The door creaked open as the sun dipped behind the cliffs, casting Kael's chambers in golden firelight.
Vireya didn't need to look up.
She felt him before she saw him.
The tension in the room shifted—like the space itself exhaled when he stepped through.
He was still in his armor, though the chest plate had been stripped. His black tunic clung to his chest with sweat, blood, and whatever dirt the guards hadn't dared to wipe from him. His hair was tousled, jaw dark with stubble, shoulders squared despite exhaustion dragging at his spine.
His storm-grey eyes landed on her.
And softened.
Vireya stood slowly from where she'd been leaning near the fire. She hadn't realized how tightly she'd been holding herself until that moment—until the sight of him cracked something inside her.
"Don't say anything yet," he rasped. "Just… let me look at you."
She did.
He crossed the room in three long strides, and she braced for the usual intensity.
But instead?
He touched her gently.
One hand slid into her hair. The other cupped her jaw. No tension. No claws. Just warmth. Grounding.
Iska and Theoron, seated near the hearth just moments before, stood silently—sensing the shift. Neither spoke.
Theoron gave a quiet nod to Kael.
Iska, for once, didn't say a word.
Then they were gone, the door shutting softly behind them.
Kael stepped back just enough to take her in fully.
"You're okay?" he asked.
Vireya nodded. "You look like hell."
"You should see the other guys," he murmured, voice low and dry.
She almost smiled.
Almost.
But the weight in her chest didn't let her.
His eyes dropped to her midsection, where her hand had unconsciously rested.
He reached out. Slowly.
"Can I…?"
She nodded.
Kael laid his hand flat over her belly, fingers splayed.
And for the first time since the news, his breath caught.
Not from fear.
Not from shock.
But reverence.
Like he was touching something holy.
"I never thought I'd have this," he said softly. "You. A child. A bond that didn't come wrapped in blood and obligation."
His thumb traced lazy circles over the silk of her dress.
"And now that I do…" His jaw clenched. "I will burn the fucking world down before I let it be taken."
Vireya didn't speak.
Didn't need to.
Ashira stirred gently, her voice softer now. He means it. All of it. And so does his wolf.
Kael exhaled shakily. "Drekken has made it very clear he will destroy anything that even thinks about threatening the three of you."
Vireya blinked. "Three?"
Kael looked at her like she was the sun.
"You. Her. And our child."
The bath was drawn before she could argue, warm steam filling the room, scented with lavender and juniper bark.
Vireya slipped in first, groaning as the water lapped over her thighs, her ribs, her collarbone. Her muscles ached from tension she hadn't known she was carrying.
Kael joined her a moment later, slow and careful, like he didn't want to break the fragile stillness between them.
She settled between his legs, back to his chest, her head resting on his shoulder.
His hands moved with quiet purpose—massaging her scalp, her neck, the curve of her shoulders.
Not rushed.
Not needy.
Just there.
Present.
Protective.
"Do you regret it?" she asked quietly.
Kael's fingers paused. "What?"
"This bond. This baby. Me."
His hand moved to her lower stomach again.
And stayed.
"I regret every second before you walked into my kingdom."
Vireya's throat tightened.
He pressed a kiss to the back of her shoulder. "You were never a mistake. You were always the reason."
Ashira purred in her bones.
And Drekken?
Growled low, satisfied.
They stayed in the water until it went lukewarm.
Until the air was thick with scent and silence.
Kael eventually stood, wrapping her in a thick towel before carrying her to the bed like she was something rare and precious.
But the moment he set her down, Vireya grabbed his wrist and pulled her into her.
He followed came without hesitation.
The towel fell from her body, pooling at her feet. His eyes dragged over her like he was starving.
But he didn't lunge.
He stalked.
Kael lowered them onto the bed, one hand trailing up her thigh, slow and reverent. His fingers ghosted the seam of her hip, across the soft swell of her belly, then up brushing her breast before settling just beneath her jaw.
"You make it hard to be gentle," he murmured, voice like gravel soaked in wine.
She arched into his touch.
"Then don't be," she whispered.
Kael growled low in his chest and kissed her deep and claiming.
Not the hungry kind from the throne room.
Not the frantic mating bond chaos.
This was slower.
Worse.
Cruel in its control.
He kissed her until her head spun, until her body trembled beneath him, until she couldn't think of anything except the burn building between her thighs.
When his mouth finally left hers, it didn't go far he trailed kisses down her neck, along the dip of her collarbone, and then lower. He sucked one nipple into his mouth while his hand massaged the other, tongue flicking just the way he knew made her gasp.
She did.
And he smiled against her skin.
"Fuck, I love when you sound like that."
His fingers dragged down her stomach, dipping between her legs. He didn't go straight to where she needed him he teased.
Long, lazy strokes along her inner thighs. The pads of his fingers brushing close, then pulling away.
Until she whimpered.
"Kael…"
He hummed, finally slipping a single finger between her folds.
"Already soaked," he muttered. "Is this all for me, flame?"
"Shut up and touch me."
He chuckled, then kissed her stomach right above her womb. "You're getting mouthier."
She bit her lip.
"Good."
Then his mouth replaced his hand.
Kael licked her slow—long, languid strokes of his tongue that made her hips jerk against his mouth. He flattened his tongue and dragged it up her slit, flicked her clit with just enough pressure to make her moan, then sucked it into his mouth.
She writhed under him, fingers clutching his hair, thighs shaking.
He growled into her pussy low and rough and the vibration alone made her arch.
"Don't stop," she gasped.
He didn't.
He buried his tongue in her like he was tasting her soul, lapping at her like she was the only thing that had ever mattered. She cried out when he slid two fingers inside her, curling them until she saw stars.
Her orgasm hit hard.
Full body.
Breath gone.
Her thighs clamped around his head but he didn't stop—kept licking her through it, groaning against her like he was the one coming.
When he finally pulled back, his mouth was wet, his eyes feral.
"You ready for me now, flame?"
She reached for him with shaking hands. "Now, Kael. I need you."
He lined himself up, nudging her thighs wider. His cock was thick, hard, slick with pre-cum. He dragged the head through her folds, teasing her entrance with slow, shallow thrusts.
Then he pushed in.
Slow.
Deep.
Vireya gasped, every inch of him filling her, stretching her.
Her eyes rolled back as her body accepted him, already greedy for the fullness only he could give.
Kael groaned into her neck. "You take me so fucking well."
He stilled once he was fully inside her, letting her adjust, letting her feel everything.
Then he pulled back.
And started moving.
It wasn't rough.
It wasn't soft.
It was everything in between.
Every thrust was controlled, deliberate, angled to hit the deepest parts of her. His hands were everywhere—palming her breasts, gripping her hips, cradling the back of her neck like he couldn't decide whether to worship her or ruin her.
She met every stroke with her own, their bodies moving like they were made for this—like they'd done it across lifetimes and would do it in a thousand more.
He kissed her hard as he fucked her deeper, swallowing her moans, her name on his tongue like a prayer.
When she started to tremble again, he didn't slow.
He thrust harder.
Rougher.
"Come for me again, flame," he growled. "Let me feel you melt around me."
She shattered, legs trembling, nails digging into his back as her second orgasm rolled through her like a wave of fire.
Kael cursed.
Then stilled.
He groaned her name as he spilled inside her, pulsing deep, cock throbbing as he emptied every drop into her.
Still moving.
Still grinding against her like he couldn't stop even if he wanted to.
And when she whimpered again, body still twitching from the aftershocks—
She bit him.
Hard.
Right below his collarbone.
His breath caught.
Blood bloomed across his skin.
Her mark.
The final seal.
His.
And hers.
They lay together in the quiet that followed.
Sticky. Sweaty. Sated.
But not done.
Not even close.
Because now?
They were both marked.
Both bound.
And the gods could do nothing to undo it.