Her scent is everywhere—floral and sweat-slicked, laced with the sweetness of theaekishastill blooming inside her.
I ease back carefully, murmuring through the bond.Easy now, kala’rhû. Let me move you.
She’s pliant but trembling, head resting against her folded arms as I let my weight rock us back until I’m seated in the moss, legs spread wide. I guide her upright with me, keeping us locked. She shivers as I guide her into my lap, her back flush to my chest, her thighs draped over mine.
Shh...I croon, nose brushing the shell of her ear.I’ve got you now.
My front legs circle protectively around her waist. She whimpers, arching slightly as I cradle her belly in both hands.
You feel it, don’t you?I whisper through the bond.The bloom inside you?
She nods weakly.It’s still there. I can feel it, like it’s burrowing itself.
I press kisses all along the slope of her neck.
Because it is. You’re carrying the soul of what we made. The aekisha has taken... I just know it. The gods have marked you, Lumi. And I will never—never—let you carry it alone.
My hips flex, slow and deep. She keens and drops her head back onto my shoulder.
I press my nose to her neck one last time in Rhûven’s form.
“Breathe, Saelûn,” I whisper, letting the shift take me.
My form contracts with a pulse of magic, the massive weight of the beast melting back into my skin. She gasps softly at the change. My lips brush her shoulder now instead of a muzzle.
“There you are,” I murmur against her ear. “Still knotted. Still mine.”
I trail kisses over her back as she relaxes, her legs still splayed wide over mine. I want to sink deeper, to wrap her in more of myself.
“Let me move you just a little, saelûn,” I whisper. “Need you closer.”
She nods sleepily.
I adjust my thighs, guiding her hips closer to my pelvis, so her weight settles better over my shifted form. It makes her whimper when the movement shifts the pressure of my knot. I soothe her with soft kisses and slow caresses down her belly.
“Do you know what you look like right now, lumina’ka?” I breathe, curling her deeper into my lap. “A dream no beast should be allowed to keep.”
She turns her head and presses her lips to mine. “You're not just a beast, Andrik, you're rhûen’ka. Don’t ever forget that.”
Just as I’m about to reply, I feel pain ripple through the bond. I freeze, my chest tightening with guilt.
“Saelûn...?”
“Yes?”
“Did I hurt you?” I whisper against her neck.
“No, you didn’t hurt me. I’m just a little sore.”
“I can help,” I murmur. “Do you want it, Lumi?” My fangs graze the slope of her neck, thraevûn already leaking from my gums.
“Your venom?” she whispers.
I hum low in my chest. “It’ll help... ease the ache. Loosen you for me.”
She nods, “Please.”
I barely break the skin. I give her the gentlest bite I can. The bond flares as thraevûn floods into her. Her breath hitches, and she goes lax against me. She sighs my name, and I can feel the second her discomfort shifts to mischief.
