Chapter 39: The Claim

Kai tilted his head back, exposing the delicate line of his neck, the soft pulse fluttering beneath his skin. "Do it," he whispered. "Mark me, Adrian. Make me yours."

Adrian's breath hitched. His fingers trembled as they brushed Kai's jaw, so gentle it almost hurt. "You don't know what that means, Kai."

"I do," Kai replied, stepping into him. "I want it. I want you. All of you."

Something inside Adrian snapped and surrendered. He pulled Kai against him with a growl that rolled up from the depths of his chest, primal and possessive. Their mouths met, a clash of heat and hunger, lips and tongue and need. Kai moaned into the kiss, gripping Adrian's shirt, dragging him closer, grounding himself in the storm of want.

Adrian's fangs brushed the tender curve of Kai's throat. "Last chance to back out," he murmured, voice thick with lust and something darker.

Kai gasped, already half-undone. "I'd rather burn with you than run from this."

"Then burn with me," Adrian whispered and sank his fangs into Kai's neck.

Kai cried out, a mix of pleasure and pain blooming like wildfire. The bond ignited hot, wild, binding. His body arched into Adrian's as the magic of the mark pulsed through him, searing itself into his soul.

Adrian groaned, lost in the scent and taste of him. "You're mine now. Forever."

Kai clung to him, panting, tears stinging his eyes. "I always was."

Adrian lowered them to the floor, the world fading around them, leaving only touch and breath and the soft, sacred glow of the bond settling like fire beneath their skin. The sex that followed was no longer just carnal it was claiming, communion. Every movement was a vow. Every thrust was a promise. Adrian worshipped Kai like a god he didn't deserve, and Kai gave himself over with a trust that shattered every wall.

When they collapsed together sweaty, bruised, marked in every way that mattered Kai whispered into Adrian's chest, "Now they'll feel it… they'll know I'm yours."

Adrian kissed the top of his head. "Good. Let them come. I'll destroy anyone who tries to take you from me."

And in the silence that followed, something ancient stirred in Kai's blood like the beginning of a storm.

Kai lay cradled against Adrian's chest, their breath slowly syncing as the afterglow buzzed between them like embers refusing to die. Adrian's fingers drew idle, reverent circles on Kai's bare spine, while his lips pressed lazy kisses along his temple, jaw, shoulder. The silence was heavy but not empty. It was filled with everything unspoken, everything sacred.

Kai finally shifted, just enough to meet Adrian's gaze. "You're holding back," he whispered, eyes flickering with something fierce, something bold. "Why?"

Adrian smirked, but it was tinged with warning. "Because if I don't, I'll ruin you."

Kai's pupils dilated, and a shiver danced down his spine. "Ruin me," he dared. "I want to be destroyed by you."

That was all it took.

Adrian growled, flipping Kai beneath him with a grace that barely gave the omega time to gasp. His hands pinned Kai's wrists above his head, his eyes glowing with hunger and something ancient something territorial. "You're going to regret saying that," he rasped, voice laced with velvet danger.

"I hope so," Kai moaned, hips arching up in challenge.

Adrian didn't hesitate. He took Kai again harder, deeper, his movements rough and raw and possessive. There was no hesitation, no hesitation in the way he bit down on Kai's shoulder, just beside the mark he'd already made, claiming another piece of him like a man starved. Kai cried out, delirious with pleasure, clawing at Adrian's back.

"You drive me mad," Adrian growled. "You make me lose control."

"Then don't hold back," Kai gasped. "Show me who I belong to."

With a feral snarl, Adrian did just that. He gave Kai everything no masks, no restraint. The force of their bodies slamming together echoed through the room, their moans harmonizing with the sharp crack of skin, the wet heat of connection, the whispered curses and endearments tangled on their tongues.

"Say it," Adrian demanded, voice trembling. "Say you're mine."

"I'm yours," Kai sobbed, legs locked around him. "Yours. Always."

And with that, Adrian came, dragging Kai over the edge with him in a white-hot, brutal wave that left them shaking, ruined, and whole.

They collapsed again, tangled, trembling, breathless.

"I'll never let them take you," Adrian vowed, his voice a dark promise. "Let the world come for us. I'll rip it apart before I let them touch you again."

Kai smiled faintly, tears slipping down his cheeks. "Then we face it together."