Chapter 59 The Beast Awakens
(Apollo & Adelaide)
He felt her arousal before he saw it. Not just as a scent, not just as heat— but as a pulse, a throb of molten hunger through the bond that struck him like lightning to the spine. The momentum of it almost stole his footing, as if some unseen hand had shoved his spine from the inside.
Her body called to him. It was infuriating. It was intoxicating.
It was hers.
As he hovered over her, the air between them grew thick—humid with breath and sweat and a tension that stole the oxygen from the room. Her chest rose and fell in sharp, frantic breaths. Her skin glowed with a feverish flush. Her pupils were blown wide, swallowing the colour from her eyes.
Terror. Anger. Desire.
Gods, her desire was a living thing—something that clung to her skin like heat off a flame, something he could breathe in and swallow whole. Every inhale dragged more of it into his lungs until he couldn’t tell where her need ended and his began.
Apollo’s chest tightened with a sensation so violent he nearly snarled.
Jealousy.
The name she’d whispered—Liam—burned through his skull like a red-hot blade. The wound festered. It poisoned. It twisted. It sank into his bones and pulled every ancient instinct in him to the surface.
Destroy. Claim. Erase.
He fought for breath, the muscles in his arms trembling with the effort it took not to tear the bed apart with his bare hands. He had to know. He had to be sure. He had to feel the line between bond and woman—between magic and flesh. He needed to prove to himself that this ache in his gut wasn’t only the mark, wasn’t only fate or prophecy or old magic— but the girl beneath him, breathing like she was about to shatter.
“Tell me, Adelaide…” His voice scraped low, raw, dangerous. “…does the bond make you this wet?”
Her lips parted, her breath catching violently. “Apollo—stop—”
“Or…” He lowered himself, chest brushing hers. Her heat seeped into him instantly, shooting a shiver through his abdomen. “…is this all for me?”.
Her thighs clenched. Instinctive. Helpless.
That was answer enough.
His control frayed. He needed to know where the bond ended— and she began. Desire clawed up his spine. He dipped his face to her neck, inhaling deeply. Her skin smelled like sweat, fear, defiance… and arousal so potent it made his pulse thrum. The scent brushed at old memories he had buried beneath centuries of ash— nights of sacrifice and chosen consorts, of queens of fire who’d once burned in his halls.
Her arousal smeared against his pants, soaking into the fabric. His breath hitched. He growled softly, “You’re making a mess on me, Little Flame.”
She gasped—soft and humiliatingly needy. “Apollo—please—”
Her begging only fuelled the jealousy burning in his chest.
He flicked his fingers. A wave of heat rippled across the room. Fabric burned away. The sheets stirred with the sudden rush of air. And suddenly there was nothing between them, nothing but heat and breath and the pounding race of two hearts locked in something neither of them understood. The wards along the ceiling fluttered like disturbed wings, cinders drifting down in slow spirals as Hell itself seemed to lean closer, revelling in the combined nakedness, holding its breath for what comes next.
Her trembling softness pressed against the hard, heavy length of him.
Her eyes widened, horror and fascination crashing together. “A-Apollo—!”
He didn’t push into her. Didn’t cross that line. Not yet.
Instead, he took her trembling hand. Guided it between them, pulling it low, to where their bodies were pressed together. He placed it dangerously close to where he burned for her, until her fingers brushed the thick, aching length of him.
And then he whispered: “Touch me.”
Her breath broke. It quivered out of her like a secret. Her hand trembled. He lifted his hips.
She hesitated—one heartbeat—two— and then her fingers curled around the thick of him. She squeezed gently, then tugged, just once.
Apollo’s vision shattered. A snarl ripped out of his chest, primal and broken.
His wings burst from his back in one violent, fluid motion—black, leathery, enormous, unfurling like shadows come alive. Horns pushed through his hair, curving elegantly. His teeth lengthened, sharpening into deadly fangs. His eyes slit into reptilian gold.
Only a partial shift— but enough to terrify the girl beneath him.
Adelaide gasped— a small scream burst from her soft pink lips. Her eyes were blown wide. Half fear, half arousal.
Her hand froze. “A-Apollo—” she breathed. “You’re— you’re changing—”
He forced his body still, breath dragging ragged and shallow. He cupped her cheek gently—contradiction incarnate. “You woke the beast,” he growled softly. “Congratulations.”
Her pulse hammered under his thumb.
Slowly, he lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. “You woke the beast,” he murmured. “Congratulations.”
Her eyes widened further, fear trembling through her limbs. The heat radiating off him was different in this half-beast form—wilder, edged with something that felt like volcanic ash and thunder, like storms that never knew the sky.
He leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers. His voice dropped to a sinful whisper. “Hush,” he soothed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Her breath shook.
“But I am going to taste you.”
Her pulse lurched violently. “No—Apollo—wait—”
“You will be a good girl,” he growled, “and stay still for me.”
Her breath hitched, her body arching involuntarily.
“And if I don’t?” she whispered.
He smiled. Cold. Lethal. Thrilling.
“Then you will be punished.”
Her thighs clenched around his hips.
He felt it. Oh, he felt it.
Her desire spiked—sharp, uncontrollable—at the threat. The mark between them flared, a phantom bite along his own neck, as if her want had teeth.
A growl of satisfaction vibrated through his chest. “Yes… just like that.”
He dipped his head and kissed her collarbone—slow, savouring, almost tender. His fangs ghosted across her skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake.
Adelaide trembled. Her voice came out barely audible. “Apollo…”
He kissed lower. Across her shoulder. Down her chest.
He sucked one of her pretty little nipples into his mouth and sucked hard. Enough to make her arch into him on a gasp.
He moved to the next nipple, dragging his extended fangs along her soft human flesh. He pulled it into his mouth and ground his hips at the same time. His long, hard dick moved between the grip of her fingers, making him growl with approval.
He continues kissing and sucking. Along the line of her ribs. Up her neck. Across her cheek. His mouth was everywhere, hungry, claiming, marking. He sucked gently at her skin— leaving dark marks that would bloom into bruises. He scraped his teeth along the soft flesh behind her ear. He nipped at her throat. He left a trail of heat and fire across every inch he could reach without crossing into explicit territory. Adelaide writhed beneath him, overwhelmed, confused, torn apart between want and horror and something deeper she didn’t dare acknowledge.