When Casimir had used the word “Cleric” I’d imagined some stuffy old man in a suit with a black collar—like a priest.
Instead, the man—wolf—who showed up was young, handsome, and vital. I couldn’t have picked him out of the guards if they’d lined up.
Maybe all the wolves were like that? Big, strong, hot?
I’d heard the legends about women having wolf-lovers before, but again, it was always a whispered story at a sleepover, or someone’s fantasy fiction. A naughty, forbidden kind of story. Never something I’d taken seriously.
But after I’d hurriedly bathed, surprised by the pleasant smell of the soap that felt different in my hands to what I was used to, and twisted up my hair as best I could with only a small mirror and dim light, and put on the strange-but-beautiful dress that Ghere handed me through the door. When Ghere led me back to the first chamber where Casimir had appeared, it occurred to me that, perhaps, all these stories I’d heard weren’t fiction at all.
I couldn’t imagine any of these men being left alone if they appeared in public in my world. Any one of them would turn heads. And Casimir was… stunning. Terrifying, too. But if I hadn’t seen him use that power, if I’d just looked at him, he’d dry the roof of my mouth.
He’d changed his clothes and now stood in a slim-fitting black tunic-jacket that looked like it belonged in some historical romance. But it also revealed that he was every bit as powerfully built as he’d appeared.
The fur vest he’d been wearing before hadn’t increased his size, only complemented it.
He wore tight fitting black boots, beige pants that clung to the muscles on his thighs, and a white shirt, open at the throat, but otherwise very stiff—the collar stood high and cuffs with cufflinks peeked out of the jacket sleeves whenever he raised an arm.
The jacket itself was embroidered in thin gold and silver thread that blinked and flashed in the low light whenever he moved. At first I’d thought it was just a pattern, some kind of design. But when I was ushered to the front of the room to stand next to him, I realized the embroidery depicted scenes—wolves hunting, wolves fighting, and men… men taking women.
I swallowed and prayed.
I’d done my best to make myself look good with the things they’d given me. The dress was strange, but beautiful—light and airy so that I barely felt the weight of it. Thin spaghetti straps held a wide round neck that dipped low enough to bare my collarbones and show a hint of cleavage at the front, and below my shoulder-blades at the back. It was gathered at front and back, but the beautiful, flowing material and the way it had been cut meant that even though it was technically a loose dress, it fell against my body, cascading from my breasts and hips in ways that were almost suggestive.
Casimir’s eyes blazed when he caught sight of me approaching, and I was half flattered and half terrified by the sudden hunger in his gaze.
“No longer the dirty puppy, but suddenly very much a woman,” he growled approvingly.
I just stared at him, still taking in the subtle images on that jacket. He raised one brow and opened his arms, turning slowly for me. “Do I meet with my Queen’s approval?” he asked smugly, not a hint of doubt in his tone.
I nodded, but was still swallowing the choking fear that punched me right in the guts the moment I’d entered the room, because holy shit, this was actually happening.
There was the wolf he’d called a Cleric—dark haired, dark eyes, broad shoulders, and a gaze that seemed to see everything, and approve of little. There was Ghere, standing behind Casimir, also in a new suit, though nothing as fine as the King’s. And there were several other wolves milling around near the door where we’d been brought in here, to be witnesses, Ghere had said.
No women. No females at all.
My knees felt like they might give.
Then the Cleric cleared his throat and called all the others to pay attention. His eyes cut between me and Casimir, dark and disapproving, but he made a hasty introduction of why we were there that wasn’t unlike how I imagined a real wedding in my world would go. Except, without the smiling and hope.
Every man—male—here was focused and attentive, but the feeling in the room was as if we were there for a business meeting. Everyone concentrating on reaching a goal, but no one even remotely emotional about it.
I stared at Casimir, whose gaze was raking up and down my form, his smile growing more predatory every second. My heart raced, then pounded, until it felt like it was trying to flee my chest.
But then I realized all eyes were on me, including the Cleric’s.
“I… I’m sorry…what?”
The Cleric glanced at Casimir, but spoke to me. “Do you honor the King as Dominant?”
“I… yes?”
“And do you accept him as mate, embracing your fate both together, and apart?”
“Yes…”
“Do you open yourself without reservation, accepting the bond and stepping to the throne with the duty and honor required of the role?”
“I do.”
“Will you serve your people, your mate, and husband, without hesitation?”
“Yes.”
The Cleric’s eyes grew darker, as if he was angry, and I couldn’t figure out why.
Casimir looked hungry, but otherwise bored.
“And will you give yourself without boundary, give your womb to produce the heir, and your body as a vessel to the King until the day of your death?”
I blinked.
Casimir’s eyes, which had been lingering on my breasts, suddenly snapped up to my face and he went very still.
Our gazes locked and my breath got thinner, faster.
Body as vessel.
Womb for the heir.
Given. Taken. No boundaries.
I started to shake. But there was no choice. No other option. He’d kill me now if I didn’t say yes—and frankly, I’d rather be dead than go back home after all of this.
So, I released the breath that was tense in my lungs and held Casimir’s eye-contact. “I will,” I said, as clearly as I could, glad that there was only a small tremor in my voice.
~ JESSE ~Behind Casimir, Ghere relaxed, like he’d been holding his breath.The Cleric’s jaw flexed.Several wolves who’d been watching, chuckled or grunted.But then it hit me: It was done. I’d done it. I’d vowed myself to him until the day of my death.Nerves trilled in my chest. Should I be glad, or would I soon want to hurry eternity along?Only time would tell.I was in a fog, barely hearing as the Cleric led Casimir in a vow of protection of my person and my throne, promising to use his power to uphold me as Alpha Female, and to give me the heir.And then…“…And will you give yourself to her as a vessel, your body for hers, serving her pleasure?”Casimir’s eyes narrowed and blazed. “I will.”The Cleric raised his voice slightly. “And do the Witnesses agree and let the vows bind? Do you accept her as his mate? Do you bow to her as your Queen?”“We do,” they growled in unison.And something in my chest flared.I sucked in a breath, swaying forward as something came alive inside me
SOUNDTRACK: Eternal Flame by Atom Music Audio, with Randall Jermaine and Alexa Ray.*****~ CASIMIR ~This was my third vow-forged bond, and it never got easier, feeling my soul entwined with another like that. Each one had made my skin feel too tight, as if I wanted to claw out of it.But this one… Jesse… dear god.The moment the pack leaders acknowledged her as my mate and the bond was forged, I was ripped out of myself. Left flailing.I fought as I’d fight a hurricane, leaning in and forcing my body to weather the pummeling blows that seemed to come from every direction at once.Mate.Wife.Mother.Soul.Twisting, turning me, flipping my heart on its head like a babe in the ocean tide as I fought, wrestling for control of my own fate.Because that was the source of my power—dominance always won. The more I owned, the more strength I gained.That must be the difference this time—she’d come to the vow willingly, choosing it without compulsion from me. And so it struck as true and dee
~ JESSE ~I’d flinched when that wave of power left him, felt the impact in my bones like a sonic boom. And yet, when I took a breath and blinked, I was still myself, while every man around me cowered or knelt, all their eyes on the floor, every head bowed. Except Rake.As if the wolf had seen it coming, he’d stepped back and away, and was obviously untouched. Stunningly, so was I.Cazz hadn’t touched me with it.I looked up at him, trembling. What was he doing?He didn’t even look at me, just swept me up like I weighed nothing and carried me from the room without a backward glance.His breath was harsh in my ear as he stormed through the maze of tunnels and hallways outside. Voices raised in protest behind us. But he ignored them completely, one hand under my knees, the other curled at my ribs, his chin low and brows pinched, eyes glaring—and glowing again.I would have felt afraid because he looked enraged. But from the moment he’d let go of that power, I could feel him again. Could
~ JESSE ~Cazz stood in front of the door for a half a second, hands still on the beam, head cocked as if he was listening to something. There was a strange tension in him that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. But then he turned and found me with his eyes.In that space in my chest where I'd been connected to him, I felt the spear of desire that rocked through his body. It made my breath catch.When he began to walk towards me, it was with the slow grace of a predator, the fire in his eyes burning inside me as he locked on, only the rapid rise and fall of his chest outwardly giving away the tension in him that I could feel. A few strands of his hair fell over his eyes, but he peered out at me through them, like a wolf in the grass and when he spoke, his voice was guttural, so deep it seemed to come up from the stone beneath my feet, and barely loud enough for me to catch the words.“You’re stronger than I gave you credit for,” he murmured, prowling towards me.I swallowe
~ CASIMIR ~Standing behind her as I was, I had a perfect view down her cleavage as her chest rose and fell very quickly. I looked forward to plunging my length down that dark valley.I’d been furling up the skirt of that spider web of a dress and now I set to my task with focus. As the hem drew up to her thighs, I let my fingertips brush her skin as I continued to raise it slowly, slowly, smiling when her skin pebbled under my touch.She shivered when the cool air of the room met her hot skin, then shuddered when I grasped the skirt in one fist and reached for her with the other, urging her to spread her stance a little wider.“Tell me everything,” I whispered in her ear. “What you like, what you don’t. What makes you tremble. Tell me if it hurts or when you want it to hurt more. Tell me when you’re going to come.”She gave a short little huff, but then I slid two fingers into her folds and she tensed.“Relax,” I growled, and had to remind myself not to give her a taste of the compul
~ CASIMIR ~“Quickly,” I rasped. She was keeping her body just clear of mine, reaching up to pop the brass buttons at my chest, but her eyes were on the bared skin at my throat and collarbones.“Tell me,” I whispered. “Tell me while you undress me.”“I-I like the way you look,” she murmured, her eyes flicking up and down between my face and the buttons as she worked them loose.Then my jacket was open and she slid her hands up my chest to my shoulders underneath the stiff fabric, pushing it off and back, her hands following the rounds of my shoulders, then down my arms.I hadn’t told her to take it off, but I was too impatient to correct her—and this first time it was better to encourage her when she was bold.Then she leaned against me to push the jacket off my arms and her body brushed against me and I groaned.Had she been more experienced, I would have had my trousers off in seconds and plunged into her. But it was important to train her body to trust that each new step would be o
~ JESSE ~Somehow, when Cazz kissed me I felt it in my belly. An ache started down low and I didn’t just get breathless, I got a little bit desperate.Then he straightened, locking eyes with me—and his were glowing—and he growled, “Get on the bed. Now,” and his voice vibrated against my chest, but I felt it all the way to the soles of my feet and started scrambling backwards, trying to get my ass up on the high bed.I tried to jump and missed twice.Cazz gave a chuckle and shook his head, dropping to squat, his hands sliding all the way down the backs of my legs, then cupping the back of my calves.There was a moment he just knelt there, looking up at me and I looked down on him and everything in me that was aching gave a stab of desire, right behind my navel. My breath rushed out of me and I started to shake. His eyes flashed and I braced my hands on the bed behind me and heaved, and this time he helped lift my weight until I was sitting on the thick fur, and it was the most luxuriou
~ JESSE ~A flash of fear speared through me because I thought he was going to cover me then, and take me. I screwed my eyes tightly closed and gripped the fur, bracing for the pain that I’d heard would happen this first time.But Cazz tsked and his hands returned to stroking up and down my thighs, from knee to hip, top, then back, then inside until I was shaking again.“No, Kitten. No. Don’t tense. Don’t do that,” he cautioned, sounding a touch frustrated. “Just relax and seek your pleasure. Leave the rest to me. Watch.”I opened my eyes to see him take himself in hand. His jaw flexed as he rubbed himself against me, softly at first, just separating my folds and drawing himself up in a very similar way to the way he’d used his fingers, but… it felt very, very different.There was so much more of him and he touched so much more of me. He started slowly, right where he’d enter me, and that made me tense. But then he’d draw himself slowly up, pressing slightly harder as he reached that