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“Rhea…”
Then, so soft I almost miss it: “I’ll take care of you.”
And I believe him.
Because this is Theo, and even when I’m wrecked and soaked and panting, he still makes me feel whole.
The bond hits like… well, not like a truck. More like a weighted blanket made of sunshine and emotional damage. Warm and slow, not an explosion - just this steady, glowing thread that winds through my chest like,Hey, babe, guess what? Permanent attachment unlocked.
I can practically feel it weaving itself around my ribs, wrapping around all the parts of me that used to be hollow, then double-knotting itself in my sternum as if to say,Yep. You’re stuck with this one now.
I feel him.Reallyfeel him. Every heartbeat. Every shaky breath. Every drop of adoration he’s too shy to say out loud but is now pouring directly into my bloodstream like some ridiculous, gooey love potion.
And then I come.Again.
But this one’s different. No screaming. No writhing. Just a soft, wrecked little cry as my arms wrap around him and my fingers drag across his sweat-slicked back like I’m trying to hang on for dear life -
Or like I’m kneading dough in a very erotic bakery.
It’s not fast. Not wild. It’s like… like sinking into a really hot bath after surviving the apocalypse. Like exhaling after holding your breath through five seasons of a slow-burn romance andfinallygetting the kiss.
Theo holds me like I’m something breakable and sacred, which is hilarious because I’ve literally been railed by three alphas in the last however-many hours, but sure, let’s pretend I’m a dainty little flower now.
He starts moving again, these slow, deep thrusts that make my toes curl and my brain go fuzzy. He’s not pounding into me like a porn star with a vendetta - he’spressing. Staying close. Stretching it out like he’s trying to make the pleasure last long enough to qualify for a pension.
And it works.
Oh god, it works.
Every motion feels like a promise. Like he’s carvingyou are not aloneinto my soul one stroke at a time.
Whenhecomes, it’s not with a roar or a shout - it’s the softest little gasp against my shoulder. A low, breathy moan into my hair like he’s exhaling three years of pent-up longing directly into my scalp.
Then he collapses. Not dramatically. Just this big, warm alpha pile of affection and afterglow, curling around me like he’s trying to keep every molecule of me within arm’s reach.
We’re both trembling, but not from fear or overstimulation.
It’s the bond settling in our bones. That low, humming ache ofoh shit, this is real. The kind of tremble that says,This is forever now. Hope you like each other’s morning breath.
And somehow - under all the slick and sweat and exhausted limb spaghetti - I realize something terrible and beautiful at once:
I haveneverbeen held like this before.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lucian
It’s been hours.
And yes, I've been counting. Like a psychopath. Or a tax auditor. Whatever.
While they fucked her.
While theybondedher.
While the scent of slick and submission poured through the walls of my family estate like a goddamn sex fog machine someone forgot to unplug.
I didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’tbreak.
