Beauty and the Lycan God

HATTIE By this time, I couldn't take it anymore. A hollow ache had settled deep into my stomach, twisting until it burned. The romance novel in my hand no longer satisfied me. It only made me hungrier, like a lioness who hadn’t eaten in months. Only, it wasn’t food that my body craved. And then, Dax’s proximity made it ten times worse. His scent flooded my nostrils without permission, literally mocking my restraint. I crossed my legs tight, digging myself into the mattress as if the friction could soothe the fire building between my thighs. It didn't. Tomorrow is our wedding anyway; why should I continue to suffer when I will be legally, and eternally bound to him tomorrow? I wasn't entirely sure if my epiphany came from a place of sense or just my hopelessly horny self talking, but I didn't care. I got to my feet, walked over to my vanity table, and quickly patted some moisturizer onto my flushed cheeks. I had secretly read erotic manuscripts and smuggled books for more than five years now. To be honest, starting when I was fourteen had completely ruined my hormones and scrambled my s*x drive. Every single day, I yearned to be touched, mounted, and rolled over like soft buns by strong, possessive arms. My fantasies were entirely over the moon. And tonight, I could no longer control my own imagination. Dax’s quarters were on the second floor. Father had arranged it that way to avoid moments exactly like this. Our pack was strictly marriage-before-s*x coded. And I had kept myself pure to that code for eighteen long years. But tomorrow I will be nineteen, and I am done waiting. I pushed Dax’s door open without knocking, slipping into the room to surprise my husband-to-be. Dax spun around, his eyes going wide. He was shirtless, his broad chest and chiseled biceps glistening with sweat. He looked breathtakingly sexy. It was so arresting that I momentarily forgot the anxious look flashing across his face. “Hattie! Why… why are you here?” he asked, his voice tight as he nervously ran a hand through his hair. Why did he look so scared? Oh, right. Because I wasn't supposed to be here. “Dax… we are getting married tomorrow,” I murmured, closing the distance between us. “Yeah…” he breathed out, still sounding unnaturally tense. “Let’s do it. There’s no need to wait anymore.” I didn't give him a chance to protest. I stepped right into his space, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his before he could push me back. There truly was no reason to wait. Dax groaned, his massive hands instinctively coming up to cup my face. He kissed me back with a sudden hunger. “Hm… Hattie… we shouldn't be…” I didn't let him finish the sentence. I pressed my weight forward, backing him up until the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed and he tumbled down onto the mattress. I scrambled up right on top of him, eagerly mimicking what I read in my books. He snaked his heavy hands around my waist, sucking and kissing my mouth as hard as I needed. His palms traced lower, sliding up my ribs before cupping my breasts right through my thin gown, squeezing my flesh until I gasped into his mouth. A daze of ecstasy washed over me, feelings I had only ever read about. “Hm, Dax. Don't stop,” I whimpered, moving my hips against him. My underwear was already soaked. “You are so wet, Hattie,” Dax groaned, his deep voice making my stomach flip over. I shifted higher on top of him, pressing my core directly against his hard length, desperately needing to know what a real man felt like buried inside me. “Hattie Morzai!” The sharp snap cut through the room like a whip. For a second, I thought I was hallucinating, until Lady Polly’s scent filled the air. I whipped my head around. Lady Polly, the eldest housekeeper of the estate, stood by the doorway, glaring at me as if I had just butchered her favorite pet. “Your father has been searching the entire estate for you. Get off him right this instant!” she growled. Dax scrambled upright, pushing me off his lap with a speed that felt insulting, his face pale as Lady Polly turned her lethal glare onto him. And Dax was even the pack’s commander “Do you even realize what you are doing?!” She demanded as I hurriedly adjusted my rumpled silk gown. I kept my eyes glued to the floor, my face burning with humiliation as I followed her out into the hallway. My mind raced, desperately trying to block out the ache still lingering between my thighs. “What were you thinking?” she stopped abruptly in the middle of the corridor, turning on me. I could physically feel her disappointment radiating off her. “Have you suddenly forgotten the consequences of having s*x before marriage?!” “You remind me every single day, Polly” I whispered, staring down at my slippers, not daring to meet her eyes. “So why? Why did you go there? Tomorrow is your wedding day! Less than twelve hours away, and you can have him everywhere and anyway you want. What on earth got into you?!” No one in the pack ever yelled at me. I was the Alpha's daughter, and I had always tried my absolute best to be obedient so it made me so sad hearing her yell. “Do you wish to inflict the wrath of the moon goddess upon yourself? Do you wish to lose your wolf and remain wolfless for the rest of your life?!” She added, really glaring at me now. I let out a sigh. “Go to your bedchamber and sleep. I must not see you step foot out of it again,” she commanded, leaving me no choice. And yet, despite the scolding and the ache in my chest, a bubbling excitement remained. Tomorrow was my wedding. I was getting married to the man of my dreams. The following morning, the royal bell rang through the corridors. I sat up in bed, a wide grin breaking across my face as Polly and the younger maids stepped into my room carrying my cascading white wedding dress. “Oh, look at you, my baby girl!” Polly beamed, making all the tension drain out of my body. “I am getting married!” I clapped my hands, my excitement overflowing once more. “You look stunning,” Polly whispered, catching my eye in the mirror. I blushed, knowing she was right. I looked radiant. “If your mother were here, she would be so proud of her creation,” She added softly. “Well, I am here!” Father’s voice boomed as he pushed the door open, striding into the room with a proud grin. “I am proud of the girl I created!” he laughed, kissing the top of my head. I beamed up at him. “Now, I am going to be someone's wife!” I looked at him through the mirror reflection, frowning slightly. “Father... why am I getting married on a slow moon day? Our senses will be less heightened today, and the pack's werewolves will be much weaker during this alignment.” Father’s smile flickered for a fraction of a second, so fast I almost missed it, before smoothing. “Darling, I think it is best. No rival pack can create a war or cause trouble during a slow moon. I just want absolute peace to protect our celebration.” It sounded logical, yet a strange shiver danced down my spine. Before I could voice another question, Lady Maria clapped her hands. “Enough questions. Let’s get her into her wedding dress before she wrinkles the silk!” Soon enough, I was walking down the aisle. The amphitheater was packed with hundreds of wolves in formal attire. At the far end stood Dax, looking impossibly handsome in his commander's dress uniform. My father held my arm, his eyes suspiciously bright with unshed tears. “You look just like your mother, my beautiful daughter,” he rasped, squeezing my fingers. “Thank you, Father,” I smiled, stepping forward with him as the crowd erupted into warm cheers. We reached the altar, and Father placed my hand into Dax’s. Dax’s thumb stroked my knuckles gently, giving me a look that instantly brought back the dizzying memory of the night before, making my cheeks flame. “Step onto the moonstone, my children,” the Pack Elder uttered, gesturing to the massive stone in the center of the dais. According to tradition, when a pure female wolf of age stepped onto the sacred moonstone on her wedding day, the stone would drink her wolf’s light and bloom with a radiant glow to bless the union. I took a steadying breath, stepped forward, and planted both slippers onto the smooth surface of the stone. I waited. One second. Two seconds. Nothing happened. The moonstone remained cold, and pitch black beneath my feet. Silence fell over the amphitheater. The sharp gasps of the crowd cut through the quiet like knives. Dax frowned down at my feet, utterly confused. “What...” I whispered, my pulse hammering wildly against my ribs. “Why isn't it glowing? Father?” Before my father could utter a single word, the temperature in the room changed. The ground shuddered violently beneath us, and a terrifying hum vibrated straight through the stones, forcing lesser wolves in the crowd to drop instantly to their knees, clutching their heads and whimpering in agony. “What is going on?” I screamed, looking around until a greater presence stepped out of the pitch darkness roaring out of the moon stone. I staggered off the stone and froze. The room was instantly filled up with his dark presence making even more wolves fall to the floor. Suddenly, father pulled me behind him, drawing his sword which glowed in the now-dark hall. “Soren! What is the meaning of this?!” Soren?! Father knew him?! The huge dark man didn't even look at my father. His dark eyes locked entirely onto me. “I have come to collect what belongs to me,” Soren’s voice rang out. His voice was deep and dangerously dark. “She belongs to no monster!” Father growled. I was utterly shocked. What the hell was going on?! “She is my daughter. My only child. I will not let you take her!” “She was never yours to keep, Morzai,” Soren sneered. “Father…” “Come here!” He growled, his words hitting my ears and as soon as they did, my legs began to move toward him. “Father?!” I shouted. He tried to pull me back but my legs acted on their own. No. Please. What is happening to me?! Dax tried to pull me back but it was futile. “You were warned Morzai, she is mine!” I walked until I reached him. He towered over me, three times bigger than I was. He was scary and darkness radiated from him.