THE ALPHA’S CLAIM

CHAPTER 2: BLOODBOUND

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Kael woke with a low moan, his body sore, limbs heavy, and thighs sticky with dried spend. The forest was still dark, lit only by the embers of the dying moon and the faint, silvery gleam of dawn pushing at the edges of the horizon.

He was still pinned beneath Vaelen.

The alpha’s weight was comforting, overwhelming in a way that pressed the bond deeper into Kael’s bones. His scent—smoke, dark earth, and power—had soaked into Kael’s skin. There was no mistaking it: Kael had been claimed.

And gods, he wanted more.

Vaelen stirred with a low growl, nosing against Kael’s throat. His tongue flicked lazily over the mark he’d left there—a crescent of torn flesh still raw and throbbing with magic. Kael’s breath hitched as the burn reawakened, spreading heat through his core.

“You should be asleep,” Vaelen murmured, voice rough from sleep and s*x.

“I can’t,” Kael whispered, shifting slightly. “You’re heavy.”

Vaelen chuckled and rolled to the side, keeping one arm wrapped around Kael’s waist. “You didn’t seem to mind last night.”

Kael flushed. His body was still slick inside, the knot having deflated only an hour ago. His heat hadn’t ended—it was only satisfied, for now. Already he could feel it coiling again, waiting to rise.

“You didn’t tell me your name,” Kael said.

Vaelen didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached up to brush a tangle of hair from Kael’s face. “Vaelen,” he said finally. “Highborn alpha. Last of the blackblood line.”

Kael’s eyes widened. “Blackbloods are extinct.”

“So they say.”

Kael pulled away slightly, instinct prickling with caution. The blackbloods were old magic, rumored to be cursed—alphas bred for war, their blood laced with corruption and raw power.

“You’re dangerous,” he whispered.

Vaelen’s gaze darkened, gold eyes glowing faintly. “You didn’t mind when I was inside you.”

Kael swallowed, arousal prickling despite the fear. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Would you have let me take you if I had?”

Kael didn’t answer. Vaelen leaned in close again, licking a slow stripe over the mark on Kael’s neck. The bond flared—needy, possessive.

“You’re mine now, little omega,” he growled. “It doesn’t matter what I am.”

Kael trembled, and not entirely from fear. The bond wanted Vaelen. His body craved him like a drug.

“Do you know what the bond does to my kind?” Vaelen whispered against his skin.

Kael shook his head.

“It burns. Until I’m inside you again. Until I’ve claimed you fully. Until I’ve bred you.”

Kael moaned as slick pooled between his thighs again, heat rising like a tide.

Vaelen pulled him onto his lap, spreading his thighs wide. His c**k was already hard again, pressing against Kael’s entrance.

“Is this how it’s going to be?” Kael asked, breath catching. “You f*****g me through my heat while I forget who I am?”

Vaelen’s hand gripped his throat gently, thumb stroking his jaw. “It’s not f*****g, Kael. It’s claiming. Every time I knot you, every time I fill you, it pulls the bond tighter.”

Kael whimpered, rocking his hips against Vaelen’s c**k.

“You can still run,” Vaelen said softly, brushing their foreheads together. “But I’ll find you. And next time, I won’t be so gentle.”

“I don’t want gentle,” Kael breathed, and pressed down onto him.

The stretch was instant, brutal—Vaelen hadn’t prepped him this time. But Kael’s body welcomed it, slick easing the way as the alpha’s c**k sank deep.

Vaelen groaned, head falling back. “f*****g tight. Still warm from last night.”

Kael rocked against him, crying out with each thrust. His heat surged back in full force, drowning him in sensation. He clung to Vaelen as the alpha began to move, hard and possessive, hips snapping up in brutal rhythm.

The knot swelled fast—too fast. Kael’s body welcomed it, clenching around him, sucking him in.

“Breed me,” Kael sobbed. “Make me yours again.”

Vaelen’s growl was inhuman. He sank his teeth back into the mark on Kael’s neck and thrust hard—once, twice—and the knot caught, locking deep inside.

They came together in a blinding wave, Kael crying out as he was filled again, Vaelen spilling inside him with a roar.

They stayed like that, panting, trembling, locked together by knot and bond and something deeper—something primal.

After a long silence, Kael whispered, “What happens now?”

Vaelen’s fingers stroked down his back. “Now you come with me.”

“Where?”

“To the blackblood stronghold.”

Kael stiffened. “Why?”

“Because I can’t be away from you. And because there are others who will want to break the bond. Take you from me.”

Kael’s heart raced. “Who?”

Vaelen looked up at the rising sun, jaw tense. “The High Council. They don’t want my kind to rise again. And they know an omega bond is the key.”

Kael shivered.

“But they won’t touch you,” Vaelen growled. “Not while you wear my mark. Not while you carry my seed.”

Kael glanced down at where they were still joined. The knot throbbed with every beat of Vaelen’s heart.

“You’re going to breed me?” he whispered.

Vaelen kissed him, slow and deep. “I already have.”

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