Chapter 7

Chapter

Seven

A ll Alaric wanted to do was take Evaine to bed. But of course, there was a bloody damned ceremony for that as well.

“You are doing well, brother. I’d have personally hurled every single courtier into the moat by now,” muttered Darius as they followed Rowan up the narrow spiral staircase toward the king’s bedchamber.

Alaric smiled grimly at the thought. Today, the endless protocols and procedures, having to remain even-tempered at all times, answering questions, and engaging in inane chatter with guests and dignitaries was requiring a truly Herculean effort. “I am about a tail twitch away from doing just that. I don’t recall everything taking this long last time, or being this tedious.”

The King of the Southern Lands snorted as he impatiently rapped his fingers against his ceremonial sword hilt. Usually Darius wore nothing but black, but for formal occasions such as this, he deigned to wear the Southern colors. In truth, an embroidered ruby-red doublet and silver hose never made him appear any less terrifying or battle-ready. “Ah, but you weren’t cross-eyed with lust for Theda. I see the way you gaze at Evaine. You burn for her…and something more as well.”

Alaric harrumphed. “Have you considered searching for your own mate instead of watching me and mine?”

“Death has no mate,” growled Darius, his face shuttering as they continued down a brightly candlelit hallway. “But let me know if you require assistance in removing courtiers, Your Grace . I’m in the mood to spill blood.”

“There is no need to twist the dagger, brother,” said Alaric. “As for spilling blood, you are always in the mood to do that. It’s why you are feared across the realm. Our colors really are suitable for our thrones; mine dipped in gold, yours dipped in the blood of your enemies.”

“Indeed,” agreed the other king, although he didn’t smile. Instead an odd expression settled across his scarred countenance. “Even more so today.”

“Why?” Alaric asked curiously, eager for distraction until he could be alone with Evaine and discard the glittering mountain range currently crushing his skull. The urge to change to wolf form and claw his ceremony finery to shreds was becoming unbearable. “Did something happen? An insult, perhaps? I find it hard to believe anyone would dare. You aren’t known for temperance.”

Darius actually hesitated, which was more than a little alarming. Why such reluctance? “You are correct, brother—no insult occurred. In truth, I wonder if I’m suffering from too much fresh air. My mind is always clear amid the sweet stench of the River Thames and London, but today I’ve been on edge. It’s as though…I don’t know, like I nearly had something very important in my grasp but lost it. The feeling came over me while we were in the courtyard for your queen’s crowning and now I cannot purge it from my mind. I had a similar feeling each time I fought Guy Saville on de Wynter land. There is some connection, but I don’t know what it is and I fear I will run mad.”

Alaric blinked. Never had Darius sounded so unsure. Or confused. He was the warrior who studied his enemies and exploited every weakness, who charged into the fray and defeated his foes with courage and skill and steely determination. “What if…” he began cautiously, “what if Leto is not in fact angry at you and is instead guiding you toward your fated mate?”

His brother king scowled blackly. “Of course she is angry. The Blessed Goddess gifted me one talent. One . And that is warfare. Yet I have repeatedly failed her, and the de Wynters, in taking back the Eastern Lands and Book of Lore from the usurper. Besides, no female would survive a king who revels in darkness and destruction. So I’ll keep studying Guy Saville until I know him better than he knows himself. I’ll torment his followers until they abandon him, then unleash a vengeance so terrible even Hades would be impressed. The matter of she-wolves and cubs, I’ll leave to you and Ranulf. The Northern King is doing a sterling job, escorting your mother.”

The abrupt change in topic was almost Wesley-like, but Alaric didn’t press the issue. It wouldn’t matter what he said, Darius was resolute in his belief of Leto’s fury with him. The only she-wolves he entertained were strictly for one night, and he mostly shunned anyone other than his brother kings or his commanders. The Southern Lands might be very safe, but there was little merriment or joy. All the spoils of war went into weapons, even cubs were trained to fight rather than play.

In any event, after walking for an eternity, the procession finally reached the king’s bedchamber. Once again Alaric had a role to play, but Leto willing, Evaine waited inside. Goddess, he needed her. Just them, alone and naked.

Rowan banged his ceremonial staff three times on the bedchamber door. “The King is here! Is all in readiness?”

Moments later, the door swung open to reveal two lines of female attendants dressed in their plain white linen gowns, on either side of the entrance. In the doorway, Wesley bowed low. “Greetings, my king. Evaine is queen, long may she reign. Your fated mate awaits you.”

Alaric nodded, gritting his teeth against the overwhelming desire to simply roar LEAVE . Instead, he followed the soothsayer into the chamber, watching impatiently as the elder wolf scattered drops of blessed oil around the room, and placed two sprigs of herbs upon each pillow. Then Evaine emerged from the small adjoining room wearing a heavy gold velvet robe, her blond hair unbound and gleaming down her back. She winked at him before demurely curtsying. “My king.”

Goddess. The heady scent of her! And was she naked under that robe? He wanted to tear the garment from her beautiful body and feast on her sweet cunt until she screamed herself hoarse. Just one of the many, many things he would do to her this night…

Lust surged through him and a low growl rumbled in his chest. Evaine visibly trembled, her nipples peaking against the fabric of the robe, and that was enough to change his mind about enduring protocol.

“Thank you,” Alaric said to the small crowd of wolves behind him, his tone polite but uncompromising. “That will be all.”

Darius and Ranulf both smirked as they inclined their heads, but departed immediately. His mother offered a jaunty wave, then practically dragged Wesley from the chamber. Rowan just looked perplexed that he wouldn’t be reading his prepared speech, lighting all twenty ceremonial candles, burning incense in the fireplace, and directing the lifting and carrying of Alaric and Evaine to bed. Fortunately, apart from some hand-wringing, the soothsayer merely sighed and bowed, gesturing for the ten attendants to follow him from the room.

At last, Alaric was alone with his crowned queen. His true fated mate. Should he say something? Make a declaration to recognize the importance of such an occasion?

Alaric opened his mouth but Evaine untied the sash at her waist, the velvet robe fell to the floor, and the words departed his mind.

“Goddess,” he breathed instead, drinking in her naked form like a parched wolf at a clear mountain stream. “You are the most beautiful creature on this earth, my queen.”

Evaine sauntered forward, her hips swaying and breasts bouncing. “And you,” she purred, “are one very overdressed king. Let me be your squire.”

His mate then proceeded to torment him.

After carefully removing his heavy crown and returning it to a velvet-lined wooden chest, Evaine went up on her toes to run her fingers through his hair, lightly scratching and firmly pressing until he groaned at the soothingly sensual touch. Then, with great concentration, she slowly, so damned slowly, unfastened the diamond buttons on his gold and black doublet and unlaced it from his black hose.

“Just tear them off,” he growled as he ran his hands over her silken flesh, cupping her breasts and thumbing the pretty pink peaks.

Evaine gasped as though shocked, but her green eyes gleamed with mischief. “I could never treat such lovely and expensive fabric so carelessly,” she murmured as she removed the garments and laid both over the chaise near the enormous four-poster bed.

“You don’t fool me, Evie,” Alaric replied, shameless in his attempts to break her resolve. “Your nipples are harder than diamonds and I’m drowning in the delicious scent of your soaked cunt. I know you need my mouth. My fingers. My cock. To scream with pleasure, over and over.”

His mate almost faltered, her fingernails briefly scraping his linen shirt like she might claw it off. Unfortunately, Evaine then regained her composure and grasped the hem of his shirt to lift over his head and Alaric groaned at the too-light touch when he needed her claws raking his skin. But at last he stood equally naked before her, and pure male pride burned through him as her gaze caught on his rapidly hardening cock.

Smiling, he took his shaft in hand, gripping and squeezing the thick length as she avidly watched. “See something you want, my queen?”

Evaine pressed her thighs together. “Can I take your cock in my mouth? Suck it until you spend?”

Goddess. He wanted that more than anything, but had to deny her. And he hated denying her.

“Not this night, sweetheart,” Alaric replied softly. “You’ll take every drop of seed I have in that hot little cunt when I knot. And bite your mark.”

She whimpered. “Is it time? I need that. I need it so badly.”

“I know,” Alaric replied, tenderly cupping her cheek. “And yes, it’s time. But first I must prepare you. Go and wait for your mate in bed. For soon and forevermore, it will be our bed.”

Evaine stared at him, her eyes glittering with fierce need. With lust. Then she curtsied. “As you command, my king.”

On such a long day of traditional pomp and ceremony, it had seemed like they would never reach this moment. But here they were, together and alone.

Princess Evaine de Wynter was now Evaine Beaumont, Queen of the Western Lands. And in this lavish bedchamber she would discover all the secrets of the mating bed: the knotting, the biting, and the bonded mind link that would result. As Sian had said, how pleasure and pain could intertwine like a rope.

Evaine bit her lip as anticipation, excitement and nerves coiled together in her belly. Then, straightening her shoulders, she climbed up onto the enormous oak four-poster bed. With heavy black velvet curtains that could be drawn, it was like a small room and exquisitely beautiful: the wood intricately carved and sporting the Beaumont crest, the tester mattress firm and comfortable, and linen sheets so fine they felt like cool water beneath her hands and knees. Helpfully, the servants had turned back the thick quilt so she didn’t have to wrestle with it. All she had to do was lie back on a small mountain of soft pillows…and wait for her king.

“Is the bed to your liking?” asked Alaric, as he opened a small locked chest and rummaged within it.

“Not quite,” Evaine replied. “You are so far away.”

A small smile curved his lips. “My queen requires a distraction. Touch yourself while I gather what’s needed.”

Her brow furrowed. “What’s needed ? Surely only your cock and my sheath?”

Alaric laughed. “Eventually, sweetheart. Now do as your king commanded.”

Oh, this was to be the way of it? He would order and she would obey? Perhaps this king had forgotten he was mated to a de Wynter. Ha. Alaric Beaumont had lessons to learn.

Closing her eyes, Evaine lounged against the pillows, then slid her hands up to cup her breasts, teasing her jutting nipples with her thumbs. Oh yes, that felt good. Next, she pinched the tender peaks, unable to suppress a low whimper at the jolt that arrowed straight to her heated core. Lifting her eyelids the barest slit, she peeked at her mate, who was definitely watching her little show.

This time she pinched her nipples as Alaric would, with a firm tweak. A gasp of delight tore from her throat, and she was rewarded with one of his low growls, the sort that immediately coaxed a trickle of honey from her needy channel. She had nearly distracted him from whatever he was fetching, but not quite.

Smiling inwardly, Evaine allowed one hand to trail down over her ribs and belly until it hovered just over her mound. Then she began lazily stroking her bush, before daringly parting the crisp hair to circle her throbbing pleasure bud.

“Mmmmm,” she moaned as she delved down further to wet her fingertips in her own honey before returning to rub a little harder. “Oh, yesssss…”

Without warning, her hand was yanked away, and Evaine’s eyes flew open to see her mate standing beside the bed, looming over her.

“Once more I see,” Alaric rasped, as he licked the honey from her fingers, “my queen is both lusty and wicked.”

Evaine fluttered her lashes innocently. “Whatever do you mean? I merely obeyed your instructions, my king.”

He growled again, and her core throbbed mercilessly. How in Leto’s name did he do that?

When Alaric settled on the bed beside her, she brazenly spread her thighs and tilted her hips, fully expecting him to feast as promised. Instead, he held up a leather drawstring bag, then tipped the contents between her legs. “Preparation.”

Evaine’s eyes widened. There were three cock-shaped objects: two made of polished stone, one about the size of her mate’s huge shaft and the other smaller. The third cock appeared to be solid gold, about the size of Alaric’s thumb. Each had a smooth metal ring at the top, and there was also a small vial of oil. “What do you mean to do with those?”

Briefly, his gaze turned serious. “I’m not sure how much you’ve been told…did Mother offer detailed answers?”

“I know some things,” said Evaine. “Such as what goes where. And that the sensation is…a lot. Pleasure and pain intertwined like a rope, Sian said.”

Alaric nodded. “It is a lot. And remember, in this part I don’t have a great deal more experience than you. Theda…did not want this with me. And we were never mind-linked because her mating mark was false.”

“Well, I want this more than anything,” blurted Evaine, restless on the bed. “And if you don’t move faster, I’ll…I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” he asked lazily, before bending his head to lash her nipple with his tongue.

She cried out and arched her back, desperate for the rough suckling she preferred. But her mate continued to torment her aching nipples with gentle laps and soft kisses until she wanted to scream not in ecstasy, but in pure frustration. It felt good, but it wasn’t nearly enough. “ Alaric .”

“What do you need, sweetheart?”

Evaine glared at him. “Your cock. At once. Your queen demands it .”

Alaric sucked in a breath. “Do you know how hard that makes me, hearing those words? Having a mate who craves me?”

Her heart twinged at the reminder, how that evil imposter had devastated her mate with such treachery. Such betrayal . It was one thing to tell Alaric how much she wanted him, but far better to show him.

Turning onto her side, Evaine cupped his cheek and leaned forward to press kisses all over his face, his neck, his throat. Then she licked his lips, before nipping his bottom lip, sharply, a she-wolf marking her territory. “As I said in the library, Alaric. You. Are. Mine .”

In the blink of an eye she lay flat on her back, her mate’s mouth engulfing her nipple. All Evaine could do was tangle her fingers in his hair and moan as he suckled her with such glorious hunger. Yet when his hand cupped her mound, his middle finger penetrating her deeply as his thumb rubbed her pleasure bud, she writhed and spent with a wild cry.

However, Alaric was nowhere near done with her preparation. Next, he reached for the smaller polished stone cock, his gaze never leaving hers as he trailed the smooth end over the heated skin of her inner thigh. “I know you need to be filled, Evie. But I don’t want to hurt you. With the knotting…my cock and your cunt will swell, locking us together for perhaps a half hour. This provides the best chance of conception, although that can only happen if you’re in your breeding heat. Starting with the dildos will ease you into being stretched and stuffed full. I’ll wet this one with your own juices first.”

Evaine swallowed hard, both loving the frank, open conversation and loathing the delay to further pleasure. Sian had spoken of storms and starbursts! “Why not the smallest, er, dildo? The gold one?”

His golden gaze darkened, and she quivered at the lusty promise there. “Because, my queen, that one is for your arse.”

She gasped, both shocked and fascinated at the thought. “Then do it. Hurry. Hurry .”

“Oh no. We have all night.”

For what seemed like hours, Alaric teased her drenched center with the stone dildo until it was glistening wet with honey. Then, slowly and carefully, he began pressing it inside her.

Evaine whimpered at the onslaught of so many new sensations. The cool, sleek, yet unyielding stone as it glided against her hot inner walls. The slight sting as her untouched channel expanded to admit the invader. But most compelling: the throbbing ache that insisted upon movement. And not this careful gentleness, but something raw and untamed. “More,” she begged. “Faster. Harder. Something .”

“Very well,” said her conqueror benevolently, as he withdrew the dildo then pushed it back in, setting up a delicious advance and retreat that made her entire body hum. Not long now. Something wonderful was building and building…ohhh yes, just a little more…

Without warning, he removed the stone dildo entirely and set it aside.

Evaine hissed and flashed her fangs. “No! Why did you stop?”

“Because you need to be fully prepared for knotting. The pain that will come with the pleasure,” said Alaric, his words calm, but his gaze intense. “That dildo was just a sample, now comes the first course. It might be easier if you tilt your hips and bring your knees to your chest.”

After coating the large stone cock in a little oil, he nudged her entrance. Evaine gulped at the size increase, actually panting as her mate slowly but relentlessly eased the dildo into her channel. It was too big! She rocked her hips, groaning as that assisted the stone shaft to sink deeper.

“You are doing beautifully,” Alaric praised, leaning down to kiss her shoulder as he alternated twisting the dildo inside her and moving it in and out. “Now I’m going to add the gold one to your arse.”

Goddess. The dildo might have looked small, but it felt enormous as it penetrated her tight back entrance. And so very strange! The metal was even colder than the stone and her anus strongly resisted the solid object before seeming to suck it in, her inner walls melting around it.

“Alaric,” she stuttered, her fingernails digging into her knees as the burning stretch and aching fullness danced on the edge of pain. Could she do this? Her mind said no, but the way her pleasure bud throbbed suggested something else entirely. “Do something…touch me.”

Moments later, Alaric began moving both dildos, sometimes together, sometimes separately, and Evaine bucked, her head thrashing on the pillow as once again that wave built and built and she thought she might go mad without release. Then he nudged her pleasure bud and she screamed, her head falling back as ecstasy crashed upon her.

Storms and starbursts indeed…and there was still so much more to come.

Nothing gave Alaric greater satisfaction than making his queen, his true fated mate scream with pleasure.

Evie was so lusty, so eager to learn. If his cock didn’t hurt so much to be inside her, if his fangs weren’t aching to sink into her mating mark, he could have done this for hours. She was so damned beautiful. And the scent of her need, of her readiness to be plundered…he would happily drown in it.

“Alaric,” Evaine whispered unsteadily, her eyes dazed, her skin flushed pink, and her breasts rising and falling as she struggled to catch her breath. “I…ah…”

A certain warmth, a fierce protectiveness curled around his heart. He would do anything for this she-wolf. Anything . “Shhh, sweetheart, just rest for a bit,” he soothed, as he carefully removed the dildos from her cunt and arse. Both holes gaped a little, swollen and tender and slick with honey, and his head swam with the primitive urge to fill her to overflowing with seed. “I’ll pour you some wine.”

Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Alaric reached over for the flagon of wine and goblets on a gold tray beside the bed. After pouring for his mate, he watched in satisfaction as she gulped it greedily before lying back on the pillows, a small smile curling her lips. Then he took a sip of his own wine. It was rich and full-bodied, but never could the beverage compare to the taste of Evaine.

Soon, she moved restlessly on the bed, her heels digging into the sheets as she rubbed her arse back and forth. “Have you finished your wine?” Evaine asked impatiently.

He smothered a grin as he set his half-finished goblet down. “Why? Do you need something, my queen? Some honey cakes, perhaps?”

With the nimble grace only a she-wolf could demonstrate, Evaine rolled onto her front. Then his mate sprang up onto her hands and knees, circling her hips and swaying her arse as she spread her thighs wide. “Knot me. Bite me. Now .”

Almost speechless with lust, Alaric stared hungrily at the banquet laid out before him. Unable to resist, he leaned down, inhaling deeply of her scent. Then he extended his tongue and licked her honey-soaked cunt, one long, slow lap to ensure his mouth tasted nothing else.

She moaned, a needy, pleading sound.

“Hmmm,” he mused, as he licked her again, reveling in her breathless cries as his cock hardened to the point of pain. “You do appear ready for me, sweetheart. But how can I be sure?”

“Please, Alaric,” Evaine replied, the words seemingly wrenched from her, a true royal female surrendering at last. “Please.”

He took his cock in hand, giving it one hard squeeze before rubbing his thumb across the seed-wet head. No stone or solid gold dildo could compare to how hard he was right now. He was ready to rut himself senseless. To spend deep in Evaine until he drained his cock dry.

Pressing tender kisses along his queen’s spine, Alaric curved himself over her so his chest was pressed to her back. Then, his heart thundering, he guided the head of his cock to her cunt entrance, coating it in her juices before pushing it in.

She gasped, her inner walls rippling around his length, and he almost spent there and then. Surely nothing in the world could compare to this. “Yes, that’s the way, sweetheart. Take all of your king.”

“I…I can’t,” she choked out, bucking a little.

“You can,” Alaric replied firmly, nipping her shoulder, and her hot, tight cunt rippled around him again as he continued until he was balls-deep inside her. “Now. Now we rut.”

Withdrawing slowly until just the head of his cock was submerged, he thrust back in then did the same again, setting a rhythm that grew increasingly harder and rougher. But Evaine was no passive recipient; his mate’s head thrashed, her fingernails clawing at the sheets as she pressed back against him, luring his cock deeper. Indeed, she was actively provoking him to thrust with more force until he slammed into her, the sweet symphony of flesh slapping flesh and sensual grunts and pants echoing in the bedchamber.

“Bite me,” Evaine snarled, her hips churning. “ Bite me .”

A low growl rumbled in his chest. Alaric slid one hand under her, briefly pausing to pinch her nipples, before encircling her throat to hold her in place. His queen’s mating mark seemed to glow, the crown and two stars clearly illuminated even in soft candlelight.

Rutting her brutally, relentlessly now, his cock as deep inside her cunt as it could possibly go, Alaric swiped his tongue across Evaine’s mating mark. Sweetness filled his mouth, even sweeter than her honey. Mindless with need, his fangs elongated and with a feral roar he sank them into the back of her neck.

Evaine screamed, her cunt clamping around him like a vise as she spent, and just like at their mating ceremony, a flash of blue light lit up the chamber. His cock swelled, impossibly large, and Alaric roared again as they locked together, the pleasure so intense it was painful. Then his seed released, gushing and gushing inside Evaine like a damned waterfall, like he’d never spent before in his whole bloody life, and it was so perfect he could only say her name over and over like a chant: “Evie. Evie .”

Eventually they collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion, but somehow Alaric summoned the strength to roll them onto their sides so he didn’t crush Evaine with his bulk. Then he carefully, gently, withdrew his fangs from her mating mark and lapped at the trickle of blood on her silken skin, sealing the small wound closed. In moments, it began healing.

Evaine made a humming sound, pulling his arm tighter around her. “I understand now why Sian said that was indescribable. There isn’t a word for that level of pleasure. Storms and starbursts don’t even begin to explain it.”

Alaric kissed her shoulder, then reached for the sheets and quilt to pull over them both. Even with a fire blazing in the hearth, and after such vigorous activity, their bodies would soon cool. “Are you well? Not too sore?”

She giggled. “I do feel a bit tender down there, but it’s not like you can fetch a hot cloth, is it?”

He couldn’t halt an answering chuckle. “No, not for a while. I’m afraid there is no such thing as a swift wolf coupling. Not cock in cunt, anyway.”

“I don’t mind. It’s not like I can move. I no longer have bones, only flesh and blood,” said Evaine, nestling against his chest until every inch of her was pressed against him.

“Then rest, sweetheart,” Alaric murmured, his eyelids getting heavier. It wouldn’t hurt to indulge in a little slumber.

It might have been minutes or hours later, it was difficult to tell when both the fire and candles still burned brightly in his bedchamber, but to his great relief, his cock had softened and slipped free of Evaine. What had woken him?

Then Alaric heard a sound, like faint windchimes. However, when he sat up and peered around the room, there was nothing amiss.

Shaking his head, he lay back down and closed his eyes.

“No, don’t go back to sleep, Alaric. It’s about time that tongue went to work again.”

Alaric grinned. “So demanding, my queen. Perhaps your tongue should go to work instead.”

Evaine yelped. “What?”

His eyes flew open, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Why that sound? You started the conversation.”

“I didn’t say a word!” she retorted, her eyes wide.

Alaric sighed. “You plain as day said, ‘No, don’t go back to sleep, Alaric. It’s about time that tongue went to work again.’ I’m unsure why, after this night, you yelped like a human virgin.”

Her cheeks went a very becoming shade of pink. “I didn’t say that,” she whispered. “I thought it.”

He went very still. “Just before, I thought I heard windchimes. I wonder if that is how the bonded mind-link begins. Think of something else.”

“Very well.”

Alaric waited. And waited. “Are you thinking something?”

“Yes,” Evaine replied, looking a little disappointed.

He grimaced. “Perhaps it takes a while. I honestly don’t know how it happens, whether it’s a sudden gift or if it gradually grows stronger. I can ask Mother in the morning. Are you hungry? Would you like some honey cakes?”

“An entire plateful, if possible,” his mate said with a rueful smile.

“Your wish is my command,” Alaric replied as he climbed out of bed and offered an elaborate bow. Then he sauntered to the small table in front of the fireplace and leaned over to pick up a plate of freshly baked cakes and a small pat of butter.

“That is such a fine arse. Perhaps I could nibble on that instead.”

He laughed. “After we’ve had our fill of honey cakes, you are more than welcome to do so.”

Evaine made that yelping sound again. “Argh! Why do you only hear those thoughts?”

“Because you want me to hear them, my queen.”

She gasped, her whole face lighting up, and it was like the sun breaking through a cloud. “I heard that!”

Relief once again swept through him. Much like Evaine, he hated not knowing things, and to be unable to offer comfort or instruction was unendurable. But in all honesty, he wouldn’t be terribly aggrieved if she couldn’t hear everything . Opening his heart and mind when it had been closed so long was a mammoth task. “It seems to work best when we’re not trying to force it,” Alaric said cautiously, as he returned to the bed with the honey cakes.

She smiled brightly. “Then let us eat. After that, well…”

Alaric inclined his head as his cock began to harden. Some things required no words, bonded mind link or not.