Haunted by the alpha king

The first night

~ Aria ~

The fire snaps and hisses behind me, shadows flickering across the furs as his growl vibrates against my skin. My gasp vanishes into him—into the weight of his body pressing me down and the heat rolling off him like a living flame. The blood moon spills its light through the tall windows, silver and crimson, as though it too bears witness to my unraveling.

My back sinks into the bed, the furs soft beneath me, but nothing about the man above me is soft. Kael’s eyes blaze, his wolf just beneath the surface, wild and restless. His breath brushes my lips, hot and steady, as if he owns every breath I take.

“You thought you could deny our bond ,” he murmurs, his voice low and rough. “But tonight, little mate, there is no denial.”

I push at his chest, though my arms tremble with the effort. He doesn’t move. His body is stiff, iron wrapped in muscle, so unshakable. His hand moves upward, capturing both my wrists in one effortless grip and pinning them above my head.

The furs swallow my arms, trapping me beneath his hold, leaving me helpless. While my heart pounds so hard it feels like it might crack my ribs.

“Let me go,” I whisper, though even to my own ears the words sound weak.

He lowers his face until our noses nearly touch, his eyes burning straight into mine. “No,” he says simple. “Never.”

His mouth descends, and I turn my head, but his lips still find me—grazing along my jaw, leaving fire in their wake. His teeth scrape over the curve of my throat, right where his earlier mark still throbs, hot and aching. My body arches in reflex, my wolf straining toward him, desperate for his touch.

A deep rumble vibrates in his chest, a sound thick with satisfaction and hunger. “There,” he growls against my skin. “Your wolf knows me. Your lips may lie, but your body already belongs to me.”

Tears sting my eyes, part fury, part fear, part maddening heat twisting through me. I hate the way my breath stutters when his tongue brushes my pulse. And the way my thighs tighten when his free hand slides lower, tracing the line of my side with maddening patience until it settles at my hip.

His hand presses down lightly. “You feel it, don’t you? That fire, that ache?” His voice drops to a husky whisper. “You can’t hide that from me, little wolf. Not from your mate.”

“I am not—” The protest dies in a gasp as his hand tightens, dragging my hips against his. The hard proof of his desire grinds into me—hot, shocking, and large. My eyes fly wide, a strangled cry catching in my throat.

His smirk curls, wicked, his eyes burning even brighter. “Your body answers me, even when your lips refuse. Do you know what that means?”

I shake my head, desperate, panicked.

“It means you’re mine,” he says, certain and absolute, as though it’s written into the marrow of the world. “Not tomorrow. Not someday. Now.”

His mouth claims mine before I can speak. The kiss is fierce, relentless, devouring. His tongue pushes past my lips savoring every inch. I thrash beneath him, but his grip on my wrists holds firm, his weight pressing me deep into the furs, leaving no escape.

And gods help me—part of me melts beneath the assault. Heat coils low in my belly, traitorous and shaming. And a sound slips free, muffled into his mouth—half moan, half sob.

He pulls back just enough to see me, his lips damp, his eyes ablaze with triumph. “Yes,” he breathes. “There it is.”

His hand drifts lower, brushing over the flimsy fabric of my dress. My chest heaves in shallow bursts, caught between panic and a desperate, aching want. His fingers trace the curve of my thigh, tormenting, and setting fire to my skin.

“Please,” I whisper, not even sure if I mean stop or more.

His smirk sharpens. “Begging already?” His voice is silk wrapped around steel. “You’ll beg for the right reasons soon enough.”

He finally releases my wrists, but before I can shove him away, his hand grips my neckline and tears. The fabric rips sharply, splitting open, baring me to the firelight—and to his hungry gaze. I gasp, scrambling to cover myself with trembling hands, but he pulls them aside with ease, pinning them down at my sides.

His eyes devour me, molten with hunger and possession. “Perfect,” he murmurs, reverent and feral all at once. “Every inch of you is perfect.”

I twist beneath him, humiliated. “Don’t—”

His mouth silences me, trailing down my throat, across my collarbone, lower still. Each brush of his lips drags a sound from me I don’t recognize. Inside, my wolf howls, clawing toward him, aching to submit.

“No,” I whisper again, weak and thin. “I can’t—”

“Yes, you can,” he growls, his voice vibrating against my skin. “You will. You were made for this. Made for me.”

The world tilts as he pulls me closer, his body fitting against mine with terrifying perfection. The fire roars, the blood moon glows, and I am swallowed by the storm of him—his teeth, his hands, his heat.

When he finally thrusts into me, the bond explodes. A shockwave tears through me, fire and lightning searing every nerve. I cry out, not only from the sharp edge of pain but from the overwhelming flood of sensation crashing through me like a storm.

Kael’s growl shakes the chamber, primal and victorious. His lips crash back onto mine, swallowing my cries as his pace turns ruthless and merciless. Every movement sears me, branding me deeper and deeper, until there is nothing left of me but him.

I fight. I claw. But my body betrays me, surrendering piece by piece. Pleasure coils with pain, blurring together, building higher and higher until I’m drowning in it. My nails rake his shoulders, desperate, anchoring myself to the very man I swore I would never yield to.

“Say it,” he growls against my mouth, his thrusts relentless. “Say you’re mine.”

“I—” My voice falters, lost in the haze.

“Say it.” His teeth scrape over my neck, right across the mark, sending another jolt of fire ripping through me.

Tears stream down my cheeks, shame twisting with the fire raging between my legs. And still, the word tears free, raw and helpless.

“Yours!”

His roar fills the chamber, savage and triumphant. His wolf surges through him, claiming me fully, the bond snapping tight.

I shatter beneath him, my body betraying me with pleasure so fierce it blinds me. My cries echo against the stone walls, swallowed by fire and night.

When it ends, I am wrecked, trembling, my body limp beneath his. He stays above me, chest heaving, his eyes silver with the glow of his wolf. He leans down, his lips brushing my temple, almost tender.

“Mine,” he whispers, softer now, but no less certain.

Exhaustion drags at me, shame and fire tangled in my veins. I want to hate him. I do hate him. But my wolf curls beneath his touch, sated and bound.

And I know, with bone-deep certainty, that nothing will ever undo this night.

He has claimed me .

And I am his.