VESHA
The moment the chamber doors close behind us, the world narrows to just the two of us and the electric tension crackling in the air like summer lightning. Ghazrek sets me down gently, but his hands remain on my waist, spanning it completely, holding me steady as my legs threaten to buckle under the weight of what just happened.
I chose him. Publicly, deliberately, with the entire clan as witness. And now he's going to claim what I've freely offered.
The peace that settles over me is profound. There is no conflict now, no war between my body's needs and my mind's fears. There is only this male, this moment, and the simple, profound rightness of being exactly where I am.
"No regrets?" he asks, his orange eyes scanning my expression for even a flicker of doubt.
"None," I breathe, and mean it absolutely. "I've never been more certain of anything in my life."
His smile turns wolfish, all sharp edges and dark promise, and heat pools between my thighs. "Good. Because I'm going to take everything you're offering, little omega. I'm going to claim you so thoroughly that you'll never doubt who you belong to."
The promise woven through every syllable has me trembling—not with fear, but anticipation. This is what I want—to be possessed, claimed, owned by someone who values me as much as he desires me.
"Then take me," I whisper, the words barely audible but carrying clearly in the quiet chamber. "Show me what it means to be yours."
He moves then, his hands finding the laces of my gown with the patience of someone who knows the prize is worth savoring. The silk slides away from my skin like water, pooling at my feet in emerald waves, leaving me bare before him except for the silver torque at my throat.
His breathing deepens as he takes in the sight of me, his nostrils flaring as he scents my growing arousal. "Beautiful," he growls, his voice thick with hunger he's no longer trying to hide. "Perfect little omega, offering herself to her alpha."
The possessive words melt through me like heated honey, and I feel the warm rush of arousal pooling low in my belly. My body knows what's coming, what I've chosen, and it's preparing itself eagerly.
"Touch me," I plead, my hands reaching for the buckles of his ceremonial leathers. "Please, I need to feel you."
He helps me strip away his armor and clothing, revealing the magnificent expanse of pale skin stretched over muscle and bone that burned in my mind. But seeing him now feels different. He's not just beautiful—he's mine. Mine to touch, to taste, to surrender to completely.
When his hands finally make contact with my skin, I gasp at the sensation. He's fever-hot, his callused palms rough against my softness, and every point of contact sends sparks cascading through my nervous system. But this time, there's no conflict warring with the pleasure. No part of me fighting what my body wants.
"So responsive," he murmurs, his fingers tracing patterns on my skin that make me arch against him. "Your whole body is calling to me. Every breath you take tells me exactly what you need."
"Yes," I breathe, past caring about modesty or shame. "I want you. I want to be yours. I want you to claim me like you mean it."
His control fractures at my words. He carries me to the massive bed, lowering me into the furs before covering my body with his.
"You're sure?" he asks one final time, even as his body trembles with the effort of holding back. "Because once I start, I won't be able to stop. I'll take everything you're offering and more."
"I'm counting on it," I tell him, pulling his head down until his mouth is inches from mine. "Stop treating me like I might break. I chose this. I chose you. Now show me what that choice means."
The last of his restraint snaps like a rope pulled too tight.
His mouth crashes down on mine with bruising intensity, devastating in its thoroughness, claiming me so completely that breath and thought are stripped away. I meet him kiss for kiss, my hands tangling in his dark hair, my body arching up to meet his with desperate hunger.
Every touch, every kiss, every desperate sound that escapes my throat is my choice.
When his mouth moves to my throat, finding the bond mark that glows silver in the firelight, I cry out at the sensation. He doesn't bite—not yet—but the scrape of his tusks against sensitive skin sends shockwaves through my entire system.
"Mine," he growls against my throat, the word vibrating through skin and bone. "Say it. Say who you belong to."
"I belong to you," I gasp, my hands clutching at his shoulders. "Yours, always yours."
His hands map every inch of my body with reverent thoroughness, relearning the geography of my pleasure without the desperate urgency that marked our first coupling. He takes his time, savoring my responses, drawing sounds from me that I didn't know I could make.
When his fingers finally find the slick evidence of my need, I nearly sob with relief. I'm ready for him, have been ready since the moment I declared my choice in the great hall, my body preparing itself for the claiming it craves.
"So wet," he murmurs, his voice thick with satisfaction as he explores my folds with gentle pressure. "So perfect for me. You want your alpha's cock, don't you, little omega?"
"Yes," I moan, my hips bucking against his hand. "Please, I need you inside me. I need to feel you claim me."
