Punished by the Alpha Book 4

Book Four

ARTEMIS

I wake early the next day to soft lips and rough whiskers trailing down my bare stomach. The mark on my neck still prickles. I can still feel his razor-sharp teeth on my throat if I think about it.

It’s all I can think about.

The pleasant dream I’d immersed myself in lingers, but the sensation of his urgent, cavernous lips is better than the sleep-induced buzz of being half awake. He moves lower as his greedy hands roam along my thighs.

Damned goose bumps. I try to hold off giving away that I am awake, but I know...he knows. We are playing a little game, and this reality jolts me alive in the best way possible.

For a brief moment, I keep my eyes closed and let myself forget where I am, but there is no escaping who I am with.

I can smell his raw essence, feel his rock hardness, even when he pulls away from his southbound journey along my...

My eyes flutter open. My heart hammers in my chest. Him knowing I’m alert feels delicious.

My senses are tantalized, buzzing with every evocative stroke. More than that, I anticipate what he craves without either of us uttering any words.

A rushing pounding floods my veins. Strangely, it aches like a phantom limb. He’s enmeshed in my nature. Stuck to my bone marrow. His intoxicating sweat seeping into my own pores.

His body is part of mine. And mine is his.

Our connection is so powerful that it’s difficult for me to decipher my own thoughts from his, but something about him seems...

Different.

I suck in a sharp breath as a powerful, otherworldly energy surges around us until it’s buzzing and crackling in the air like a live electrical wire. Shocks tingle up my spine in warning.

I can’t place the source of the uncomfortable hum running through me.

My skin prickles sharply when I realize it’s coming from my mate.

The hairs on the nape of my neck stand up as if a predator is lurking nearby. Everything in me stands on edge at the strange feeling of needing to get away.

It’s as if his scent has changed somehow. But oddly, it’s not. He still smells like he always has. Unbridled with the sweet caveat of wildflowers and masculine potency all rolled into one.

I feel his presence near me. His thoughts are firing through my brain.

Carnal instinct rears its head. It’s almost more than I can bear.

Focusing on leveling out my breathing, I attempt to sort through the garbled thoughts that begin assaulting my mind. The sudden urge to bolt is overwhelming.

It’s as if someone or something else is in the room. A huge presence. Looming and overshadowing.

“Mate,” my wolf growls softly. Reassuring. “~Mate will not hurt us. You are safe~.”

Even as she tells me this, my skin prickles. I am hyper aware of a massive hand that trails up my body to splay across the column of my throat.

The gesture is not gentle. It’s a tight grip that makes my heart beat like a drum. Coiled balls of reined tension guide the motion.

His thumb brushes back and forth over the sensitive mark his teeth left last night, making liquid heat pool between my thighs. The need to mate nearly washes away my misgivings.

My impulses and wanton body tense in a tugging battle for control. I don’t want to succumb to the hunger coursing through my lusty veins, or to let go of it. Give it all to him. Aeros. But I can’t control it.

The feeling that he is somehow missing still tugs at my thoughts. I need help. Maybe I should go get help.

My mate’s mouth continues to travel lower, over one hip bone and across to the other one. I bite back a lusty moan, lost somewhere between fear and crazed anticipation.

Thoughts of fleeing start to get a little murky. I want him so bad, but…

I squeeze my eyes shut as if it would shake the strange feeling, but as soon as I do, two vivid crimson orbs light up the darkness behind my eyelids.

Piercing terror strangles my thoughts for a split second. I try to let the curled knots of tension in my body decline. I’m successful. The clutches of fear subside.

The afterimage of the red gaze sticks around as I open my eyes.

It’s not over yet. I thought it was, but it isn’t. The hand around the base of my throat tightens as my breaths become more erratic. Aeros’s hand…I think?

I hope. I don’t know.

A deep gruff growls in the back of my mind, silencing all other chaotic thoughts. A familiar voice that instinctively I know.

“Min kvinne. Min ástvinur. I have been asleep for so long.” The rumble is preternatural. Almost violent. If I’m not mistaken, the walls are warbling. Changing shape. No. No. Can’t be.

What is this?

Why do I want it? The drip between my legs. Only Aeros can bring me to this place…

Is it him?

I almost unleash a mewl to the provocative decibel of sound, but thankfully my guard rises again. Where is my wolf?

I’m here. Do not fear.

My heart pounds violently in my chest. The voice’s accent is so thick, luscious. Its dark, brooding accent is not Aeros. My chest contracts and expands with fervor as I lay in wait for the answer.

It can’t be Aeros.

Can it?

My wolf soaks in the essence of Aeros’s scent, my mate, but she is wary. There’s no fight from my wolf, however.

I can’t control the hypnotizing submission. It’s as if a dark, heavy cloak sits on my body. What freaks me out more is that she is quiet. Subdued. I cannot move.

I am docile to the sway of the ancient voice probing my ears.

I open my eyes and look down at him. It’s a stranger I know intimately.

An involuntary shiver quakes through my core, not just because he nipped the inside of my thigh with his long gleaming incisors.

His dark tufts of hair drape over his face, shielding his sharp features from view. He appears oblivious to the noises going on inside my head. He won’t lift his head to look at me.

“You tremble beneath my touch,” the harsh baritone rasps once again. “Do you fear me, mate?”

“Who...who are you?” I wish I sounded bolder. I wish I wasn’t nearly panting with desire in the face of danger. Who are you?

My question is answered with a dark chuckle that resonates more like a guttural growl.

“Min ástvinur,” he breathes, and a keening cry slips past my lips as two thick fingers ease inside me, stretching me wide. “You know who I am.”

My back arches to the touch. His deft touch.

My brain struggles to put two and two together, but the feeling of his fingers and his massive presence is all I can absorb.

In the back of my mind the answer I seek is present. Am I willing to accept it? If I can admit it to myself, I might be better off. Please. Please. Please.

My wolf growls a whisper, coding the answer in his ancient language.

“Say it, min ástvinur. Say my name.” The gravel in his words deepens. Demanding I recite it. He repeats… “Say it, min ástvinur. Say my name.”

A long, large hand presses down onto my stomach, pinning me as his broad chest leans in closer. He takes possession of me. I can’t move. I can’t. What is happening to me? What is this mind control? Why won’t my wolf help me?

Panicky breaths cause my fingers to tremble, but I keep the oxygen pulsing through my veins. One breath. Two breaths. Three.

He eases one leg up over his shoulder, leaving me vulnerable. Not that I want to move. Those probing fingers begin to move inside me, curling up to hit a spot that makes my eyes roll back.

His finger placements release a clenching moan I barely manage to choke out...

“Fenrir!” I come so close to complete undoing.

My outburst causes Aeros’s movements to still, and his fiery eyes slowly drag up to meet mine. His frame pauses in a crouch. He’s an animal waiting to lunge in for the kill.

I imagine the red hue glinting in his pupils before I witness them. When he pushes his dark hair out of his face, there is no mistaking it. The stabbing crimson in my mate’s eyes forces my heart to skip a beat.

I am still hanging on the verge. I want to cross the finish line as my body melts.

My mate’s lips curve into a wicked smile as he removes his fingers from me. Taunting and menacing at the same time. Daring me to take action.

The only thing that comes to mind are those missing fingers and how bad I want them back where they were.

I watch through half-lidded eyes as he brings them to his mouth, humming deep in his throat as he sucks them clean. My breathing is ragged. He’s mystifying and horrible. Powerful.

I can’t move. I don’t dare. I know he can and will have me.

“For an eternity I have longed for your taste,” he rasps. “I have yearned for your touch. You are mine, min ástvinur.” His eyes flash with longing. I believe him.

One sweeping glance takes my body in, sending a chill down to my toes with his focused intent. A possessive growl rumbles in his chest before he lowers his head between my legs.

His lips part, and a soft gasp escapes mine. Then he drags one long, slow swipe of his tongue from deep in me, all the way up to the tip of my divide.

I think I might pass out. He moans into me and I am about to…

Then he sinks his teeth into the soft, wet flesh.

I scream, my back arching off the bed as strong spasms lash through my body. They roll through me over and over again. The orgasm shakes me to the core, and in one fluid movement, he removes his teeth and flips me onto my stomach.

I’m still gasping as his strong hands grasp my hips before lifting my ass high into the air, and my pulse quickens as I feel his gaze rove over my backside. My fingers curl instinctually into the sheets.

He is gasping as hard as I am.

“Så våt for meg, min ástvinur,” he groans as he begins to caress my wet slit.

I can feel him watching me, drawing this out and savoring every minute of it. I know when he unleashes himself on me, he won’t be gentle. I need it.

His heavy hand settles on the back of my neck, pushing my upper body into the bed. I don’t resist. Maybe I should.

His movements are possessive, dominating, and… I like it. I really like it.

I moan as his hard length nudges against my entrance, and I try to rock backward to take him inside me, but he holds me completely still. A growl of my own forms in my throat.

I can hear his hot breaths, feel it on the length of my spine. The tightly roped muscles of my mate’s legs brush against mine. He forces my knees farther apart. Urgency peaking between us both.

I arch back to urge him on as I feel him shift to thrust his manhood into me. My pulse thunders so loudly in my ears, I barely register the knock at the door.

My mate growls furiously, and cold air rushes over my bottom as he climbs off the bed. His thudding footsteps belie his ire at being interrupted. Unbridled anger.

The anger of a god.

The haze of desire dissipates quickly as I realize this could turn ugly fast. Whoever is behind that door has no idea who is currently inhabiting this room.

I have no way of knowing if he will control himself.

He could kill and I wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing to stop him.

“No! Wait!” I yell, and he turns back to look at me. “Bring Aeros back. Now.”

“No.” The challenge is there in his eyes. He wants me to defy him. I suppress a tremble at what the consequences of doing it might be.

“Now. I need him.” I see the flare in his eyes for a split second. The wrath he would take out on anyone else for speaking so boldly. He faces me and I resist looking down at his impressive size.

He snarls before stalking back over to me. My breath hitches as his hand threads through my hair before his grasp tightens, pulling my head back so that I’m looking up at him.

The gesture makes me clench up expectantly. I can feel how wet the sheets are under me.

“Need? You do not know what need is, min ástvinur.” A twitch of a smile caresses his lips. The lips of my mate, but a smile I don’t fully recognize. “But you will. Oh, you will.”

Hungry, ethereal eyes stare back at me for only a moment before his mouth descends onto mine. The kiss is nothing like Aeros’s, gentle and sweet. No, this kiss is all teeth and tongue. Rough and raw.

I can barely draw breath as the hacking of his tongue continues. Its ruthless sweetness builds a reckoning inside of me. He completely dominates my swollen mouth with punishing abandon.

God, I hate it. But fuck, do I love it.

When he finally draws away, he growls again, his muscles flexing beneath his skin. His sneer lets me know his carnal desires are all on his terms.

His narrowing gaze bores into me and a tight grin covers his face. “I will go. For now. But know this, little one, I will always be just beneath the surface, and I will take what is mine.”

There is a sudden shift in the air before Aeros’s eyes dim back to their normal state. I feel the echo of the heinous words reverberate through my soul.

Aeros’s overbearing presence vibrates throughout the room.

Sweet relief and tasty aftershocks of pleasure sweep over me. Something else… I wouldn’t quite call fear, but a healthy respect for a lurking beast, ripple along my arms and legs.

Swallowing the hard knot in my throat, I reach for him. “Aeros?”

He gives me a gentle smile before taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. Standing over me he looks like he just rolled out of bed from a good night’s sleep.

The soft gaze tells me all I need to know about what he knows. “Yes, my love?”

Another knock, louder this time, sounds at the door. Aeros cocks his head to the side quizzically before wrapping a blanket around the lower half of his body.

His swagger is his own. Loose and disarming. I might feel relieved if I hadn’t just butted heads with something that could have killed me without a thought.

And almost...

When he answers the door, I instantly recognize Inga’s voice, and Aeros only grunts in response to whatever she is saying before he moves to let her inside.

A few other females pile in behind her and begin draining the large basin before filling it with clean, steaming water again.

“Thought you might need another bath,” Inga smiles warmly as she throws me a wink.

My cheeks heat at her insinuation, but she only gives me another small smile before returning her attention to Aeros. He looks oblivious to the interaction.

If you only knew.

My body still aches for another release, but my head is everywhere else.

“King Ulfhednar, Alpha Rowan has requested your presence. He is very eager to speak with you. The feast begins in two hours’ time.” Inga nods in a tight little bow, offering Aeros a freshly pressed outfit.

My mate nods absently before taking a stack of clothes from her hands. He keeps giving me sidelong glances.

Inga gives me one last smile before she and the other females depart. I swear I hear a muffled giggle from behind the closed door.

I climb out of bed before padding over to Aeros. He looks fine. Normal. “Are you sure you are ready for this? Everything is moving so quickly. I... I am worried about you.”

In more ways than one. Can I even tell him?

Lowering his head, he kisses me slowly, letting his soft tongue lazily glide over mine. I let it go on for as long as it can.

After a few moments, he pulls back and leans his forehead against my own. “I am ready. More than ready. As long as you are by my side, I will always be ready for anything.”

My heart finally catches up. Stops pounding like a thunderhead.

For now.

He gathers me to his chest before lifting me into his arms. He’s silent as he carries me to the basin before easing us into the warm water.

His lips press against his mark on my throat, and I lean my head back against his firm chest. He is all cool control and dark warmth, like nothing could be wrong.

I sigh contentedly, but I can’t deny I am a little unnerved by the events that unfolded earlier.

Even now as I close my eyes, those ravenous, crimson orbs burn holes in my mind, a reminder of the beast that lies in wait just beneath the surface.