Chapter 12- Wolves & War

Waking up in Kaleb's arms should've been the highlight of my week.

Instead, it was a reminder that sleep was the only damn thing I got last night. No claiming. No moaning. No stars exploding climax. Just... cuddles.

Okay, maybe the way he held me was hot as fuck. Like the kind of safe you wanna cry about but pretend you're too badass to feel.

But still. No orgasm. Rude.

Now I was sitting on a carved ass log in the middle of Kaleb's sacred moon whatever ritual, surrounded by more muscle, fur, and wide eyed intensity than a goddamn werewolf boy band reunion.

Apparently, this was a "meet and greet."

Translation: "Let's emotionally interrogate the glowing bitch who might be our divine savior while she's still caffeine deprived and trying not to puke."

A dozen wolves, half naked, half shifted, formed a circle around me like I was about to burst into prophecy confetti. My hands were sweating. My magic twitched under my skin. I did not like being stared at unless someone was about to moan my name or pay me.

The first one to step forward was Duane. Kaleb's old mentor. Built like a tree, eyes like stormclouds, voice like doom.

"I once burned my arm in dragon fire," he said in a deadpan growl. "You remind me of that pain."

I blinked. "Cool... I guess? Trauma twins, hell yeah?"

Next came Ivy, a short curvy woman with vines tattooed up her arms and mischief in her smile.

"I felt you coming in my bones," she whispered dreamily. "Your blood sings like moonlight in a hurricane."

"That's either a compliment or the start of a very intense herbal tea commercial," I muttered. "Also, yeah, MoonBlood is literally my name so… points for accuracy."

Then there was Boone.

A cinnamon roll in wolf form. Massive dude. Soft brown eyes. Looked like he could break a tree in half and cry about hurting it.

"I made you scones," he said nervously, offering a cloth bundle. "Strawberry. And rageberry."

I took one, bit into it, and my eyes widened in delight, the taste exploding on my tongue as I chewed.

"Holy fuck, this slaps."

He beamed. Somewhere behind me, Kaleb growled. And so did Arwen.

Boys. Please. It's a muffin for fucks sakes.

By the time I got to the triplet warrior brothers, Fen, Ren, and Zen, I was two seconds from snapping.

"Do you bless sparring matches with kisses?" Zen asked, somehow shirtless and oiled.

"Only if you wanna lose teeth." I growled.

They laughed.

I didn't.

I was already overstimulated, underfed, and emotionally constipated.

"I'm not your Luna," I grumbled under my breath. "I'm just the bitch who fell through time and happened to sparkle."

"Close enough," Ivy winked.

And then, the air changed.

A howl cut through the trees.

High. Sharp. Urgent.

Kaleb burst into the clearing, eyes blazing blue.

"Perimeter's breached! Raiders, royal guard and monsters!"

Arwen bolted to my side.

I was already standing, magic crackling at my fingertips like lightning in a bottle ready to break.

"Let's fuckin' dance," I snarled.

The trees lit up with fire.

Smoke. Screams. Steel clashing.

I ran toward the chaos, dodging blades and flames, magic pulsing through me like a drug. My senses were locked in. I wasn't thinking. I was moving.

Two wolf pups were cowering behind a fallen tree. A red caped motherfucker charged them, brand drawn, fangs bared.

"NOT TODAY, BITCH." I screeched.

I leapt between them, slammed into him like a meteor, grabbed his throat...

...and ripped his spine out.

No hesitation. No remorse. It was wet. It was steaming. It was fucking disgusting.

I held it in my hand, panting, blood splattered across my face.

"Holy shit... also EW."

If Arwen had seen it, he'd clap. Kaleb would probably get turned on.

I dropped the spine, turned, and blasted another attacker with a lightning bolt straight from my soul. The sky lit up like judgment day. My body burned with divine magic.

Too much magic.

Way too much.

My knees buckled.

Everything tilted.

The stars blinked...

And I faceplanted into the dirt like a majestic, murdery meteor.

I woke to the scent of pine and smoke. Warm water lapped at my bare skin, and the faint glow of enchanted stones cast soft light around the edges of the bath. I blinked the blur away and looked down, and I was naked, sprawled in a steaming wooden tub.

Kaleb was there, kneeling beside me, shirtless and smug as sin. His thick forearms flexed as he wrung out a cloth and trailed it down my leg with almost reverent care.

"You're washing me again?" I croaked, my throat raw from the scream I must've let out mid fight.

He grinned. "You passed out covered in blood, goddess. I wasn't about to let my girl go crunchy."

I sat up too fast.

The world spun.

I lost all coordination and went flailing like a damn drunk fairy. My elbow clipped the soap dish and sent a slippery bar flying, right into Kaleb's eye.

"FUCK!" he roared, hopping back, hands cupping his face. "You just assaulted your Alpha!"

"You're the one perving on me in the bath, wolf boy!" I yelled, scrambling to cover my tits with the water sloshing everywhere. "Maybe next time, hand me a towel instead of going full Magic Mike!"

He was still rubbing his eye, grumbling about soap and eye trauma and "goddess hygiene attacks," but when his hand dropped, that look was back.

The heat.

The hunger.

His nostrils flared, and I realized, oh fuck… he could smell my arousal.

"You're blushing," he said lowly, voice like smoke. "Don't hide from me. Not after everything."

"I'm not!"

He was on me in two strides.

No towel. No clothes. Just skin on skin, chest against mine, his palm sliding around my back as I gasped.

"I need you," he growled into my neck, lips brushing my pulse. "But only if you want this too."

I stared up into those glacial blue eyes and felt it...the mate bond. Hot, alive, demanding.

"I do," I whispered. "I want this. I want you."

He scooped me out of the bath, cradling me against his chest as if I weighed nothing, water dripping down both of us. His body was fire. Hard everywhere. The muscles in his arms flexed as he carried me toward the bed, his cock heavy and thick brushing against my thigh.

"Kaleb," I whispered, nervous but aching.

He laid me out on the soft furs, still damp, and crawled over me like the predator he was, braced on his elbows, not touching me, yet.

"I'll go slow," he promised.

"Don't," I said, grabbing his face, panting. "I don't need slow. I need you."

That was all it took. He growled possessively.

His mouth slammed onto mine, wild and raw, and everything between us ignited.

Kaleb's kiss wasn't soft. It was consuming. A claiming. Like he'd waited centuries to taste me and now he'd burn down the world before he ever let me go.

I wrapped my legs around his hips, heels pressing into his back, pulling him down until I could feel the thick weight of his cock sliding against my slick heat. Every nerve in my body begged, no, demanded more.

"You're so fucking wet," he growled into my mouth. "This cunt's dripping for me, isn't it?"

"Yes," I gasped, grinding up. "For you, only you."

He groaned low in his throat and reached down, running two fingers through my folds, teasing my entrance. He slid them inside, slow and deep, curling them just right, making my hips jerk and stars explode behind my eyes.

"Goddess," he whispered like a prayer. "This tight little pussy… it's mine now."

"Yes," I moaned again. "Please, Kaleb. Claim me."

His wolf surged behind his eyes, pupils blown wide with glowing gold edges. His fangs lengthened, and I watched the primal take over. That ancient magic that said I was his. Not just his lover. His fated. His bond.

He pulled his fingers free and pressed the thick, flushed head of his cock to my entrance.

Then he paused.

His forehead pressed to mine. "This will bind us, Rhi. Forever. You say the word, and there's no going back."

I reached up, wrapped my arms around his neck, and whispered,

"Take me. Mark me. Fuck me like I'm yours."

And then he moved.

He slammed inside, filling me in one perfect, brutal thrust. My back arched. My lips parted in a silent scream. He was big, more than I'd ever taken, but my body stretched to welcome him. Because it was meant to. Because this was fate.

Kaleb groaned, trembling as he held himself there. "So tight… so fucking perfect."

He pulled back and thrust again, setting a rhythm that rocked the bed, the world, the fucking stars themselves.

With every savage stroke, his mouth found new places to worship, my jaw, my throat, my breasts. His tongue circled my nipple, biting just enough to make me cry out. My nails raked down his back, leaving red lines on his skin as he fucked me like he was carving his name into my soul.

Then I felt it.

That spark.

That divine ignition.

Magic surged between us, gold and silver threads of power wrapping around our limbs, our hearts, our souls.

Kaleb's fangs slid into my shoulder just as I came, screaming his name into the night as white hot ecstasy shattered me from the inside out. My orgasm ripped through me like a storm, and at the same time, his came.

With a snarl, he slammed deep one final time and spilled into me, his magic bursting out in a pulse that shook the room. Light exploded behind my eyes.

And then the tattoos appeared.

A glowing white wolf flared to life on my left hip, curled protectively around a silver star etched just above Kaleb's heart. It shimmered, etched in magic, a bond that could never be broken.

He collapsed on top of me, panting, kissing my neck softly now, worshipfully.

"Mine," he whispered. "Forever."

I brushed the wet hair from his face and whispered back, "Always."

We laid there, tangled, sore, glowing like a pair of sinners kissed by the divine.

And as the magic settled, as our hearts slowed… I realized something terrifying and beautiful...

I had just sealed my second mate bond.

And I wasn't done yet.

"Two down," I whispered.

Kaleb groaned. "Goddess… I don't know if I can handle the rest."

"You better," I teased. "Because I'm not done ruining you."

He grinned, rolled me onto my back again, and growled low in his throat.

"Then let me make sure you're properly wrecked, my love."

And stars help me, I let him.