And when he started moving, I never wanted it to stop. It was as excruciating as the rest of the night had been. Hot andcontrolled. Slow but sure. And I cried out with every thrust. His arms around my waist, hoisting me up off the mattress at some point. My face buried in his neck as I moaned. My hips moving up and down with the force of his thrusts. Skin on skin. The sound of it.
It was perfect. At least for us. I forgot everything. I forgot about the dynamic between us. I forgot who we were supposed to be, how he was supposed to tease me. How I was supposed to fight back. We were only two bodies in that moment, moving together.
And when it all came to a halt, and his knot stretched within me, I allowed it to feel right. I let myself be his fully. It was less painful than last time. There was nothing rough about it. That was until I felt his teeth on my neck. His canines pressing down. Hard. I screamed. It hurt immensely for a moment. Then I was flooded with feelings of awe. Warmth and comfort spread through me. There was fire in my lungs. Pine on my tongue. His scent mingled with mine. Our magic becoming as tangled up as we were.
A kiss on my lips. Both of us were spent. Sweating and sated. Exhausted but content. Locked together. The way we were always supposed to be. We fell asleep like that.
The morning after we became one, we refused to get out of bed. My mating bite was tingling pleasantly, keeping me in a state of half-sleep. My insides were burning up after last night’s activities. My alpha was out as well. He must have had very little sleep while I was gone. It was at least midday by the time we were awake enough to speak in full sentences.
“If I tell you a secret, would you tell me one of yours?” I asked. He looked back at me.
“What is it?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“No. You first,” I said. “I want to know about Jareth.”
Axel turned away from me. His eyes on the fire burning in the hearth.
“That’s a long story, omega.” I hummed.
“I figured,” I said. I got up from the bed. I grabbed some furs to cover myself. I sat next to him at the edge of the bed. I laid a hand on his thigh. “I still want to know.” He sighed. “You promised me.”
“Did I?” he asked. He looked me in the eyes.
“Yes. You said you would tell me. Later.” I pulled my knees up to my chest. I leaned on his shoulder.
“Alright,” he said. It remained silent for a while after. “I’m not great with words.” I laughed.
“I know,” I said. We waited a bit longer for him to gather his thoughts. I closed my eyes. I took in his scent. I was hit with the realisation that he was really there with me. That he was real. That we were real.
“We have the same mother,” he said. I stilled. My thoughts came to a halt.
“What?” I asked. That made no sense. Jareth is Victor’s child.
“Jareth and I, we have the same mother,” he repeated.
“I don’t understand?”
It was quiet again. I heard the crackling of the fire. Axel’s breathing, slow and steady.
“She was a werewolf. An omega. She was married to my father.”
“The court sorcerer?” I asked. I suspected that part for a while. I realised then there was a lot to his story I had not even begun to imagine.
“Yes,” he said. He laid down then. Legs off the edge of the bed. Staring up at the canopy. “My father never cared for her. She was a gift from a pack that he helped. During a pack war.”
“She was beautiful. I remember she had dark hair.” I stroked his leg. It took him a while each time, to speak. I let him take his time. I didn’t want to push him.
“Victor thought so too,” he said. I took in a deep breath. “He took her from me.” I let it out.
“He took my father too,” I said. “At least I think he did. We have that in common.”
“We do,” he said. “When Jareth was born- I loved him. We were raised together. In the castle.”
I laid down next to him. We stared at the ceiling together. At stone and wood and silk.
“The king didn’t like us,” he said. “Me especially.” I put my head on his chest. His chest rumbled as he spoke.
“We wanted to escape together. Start a new life. We were young and stupid, but we almost made it out.”
