THE ALPHA’S CLAIM

CHAPTER 9: CLOSER THAN BLOOD

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Kael lay curled in the center of the nest, barely covered by the furs. The den was warm, but he still trembled. Not from cold—his body burned with heat, aching for something only one man could give.

And Vaelen was watching him.

He sat beside the bed, chest bare, golden eyes never leaving Kael’s face. One hand rested on Kael’s belly, stroking slow, possessive circles over the skin.

“You’re glowing again,” he murmured. “The child’s close to waking.”

Kael licked his lips. “It feels… hungry. Not for food. For you.”

Vaelen’s jaw flexed. “That’s because you’re craving me. Your body knows it needs to be filled. Anchored. You’re too close to the edge.”

Kael whimpered, shifting restlessly against the furs. “Then do something.”

Vaelen didn’t move at first. Just stared.

“You’re sure?” he asked, voice low. “You’re still sore. Your scent’s sharper. The bond’s trying to drag me in too deep.”

“Vaelen,” Kael moaned, lifting his hips in invitation. “I don’t care. I need you.”

That was all it took.

Vaelen was on him in seconds, crawling over him like a beast in heat, mouth crushing against Kael’s. His kiss was fire—desperate, claiming, full of teeth and tongue. Kael melted into it, wrapping his arms around Vaelen’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

“Mine,” Vaelen growled against his lips. “You smell like me, but it’s not enough.”

Kael’s thighs fell open, and Vaelen settled between them, rutting slow against him, not even inside yet, just pressing their bodies together.

“I think about this every breath I take,” he whispered against Kael’s throat. “Keeping you like this. Holding you open. Watching you swell with my heir.”

Kael gasped when Vaelen slid inside—slow, aching, thick. His body stretched around him like it had been waiting forever. He cried out, back arching, as pleasure hit like a wave.

Vaelen didn’t move. Not at first. He just stayed there, buried deep, trembling.

“Kael…” he breathed. “You fit me so perfectly. It’s like your body was made to hold me.”

Kael’s hands found Vaelen’s hair, pulling him down for another kiss, softer this time. Their breaths mingled. Their chests pressed together. Every heartbeat a shared rhythm.

“Move,” Kael whispered.

And Vaelen did.

Slow at first. Gentle. Rolling his hips deep and steady, never pulling out all the way, just grinding, stretching Kael open, hitting that aching place inside him that made his toes curl.

Kael moaned, legs locking around Vaelen’s waist. “I feel everything,” he gasped. “Too much—every inch of you—”

“I know,” Vaelen said, kissing the corner of his mouth. “You’re more sensitive now. The pregnancy’s making you softer inside. Tighter.”

Kael shuddered, overwhelmed. “Don’t stop.”

“I couldn’t if I tried.”

Vaelen f****d him slow and deep, like it wasn’t about rutting—but worship. Every thrust was careful, possessive. He kept one hand on Kael’s belly the whole time, fingers spreading over the soft curve, feeling the warmth there, the pulse of the growing life inside.

“You’re carrying something powerful,” he whispered. “Something that belongs to both of us.”

Kael turned his head, eyes glassy with pleasure. “I can feel it. The child… it’s not asleep. It’s listening. Watching.”

“Then let it see how much I love you.”

Kael came first, sudden and hard, his body locking around Vaelen’s c**k, pulsing with need. The orgasm sent him spiraling, crying out as his nails raked down Vaelen’s back.

Vaelen didn’t last much longer.

With a final thrust, his knot swelled, locking them together with a wet, obscene stretch. Kael cried out again, his body clenching around the thick swell, so full he could hardly breathe.

Vaelen held him through it, growling softly into his ear. “Take it. All of me. I’m not letting go.”

Kael clung to him, dazed, his heart hammering.

After, they lay tangled together, still joined, the knot keeping them locked. Vaelen’s arms wrapped around Kael like a cage. Safe. Solid. Unshakable.

He kissed Kael’s temple. Then his cheek. Then lower, brushing his lips over Kael’s throat and the mark he’d left weeks ago.

“You’re everything,” he said quietly. “You know that?”

Kael’s voice was hoarse. “You keep saying it.”

“Because it’s true. I didn’t think I could feel this way about anyone. But the thought of someone hurting you, or touching you—even looking at you wrong—makes me want to burn the world down.”

Kael shifted, curling into his chest. “Then stay with me. Don’t ever leave.”

“I couldn’t if I wanted to,” Vaelen said. “The bond wouldn’t let me.”

Kael hesitated, then whispered: “I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

Kael looked down at his belly, resting his hand over Vaelen’s. “This power. The way it feels inside me. It’s… huge. And it’s not just a child. It’s something more. Something old. What if I lose myself to it?”

Vaelen’s fingers threaded with his.

“Then I’ll bring you back,” he said. “Every time. Every breath. I’ll anchor you.”

Kael’s eyes stung.

He kissed Vaelen, slow and deep, heart thudding between them.

And the pulse in his belly answered back.

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