I’m going to break her because the prophecy demands it. But I’m going to savor every moment because, for the first time in centuries, I actuallywantto.
Necessity and desire, aligned at last.
The messenger arrives at sunset, interrupting my contemplation with news I’ve been expecting.
“Guardian.” He bows low, careful not to meet my eyes. “The village of Ironhold has responded to the tribute demands.”
“And?”
“They invoke the ancient right. Trial by combat.” He hesitates. “Their champion is a human female. Hannah Mitchell, the village protector.”
I let the silence stretch, watching him squirm. He’s young—barely two centuries old—and hasn’t learned to hide his reactions yet. I can see the confusion on his face, the unspoken question: why would a human woman challenge the undefeated Guardian of Stone Court?
“Prepare the arena,” I say finally. “Full ceremonial observation. I want every warrior in Stone Court to witness this trial.”
His confusion deepens. “My lord? For a human challenger?”
“For a human who chose to fight rather than surrender.” I turn back to the window, dismissing him. “That deserves acknowledgment, whatever the outcome.”
He bows and retreats, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Three days until Hannah Mitchell walks into my arena and learns what it really means to challenge the Guardian of Stone Court. She’s studied the law—I watched her speak with some old woman on the ridge, though I couldn’t hear what passed between them. She knows the basic terms, knows that first bloodends the trial.
But she doesn’t know everything.
The blood debt law predates Stone Court itself, written in an age when challenges between Fae were settled with honor and consequence. Anyone who draws the Guardian’s blood in honorable combat becomes his personal responsibility—his claim, his property, bound by magic older than human memory. The provision exists because it was never meant to be invoked. A safety measure for a scenario too unlikely to plan for.
In seven centuries, no one has managed to wound me.
Hannah Mitchell will be the first.
The realization crystallized weeks ago, when I watched her fight a chaos-beast twice her size and emerge victorious through sheer stubborn refusal to die. I could end her challenge in seconds—have her pinned and yielding before she lands a single strike. That’s what any sensible opponent would expect.
But where’s the satisfaction in that?
No.I’m going to let her fight. Let her demonstrate the courage that made me notice her in the first place. Let her believe, for one glorious moment, that she might actually win.
And then—when she’s given everything she has, when she’s proven herself worthy of my attention—I’m going to let her blade slip past my guard.
One cut. One drop of blood. And Hannah Mitchell becomes mine forever.
The thought sends heat flooding through my body, my cock hardening against my breeches. I’ve been denying myself release for weeks, letting the anticipation build, but tonight I need something to take the edge off.
I unfasten my breeches and free myself, wrapping my hand around a shaft thick enough to make most omegas weep at the sight. Stone Court males are built differently than humans—or even other Fae. The bronze skin is darker here, veined with silver that pulses with mountain magic. Mineral ridges spiral up the length in patterns designed to catch and drag against sensitive flesh, to make a woman feel every inch as I claim her.
Hannah is a virgin, according to my intelligence. No man in her village has been brave enough to pursue the fierce warrior who protects them. She’s never known a male’s touch, never experienced what her body was designed for.
I’m going to be her first. Her only.
The thought pulls a groan from my chest as I stroke myself, images flooding my mind: Hannah pinned beneath me, her small body stretched wide around my cock, her warrior’s pride crumbling as I drive her from one peak to the next.
“Too big,”she’d gasp, fighting the intrusion even as her body clenches around me.“I can’t—”
“You can take it,”I’d tell her, feeding her another inch.“Your body was made for this. Made to be filled and claimed and bred by your alpha.”
“Please—”
“Please what, little warrior? Please stop?”I’d bottom out inside her, buried to the hilt while she screams.“Your mouthsays stop, but your pussy is gripping me like it never wants to let go.”
