The thick forest-green curtains of the master suite completely blocked out the moon, turning the massive bedroom into a dark, warm cocoon where the chaos of the Great Hall simply ceased to exist. The heavy scent of fresh-cut cedar and pine from Stormy’s workshop clung to the air, mixing with the rich, intoxicating heat of the mate bond that was currently thrumming between us like a physical pulse.
When Stormy finally began to loosen the zipper of my emerald silk dress, the absolute fierce authority of the Alpha melted into something so tender it made my throat tighten. The fabric pooled around my feet, leaving me standing before him in the dim light of the bedside lamp. A sudden wave of vulnerability hit me—thirty years of hiding my body, hiding my power, and hiding my heart in Ohio made me instinctively bring my hands up to cover myself, my gaze dropping to the polished floorboards.
“No,” Stormy rumbled, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that instantly anchored me.
He caught my wrists in his massive, calloused palms, his touch unyielding but incredibly gentle as he slowly guided me into the massive bed and my hands up, pinning them flat against the rich wood of the headboard above my head. He leaned his towering frame over me, his heat casing me in completely until there was nowhere else to look but into his burning, ice-blue eyes.
“Don’t hide from me, Veronica,” he whispered, his breath hot against my cheek. “I want to see every single inch of you. You are my Moon Shadow. Every piece of you belongs to me now.”
The raw, possessive intensity in his words sent a shiver straight down my spine, my inklings completely dissolving into the sheer power of the bond. Stormy didn’t rush. He began to explore me with a slow, deliberate reverence, his mouth finding the sensitive skin right beneath my jaw, biting and tasting every soft inch of my skin as he worked his way down my neck to the curve of my shoulder. I let out a soft, ragged moan, my fingers twitching against the wood where he held them fast.
He kissed his way down the curve of my stomach, his dark hair brushing against my skin before he dropped to his knees. The sudden, intense focus of his attention shifted, his mouth nipping and teasing up the soft, sensitive skin of my inner thighs. The friction was maddening, a slow-burning fuse that made my entire body tighten with anticipation. I couldn’t hold back anymore; my hands broke free from his loose grip, my fingers burying themselves deep into the thick, dark strands of his hair, pulling him closer as I arched my hips up toward his mouth.
When his tongue finally found my wet softness, a sharp, electric static snapped through my veins. I screamed his name into the quiet dark of the suite, the sound echoing off the cedar walls as the first massive orgasm washed over me, a wave of pure, unadulterated sensation that left me shaking against the mattress.
He didn’t let the tremors stop. He barely allowed the shaking to subside before he nuzzled back down, his tongue focusing entirely on my sensitive clit with a rhythmic, devastating precision. At the same time, his thick fingers slipped inside my aching warmth, stroking me gently, finding the internal rhythm that belonged only to us. My toes curled into the heavy blankets, my breath catching in a breathless stutter as a second, deeper wave of pleasure took hold. I moaned, my voice ragged as I called out his name again and again, my body vibrating under the sheer mastery of his touch.
Stormy let out a deep, satisfied rumble from between my thighs. He shifted his weight, his massive frame rising over me as he hooked my legs securely under his strong, scarred arms, lifting my hips to meet him. He leaned down, pressing his face into the hollow of my neck before finding my lips, kissing me with a soft, bruising hunger that tasted like the forest and the fire.
“Mine,” he growled against my mouth, the word carrying the full weight of an Alpha’s claim. “You are mine, Veronica.”
“Yours,” I breathed back, wrapping my arms fiercely around his thick neck, looking deep into those ocean-blue eyes as he guided himself to my center.
He began to enter me, slowly at first, his muscles bunching with an immense restraint. But just as he started to push deeper, he hit a distinct, unyielding resistance. Stormy froze. The breath caught in his massive chest, his eyes widening in absolute, staggering shock as the realization hit his wolfie brain.
“You’re a…” He choked on the word, staring down at me as if I were a miracle he hadn’t prepared for.
Even with the intense, overwhelming heat of the moment wrapping around us, the stubborn Ohio girl in me couldn’t help but flare up. I grinned, looking right up into his stunned face, and gave him a slow, teasing nod as I bit my bottom lip.
“A virgin? Yes, Stormy,” I whispered, my lips curving into a playful grin despite the heavy ache between my hips. “Look on the bright side… you won’t ever have to worry about one of my exes throwing a tray at your head.”
Stormy let out a fierce, primal growl deep in his chest—a sound that was pure alpha, pure possessiveness, and absolute joy. The playfulness vanished in a fraction of a second as he jolted forward, his hips slamming home and filling me completely, sealing the bond in a way that no elder, no pack leader, and no ghost from our pasts could ever hope to break.