Chapter Nine

Seline

After the Alpha Council leaves, we have no idea what to do or say. They took my father and Angela's body with them when they left so now it is only me, Liam, and Ares. And the latter is sleeping fitfully in his crib once more.

"I think we should stay here for a few days," Liam says sitting beside me on the porch swing. "We're already here and we can get anything we need from town. We need a break from the insanity, even if it's just for a couple of days."

"I don't mind staying."

I continue staring out at the lake, replaying the last couple of days in my mind. Now that everything is settled it feels … anticlimactic. Our lives have been a whirlwind of sex and problems from the start and now I don't know what to do with myself. I know that sounds ridiculous but having everything under control seems weird.

"What happens now?" I ask.

"We do what Mikael said. We need to get everything registered so we can move on with our lives," Liam says, lifting me onto his lap, my back to his front. "I think after everything we have been through, we deserve to just relax."

"And then we can live in peace?"

"Probably not," he sighs. "News about you will spread fast and people are going to have questions."

I nod reluctantly. I know he's right but I'm not happy about it. There isn't much either of us can do about it, though. So I'll probably just have to adapt to this new normal. At least Ares is safe, and we have each other.

"What are you thinking about?"

"A promise you made before everything went to shit," I sass, trying to lighten the mood and change the subject.

"Is that so?" he rasps before sucking on my earlobe. "I don't remember making any promises."

"Okay," I say thoughtfully. "I'm sure there will be a line of Alphas around the block happy to make and keep promises now that I can access my dragon."

Liam moves with unexpected speed, standing with me in his grasp before bending me over the wooden railing that surrounds the porch. My ribs protest the move but I don't utter a single complaint.

"Do you think saying that to me was a good idea?" His voice is gravelly, raising goose bumps across my flesh.

"I don't think it matters," I bite back. "You want a mate, but I don't know if you can handle one, old man."

In my life I have never been this brazen or bratty, but I need him to do something, anything. I need to feel connected to him. Our world has been turned upside down so many times in the last few days that I just want something normal. I want Liam to make me feel better, to give me what I need while taking what he wants.

"Old man?" I can hear the hint of anger in his voice.

An instant later my shorts are ripped down my legs. The blow that lands on my left ass cheek draws a shriek from my lips. The blows land fast and furious, searing and painful, heating my flesh and sending arousal soaring through my veins. This is exactly what I needed.

"I'll teach you to sass me, little mate," he mumbles. "You are mine and I will remind you of that fact every goddamn day for the rest of our lives if I need to."

His palm rubs across my abused flesh, and I can't help but moan. I love when he gets all possessive. His over-the-top jealousy makes me feel cherished.

"I am going to fuck you over this railing, under the rays of the sun, until your legs give out," he says before thrusting his cock deep inside my dripping sex. "I'm going to show you why you belong to me and then I am going to breed you and bind you to me for the rest of your life."

"Liam!"

I can't hold back my cry, the pleasure is already too much. His dominance and dirty talk are too much for me to handle. I fully intended to act like I was unaffected but we both know the truth. I love when he loses his head, when he gets rough with me.

"You are mine!" he roars.

"Yes," I mumble, the words almost incoherent as my orgasm sweeps through me.

Tears fill my eyes when Liam withdraws from my heat. The loss of him in this moment is more profound than I ever thought I would feel or could describe. It hurts like a physical blow that he would end this intimate bond right at this moment.

My body is pulled away from the railing and turned around, before being pulled down once more to straddle his lap where he sits on the porch swing. Confusion clouds my mind along with my unfulfilled orgasm and I'm not quite sure what is happening.

Liam

My mate has robbed me of my fucking sanity. Hearing her talk about allowing another Alpha near her, letting someone else fulfill her needs, snaps something inside me.

I want to punish her, hurt her, fucking mark her as my goddamned property so no other male ever considers coming near her again. I saw the way some of the Alpha Council members were looking at her earlier. I wanted to rip them limb from limb and my dragon almost overpowered me.

Almost.

And then she decided to act like a fucking brat.

And now I am going to show her that she doesn't need anyone but me, ever again. Spinning her body away from the rail, I lift her to straddle my lap as I sit on the porch swing, burying my dick deep in her depths.

She looks hurt and confused and I know it's because I didn't join her in her orgasm but that was her punishment.

"You're being a fucking brat," I accuse, ripping her t-shirt from her body before tearing her bra in half and freeing her breasts for my viewing pleasure. "Brats don't deserve to be filled with my cum or my knot."

"No," she whimpers, trying to shift her hips and ride my cock. "I'm sorry. Please…"

"Show me how sorry you are," I command, folding my hands behind my head. "Ride your mate's fat cock and make me believe you don't want any other."

"Liam?"

"Fuck me, Mate. Prove you want my knot."

Her hips lift before slamming down on my lap. Her breasts bounce in my face, and I want nothing more than to suck a fat, rosy nipple into my mouth. But she needs to do this, she needs to fuck me. I know we have both been through a lot the last couple of days and even though this started as a punishment, she needs to take control now.

"Harder," I demand, spurring her on.

I already feel my orgasm creeping down my spine and I know I won't last much longer. I need her to fuck me like her life depends on it. I need us together on this.

Seline surprises me by leaning forward and clamping her jaw to my shoulder, biting down hard. I feel her energy pulsing through me as her pussy clamps down on my cock, milking me for every drop. My cum bursts out of me painting her from the inside as my knot locks us together.

"Seline!"

My roar sends birds fluttering out of their nests in the afternoon light.

For long moments afterward, neither of us move, just feeling the mate bond settle over us. This isn't something either of us knows anything about. Everything is new and overwhelming.

And then I hear it.

"I love you."

I stare down at her as she lies on my chest, her eyes closed as she lies there, simply feeling.

"Did you say something? I ask, pushing her hair away from her face.

"No," she mumbles.

"I love you."

"I love you too," I say, kissing her forehead.

"How did you..."

"I can hear your thoughts. It must be part of the mating bond."

Silence envelops us, both of us content to sit here together. This is the start of our new lives together.

The first mated pair in over a thousand years.