Destiny. Grace Goodwin
will never leave you, Destiny. Not now. Not ever. I am your mate.”
“Bullshit. I don’t believe this.” I heard a little huff of a laugh in response and that pissed me off. Everything about this female made me angry. And riled. How dare she put herself in danger hunting some cleric who might have her mother? How dare she climb in a fucking window in the middle of the night? How dare she do one fucking thing that put her life at risk?
My mate needed guidance, a stern hand that didn’t hesitate to turn her ass red for impetuousness. For rash decisions. Oh, I’d spank Princess Destiny if she needed it. But that would be after I fucked her into submission. No, I’d get her on her hands and knees and spank her upturned ass, then grip her hips as I fucked her pussy so deep she wouldn’t know where she ended and I began. I’d come seeing my handprints marking her pale skin. And then my seed would mark her, coat her so thoroughly she’d know she was mine.
“I. Am. Your. Mate,” I bit out through clenched teeth. “I’m getting you out of here.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, and I saw her eyes flare. They were dark, that was all I could tell. She had high cheekbones, a pert nose and full lips.
More pre-cum seeped out at the thought of those lips stretched wide around my cock. Oh, I might be a virgin and her pussy would be the one I’d sink into for the first time, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know what to do with her, what I wanted to do to her.
“No.”
That one-word reply made me fucking hot, and angry.
“No?” I countered.
She shook her head, her long, dark hair swinging. There was that scent again. I fisted my hands, tried not to grab her.
“I’m here to find my mother.”
“I know, but someone could come in at any time.”
She shook her head again, the temptress. “They won’t. This is the administration building and the elder’s office is locked because she attends evening meditation and chanting at six. They keep her office locked until dawn. I’ve been keeping track of her schedule for two weeks.”
That was true. I’d learned that from an informant. I’d spotted Destiny outside, at the start of her climb. But I’d been too late to stop her ascent up the side of the building and through the window. I’d watched from below, ready to catch her if she fell, my heart in my throat every moment. And that had been before I knew what she was to me.
Mine.
Indeed, it was the best of luck. Instead of this confrontation happening below, on the lawn, we were safer here. If the lights remained off, our presence would be undetected as long as we were gone before dawn.
“You believe this room holds the answers you seek?”
I saw her shoulder rise in a small shrug. “I’m not sure, but the gossip is that a high-level prisoner is being held. I want to know who arranged it, and where, exactly, they are holding her.”
“It could be anyone.”
The look she gave me made my blood turn to molten lava. Challenge. “It’s got to be her and you know it.”
Thank the goddess she hadn’t stormed into the dungeons and demanded to see the queen. Based on what I’d heard from her sisters, and the fight I’d seen in the apartment the day she had arrived on Alera, she was ballsy enough to do it. She’d been magnificent that day. Deadly. Efficient. A skilled fighter.
Good thing I hadn’t scented her that night, had only caught a quick glimpse of a male and female fighting, the female winning. Had no idea she would awaken my dormant cock, that my body would belong to her for all time. I didn’t want her doing anything with those strong legs right now but wrapping them around my back and holding on for the ride.
“You will stop your searching and return with me to the palace. I will investigate with others who are properly trained to do so.” Yes, she would be safe and protected while others saw to the dangerous work.
“I’ve been here almost two weeks, you asshat. I might not be properly trained”—she raised her hands and made weird curling motions with her fingers—“but I’ve been doing just fine. This place is huge and they aren’t the most talkative bunch. Besides, you think I’m going to trust someone else to find my mother? No fucking way, caveman. Trust me, I can take care of myself.”
“No. I will take care of you.” I put my hand to my chest, over my heart, which now belonged to her.
“What are you, a Neanderthal, thinking women are only good for one thing?” Her question had bite to it. Astonishment and anger, too.
I was not used to someone talking back. If it were a subordinate, they’d be on kitchen duty for a month. With her, I was at an impasse. Technically, as a member of the queen’s guard, I had to obey her commands. But as her mate? As a male who needed to strip her naked and fill her with my aching cock, I had to tread very carefully. She was a hunter, a fighter, like me. I’d seen it in the way her body moved as she climbed the vines to this room. I’d witnessed her ferocity that very first night when she’d battled my men to protect her sisters. She was magnificent. Beautiful. And deadly. I had to proceed with caution, but she would be mine. “As princess, you may say what you wish, and I will bow to your commands. But you are my mate, and you will bend to my will.”
It sounded as if she actually growled. I could barely see her hands come up, and she pushed me, hard, in the chest. I only moved back a step, but I was stunned. I’d never been manhandled by a woman before, and it… it made me so fucking hot.
“Your will?” she hissed. “Get the hell out of my way.”
“No.” I moved in closer, so close her heaving chest brushed mine when she inhaled. And it was then I felt her need, her body so desperate for mine that even now she drained my energy, my strength, across the distance, the slightest touch shooting through me like a rocket. The sensation was heady, providing for this female. Giving her what she needed. She would take my energy and feed her Ardor with me. Only me. No one else would touch her. “You need me right now, Princess, and we both know it.”
“I don’t need you.” She shuddered and her eyes closed as I felt a surge of my strength move to pour into her.
Oh fuck. She was desperate. Dying of Aleran Ardor and she hadn’t said a thing. I’d never heard of a female being this close to death, her body this starved for bonding energy, out of pure stubborn will. But if anyone would push her body too hard, fight the Ardor no matter the cost, it was this stubborn mate of mine. But I could not allow her to do this to herself. Not when I was here to provide.
I lifted my hand slowly and touched her face. Wrapped my big hand around her small cheek, fragile neck, moaned as our connection clicked into place, the magic of the Ardor mixing her life force and mine. She held completely still, frozen in shock perhaps. Or lust. Heat poured from my hand to her, the pleasure so intense my knees nearly buckled. “You need me right now, Destiny. Let me take care of you. Let me strip you naked and fuck you raw. Let me touch you.”
“Why? Why you?” she whispered.
“Because you’re mine and I’m yours. I know you feel it, too. You’re my mate, Destiny. Mine.” The darkness closed in around us like a blanket, like we were the only two people in the universe. Like we were alone. Totally. Completely. Alone.
“Mate, my ass. I don’t even know you,” she countered, continuing to fight what her body needed, what I could give her. Always a fighter, it seemed. “You followed me like a stalker and climbed in here to attack me. I’ve asked you to leave. I ordered you to leave. You are stubborn and annoying and it’s obvious that you only see me as useful for one thing.”
“Oh, what is that, Princess?” I spoke slowly, each word whispered against the skin of her neck, my lips hovering at the edge of her perception, teasing her. Teasing both of us. I should have kept my distance. This wasn’t the best place to take her for the