Chapter 20 In the Conservatory
Conserve filled with lush greenery and blooming flowers that shouldn’t exist in December. The air was warm and humid, scented with jasmine and earth, a hidden paradise tucked inside the mansion. Sunlight poured through the glass dome overhead, turning the leaves into emeralds.
Alexander closed the doors behind us, the click echoing softly. We were alone.
“This is my favorite place in the house,” he said, guiding me down a stone path between towering ferns. “When everything feels too loud, I come here. The pack can’t reach me. The world can’t.”
I glanced at him. “And today it feels loud?”
He stopped near a small fountain, water trickling over smooth stones. “You’re struggling. I can feel it through the bond, your confusion, your fear. It’s… distracting.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. “I don’t know how to turn it off. The smells, the sounds. It’s like someone turned the volume up on everything, and I can’t find the remote.”
He stepped closer, not touching but close enough that his warmth radiated toward me. “You’re not supposed to turn it off. You’re supposed to learn it. Control it.”
“Easy for you to say. You’ve had a lifetime.”
A shadow crossed his face. “Not always. I was younger than you when my first shift happened. Terrified. Alone. My father believed pain built character, so he locked me in the cellar until I figured it out.” His voice was quiet, matter-of-fact, but the memory lingered in his eyes. “I won’t do that to you.”
The vulnerability in his admission cracked something inside me. I reached out, fingers brushing his forearm. “I don’t want to be locked anywhere. I just want to understand what’s happening to me.”
He turned his hand palm-up, inviting mine into it. When I placed my hand in his, that thread between us hummed stronger, soothing the raw edges of my nerves.
“Breathe with me,” he said again, just as he had last night.
I did. In through my nose, out through my mouth. Slowly, the overwhelming input began to sort itself, scents separating into individual notes, sounds receding to background. It wasn’t gone, but manageable.
“Better?” he asked.
I nodded, surprised. “How did you…”
“The bond. I can lend you calm the way I lend strength. It will get easier as you grow into your wolf.”
We stood like that for a long moment, hands linked, fountain murmuring beside us. Then he led me to a cushioned wrought-iron bench beneath a blooming orange tree. Petals drifted down occasionally, catching in my hair.
“Tell me what you felt this morning,” he said.
I told him everything, the dream of running, the way my skin had itched, the sudden cravings, the fleeting moment on the balcony when something inside me had seemed to stretch. He listened without interrupting, expression unreadable until I finished.
“You’re closer than I thought,” he said softly. “The first full shift usually comes within weeks of the initial symptoms, especially with the mate bond accelerating it.”
Fear spiked again. “What if I can’t control it? What if it happens in front of Ben?”
His jaw tightened. “It won’t. I’ll make sure you’re safe. There are places on the estate, deep in the woods, where new wolves go to shift privately. I’ll take you at the right time, and when you’re ready.”
I searched his face. “Why are you being so patient? You’re an alpha. You could just… order me to accept this.”
A humorless smile touched his lips. “Because forcing a mate has never ended well in our history. And because you’re not just any wolf, you’re mine. I want you to be willing, Maddie. In every way.”
The last words hung heavy, laced with heat. My breath caught as his gaze dropped to my mouth. The conservatory suddenly felt smaller, warmer.
He leaned in slowly, giving me time to pull away. I didn’t.
The kiss started gentle, lips brushing, testing, but the moment I parted for him, it ignited. His hand slid to the back of my neck, angling me exactly how he wanted, while the other settled at my waist, pulling me flush against him. I rose onto my knees on the bench, needing to be closer, my fingers threading through his hair, enough to elicit a guttural groan from him.
He groaned low in his throat, the sound vibrating through me, and the kiss turned hungry. Tongues tangled, teeth nipped, breath coming faster.
That sound rumbled through her chest, vibrating straight to her core as their tongues battled, sliding, sucking, exploring every inch of each other's mouths.
His teeth grazed her lower lip, nipping sharply before soothing it with a swipe of his tongue, and the bond between them pulsed hot and fierce, sharpening his earthy scent until it overwhelmed her, making her head spin with raw need.
Maddie's hands roamed lower, fumbling with his belt, desperate to feel him. She freed his cock, thick and heavy in her palm, the velvety skin hot under her fingers as she wrapped around him. She stroked him firmly, once, twice, savoring the way he throbbed against her grip, a bead of pre-cum slicking her thumb as she circled the swollen head.
Alexander's breath hitched, his hips jerking forward into her hand, but then he seized control, his strong arms lifting her as if she weighed nothing. He laid her back on the wide bench, orange petals scattering beneath her like fiery confetti.
In a blur of motion, he peeled away her leggings and panties, exposing her dripping pussy to the cool air. His eyes darkened with hunger as he drank in the sight of her, legs splayed wide. He didn't hesitate, his mouth descended, lips trailing scorching kisses down her stomach, nipping at the soft skin just above her mound.
With firm hands, he parted her thighs further, thumbs brushing the sensitive inner flesh before his tongue delved in.
The first lick along her slit made Maddie arch off the bench, a sharp gasp escaping her. Alexander pinned her down with one muscular forearm across her hips, holding her steady as his tongue flicked over her clit, slow, deliberate circles that sent jolts of electricity racing through her veins. He lapped at her folds, tasting her arousal, before thrusting his tongue deep inside her pussy, fucking her with it in steady, insistent strokes.
Maddie threaded her fingers through his hair, gripping tight, her hips bucking up to grind against his face. The bond amplified everything, the wet sounds of his mouth devouring her, the scrape of his stubble on her thighs, the building ache coiling tighter in her belly. He sucked her clit between his lips, humming vibrations against it, and she shattered.
The orgasm crashed over her like a tidal wave, her back bowing violently as she bit down on her own arm to muffle the raw scream tearing from her throat. Her pussy clenched around nothing, juices flooding his mouth as tremors wracked her body.
Alexander didn't relent, his tongue still working her clit in firm laps, prolonging the ecstasy until she was a quivering mess, oversensitive nerves screaming for mercy.
Only when she whimpered and tugged at his hair, pleading incoherently, did he pull back, his chin glistening with her release.
Rising up, Alexander shoved his trousers down just enough to free his cock fully, the rigid length slapping against his abdomen. He positioned himself at her entrance, the broad head nudging her slick folds. With one powerful thrust, he buried himself inside her, stretching her walls to their limit.
Maddie saw stars, her vision blurring as he filled her completely, every inch of his thick cock pressing against her inner depths.
They froze for a heartbeat, foreheads touching, breaths mingling in ragged pants, the bond thrumming with shared intensity.
Then he began to move. Slow at first, withdrawing almost to the tip before sliding back in, deep and deliberate, his cock dragging along her sensitive spots with exquisite friction. Maddie locked her legs around his waist, heels digging into the firm muscles of his back, urging him on.
He growled in response, his pace quickening, hips snapping forward harder, faster, the bench groaning under the force of their rhythm. Petals rained down with each powerful thrust, sticking to their sweat-slicked skin as he pounded into her pussy relentlessly.
Alexander's hands gripped her hips, fingers bruising as he angled her to take him deeper, his balls slapping against her ass with every drive. Maddie clawed at his shoulders, nails raking red lines down his back, her moans turning to cries as another climax built swiftly.
He leaned down, capturing her mouth in a bruising kiss, swallowing her sounds while his cock pistoned in and out, the wet squelch of her arousal echoing around them. The bond flared brighter, sensations doubling, his pleasure feeding into hers, her tightness driving him wild.
He broke the kiss to bury his face in her neck, teeth grazing her skin before biting down, marking her as his. The sharp pain tipped her over the edge; Maddie's pussy spasmed around him, milking his cock as she came again, harder this time, her whole body convulsing.
Alexander followed seconds later, thrusting deep one final time, his cock pulsing as he flooded her with hot cum, groaning her name against her throat. They rode out the waves together, bodies locked, until exhaustion claimed them, still joined in the aftermath.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured eventually. “I swore I’d give you time.”
I laughed shakily, fingers tracing the sweat-damp hair at his nape. “I think we just proved time isn’t on our side.”
He lifted his head, eyes serious. “Whatever pace you need, Maddie. But know this, the bond will keep pulling us together until we complete it fully. The claiming bite. The ceremony. Until then, it will only grow stronger.”
I swallowed, still feeling him inside me, the aftershocks fluttering. “And if I never want that?”
Pain flickered across his face, raw and unguarded. “Then I’ll spend the rest of my life loving you from a distance, protecting you anyway. But I won’t force the choice.”
The words settled heavy and sweet in my chest. Love. He hadn’t said it lightly.
I cupped his cheek. “I’m not saying never. I’m saying… I need to understand who I’m becoming first.”
He nodded, pressing a kiss to my palm. “Then we’ll take it one day at a time.”
We dressed slowly, stealing touches and kisses, petals clinging to our clothes and hair like confetti from a secret celebration. When we finally stepped back into the corridor, the mansion felt different again, less like a cage, more like a threshold.
But as we parted, him to his study, me toward the library to attempt studying, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something inside me had shifted irrevocably. The wolf wasn’t just stirring anymore.
She was awake.
And she was hungry for more than just answers.