The Blood Alpha’s Captive Mate

007 || Missing Pieces

AZAI

My hand was between her thighs, one finger buried deep in her dripping cunt, and the worst part was how perfectly she still fit me.

How f*****g right she felt.

I hated her for it and hated myself more.

"Azai... please..." she whimpered, her voice cracking.

'Please what, Firefly? ' I thought bitterly. 'Please stop? Please don't stop?'

I curled my finger slowly inside her, stroking that spot I knew would make her legs shake.

Her walls fluttered and clenched around me greedily, soaking my hand even as fresh tears slid down her cheeks.

I pressed my lips to her ear, letting my breath ghost over her skin. "You're soaking my fingers, Ember. Your cunt is weeping for me even while you cry about Kairos forcing you. Does that make you feel ashamed?"

She shook her head frantically, but her hips twitched, pushing back against my hand like a desperate little slut.

Gods, I want to destroy her.

Still, I want to keep her.

Rage and unbearable need twisted together in my chest until I couldn't tell which was which anymore.

This woman had tried to murder our son. She had burned my mark off her neck. She had destroyed everything I loved.

And yet my c**k was so hard it ached. My fangs throbbed with the need to sink into her throat and mark her all over again.

I added a second cold finger, stretching her wider. Ember cried out, her shredded back arching against my chest.

"Does it hurt?" I growled, pumping my fingers deeper, slower, edging her without letting her fall. "Good. You deserve to hurt. Every moan. Every tear. Every drop of this greedy little hole belongs to me now."

She was panting, sweat glistening on her skin from the inferno of the room, while my body stayed frozen like the grave I wished I could crawl into. I ground my aching c**k against her ass, letting her feel exactly what she still did to me.

"Azai—!" Her voice broke beautifully.

"Beg," I snarled against her neck. "Beg the man you betrayed."

"I didn't—I don’t—No…”

Her denial only made me angrier. And harder.

I pumped my fingers faster, scissoring them, stretching her while my thumb kept relentless pressure on her c**t. Her thighs shook harder.

"Come," I commanded, my voice raw. "Come on my fingers like the traitor you are."

Ember let out a choked scream.

Her entire body convulsed, her cunt clamping down hard around my fingers as her release gripped her.

She sobbed through it, her hips jerking helplessly against my palm while wave after wave ripped her apart.

Only when she started to slump did I finally pull my fingers away.

I brought them to her lips.

"Clean them," I ordered coldly.

She hesitated, tears streaming down her flushed face. I pushed my glistening fingers into her mouth anyway, forcing her to taste herself.

As she sucked weakly, her eyes glassy with shame and lingering pleasure, a possessive claim reared up in my chest.

'Mine.'

I wanted to hold her. I wanted to cradle her broken body against me and whisper that I was sorry for the pain I was about to cause her.

Instead, I pulled my fingers from her mouth and stepped back, leaving her swaying on trembling legs.

"Get out," I said, my voice flat and lifeless.

Ember turned slowly, her eyes wide and devastated. The sight of her tear-stained face, swollen lips, and the evidence of her orgasm still shining on her thighs made my dead heart clench painfully.

She looked like she wanted to say something.

I turned away before she could.

"The next time I touch you," I added softly, staring into the roaring fire, "it won't be my fingers. It will be my c**k. And I won't stop until you're bred and broken."

“What if you’re wrong, Azai?” She croaked. “What if I’m not…your enemy?”

I froze, my body tensing up.

The door slid shut behind her a moment later.

I slammed my fist into the desk, cracking the wood.

Fuck.

...

The next morning, the fire in my chambers roared higher than ever, yet the cold still gnawed at my bones like a living thing. I sat slumped in the high-backed chair by the hearth, my fur coat draped over my shoulders, staring at nothing.

Sleep had been impossible.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Ember's face as she came undone on my fingers. The way her cunt had clenched around me. The broken way she'd whispered my name. The tears.

I wanted to drown in her and choke the life out of her at the same time.

Yet, that bold question of hers kept looping in my head. I couldn’t help but wonder why she’d lied about Kairos touching her. Why would he do that?

A loud knock sounded on the door.

"Enter."

Athena strode in, still wearing her travel-worn armor, her silver hair braided tightly, her sharp golden eyes scanning the room before settling on me. My Gamma. One of the few people left in this world I actually trusted.

"Alpha," she said, her voice tense with concern as she dropped to one knee. "I came as soon as I heard."

I waved a tired hand. "No need for dramatics. How was the patrol?"

She ignored the question and rose, moving closer. Her gaze lingered on the way I kept the coat pulled tight around me.

"You look worse," she said bluntly. "The poison is spreading again, isn't it? I'm still searching for the antidote. I have leads in the Shadow Marshes—three more days and I'll—"

"It's fine, Athena."

"It's not fine," she snapped, rare anger flashing across her face. "You're freezing from the inside out while that woman sleeps under your roof. As much as I hate her... doesn't any of this feel wrong to you?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Speak plainly."

Athena crossed her arms. "She was already poisoned with Voidroot when she arrived at the auction. Someone did that to her before she got here. Then she somehow gets her hands on the Bloodfang Dagger, the one weapon that can actually kill you. Who gave it to her? And now the Seer claims the goddess gave her the Eye of the Moon? Visions? That kind of power?" Athena shook her head. "The goddess doesn't gift something that sacred to a traitor or a child-killer. We're missing something big, Azai. What if—"

A loud slap echoed from the corridor outside.

I was on my feet instantly, Athena right behind me as we moved towards the sound.

We rounded the corner into the antechamber, and the scene made me halt.

Ember was on her knees on the stone floor, a steaming bowl of water tipped over beside her, hot water spreading across the tiles. A wet towel lay across her shoulder. A bright red handprint burned across her left cheek.

Liora stood over her, her chest heaving with fury, her palm still raised.

"I told you to walk away, you worthless b***h!" Liora snarled. "How many times do I have to—"

"I only wanted to help," Ember said softly, her voice steady despite the mark on her face. She kept her eyes lowered submissively, but there was something gentle in her expression that made my chest tighten. "I noticed the Alpha's temperature keeps dropping. I thought... a warm foot massage might improve his circulation. That's all."

Liora let out a bitter laugh. "She's clearly trying to poison you again, Azai. Or seduce her way back into your bed. Don't fall for this pathetic act—"

"Come here," I said.

Both women froze.

I was looking directly at Ember.

Liora's head snapped towards me, shock written all over her face. "Azai...?"