Chapter Five
King Alaric
Bodies rush out of the vast throne room like waves receding from the shore.
The great doors are thrown open, and I hear the royal guard barking orders, ushering the women out with hurried efficiency, though their voices are strangely muted as if my head is submerged underwater.
Everything in the background fades to a muted nothingness.
Because all of my focus is locked on her.
She stands there, staring back at me, seizing my soul with her gorgeous brown eyes that are powerful enough to make a Wolf King fall to his knees.
There is no doubt.
No uncertainty.
No question left to be asked.
This woman is my mate.
No pretending necessary. No political games or forced connections.
It’s her.
Mine.
The realization lands hard and absolute, like a hammer slamming onto an anvil. Like a key turning with a click in a lock. My world tilts sharply on its axis, and I know nothing will ever be the same again.
I have stood before thousands of my female subjects. I have met women of all ages, sizes, classes, and ranges of beauty.
They all pale in comparison to this human female.
I have never felt this kind of primal need. The intensity of it is making my hands shake.
She’s stunning.
Her hair is as dark as the night, loose around her shoulders like it refuses to be tamed, just like her indomitable spirit. Those bewitching brown eyes are pulling me in, charming and seductive. My castle could be on fire all around me and I still wouldn’t be able to look away.
Her skin looks so soft, and those lips… Gods, I can’t breathe.
My mate’s intoxicating scent is still swirling in my lungs, curling through me in a way that is instantly familiar and devastatingly new all at once.
The great doors slam shut behind the last fleeing guard and the heavy sound reverberates through the chamber like a final pronouncement. The echo fades, leaving us in silence.
That is when my wolf awakens with a roar.
Not gently.
Not cautiously.
He surges up from the depths of me like a beast freed from iron chains, flooding my veins with heat and power and a feral presence so intense it steals my breath. My muscles flex of their own accord, strength pouring into them until I feel larger, heavier, and more solid than I was a moment ago.
Every cell in my body comes alive.
Trulyalive.
I draw a slow breath and feel my chest expand. I feel my senses sharpen. I can hear my mate’s heartbeat, quick and strong. I can smell every delicious inch of her. I can almosttasteher in the air.
