Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

AURORA

S olaris was not at all like I pictured him when I heard the tales of his villainy. He was tall, so much taller than my father, and his shoulders looked like they could lift boulders. His eyes were bright gold, which I’d never seen before, and they matched the thick, dark waves of hair that fell to his chin. A mean scar sliced through his eyebrow, matching the rugged shadow from his last shave and the tattoos that lined his neck and chest. He was nothing like the guards who had attacked me. He was far deadlier. I could see the power radiating from him, and yet the look of kindness in his eyes was confusing.

“Will you let me help you bathe and eat?” I looked at the tub in the middle of the room and trembled. Solaris cupped my chin, and I tensed as I readied for the slap that would come from being insubordinate. His thumb ran over my bottom lip. “I will never hurt you. I will lay down my life for you, and I will protect you with my dying breath. You never need to worry that I will raise my hand to you or take you to bed unwillingly.”

“I don’t understand, Alpha. You are very handsome and powerful and in command of a large herd. I’m sure many would be better suited for someone of your status, not an unwanted omega with no purity left to give.” Tears filled my eyes as the weight of my words sank in. I was truly insignificant now. My father made it known what I was worth the day he handed me to Gorrin and never looked back. Gorrin kept me like a pet for his pleasure for a short time before I was locked up. “Why would the Goddess saddle you with the likes of me? You should reject me, and I’ll accept before the bond grows. This is the only gift I can give you.” He smiled, and I couldn’t help the crushed feeling in my chest as I waited for him to say the words.

“Aurora, I’m not rejecting you.”

“But….”

“No, I won’t hear of it.” He tilted my head up. “I don’t believe that you’re an omega. But even if you are, I don’t care.” This couldn’t be real.

“Then what do you want from me?”

“Right now, all I want is for you to let me bathe you, feed you, and heal some of these bruises. Let me help you, Aurora. The Goddess paired us for a reason. I choose to believe that she knows what she is doing.”

I chewed on my bottom lip as I thought. “Rora, I prefer to be called Rora,” I said, and his lip curved up.

“Okay. Rora it is. Come with me.” Taking my hand, he led me over to the large clawfoot tub in the middle of the room. I let out a small squeal as he picked me up and placed me into the delightfully warm water. I’d forgotten what it was like to bathe, not having the luxury this past year. “Sit, and I’ll scrub off every last bit of scent left on you from those other males,” he said, a firmness in his tone, but it wasn’t cruel.

Slowly, I sat back while he smiled and grabbed a cloth and some sweet-smelling soap. Lathering it, he began with my shoulders. His hands felt wonderful on my aching muscles.

“Thank you, Alpha,” I said when he moved down my body and rubbed at my legs. He took the time to clean every square inch of my body.

“Call me Sol. You’re my mate,” he said. Sol then instructed me to slip under the water and wet my hair. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him as he paid particular attention to the areas with the largest bruises. His touch tingled, and a shuddering breath escaped my lips. As our connection grew, his ability healed my old wounds—the aching in my ribs from multiple beatings and the bruises on my hips and neck from being roughly used.

“Thank you, Sol.” I laid my head back against the tub and let my eyes close.

“Would you like to do between your legs?” I was shocked by the question and my body tensed as my eyes fluttered open to stare at him. “I can do it, but I wasn’t sure you’d want me to.”

“Do you plan on mating with me and making me yours in name and body?” It seemed like a dumb question, but I needed to know how he saw this working between us.

“I plan on being a true Alpha and Mate to you in all ways. No one will come between us. Is that what you wanted to know?” I nodded and could feel tears trying to form again. “Here, why don't we take a moment to rest before we do that.”

Sol stood and walked across the room. He was so unbelievably sexy that I couldn’t look away. I traced every line of his muscular back down to his narrow waist. There was a shimmer inside of me, and the first stirrings of my moose in months had me gripping the edge of the tub and sucking in a deep breath.

“Are you okay,” Sol asked. I nodded as he walked toward me with a large tray of food in his hands, but it wasn’t the food that had my moose’s attention.

The pronounced tent in the front of his pants clearly showed how excited he was. I should’ve been terrified and leaping from the tub, but instead, I was picturing what he might look like without the pants. It had to be the mate bond because I had no interest in sex. After everything I’d been through, I couldn’t understand why I would be thinking about it.

“I can smell your moose now,” he said as he sat down beside the tub and held out a grape for me to eat.

“I thought I lost my moose. I haven’t felt that part of me for so long,” I said honestly. I bit into the sweet fruit and moaned. Real food.

“That was unbelievably sexy. Can you moan like that again?” He picked up a small square of cheese and a cracker and held them up to my mouth. I took the bite from his fingers, and my eyes closed as I marveled at the taste of something as exotic as cheese. As soon as I bit into the strawberry, I moaned and shuddered. His honey eyes darkened, and the intensity of the look gripped me as surely as his hands could.

Berries, nuts, meats, and even olives were all fed to me until I was so full that my body was heavy, and my head was light with the sensation of food healing and fueling me. The sweet orange juice made my tastebuds dance, but Sol would only let me have half a glass, saying that too much rich food after so long would make me sick.

My head lolled to the side, and I took in the man being so gentle and patient. He probably had a million things to do as an Alpha, and here he was, playing nurse to me. Sol stared at my legs that he’d just finished healing, then cleared his throat and grabbed the tray. I touched his arm before he could walk away. The rapid thumping of my heart was as erratic as a rabbit, and Sol must have felt it because he touched his chest and looked at me.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded and grabbed the glass of water, taking a large sip to ease my parched throat.

“I’ve known nothing but the heavy touch of a man.”

His eyes darkened again, and a growl rumbled in his chest. An hour ago, I would’ve jumped from the tub and tried to hide, but I knew the anger wasn’t directed at me but for me. It was as if he was able to feed me his emotions as thoroughly as he had the food. Maybe it was the food or the bond that was forming, but a calmness settled in the pit of my stomach. One that allowed me to feel more than fear and pain, and I suddenly wanted to explore what that would be like.

Lifting one knee from the water, I spread my thighs and gripped his shoulder hard like that would give me the extra courage to say what was in my mind but what didn’t want to pass through my lips.

“Please touch me. I want to know something else. I want to wipe the memories from my mind, and you’re right. The Goddess paired us for a reason. I feel….” I struggled for the right word. “Safe. I feel safe in here with you.”

Sol turned so he was kneeling beside the tub, and if he wanted to, he could easily drown me. His hand was larger than my face, and I was no match for his sheer strength. I could hardly stand longer than ten minutes at a time, let alone fight him off if he so chose, and yet, there was no malevolence in his eyes. I could bask in their warmth as I squirmed from the desire staring back at me.

Sol cupped my cheek and leaned over the tub. My heart stopped beating. I moaned as he kissed my lips. The tenderness was there, but the raw need I felt in his touch lit my blood on fire. He coaxed my mouth open, and I tasted the sweet flavor of the whiskey he was drinking on his tongue. I ran my hands through his hair and loved his soft growl against my lips. How could a kiss feel so different? All the others I’d received had been cruel and harsh, but Sol was commanding and yet gentle at the same time. There was no explanation of how my body sang or how all my senses came back to life like flipping a switch, but the world seemed full of color and was no longer black and white.

His hand touched my leg, and a thread of nervousness gripped me. I pushed it aside, and it no longer consumed my whole being. His hand slid between my thighs, and my breath hitched. Sol broke the kiss, but his lips remained touching mine as if he didn’t want to break the connection.

“Your skin is so smooth,” he said, his voice holding a hint of a growl, and my back arched as a desire I’d never known spread throughout my body.

His fingers inched closer until they were rubbing my pussy lips. Teasing, testing, and when I didn’t tell him to stop, he rubbed his thumb over my clit. I shuddered.

“You’re so beautiful, Rora. I could watch you all day, especially while you writhe in pleasure.” He kissed me again, more forceful this time, but I welcomed it. “Oh fuck, you’re so wet,” he said, his arm flexing under my hand as his finger slipped into my body. I tensed and expected pain, my mind trying to take me back to my time in the cell. “I’ve got you,” he whispered against my lips as a woodsy musk filled my nose. “Look at me.”

I didn’t realize that I had my eyes squeezed shut. I opened them and gasped as I saw the droplet of blood I’d drawn from digging my nails into Sol’s shoulder. My legs clamped closed around his hand.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, yanking my hand back, horrified that I’d done that to him. My legs relaxed, but I couldn’t help flinching as he reached for my cheek. The weight on my chest eased the moment he ran his thumb over my bottom lip, and the soft rumble he made in his chest reached my ears.

“Don’t be sorry, you’ve been through a lot. I’m actually shocked you wanted me to try.”

I wanted to be stronger, tougher, meaner, and able to handle anything. Was I asking too much of myself? It felt like no. It felt like if I was going to be with this Alpha, I needed to find a way to separate what happened to me from him.

“Rora.” Sol was inches from my face, his hands cupping my cheeks. “Stop overthinking. I’m your mate, and I’m here for you.”

His gold eyes held mine, and I had to ask. “You don’t seem at all like the rumors. How did such terrible things get started about you?”

A little smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Let me get you dry before you turn into a prune, and I’ll tell you while I hold you in bed.”

I glanced at the bed in my room. “You want to stay with me?”

“Every night for as long as you will put up with me,” he said, making me blush.