The Demon Princess and Her Powerful Alpha

Valerian Steel

Valerian

Her presence struck me when she popped into existence. I ran through the woods on four enormous paws and nearly slammed into a tree when it assaulted my senses. I shifted back to a man without a thought. My stark-naked body didn't give me pause. I couldn't remain a wolf if I wanted any control of myself near her. I slunk through the woods as quietly as I could. Her presence drew me on an elemental level.

She was the most beautiful and terrifying thing to exist on this plane. Her skin was so fair it was startling, but a faint luminescence glowed within her. Her smooth, high cheeks resembled intricately carved pearl. The lips that decorated her face formed a perfect bow, so red they appeared painted with blood. Gently waving, ash blonde hair framed her perfect face. Atop her head sat a pair of horns. They were long, blacker than a starless night, and curving toward each other. I imagined a crown sitting between them.

Despite what one might think, the horns did not draw my focus. The most startling thing about her were her eyes. Their pale lavender depths stirred my soul. Something deep inside me screamed she belonged to me. Her smell caught in the breeze and my mouth watered. She enjoyed herself as she strolled along. Her lips curved into a mischievous smile that made my heart leap into my throat.

I was so ensnared I didn't bother to ask myself how she slipped out of the gates of hell. I'd heard stories about demons before. They were vile, murderous things. She didn't look like the pictures in the books or appear the way folk-tales described them. She didn't look like a monster that had just scratched and clawed its way free from hell. As far as I knew, demons had to pull off some serious tricks to break their way out of that place. She appeared with no extenuating effort.

"What do you intend to do, wolf?" she asked, without turning. Her voice was beautiful, sexy, thrilling, and more girlish than I expected. I assumed the sound of it would be as striking as her form. The bubbling sweetness only endeared her to me further. It stole the breath from my lungs. So long as she spoke to me, I was content to suffocate. I stepped out of the trees, not sure how to answer her. I stood in front of her naked as the day I was born and gazed into the most perfect face in existence.

"You've kept me waiting." I told her, thinking back to the years spent hoping beyond hope I would find my mate. Her lavender eyes widened.

"Who are you to wait for me?" Her head tilted to the side. Her perfect bottom lip slipped between her teeth.

"Alpha Valerian of Moon's Gate pack." My eyes trailed down her body, taking in the perfect swells of her breasts and hips. Her narrow waist was briefly exposed between her tight black shirt and blue jeans. I wanted to lick the skin beneath her naval. She lifted her hand and placed it against my chest.

My wolf and I panted in tandem at her touch. Her tipped finger nails curved, digging into my flesh. My breaking skin stung as her grip faltered. Her eyebrows pressed together in surprise. Her confidence slipped from her face. "You feel it too," I insisted. I couldn't guess before that moment that a demon could experience the mate bond, but I saw it in her eyes. Even if she hadn't, it surely affected me enough for both of us. She tried to pull her hand away, and I held it in place. "What is your name?"

"Ardenti, Crowned Princess of Hell." Her title and magic swelled around me. My mate was powerful.

"Ardenti," my wolf growled, pushing his way to the surface. Those perfect pale purple eyes stared into mine. They bored their way straight into my soul. Maybe she could even see my wolf prowling toward her. My limbs were phantom things. My arm snaked around her waist and the other sank into her hair. I was scarcely aware of myself as I pulled her to me, kissing her deeply.

When our lips met, the most overwhelming magic coursed within me. Electricity sparked pleasure along every inch of my body. She made no hesitation. She kissed me back with an ardor that set my blood aflame. Mate! My wolf screamed inside me. Her hands ran down my chest over my abdomen. Finally, they skated over my hardness. She drew in a quick breath like she enjoyed it. Approaching her naked had its advantages.

I pulled my lips from hers and set to work on her neck, kissing down the side and to the spot that would soon bear my mark. Mate her now! My wolf roared inside me, trying to take control. "You don't waste any time, do you, wolf?" she asked as she wrapped her hand around my throbbing shaft. I groaned at her touch. "Well, neither do I." A wild part of me agreed with my wolf that I would mate and mark her right here on the forest floor.

I pulled back to memorize her beautiful face, before I had my way with her in the dirt and bracken. I pulled up short. The human girl I was kissing looked very similar to my demon mate. The underlying architecture of her perfect features remained the same. Her skin was a pale peach. Her soft petal lips heated from the kissing.

The horns that adorned her head were gone and the hair beneath them had turned to a golden, shimmering blonde. Her lavender eyes turned a startling blue with purple flecks set in their depths. "What..." I asked as she looked down at her own body, seeing the human fingers wrapped around me for the first time. Her eyes widened, confused and panicked.

"What have you done to me?" She accused, pulling her fist back and throwing it into my face. The impact hurt more than I had expected with her looking so delectable and soft. I put my hand to my stunned cheek. The pain had already faded. She shrieked and started hopping up and down, cradling her hand to her chest.

She stared down at it like she might cut the treacherous thing right off her sooner than deal with the pain. Her hands raised around herself and I felt the faint fizzle of the magic that had brought her to this plane. It was a weak shadow of her true power. A puff of dust kicked up at her feet and fell back to the ground with no effect.

She gazed at me with a torn expression. Part of her wanted to stand beside me, perhaps tangle our bodies in the leaves and dirt, the other wanted my death. She seemed to gauge her weakened position and turned to run. I tried to follow her, but as soon as she put a little distance between us, she changed back and disappeared in a cloud of ash. I ran to the spot where she vanished and scooped the substance into my hands. The desperation to maintain my connection to her drove me. It smelled of brimstone, lilacs, and vanilla.