by Zoey Ellis
"He was happy for a while,” Malloron said. "They soul-bonded and had their children. Things settled for a while.”
"He had the tenebris inside him?”
Malloron nodded. "My mother begged him not to put it back inside her, so he held onto it. He became immobile, but he still did not transfer it into her.”
Amara relaxed, suddenly realizing she had been holding herself tense during the story. Malloron’s father didn't seem like he was the ruthless Alpha that his father and his son had turned out to be.
"But there was a problem. My mother could not hide her dynamic the way that you can. She had to remain hidden at all times, and it was as though she was still locked away in the prison that my grandfather had created for her. She became unhappy and suicidal.”
Malloron stopped speaking for a long time and Amara peered up at him. "So… she killed herself?”
Malloron nodded and Amara lowered her eyes in thought. So after all of that, his mother killed herself, leaving behind all of her children. Somehow, that didn't seem right.
"But what was the reason your father wanted to increase the Visant family power?” she asked.
Malloron shrugged. "He gave up a lot of power that my grandfather had gained during his reign and I know he regretted doing that. He wanted me to correct his mistake.”
Amara chewed her lip as she thought. Something still didn't add up, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. "And you see him as weak for sparing his mate from the tenebris?”
"He was weak,” Malloron insisted, his voice firm. "She wouldn't have suffered by having the tenebris inside her, but he did. She didn't take that burden for him and then she killed herself and left him with eight children and a weakened position in the Lands. There is no question that he was weak for her. And he knew it.”
Amara couldn't respond to that.
After a long while of quiet and comfortable silent reflection, Malloron got up out of the couch, lifting her with him. "It’s time to eat.”
***
Over the next few days, Amara tried to prevent herself from connecting to Malloron. There were a few times that she connected at the height of her orgasm but she didn't allow herself to slip into the usual delirium during the aftermath. Instead, she focused on the story of his mother and father, and how horrible it must have been to be torn between two Alphas in such a way. It was enough to prevent the overwhelming lure of distraction on his knot and remind her to disconnect from him. But soon, Malloron noticed.
His hand slipped around her neck and pressed down, causing her to go limp.
"You are distracted,” he growled. "That is unacceptable.”
Amara blinked lazily at him. "I was thinking about your mother.”
"Don't,” Malloron snapped. "You said it wouldn't upset you.”
"I’m not upset,” she said. "I was just thinking about her situation.”
Malloron lifted her up off the bed by her neck, his eyes boring into hers as he pressed his forehead against hers. "Think about me. And how much you love my cock.”
"Sometimes you’re a fucking, selfish savage,” she snapped.
Surprisingly, Malloron smiled. He flipped her over onto her front, lined himself up, and pressed into her, laying his whole body on top of hers and taking her earlobe his mouth. "Only sometimes?” There was a chuckle in his voice, but Amara could not focus on her annoyance when he started a rhythm, filling her up slow. He hadn't taken her in this way in so long, she didn't realize she missed it.
She let out a guttural moan and moved her hands to his waist to press him to her harder. Malloron truly did chuckle then, but by that time she didn't care. Her hands brushed down to his firm ass as it contracted and relaxed in the quickening rhythm he set.
"Finally you are behaving the way you are supposed to,” he murmured. "Like a mate.”
"I am not your mate,” Amara breathed.
"Of course you are.” His smirk was clear in his tone. "Do you think any other could sheath me as often and as beautifully as you?”
Amara snorted. "I’m sure many could and many will again. Your last candidate for queen probably did. I bet you fucked her too.”
When he chuckled again, a jolt shot through her body. She twisted to look at him again, a sharp anger rising. "You did!”
"She had taken the role of queen,” he shrugged. "Of course I did.”
Amara snarled at him and turned all the way around. "Get out of me!”
Malloron frowned, and in his obvious shock, he didn't stop her moving off his cock.
"I didn't know you fucked her!” Amara scuttled backward to the head of the bed, as far away from him as possible as her anger surged.
"What did you expect?” Malloron stared at her, bewildered. "Do you think you’re the first woman I fucked?”
Amara fully intended to shout something smart back at him but it came out as an annoyed, garbled scream.
Malloron looked almost comical as he stared at her in disbelief. Then he frowned, a growl building. "What the fuck are you angry about?”
Amara glared at him, unable to answer because she truly didn't know. And she didn't really care about trying to figure it out. Instinct told her he should know. He was the Alpha—he should know her moods.
"You’re angry I fucked the last queen?”
"I thought she wasn't a queen to you?” Amara shouted incredulously.
"She wasn't,” Malloron thundered. "But in that role I took what I was owed. And any queen to my territory owes me what is between her legs.”
Amara’s anger burst to new heights. "Yes, you took what you wanted,” she snarled. "Just like you take from me day after day, hour after hour, every single moment to the next fucking moment.” She didn't even know when she began screaming but her voice screeched in her mind. She picked up the pillow next to her and threw it at him as hard as she could and then scrambled to get off the bed. “I’m sure you thought she was your mate as well.”
Malloron grabbed her elbow. "Where the fuck are you going?”
"To bathe,” she bit at him. "To wash your stink from every inch of my skin.” She yanked her arm out of his grip and stormed to the washroom.
As she stood by the bath, tapping her foot in agitation at how slowly it was filling, he entered. Lifting and twisting her in one fell swoop so she faced him, he wrapped both arms tightly just under her hips with both arms and held her up high so she looked down at him.
"Put me down,” she ordered, pushing against his shoulders.
"No.”
Her mouth tightened at the sudden realization he was grinning. "Is this a joke to you?” she said, her eyes narrowing. "I will fight you with every breath I take if you do not let me down.”
His grin widened even further, and it annoyed her that it made him look even more fucking gorgeous than he already was. "You don't need to be jealous of her, Amara. She is dead.”
"I am not jealous!”
"No?” He raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you angry that I fucked her?”
"Because you use people,” Amara shouted. "You use them for your own needs. You made an agreement with her and then you fucked her because you could. Just like you did with me.”
"Do you think she didn't want to fuck me?” His grin was irritating her beyond anything she had experienced before.
"Yes, because everyone wants your cock, don't they?” She struggled in his arms, hitting the heels of her hands against his shoulders. "You can take your pick because everyone wants a turn on the royal shaft. Let me go!”
To her surprise, he dropped her onto her feet and grabbed the back of her hair. "I did not fuck her because I wanted her,” he said, suddenly serious. "I fucked her for relief.”
Amara quietened and eyed him cautiously. "What do you mean?”
"I don't fuck slaves or servants,” he said. "She was a way to ease my urges. I did not want her beyond that.”
Amara’s nostrils flared, as her breathing calmed. "You never made fucking her part of your deal?”
>
"No. She offered herself to me. And I didn't even fuck her straight away because I didn't trust her.”
She held his eyes, examining them for any ounce of deception. There seemed to be none but she wanted to know for sure—that animalistic core within her was desperate to know if he was telling the truth on this one topic. On impulse, she connected with him and sought to explore any and every indication that he was telling the truth. The cloud bloomed within her, bringing with it desperation, desire, and a pure sincerity that calmed the raw and wild edge of her anger. "Why did you do so with me then?”
He leaned forward, his eyes locking hers. "Because I wanted you the moment I saw your eyes.”
The depth of emotion from him indicated he was being truthful and a flash of his memory—staring at her across the slave training dungeon—bloomed in her mind before fading.
"You feel for me, Amara, and you’re are going to have to come to terms with it,” Malloron said, his voice low. "There is no point in continuing to fight it at every turn.” He rubbed a hand down his stiff cock between them, still wet from her slick. "Do you see this?” he asked, holding up her creamy wetness to her nose. "I cannot get this anywhere else. Only you.” He spread it on his tongue and the desire for her in his cloud became almost intoxicating. "And I only want it from you.”
Her words came as a whisper. "I am not jealous.” But this time when she said it, as her anger faded, she wasn't as convincing, even to herself. So what if he made the same deal with the other poor woman who had died? Why was it so important to her that he was not lying? In her utter madness, she had even connected with him to get the truth about it.
"I’m not,” she insisted to herself quietly.
A burst of gleefulness and possessiveness swept through the cloud. Malloron lifted her again, wrapped her legs around his hips, and buried his face in her neck. She didn't protest.
"But you are,” he said roughly. "You are because you’re my mate.” He brought her down roughly on his cock and she cried out at the sharp bliss shooting between her legs. "And my mate is possessive of me, like she should be.”
She didn't protest when he lowered her to the washroom floor. She didn't protest when he licked every inch of her, humming in delight as he did. She didn't protest when he fucked her right there and knotted her as the bath water sloshed over the side and flooded the room. Because in the short bursts of his emotions, she could feel his pure delight in her, his potent desire for her, and raw desperation for her—and there was nothing else to say.
***
Amara remained subdued, existing in a clutter of confusion as she tried to rationalize why she felt such ownership of her enemy. She was doubtful that the tenebris could have caused such a strong reaction in her. It didn't fit with anything she had experienced so far. And yet, she was unwilling to believe it was because they were some kind of compatible pairing. As she contemplated, she submitted to him fully, almost without realizing at first, but when she did, a quiet peace consumed her. It generated such a feeling of complete safety when she was in his arms that she struggled to understand why she had ever fought it. She found herself craving to do things that she never expected to desire, such as waking him up with her mouth or reaching for him first after they ate. She didn’t have the capacity to feel guilty about it anymore, not when she didn’t understand what was happening with the tenebris. She told herself there was nothing she could do until she found out more.
Malloron did not let up his hold on her even though she was no longer fighting against any part of his dominance. In fact, the more she submitted to him, the more she took pleasure in him, the deeper his possession of her grew. She knew the only thing that would satisfy him was her admission that he was her mate, but she just couldn't.
One night, as Amara tried to decipher how long she had been in the room, she realized something. "You said you wanted to fix my eyes and ears,” she began, "but you’ve been in here with me constantly. I don't see how you’re fixing anything.”
Malloron was quiet for a moment. His fingers trailed along her back as they lay on their sides facing each other. "I cannot leave you in here.”
Amara sighed. "I am locked in here, Malloron. I can’t go anywhere.”
"It’s not that.” He lowered his eyes to meet hers. "I don't want to leave you,” he admitted.
She held his eyes, ignoring the flutter in her stomach. “But you agreed to—”
"Do not start that argument again,” he growled.
"I’m not arguing,” Amara insisted. "You agreed to find a solution for my eyes and ears—you said you would investigate the tenebris more. But you can't make progress if you are in here with me.”
Malloron didn't say anything for a long time. He slowly lifted her chin as he stared at her.
Amara watched him closely as that strange feeling emerged and then faded.
"I do not like that I feel this way about you, Amara,” he said, gruffly. "It isn't what was supposed to happen.”
Amara almost held her breath. "How do you feel?”
He opened his eyes and that handsome, dimpled smile spread across his face slowly. "I feel that you are mine.” He wasn't holding anything back—there was no mask, no smirk, no deception. "I don't know why you don't feel the same, even after everything there is between us.”
Amara breathed out, unsure what to say. There had been so much between them, and rarely any of it had been good.
"It makes me…” He struggled to find the right word, and a feeling drifted through the cloud—this time one she recognized.
"It makes you nervous,” she finished.
His eyes flashed. "Weak. It makes me weak that I don't want to be apart from you. That I will never want to leave you.”
Amara examined him as a number of emotions flashed through the cloud. He thought he was failing his father. Her stomach twisting in knots, she lifted her hand and ran her fingers down the side of his face. He closed his eyes at her touch as if it was the best thing in the world. A tingle of satisfaction jittered through her and she couldn't help but submit to the feelings stirring deeply within—those feelings that pulled her to him constantly. Leaning forward, she brushed her lips to his.
He jerked in surprise and then held her tight and kissed her back. The tingle in her spread over her whole body as his warm mouth opened for her, deepening the kiss as he explored her lips. His tongue grazed hers as his hand found her ass, squeezing it before pressing her up against his hardness, a growl releasing from his throat. She whimpered as he bit her lip and then dominated her mouth completely, sending her mind spinning. The taste of him was so divine and so... right. It made her every nerve shiver, her every sense rejoice. There surely couldn't be anywhere else she could feel like this, no one else that could make her melt and thrill her senses at the same time. Or make her feel so… complete.
As their kiss became harder and deeper, he grew wild, his hands running all over her, pinching her nipples, clawing his nails down her back, and fondling her clit until she was whining with need.
He lifted her, shifted onto his back, and placed her on top so she straddled him. "Tell me you’re mine, Amara,” he demanded as he gripped her hips with his large hands and rotated her slick opening over his bulbous tip. "Tell me.”
"You know I’m yours,” she whimpered, writhing on him. "I have to be.”
"Not because of the tenebris,” he barked, his eyes wild. "Tell me you’re mine anyway, even without that. I want your heart.”
The fog of desire in Amara’s mind struggled to figure out the purpose of his question. He already had her in every way he could.
He grabbed her hips and maneuvered her slit to the head of his cock, his eyes darkening. "Tell me!”
She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. “I’m yours, Malloron.” Lowering onto his cock, she drew in a gasp that he captured with his tongue.
The mating that followed was a wild and savage claiming, but it was not just the Alpha taking ownership. Amara rode him with ab
andon, slamming her hips down onto the cock she wanted, the cock she owned. And over the next few hours, she battled for how she wanted to be fucked. Although he maneuvered her and dominated her so easily physically, she learned that a whine would likely get his hands binding her the way she needed, in her hair, around her neck, pinning her wrists. Saying his name drove him to pound her harder, and a kiss would not only shut him up, but would sometimes keep him distracted while she moved to the position she wanted him to dominate her in.
By the time they slowed, they had been in almost every position they both desired and ended up on the floor just outside the bedroom. She experienced numerous electrifying orgasms before he knotted her, thrusting his tongue in her mouth and having her suck it while he spurted into her, guttural groans releasing from his throat.
The next morning, Amara woke achy, groggy, and covered in his sweat, saliva, and seed. She disconnected from him and sunk into deep thought with new clarity. Malloron was taken with her much more than she anticipated, and she couldn't deny she enjoyed him physically or even that she felt some ownership of him. She knew that Omegas were susceptible to Alpha pheromones—that was part of the reason why the Mothers had taken steps to remove Omegas from society in the first place—but this felt more extreme than anything she had heard from the Mothers. Regardless, she couldn't escape it. She had to think about what she could gain from this situation—of everything, that was what her experience with Malloron had taught her. As much as he might feel some kind of obsession for her now, he was still using her for the tenebris. That was his most important and primary use for her—not to be his mate. So she just had to stay focused on getting the information she wanted.
And yet, a thought niggled at her that she should just submit to the situation—to enjoy the Alpha’s attentions, get to know him even. What if he wasn’t as bad as she thought? What if she could truly get him to help the children rather than playing games to get the result she wanted?
