Regally Bitten (Blood Alliance Book 3)

by Lexi C. Foss

  “May I present Luna of Ernest Clan,” my father said, his tone filled with pride as we approached the Alpha of Clemente Clan and his heir apparent.

  Yes, I hope you’re so proud of yourself for forcing me to mate a man I don’t know, I thought. Such excellent parenting.

  Edon met my gaze and held it, the challenge in them apparent. He expected me to bow. I narrowed my eyes instead.

  I bow to no one.

  My mother’s nails bit into my forearm, causing me to flinch.

  My father cleared his throat.

  I could practically hear Logan scolding me as well. Don’t be an idiot, Luna, he would say. Play it cool.

  He was probably the only one I’d ever listen to, his advice usually sound.

  Fine, I thought to them all. Fine.

  I would bow. Only because this would be our first and last meeting.

  My knees bent, my head lowering. It felt so wrong. So ridiculous. And I couldn’t help peeking up at him as I did it, which earned me a surprised look from the alpha heir.

  “You’re going to have your hands full with this one, son,” Walter commented.

  “I can see that,” he replied dryly.

  Pricks, I thought, righting myself after my half-assed attempt at a curtsy or whatever the fuck that’d been.

  Edon stepped forward, his eyes roaming over me as if he were appraising a piece of meat. Which, I supposed, was accurate considering our predicament.

  My parents moved to allow him to circle me. An inspection. If he approved, we would become betrothed. If he didn’t, I’d be sent home with a very angry alpha father.

  But I’d been on the receiving end of his wrath many times.

  I knew what he would do.

  And I didn’t fucking care.

  A life as a rogue lycan would be better than a forced mating to a monster inside the Clemente Clan.

  Edon drew his finger down my arm, the heat of his chest caressing my back. “What’s wrong, little wolf?” he breathed into my ear. “Afraid?”

  “No,” I replied, turning to face him, much to the shock of the audience.

  Intended mates were meant to remain absolutely still during the alpha male’s inspection. My mother had gone over the rules a thousand times, and her sigh behind me said how she felt about my disobedience.

  Anger colored the familial bonds, my father’s annoyance palpable.

  It gave me pause only because I knew it wouldn’t be me he punished later for this, but my mother. I felt it writhing in his intentions, distorting the air with a violent promise that had my eyes dropping to the sliver of tan skin peeking at me from Edon’s unfastened collar.

  He hadn’t moved, perhaps unsure of how to handle my outright rudeness. Should he castigate me before the masses? Or should he allow it to slide since I wasn’t yet his to throttle?

  A hint of unease trickled down my spine. He merely continued to stare, as if waiting for me to do something else.

  When I didn’t, he continued his perusal, his touch tracing along my skin. No one spoke. The audience waiting for his decision. This could take minutes or hours. He could choose to fuck me right here, just to test the merchandise. He could send me to my knees. He could ask me anything he wanted to know and I had to answer.

  It was all so one-sided.

  Whatever the alpha male wanted, he received. Fuck what the female wanted.

  Edon’s palm slid up to my nape, the act a gesture of dominance that prickled goose bumps along my arms. I hated him. Wanted to snarl at him, to fight him, to tell him to back the fuck off, but I felt my father’s tension through the bond. One more outburst and my mother would pay. Severely.

  Then he really wasn’t going to like what was coming next.

  I’d already done the unthinkable. He just didn’t know it yet.

  But Edon suspected it. I could tell by the way his nostrils flared, the way his pupils tapered into points as I boldly met his gaze again.

  His lip curled. Not necessarily into a snarl, but into a smirk.

  He leaned to brush his mouth over mine in a chaste kiss, one that resulted in growls of approval from the audience.

  They wanted a show.

  They wanted him to mount me.

  I could feel it in the wind. In the way the hairs along my neck danced in warning. This pack was cruel. They didn’t believe in equality.

  But then again, none of the clans did. Not anymore.

  Edon’s nose ran along my cheek to my ear and down the column of my throat. Scenting. Searching for the anomaly I knew his wolf senses had picked up on. He continued to trek downward between the valley of my breasts, along my flat stomach, to the apex between my thighs.

  He looked up at me from his knees, the obsidian pools of his irises swirling with warning. He most likely knew now. Surely he smelled the evidence of the male I allowed to fuck me this morning.

  His growl confirmed he did.

  Only, it wasn’t the menacing sound I expected but one underlined in heat and hunger. The kind of sound a wolf made when he desired his mate.

  This is wrong, I thought, confusion settling over me.

  Alpha males were possessive. And the rituals required my virginity. Something I’d given away not even twenty-four hours ago, wanting to be certain he knew.

  And he did.

  I saw it in the way he watched me.

  His tongue slid from his lips, tasting me deeply, leaving me absolutely no doubt of his knowledge. Because I had purposely not showered afterward. I wanted him to know.

  Another lick had my knees going weak.

  This can’t be happening.

  He should be raging. Ranting. Threatening to kill whoever defiled my body. Demanding my parents take me away at once. Not—

  Teeth met my flesh, causing me to cry out in surprise. The lycans in the audience rumbled in excitement, enjoying the very primal display of ownership.

  The bastard had just marked me.

  Right on the damn thigh.

  And the way he gazed up at me showed his pleasure at doing so. He slowly stood, his well-over-six-foot height dwarfing my five-foot-five frame. His fingers clasped my chin, holding me in place as he brushed his bloody lips over mine. I fought the urge to growl, not in warning but in need.

  Then his tongue slid inside, forcing me to experience the intoxicating mix of my own arousal tinged with coppery sweetness.

  Bastard, I thought at him.

  He smiled against my mouth. “Welcome to Clemente Clan, little mate,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

  A spiritual cuff wrapped itself around my neck, banding my heart, as the reality of his actions and words settled into the air.

  He’d bitten me and claimed me vocally.

  The ceremony was already complete, the betrothed bonds well enforced.

  He’d severed my ties to Ernest Clan with that bite against my thigh, and I’d been so shocked I’d not even felt my familial ties shatter.

  But I did now.

  Especially as I looked at my mother, noting the slight mist in her gaze. And then my brother. He stood in the front row, his hair the same color as mine, his eyes a bright blue. He appeared as unfazed as everyone else in the audience, but sadness radiated from him, a sadness I felt deep in my heart.

  Goodbye, he was saying. A word he already spoke to me last night when leaving me with his final bit of advice to behave and to keep my head high.

  “You may be his, but you’re still an alpha female, Luna. Never forget it.”

  His parting statement wrapped around my soul, attempting to ground me as despair threatened to rip me apart.

  I was no longer one of Ernest Clan, but the betrothed alpha to the Clemente heir.

  Astonishment mingled with horror inside me. I’d been so certain this wouldn’t happen. No alpha in his right mind would accept damaged goods.

  My head swung in his direction, his fingers still lightly tracing my jaw. I gaped openly at him as the howls thundered around us, the next phase of tonight’s
rituals expected to commence.

  Edon smiled, his lips dipping to my ear. “I prefer my women experienced, little mate. Makes fucking all the more exciting.”

  My heart leapt into my throat. My defilement had the opposite impact of what I’d anticipated. It’d made me even more desirable in his eyes.

  And now…

  Now his pack expected us to go consummate the bond. For him to fuck me all night. Either before them all or in the privacy of his quarters. It was his choice, not mine.

  Wolves weren’t shy. We were primal beings. But the idea of being intimate with him in front of all his pack had my head swimming with doubt.

  I wasn’t really experienced.

  This morning’s stupid affair had only lasted a few minutes.

  And I’d hated it.

  But being with Edon? That would be so much worse. He’d bite me again, only much harder than before. He’d take me any way he wanted, over and over again, even if I cried. Fuck, he might even want me to cry.

  This wasn’t supposed to happen at all.

  His eyes tracked every thought as they spun through my mind, his lips curling deviously. So much intrigue. So much desire.

  This is going to hurt.

  I really fucked this up.

  2

  Edon

  Luna of Ernest Clan was not what I expected. Not in the slightest.

  The females of Clemente were always willing, sometimes a little too willing. But Luna, she reeked of defiance. And I found the harsh scent intoxicating.

  She’d even gone as far as to fuck another wolf this morning.

  Clever and deceitful, little mate.

  If I hadn’t been buried deep inside another pussy just last night, I might have cared more. However, it struck me as a double standard to expect my intended to come to me as a virgin. And I meant what I said—I preferred my partners experienced.

  I also preferred them to be excited participants in the act. Fucking an unwilling female held no value to me whatsoever. While I adored the chase, I wanted my prey to desire her eventual capture.

  Ah, but Luna, she possessed no yearning to be here at all. It was written in the defiant lines of her shoulders, the fury highlighting her honey-brown eyes, and the overall air of resistance that permeated her aura.

  “Come,” I demanded, my palm at her nape as I led her away from the chaos of the ceremony.

  My father wouldn’t be happy.

  He intended me to fuck her publicly in front of the clan.

  But as the rising alpha, I chose my actions. Not him. The bastard could indulge in his sick proclivities himself. I would not be sharing my mate the way he shared my mother and his other females—humans and otherwise.

  Luna remained brittle beneath my touch, but her legs followed my direction.

  The alpha female in her wanted to rebel. The woman in her knew better. Because if she tried, I’d put her in her place so fast her head would spin. And I really didn’t want to do that. Not here.

  In the privacy of my quarters, maybe.

  Two sentries stepped out of my way as I approached, their heads bowed in reverence.

  I ignored them, guiding Luna through the front house, into the royal courtyards, and up to the log cabin I called my own. It was smaller than my father’s, which sat on the opposite acre of this massive property. Ample woods separated our estates, a necessity due to our conflicting natures.

  He was the current alpha.

  I was the one destined to take his place.

  That sometimes led to complications—complications that I always won of late, much to his obvious chagrin.

  Luna glanced at the weeping willows outside my home, causing me to pause.

  We were completely alone out here, no one daring enough to enter my property without sufficient permission or cause. And the majority of the clan was busy celebrating anyway.

  Alpha transitions happened once every three hundred years or so, making the next month a rare time for lycans. It was also the first one to occur for Clemente Clan in the new world.

  Things felt new.

  Fresh.

  Exciting.

  Which meant they were all too busy enjoying themselves to bother with us. They expected me to fuck my betrothed. As most of them had seen me in the throes of passion before, it wouldn’t intrigue them much now.

  My father had wanted me to break her in front of the masses, but he’d just have to deal with my choice to do so privately. Figuratively speaking, anyway.

  Luna swallowed, her tension palpable.

  I released her and took a step back, giving her the space she clearly desired. “We’re alone here.”

  She blinked, confusion marring her pretty face.

  No, not pretty.

  Beautiful.

  Unmated alpha females weren’t allowed to attend political events, like Blood Day or the Immortal Cup ceremonies. Those were reserved for clan alphas and their respective mates. But I’d anticipated her features after meeting her parents several years ago. She had her mother’s caramel-colored eyes and her father’s brown hair. Her alabaster skin matched them both—a trademark from her region of the world—but her curves were all her own.

  Lithe, athletic legs.

  Supple waist.

  Fantastic tits.

  And a scowl that made my heart race.

  Oh, this was going to be fun.

  “Why?” she demanded, seeming to have found her confidence once more.

  “Why what?” I countered, knowing exactly what she meant but desiring her to say it. To admit that she purposely fucked another male this morning just to piss me off.

  Luna growled, the sound primal and sexy as hell. “I’m not a virgin.”

  I smiled. “Neither am I, sweetheart.”

  “Being a virgin is a requirement for potential female mates.”

  “Perhaps I don’t care about the requirements,” I countered, meaning it. If I wanted a docile wolf, I’d have taken one of the omegas in our clan as a mate. No, I preferred an alpha female, someone who could fight me when I needed it, and this one more than fit the bill.

  There were three others in existence as backups, should I require one.

  But my father and Niko were old friends. This pact between our two clans was created the day of her birth.

  She’d always been mine.

  Just as I’d always been hers.

  No amount of fucking around was going to belittle that point.

  Her pupils flared in the moonlight, her stance defensive. “I won’t yield to you.”

  I tilted my head forward, deeply amused. “Oh, you will. And you’ll beg me to fuck you, too.”

  She snorted. “Not a chance in hell.”

  I laughed outright and shook my head. “All right, little mate. Let’s play.” I unbuttoned my shirt, not wanting to ruin it in the dirt, folded it, and placed it on the doorstep. Her nostrils flared as I unfastened my trousers.

  She thought I meant to fuck her.

  Poor darling wolf was in for one hell of a shock.

  I kicked my shoes and socks off with my pants, leaving me as naked as her. “Do your worst,” I invited her.

  Her gaze snapped upward from my package, her cheeks flushing. “What?”

  “Attack me, little mate. Show me what you can do.” The pack wanted me to deflower her. Well, that was already done. So I’d taste her in other ways. Starting with her ability to keep up.

  “I…” She licked her lips, her confusion adorable. “What?”

  “If you don’t want to fight, then we’ll fuck,” I replied, trying to goad her. “It’s one or the other. Lady’s choice.”

  “You want me to fight you?”

  “Yes. You claim you won’t yield. Prove it.” I arched a brow. “Unless this is you already yielding, in which case, I’d prefer to take you from behind.” She had a delectable ass that would feel perfect against my groin as I thrust into her—

  Luna’s fist narrowly missed my face, her punch astonishingly accurate and
powerful. I felt it in the air that whistled by my cheek as I dodged her.

  Impressive.

  She followed up with another hook that almost landed in my gut.

  I hadn’t expected to have to work hard to avoid her hits, but she proved to be quite the little boxer as she came at me full force, making me sidestep and jump to evade being hit.

  At this rate, she’d be exhausted in minutes.

  But I rather enjoyed watching her tits bounce with each move.

  And I always did enjoy a little physical sparring before fucking.

  I caught her next throw, deftly twirling her in my arms to bring her back to my front, and clamped my opposite arm around her. “Boxing is fun, but can you wrestle?” I wondered aloud.

  She responded by dropping into a leg sweep that nearly sent me to my ass, and followed it with a kick to my shin.

  I growled, turned on and furious at the same time.

  Most would heed that as a warning.

  Not Luna.

  She came at me again, not even winded, and I realized this little thing might actually make me work for it.

  This time when she tried to punch me in the face, I caught her wrist and twisted it, putting her on the ground. She yelped in response, cradling her arm as I stood over her. “I’m impressed,” I admitted. “But I’m the alpha of this clan, not you.”

  I took a step back and startled as she leapt at me like a wild cat, tackling me to the ground. Her hands tried to find my throat, her nails turning into claws. The scent of blood tinged the air as she drew those sharp talons across my skin, her intention to maim clear.

  Fuck.

  Protective instincts overcame me, forcing me to fight back. I grabbed her forearms, using a pressure point to loosen her grip, and grappled over the ground in an effort to restrain her. But she thwarted several of my moves deftly, confirming that she wasn’t just smart, but also fast. And strong, too.

  It took far too many minutes to finally get her on her back in a position she couldn’t escape from. My hips and thighs pinned hers, one of my hands holding her wrists above her head while the other clamped down hard around her throat. “Yield,” I demanded, the snarl in my tone one I rarely had to use with my wolves.