Chapter 44

Elara

Thankfully, when we exited the basement where the illegal auction had been going on, the main

floor of the venue was in such chaos that no one noticed Alaric carrying me.

Officers ran back and forth, escorting auction patrons out and leading criminals away in

handcuffs. The illegal auction had been raided, and I was glad to see nearly a dozen women

being safely tended to in the back of an ambulance outside.

But Alaric didn’t take me to the ambulance. He quickly slipped into the elevator before anyone

could see us. I was, after all, the supposed ‘wife’ of a high profile Alpha now. If what had

happened to me got out… Well, it would result in a media frenzy.

“The girls,” I slurred, my arms draped loosely around his neck.

He shook his head. “They’re fine. I left them with James. Don’t worry.”

I didn’t have the strength to say anything else, but I was glad they were safe.

The elevator ride to the hotel room was silent after that, save for the soft ding of each passing

floor. The cool air of the hallway when we reached our floor prickled against my skin, but it

wasn’t enough to drown out the heat coursing through me. Not entirely. Not yet.

Alaric nudged the hotel room door open with his shoulder. He carried me inside without a word,

his movements swift and deliberate as he crossed to the bathroom. The sound of running water

filled the space moments later.

“We need to cool you down,” he murmured in a low voice. He set me on the edge of the tub,

kneeling in front of me to slip off my heels. I blinked dazedly at him, still reeling from everything

—the auction, Asher, the aphrodisiac still burning through my veins.

“I can…” I started to reach for my shoes, my voice cracking and my body swaying, but he shook

his head.

“No. Let me.”

His hands were gentle as they worked, his fingers brushing against my ankles with a care that

sent a shiver through me. Whether it was from the remnants of the drug or something else

entirely, I couldn’t say.

Once my shoes were off, he stood, lifting me again without so much as a grunt. The sound of

the shower grew louder as he stepped inside, the cool spray hitting my skin like a shock. I

gasped, my body jerking against him instinctively, but his grip didn’t falter.

“It’s okay,” he said softly. “This will help you feel better. I promise.”

He lowered me to sit beneath the spray, the water soaking my hair and the thin fabric of the

lingerie they’d forced me into. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering, although whether it

was from the cold or the lingering fear, I couldn’t tell.

Alaric knelt beside me, his hand warm against my arm.

“Breathe,” he urged. “Just breathe.”

I obeyed, taking shaky breaths until the cool water began to work its magic, easing the heat that

had consumed me. My mind cleared a little, but not entirely. I found myself… distracted.

Distracted by the way his wet shirt clung to his chest, outlining every ridge and peak of hard

muscle.

“Alaric,” I slurred, my voice barely audible over the sound of the water. I reached out without

thinking, my fingers brushing against his hand.

His gaze snapped to mine. “What do you need? Tell me how I can help.”

For a moment, I didn’t answer, the words caught in my throat. His visage seemed to swim in

front of me, the dark lines of his jaw standing out more tantalizing than ever.

“I need…”

Without thinking, I let my hand drift upward, resting against his chest. The fabric of his shirt was

soaked through, clinging to his skin, and I could feel the steady beat of his heart beneath my

palm.

Something about feeling that warmth awakened something inside of me. My heart began to

pound anew, my throat tightening, my mouth watering. I felt like a starved woman who had just

been handed a feast.

“I want…”

Suddenly, my fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, and I tugged him closer before I could

stop myself. The water hit his shoulders now, soaking through the rest of his clothes. He didn’t

flinch, didn’t protest, just let me pull him in until he was kneeling in front of me, his face inches

from mine.

“Elara,” he finally said, his voice low and rough. “What are you…?”

“You,” I mumbled, my words tumbling out before I could stop them. “I want you, Alaric. I’ve

wanted you since the moment I met you.”

His breath hitched, his eyes glowing faintly in the dim light of the bathroom. “Elara…”

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” I continued, my fingers trailing lazily across the hard planes of

his chest. “About your hands on me. Your lips. I…” I hesitated, my cheeks burning despite the

cool water. “I want you to touch me. To claim me. To make me yours.”

The air between us shifted then. His jaw tightened, his hands clenching into fists at his sides as

though he was holding himself back.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he said roughly. “The drug is still…”

“I want you,” I insisted, fisting a handful of his shirt and yanking him impossibly closer. He

pitched forward, just barely catching himself before he slammed into me, his palms slapping

against the cold tiles on either side of my head. “I want you,” I repeated through clenched teeth.

I didn’t let go of his shirt, even though I knew he should. I couldn’t. All I could think about was

one thing. And that one thing had me writhing, my hips twisting, my nails digging into his back.

Alaric growled low in his throat, the sound vibrating through the space between us. “You don’t

know what you’re asking for,” he hissed.

“Yes, I do.” My voice was barely a whisper now, my lips brushing against his as I spoke. “I’ve

always known.”

For a moment, he didn’t move, his breath hot against my skin despite the cold water. I felt

starved and pathetic as I writhed beneath him, but I couldn’t stop. The aphrodisiac was still

running its course, and every feeling I’d had since we’d met, every stolen glance and fleeting

touch, seemed to be catching up to me.

All I could think about was him.

Then, with a guttural sound that sent a shiver down my spine, he closed the remaining distance

between us.

The moment his lips crashed against mine, hard and sweet, I lost what was left of myself. I

melted completely, the cold water forgotten as a new heat washed over me.

I gasped against him, my hands tangling in his wet shirt as he pulled me closer. His arms

wrapped around me, one hand trailing up the bare, cold skin of my thigh. I shuddered as his

fingers traced the lacy outline of my panties, his thumb rubbing a slow circle just in the center of

my throbbing pussy.

Every inch of me burned where he touched, the cool water doing nothing to extinguish the fires

he reignited. I wanted him now, more than ever. All I could think about was his warmth filling

me, and as he gently pushed aside my panties and slipped one finger into me, then two, I felt

my resolve crumble the rest of the way.

“Mate,” my wolf growled, her voice reverberating through my skull. “Mate, mate…”

The word echoed in my mind, drowning out everything else. As we moved together beneath the

water, my hips bucking while his fingers slowly twisted inside of me, my head tipped back

instinctively. I bared my neck to him, and his glowing eyes immediately locked onto the exposed

skin. His lips brushed against the curve of my neck, his breathing hot and ragged.

I trembled as I felt his breath spray across my throat, and when I heard a zipper and felt

something warm and hard and impossibly large press against my pussy, a little whimper of

excitement slipped out of my mouth.

“Mate… Mate… Mate…”

My wolf repeated that word like a drumbeat, never faltering, never letting me think of anything

else. Was he hearing it, too? Was his own wolf murmuring the same word, over and over, just

like mine?

When his lips gently closed around the soft pulse of my throat, his teeth barely piercing the skin

as the warm head of his cock began pressing into me, I braced myself, my hands clutching at

his shoulders. His arms tightened around me, and I knew that he was hearing it, too.

Then, with a deep growl, he pushed himself into me.

And at the same time, he sank his teeth into my neck and marked me as his.