He doesn't touch me or speak, just starts walking toward the Alpha wing and I follow.
Students see us in the hallways, see me following Caspian toward his quarters. They know what this means. Whispers follow but I don't care anymore. Let them talk. Let them know.
He's mine and I'm his and tonight he's going to make it permanent.
We reach his door and he shoves it open, pulling me inside. The lock clicks.
For a moment we just stand there, staring at each other. The air between us is electric, charged with everything we've been holding back. His pupils are blown wide, tracking every breath I take. My pulse pounds in my throat.
This is it. The claiming. No going back after this.
"Nova." My name is a growl. "Last chance to change your mind."
"I'm not changing my mind." My voice is steadier than I feel. "I want this and I want you."
Something in his expression changes, the last thread of his control snapping. Then his hands are on me.
He slams me against the wall hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. His mouth crashes against mine before I can inhale, all teeth and tongue and raw hunger. I gasp. He swallows the sound, his hands gripping my hips and lifting me like I weigh nothing. My back scrapes against the wall as he pins me there with his body.
I wrap my legs around his waist on instinct and he grinds against me through our clothes. The friction sends sparks racing up my spine. This isn't like Julian's careful touches or the restrained heat in the training room. This is Alpha unleashed and it's exactly what I need.
"Waited too fucking long for this," he growls against my mouth. His teeth find my bottom lip and bite down hard. Pain blooms sharp and bright, followed immediately by the copper taste of blood. He licks it away and the groan that rumbles through his chest vibrates against mine.
The violence of it shouldn't turn me on but it does. Heat floods between my legs and I rock against him, chasing more friction.
He pulls back just enough to look at me. His canines catch the light. "You want this rough?"
I think about Julian's careful touches, how he always holds back. That's not what I need from Caspian. I need the Alpha, unleashed and claiming. I need to feel dominated and possessed and thoroughly fucked.
"Yes." The word comes out breathless and desperate.
"Good." He carries me away from the wall and throws me onto the bed. I bounce once on the mattress and before I can even process it he's stripped his shirt over his head without bothering with the buttons. The bandages on his ribs are stark white against his skin but he doesn't care about the injuries. He shoves his pants down his hips. His cock springs free.
My mouth goes dry. He's thick and flushed dark with arousal, and I can already feel the phantom stretch of him inside me.
"Strip. Now." His voice is pure Alpha command.
I scramble to get my clothes off, my fingers clumsy with need. The shirt comes off easy but my tights catch on my ankle.
"Fuck this." Caspian grabs the material and rips it straight off, tossing the shredded tights aside.
The moment I'm naked he throws me onto the bed. I bounce once on the mattress and he climbs on after me, flipping me onto my stomach in one swift motion.
"I need to see you like this first." His hands grip my hips and haul them up, forcing me onto my knees while pressing my shoulders down. Face pressed to the mattress, ass in the air, completely exposed and vulnerable.
Cool air hits my pussy and I know he can see how wet I already am.
"Fuck, look at you." His hand traces down my spine, over the curve of my ass. "Perfect."
Then his palm cracks against my ass and I yelp. The sting spreads across my skin, sharp and hot. Before I can catch my breath he does it again, harder. The pain transforms into heat that goes straight to my core.
"You have any idea what you did to me?" Another slap, this one making me jerk forward. "Watching you walk around campus knowing you were going home to him?" His fingers slide between my legs from behind and I'm so wet his fingers glidethrough my folds easily. "All I could think about was getting you here and getting you under me, spread open and mine."
He pushes two fingers inside me without warning and I moan into the mattress. He's not gentle, pumps them in and out roughly, adding a third when my body opens for him. The stretch burns but I push back against his hand, wanting more.
"That's it," he breathes. "Take what you need."
My arms give out completely and I press my face into the mattress, drowning in sensation. His fingers curl inside me, finding that spot that makes my vision blur. My thighs start shaking.
