between us. My desire pumped higher as I retreated, stopped on my right by a small table and forced left. He took another step, shutting off any escape route, backing me against the wall.

"Nowhere to run, Little Wolf?" He grinned, looking down on me, stepping in close.

My chest heaved as I pulled in air. My core pounded with wild, raw, primal desire. With the need for his cock inside me, his knot locking me, his cum pumped in deep while he fulfilled my wildest dreams.

"That's right, baby" he murmured, placing his hand to the side of my neck and using his thumb under my chin to tilt my head up. He looked down into my eyes. "Stroke my cock," he commanded.

A breath tumbled over my lips as I gripped his length, sliding my palm against his smooth skin. Pleasure rolled over me as I submitted. He released my power, and all of it rushed back to me, my sweet reward.

"Good girl," he cooed, in control now. It was so fucking sexy. "What do you need from me, Little Wolf?" He dipped his head to the other side of my neck, skimming his lips along my skin.

I closed my eyes, in ecstasy. "I need you inside me. I need you to fill me up, over and over. Put a baby in me, Weston."

His arms came around me, bands of steel keeping me put while he sucked on the skin of my neck. His teeth scraped the spot as one of his hands dipped under my fabric, his touch gliding to the crotchless part of my panties. Two fingers ran against my bare, sopping core.

He sucked a breath in through his teeth, probably because he'd expected there to be fabric and instead been presented with my arousal. "Fuck?—"

His control shattered. He picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder, marching me back to the bedroom. Once there, he dropped me to my feet and ripped the nightgown from my body; silk tore and then pooled on the floor. His lips crashed down onto mine, and he plunged his fingers inside me, rubbing my clit with his thumb.

"You're so fucking wet," he growled, sounding almost pained. "You want this so bad."

"Yes, Weston, please ," I begged as his fingers worked, making me whimper.

"I'm going to pound my cock deep inside of you, baby." He pushed me onto the bed, covering my body with his. "I'm going to pump you full of cum and knot you for hours to make sure it takes hold." He rubbed the head of his cock through my wetness before thrusting, letting out a groan, long and low, matching my moan. "Fuck, you feel so good."

He wasted no time in starting to move.

I strained up to him, feeling utterly bared.

"Oh fuck, Weston, please." I groaned, lost in the primal desire of it, struggling to get him deeper, gyrating against his thrusts, loving the wet smack of our bodies joining. " Yesss... "

His movements turned rough. His skin slapped against mine. I reached between us to massage where I needed it most. I rocked up into him, meeting him thrust for thrust. He kissed me as he cupped my breast and rolled his thumb over my nipple. I moaned into his kiss, rocking a little faster now, my pleasure building quickly.

He groaned as we worked to get closer. I held the side of his neck with one hand and bit into his skin with the other, marking him deeply.

"Yes, baby," he hissed, thrusting faster. "Show everyone what's yours."

The bed bumped repeatedly against the wall. I called out his name over and over as I rocked, gripping his body with my legs. He slammed down into me, his kisses deep, his cock deeper. I felt the base enlarge, butting against me, seeking admittance. Fuck, I wanted it bad. I wanted it seated for hours, nothing between us.

I resisted, though, playing at defiant again, making him chase it. I wiggled, trying to slide away, pulling back right as he tried to shove in.

His growl was carnal. He slid an arm around my shoulders and grabbed my waist with the other, holding me still while ramming into me. I struggled against him, making him tighten his hold even more, compelling him to overpower me. His thrusts were wild and deep as he forced that knot into me, grinding it there, biting down on my neck.

"Take it," he commanded, thrusting harder. "Take your alpha's knot. I'm going to breed you hard and make sure it sticks."

I whimpered at the onslaught. I clutched him tightly, lost in his body. In his movements. In the dream of what we were doing.

He pulled up so that he could look down at my lips, then into my eyes. "I love you, Aurelia."

He kissed me, his tongue delving deep before he lowered his body again, skin to skin, pounding hard. I still clutched him as I tightened up. I was almost there. His teeth scraped my flesh, and then I exploded, pleasure coursing through me. He groaned long and low as he shuddered, finishing inside me.

A surge of joy lit me up as I hugged him harder. A tear escaped from my eye.

He pulled back again, breathing heavily, looking down on my face.

"I love you too," I told him, stroking his cheek. "Thank you. Even if nothing comes of it, the act of trying is... more than I ever dared hope for. Thank you for making so many of my dreams come true."

He kissed my lips tenderly. "From now on, this stays inside of you." He pumped his cock, and I heard the wet sounds his release made as he moved. "If it leaks out of that pretty little pussy, I'm going to shove it back in with my fingers, tongue or cock, depending on how I feel."

I shivered, my pleasure starting to build again.

"This pussy is mine," he growled, pumping inside me again, the friction delicious. "You are going to stay full, do you hear me? When you need a top-up, you come and see me. Are we clear?"

"Yes," I groaned as he started moving again, working that knot, pulsing it within me.

"That's my good Little Wolf," he said, and pumped harder. "Let's see how long we can keep this going before we pass out from exhaustion."