“My Aunt Krystal is your mate?”
“Yes.”
“You going to live with us now?”
“Yes.”
The boy tilted his head, studying me, as my mate appeared at my side.
“Are you okay, Brody? Do you need anything?” Krystal’s soft tone was completely foreign to me. Gentle. Nurturing. Nothing like the wild thing that had just come apart in my arms.
I wanted this side of her, too. Knew I would have to earn it, that her tenderness came from love. From her heart. A part of her I had yet to claim.
My cock didn’t care. My pulse leapt in anticipation of the spanking I would give her for disobeying me when she left the kitchen. Not hard, not true punishment. Just enough to explore. Discover if the sting of my hand on her bare ass made her pussy weep and burn for me.
“No. I just heard you. Alexander wouldn’t let me out of my room.” Brody’s attention had swung to her when she spoke. I watched as his Elite Hunter instincts took over, his gaze assessing every detail in the blink of an eye. I did not doubt the young one had excellent sense of smell, as well as hearing far beyond a human’s.
“Alexander is a very smart cat.” I said, reverting back to Krystal’s native language. No reason to be embarrassed by what had happened between me and my mate. Especially since I planned to fuck her again. And again. Every night. Every chance I had to touch her.
I glanced at the cat and gave the predator a small nod of thanks for keeping the boy away while we were… occupied.
Would have sworn to the gods the fucking cat dipped its head in response.
Smart animal. My new son was highly intelligent as well. He wasn’t panicked or upset. Instead, he faced me without fear. Demanded answers. Was already drawing his own—correct—conclusion. The boy had good instincts. He would be a formidable hunter when he was grown. But right now, I wanted him to go back to sleep so I could take his aunt to bed and make her fall in love with me.
As if he could read my mind, Brody turned around without another word and walked back to his bedroom. Alexander followed him with a soft huff.
The door latch clicked and Krystal covered her face with her hands. “Oh my god. He has really good hearing. I’m mortified. We never should have?—”
I stopped her with a kiss. “We should. And we will again.”
“But he’ll hear us.”
My heart swelled with pride. He was mine now, just like Krystal. I would guide and protect him. Teach him everything I could. He would be as powerful as any beast.
No wonder his relatives wanted him dead.
My mate turned her head to escape my kiss and I took the opportunity to explore the skin of her neck. Bare her shoulder. Slide my hand down her hip, around her ass, and lower, to cup her pussy. I slipped two fingers inside her core, cock instantly hard when she squirmed. Gasped. Ground her pussy against my hand in a silent demand for more.
“Iven!”
For the first time in as long as I could remember, I laughed. I had found my mate. Claimed her. It was a fucking miracle. She was real. She was mine.
Mine. The beast protested, but he was weak. Defeated. Broken, like he’d tried to break me.
I ignored him and carried my mate to bed.
8
Krystal
* * *
I didn’t know if it was the alcohol, the insanely hot sex, or the fact that I had an Atlan Warlord in my bed… but I slept like a baby. No nightmares. No waking up every hour and tip-toeing to Brody’s room to make sure he was okay.
A heavy arm was draped over my waist, his warmth settled beneath my breasts like he was already part of me. I blinked to clear my vision and found myself staring at the mating cuffs locked around my wrists.
They were still there, the thick heavy weight somehow comforting. This was real. He was real. I’d been claimed by an Atlan. But where was his beast? Was he saving that for the honeymoon? Did aliens even go on honeymoons like we did? Didn’t matter. I wasn’t letting Brody out of my sight for a long, long time. Last time I did, we’d both nearly ended up dead.
