Vireya didn't speak as they walked. She didn't need to. The chamber doors slammed shut behind them with a force that echoed like thunder, and Kael was on her—no hesitation, no restraint.
His hands were already in her hair, his mouth crashing onto hers with a desperate groan that sounded more beast than man.
"You are a fucking goddess," he growled against her lips. "You stood before the kingdom like a flame in a field of cowards. My queen. My mate."
He kissed her like he'd been starving. No, like he was starving and she was the only thing keeping him alive. His hands slid down to her throat not choking, just holding, thumb brushing the pulse that raced under his touch.
"I wanted to fuck you on that throne," he whispered, voice cracked and dark, "with them watching. I wanted them to see who owns you, who worships you, who serves you."
Her breath hitched.
"Do it now," she whispered, voice full of fire and ash. "Show me."
That was it. That was the break in the dam.
He dropped to his knees.
Right there in his royal chambers, the Alpha King of the realm knelt before his queen like a supplicant. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her dress and dragged it down slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.
"I should pray to you," he said, lips brushing the soft skin of her thigh. "Every day. Every fucking night. For the rest of my life."
She hissed when his tongue slid over her inner thigh, slow and possessive. He bit the soft skin just once before moving higher. And when he finally found her heat—
"Oh fuck," he growled, breath hot and reverent. "You're soaked for me."
She was. Dripping, throbbing, aching.
He groaned as he tasted her, deep, slow licks like he was savoring the holy. And then he dove in, tongue circling her clit, fingers gripping her ass hard enough to leave bruises. Vireya bucked against his mouth, but he didn't let up.
This wasn't teasing. This was devotion.
"You're everything," he rasped, voice vibrating into her core. "Everything I never deserved."
She barely heard him, too focused on the build, the delicious torment of his tongue fucking into her, his lips wrapping around her clit, sucking until she screamed.
Her legs shook. Her fingers dug into his hair. And when she came, it hit like fire, wild, untamed, and all-consuming.
But Kael wasn't done.
He stood, lips glistening, eyes black with hunger. His cockt was thick, veined, leaking, pressed against the front of his pants. And fuck, that knot... swollen and angry and ready.
He didn't undress. He ripped his clothes off like they were nothing. And when he stalked toward her, Vireya backed up until her legs hit the edge of the bed.
"You looked at them like a queen today," he said, grabbing her hips and spinning her around. "Now I'm going to fuck you like a goddamn throne."
She gasped as he bent her forward, face pressing into the sheets, ass in the air. His hand slid down her spine, nails grazing, until he was gripping her hips hard.
And then—
"Fuck—Kael—" she moaned as he pushed in. One long, slow, thick stretch that had her toes curling.
He was big. Always big. But this? He was deeper. Hungrier. More desperate.
"Feel that?" he growled, bottoming out. "That's how full you make me. That's how fucking tight you grip me."
He pulled back, slammed in again hard enough to make the bed groan.
He set a brutal rhythm, hips slapping skin, hands gripping her like he needed to anchor himself or be lost to the storm.
And still he praised her.
"You're so fucking perfect. So strong. My fire. My curse. My queen."
She cried out, hand clawing at the sheets as he hit the perfect spot again and again. Her walls clenched around him, squeezing, milking, and he roared.
"That's it," he hissed. "Give it to me. Let me feel you break."
She came with a scream, body shaking but Kael didn't stop.
Not yet.
Not until his knot swollen and hot pressed against her entrance.
"You ready to take all of me?" he asked, voice wrecked. "Let me lock us together? Fill you so deep it won't come out?"
"Yes," she gasped. "Do it Kael, do it, I want—"
He slammed forward, forcing the knot inside with a growl that shook the walls.
They both screamed.
The stretch burned perfectly and then he was fully seated, knot pulsing, cock twitching as he spilled into her. Heat flooded her, a never-ending wave of his release.
Kael collapsed over her back, kissing her shoulder, her neck, whispering like a man possessed.
"You're mine," he breathed. "Mine. Marked by fire, owned by fate... and soon fucking carrying my heir."
Her eyes fluttered. Her body trembled. The words? They seared into her skin.
She turned her head, looking back at him. "Then say it again."
He growled, fangs grazing her neck.
"I'll say it every damn day until I die."
___________________________________________________________________________
The room was dark. Silent.
The fire had long since burned down to glowing embers, casting soft shadows across the royal bed. But Vireya was very much awake—and very much still stretched full of her mate.
Kael's knot was still locked deep inside her, snug and throbbing.
She shifted, trying to move, and hissed when the pressure sent a sharp spark of overstimulation through her core.
A low growl rumbled against her back. "Careful," Kael murmured, voice hoarse and low. "You'll make me come again."
Her cheeks flushed. "You're still hard."
"I'm always hard when I'm inside you."
His lips ghosted along her spine, breath warm. His hand slid over her waist, gripping her gently, like she might vanish if he didn't hold her tight enough.
"You okay?" he asked, quieter this time.
She nodded, but then whispered, "I feel... full."
He chuckled, the sound dark and sinful. "That's because you are, Queen. Knot's still locked. And your womb's probably drowning in me right now."
"Kael."
"What?" he said, nipping at her shoulder. "You let me breed you like a beast. You think I'm gonna pretend to be noble now?"
She moaned as he rolled his hips the slightest bit, just enough to feel him inside her, not enough to let the knot slip.
The friction—barely there—still made her legs tremble. Every movement tugged at her sensitive walls, slick and swollen from being used, filled, worshipped.
And Kael... Kael was feral again.
He kissed behind her ear, then growled, "You know what that speech did to me?"
"What?"
"You stood in front of the council, and then this entire kingdom... and you didn't flinch. You told them off like they were ants. You looked like you'd burn the world down if I let go of your leash as if you even had one."
She turned her head to look at him, and Kael's storm-grey eyes were glowing in the dark.
"You were fire. You are fire. And now?"
He pushed deeper just a little and she whimpered.
"Now I need to feel you break again around me. Slowly this time."
Her breath caught. "Still knotted..."
"I know," he rasped. "And when it releases... I'm going to fuck you again. Until you can't remember your own name."
His fingers found her clit, gentle at first. She jerked at the touch, overstimulated and raw.
"Kael—" she panted.
"I've got you," he whispered, rubbing soft, lazy circles. "Let it burn, my Queen. Let me give you everything."
Her body arched. Her muscles tensed. That pressure building slow, deep, dangerous. Like the first crack of thunder before the storm hits.
And then his knot started to shift. Loosening.
The second it began to release, he flipped her around to face him, smashing his lips to hers as he was thrusting again slow, deep, deliberate strokes, keeping her filled, keeping her his.
It was too much.
Too good.
Too deep.
She shattered again loud and breathless, convulsing around him and Kael let out a savage groan, gripping her hips and coming again, spurting deep inside her, filling her until it was leaking out around his cock.
They collapsed together, tangled in sweat, heat, and the scent of mated need.
"I'll never get enough of you," he whispered, kissing her temple.
"Good. Because I'm not done burning yet."