Claws And Blood: A Mate From Beyond

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

~ARDEN~

I slid a hand beneath the oak table, my fingers immediately finding the soft, warm flesh of my mate's thighs.

She was seated to my right, surrounded by Alpha Salvatore, his daughters, and their mates.

She released a trembling breath, her legs wriggling together as I dragged my thumb higher along her inner thigh.

The Salvatores had invited us over for this miserable dinner, and I wasn't entertaining any of their fake, rehearsed jokes at all.

God forbid a man entertained himself with something else—like his mate's sweet cunt.

She instinctively caught my wrist, squeezing it, and I’d never been so pushed to forcefully activate our matebond mindlink.

"Grab my hand one more time, princess," I murmured through the bond, my gaze remaining deadpan on Salvatore as he droned on. "And I won't be easy on you next time."

She glanced at me, a silent understanding passing between us.

My hand slid even higher, beneath the silk of her thong. Her wetness was f*****g scorching.

I was absolutely obsessed with the way she yielded to my touch, even if my stubborn pride refused to admit it to myself.

I told myself it was just physical. It had to be.

"And Elana, how did you manage to catch yourself a man of his status?"

Melissa spat, her venomous tone cutting through the fake laughter in the dining room.

I drew my hand from Elana's slick heat, giving her space to shrink back. But she didn't.

With a confident, beaming smile, she brought both hands to the table, resting her chin on them elegantly.

"Manners, Melissa," Elana tutted, shaking her head. Damn. My girl. "I do not take mannerless questions. You're twenty-two; you should really learn some decorum."

Alpha Salvatore shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and Melissa folded, the color draining entirely from her face.

I grazed my thumb hard over Elana's c**t beneath the table.

For making me that f*****g proud, I couldn't wait to get her home. I wanted to devour her alive.

When dinner finally ended, the Luna pulled Elana aside for a private conversation. I didn't wait around. I headed straight for the exit.

The heavy front door swung open before my hand even brushed the handle.

No one stood behind it.

I walked through without breaking stride, a smirk tugging on my lips.

Good. My powers were finally catching up with my thoughts.

I stood outside under the pale moonlight, hands tucked into the pockets of my slacks.

My wolf stirred, sensing someone approaching. I turned to find Melissa closing the distance between us, her hips swaying deliberately.

"Hi," she smiled, her tone dripping with false sweetness.

I didn't return it. I just held my head high and stared her down.

"It's about Elana," she said softly.

My senses sharpened violently at my mate's name.

I offered a stiff nod, feigning the absolute slightest hint of interest. Pretending to tolerate people I despised was a massive 'no' in my books, especially when my mate hated them.

"You made a wrong choice, Arden," Melissa whispered, stepping closer like she was letting me in on a secret. "Choosing Elana was a mistake. She belongs to Cassian Thorne. The moment you killed his men, you signed your death warrant."

I scrunched my face, my smirk widening into something dangerous and feral. "And you know what, Melissa?"

Her eyes lit up with anticipation.

"I f*****g love signing death warrants."

"But it'll put you in danger," she pressed, desperation leaking into every syllable.

"You'll keep getting in trouble for her. Choose me instead." She grabbed a fistful of my shirt, pulling her body flush against mine.

I allowed her make her pathetic play.

From the flirty stares at dinner to her leg poking mine under the table, I had predicted all of this.

Did she honestly think I could be swayed so cheaply?

A woman willing to throw herself at a man who already had a mate was garbage to me.

She wasn't asking to be chosen; she was asking me to betray everything I was. Pathetic.

"Beside my girl, you're not even an option," I sneered, roughly peeling her hands off my shirt and stepping around her.

I didn't spare her another glance. When Elana finally emerged from the house, I pulled my mate into a tight hug and kissed her deep.

During the drive home, I didn't mention Melissa. She was entirely too insignificant to ruin our night.

"So, aren't you going to ask what the Luna talked about?" Elana asked right as my hand claimed her thigh again.

I swallowed hard. "I thought you didn't want to talk about it."

She smiled, amused. "Of course, I'll always want to talk about it with you."

My wolf melted into a pathetic puddle at her absolute devotion.

Fuck. I opened the car's sunroof, letting the night wind whip through the cabin.

She raised her hands through the opening, beaming.

"She asked if you had marked me yet," Elana said softly over the rushing wind.

Her voice didn't shrink, but my chest instantly did.

Silence stretched thickly between us. "And what did you tell her?"

She dropped her hands into her lap. "I told her you hadn't."

An unsettling, heavy ache wrapped around my ribs.

Suddenly, more than anything, I wanted to. I wanted to sink my teeth into her neck and claim her to the very marrow of her bones. But I couldn't.

My mission was a lie. I was supposed to make her fall for me, and even though I was becoming sick with my obsession for her, marking her meant a promise.

Sealing her as mine forever and then disappearing would destroy her forever.

I quickly changed the subject. "Melissa flirted with me. She said I signed my death warrant by crossing Cassian Thorne."

"He's a rogue, Arden," she breathed, terror lacing her voice. "The Lord of the seven most feared rogue territories."

"You should know I'm Arden for a reason, baby," I chuckled, squeezing her thigh hard enough to make her gasp.

I swerved into the dark garage of our estate, slamming the car into park.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed over the center console, pushing her passenger seat all the way back.

The darkness wrapped around us, thick and heavy with tension.

"You know I trust you," she whispered, her intoxicating eyes completely stripping my defenses.

"I promised I'd reward you for being such a good girl tonight," I murmured, dragging her dress up past her hips.

I gently spread her thighs wide and lowered my head, tracing my tongue from the inside of her knee all the way up to her soaking wet panties.

I shoved the fabric aside and buried my face in her.

She tasted like heaven, pink and dripping with thick slick just for me.

I flicked my tongue hard over her c**t, and she arched her back, swallowing a loud, ragged moan.

"Promise me one thing, Arden," she gasped, her fingers tangling in my hair.

"What, princess?" I mumbled against her slick folds, lapping at her greedily.

"You'll mark me."

I froze for a fraction of a second. The lie tasted like bitter ash in my mouth. I closed my eyes very tight, the guilt threatening to choke me, and I lied. "Yes. Yes, princess."

She let out a sobbing moan of relief, and I shoved two fingers deep inside her tight, untouched heat.

She was still so perfect for me. Pink. Tight. Wet.

I pumped my fingers into her, lapping at her c**t until she was shaking and whimpering my name.

I pulled back, yanking my pants down to free my throbbing, aching c**k.

It was leaking heavy drops of pre-c*m, desperate to stretch her.

I pushed inside her wet entrance, groaning like a feral beast as her tight walls gripped me.

"f**k, you feel so damn good," I grunted, establishing a brutal, relentless rhythm.

My guilt was suffocating me, eating me alive from the inside out, but I used it, f*****g her harder and deeper to drown out the rational voice screaming that I was going to ruin her.

"Tell me I'm doing it right, Elana," I begged, my hips snapping against hers, my praise kink flaring up like a blazing fire. "Tell me I'm good."

"You're so good, Arden," she whimpered, her nails digging into my broad shoulders. "You're perfect. You're giving me exactly what I need. Good boy. Please, f**k, you're so big inside me."

Her moaned praises sent a blinding shockwave straight to my f*****g brain.

It was my ultimate weakness.

I loved to hear it, every time she validated my dominant need to please her, my sick obsession deepened.

I pounded into her, lost in the sheer ecstasy of her tight, gripping cunt and her sweet, dirty praise.

I came deep inside her with a guttural shout, completely losing my grip on everything.

As my blinding climax tore through me, the sheer force of my unraveling control caused a violent surge of my hidden magic.

The car's dashboard violently short-circuited in a shower of brilliant blue sparks, and the heavy automated garage doors ripped cleanly off their hinges, slamming into the concrete driveway with a loud crash.

I snapped back to reality, my chest heaving as I pulled out of her.

Elana scrambled up, pulling her dress down with trembling hands. Her eyes were wide, darting from the destroyed doors back to me in the dim light.

"Arden... What was that? The doors... Did you do that?"

Cold panic flared in my chest. "No. It was just the wind. A storm."

"There is no wind!" she yelled, her voice trembling with rising hysteria. "I saw your eyes glow, Arden! I saw the purple light!"

My powers were acting up. f**k.

If she knew what I really was, the entire mission was compromised.

I reached out, grabbing her face firmly in both hands. "Elana, look at me."

I let the compulsion seep through my voice. "You will forget what you just saw. The doors were broken when we got here. You are just exhausted."

Usually, a human or a weak wolf would glaze over, instantly submissive to my command. But Elana didn't.

Her eyes squeezed shut, and a low, guttural growl vibrated deep within her chest.

When her eyes snapped open, the irises flashed a defiant shade of gold.

My breath hitched in my throat. Her wolf genes... they were awakening and she was resisting my compulsion.

"Arden... get out of my head," she gritted out, a single tear slipping down her cheek as she fought me.

Fuck it. I couldn't slip and let her realize who I really was.

I pushed harder, forcing the heavy compulsion into her mind until her golden eyes finally dulled, fading back to their normal, beautiful color.

She slumped against the leather seat, confused, the memory wiped entirely clean.

I stared at her, my heart hammering brutally against my ribs.

Her wolf was waking up. The clock had just run out.

I realized with a sickening, hollow dread in the pit of my stomach: the time to leave her and abandon this mission was coming much sooner than I ever anticipated.