Chapter 72

Chapter 72

“Give your all to me, I’ll give my all to you. You’re my end and my beginning.”

John Legend

After Ambrose’s promise, something in the air shifted between us. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the atmosphere suddenly felt heavy. And hot.

He’d finally told me everything – I could feel it.

There were no lingering secrets between us, no more questions I didn’t have answers to. I wasn’t the only one who felt the change either. Ambrose’s eyes roamed over me, alight with something, as he murmured, “Nobody else in the world knows this story, and I doubt nobody else ever will. It feels as if I’ve taken a knife and split myself down the middle, exposed for you to see. You have all of me now.”

*All of him.*

The thought of that sparked something warm in my lower belly, and I found myself closing the distance between us before I’d even consciously thought it.

Our lips molded together in a new way – like we were kissing for the first time. I wasn’t just kissing my mate.

I wasn’t just kissing the Moon God.

I was kissing Ambrose the man. Ambrose the witch.

My hands tangled into his rich brown hair, and he let out a low growl when I tugged him closer.

“Careful, little wolf,” he said against my lips, “I’ll answer rough with rough.”

It was meant to be a warning, but in that moment, it only fueled the growing fire in my belly.

“I want rough,” I replied, and then I nipped his lower lip. He growled again. “You said I had all of you now. So give me all of you then.”

His dual-colored eyes were heavy-lidded as he said, “You want all of me, little wolf?”

“I want everything you have to offer,” I whispered, and I trailed kisses down his sharp jawline. Something inside me pulsed, and I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “Be rough with me. Use your powers. I want your everything.”

He swallowed sharply when my tongue landed on a particularly sensitive spot. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I *do* know what I’m asking,” I replied. My hands, which had been tangled into his hair, moved to his shoulders. The tips of my fingers transformed into claws, and I dug them in – not enough to draw blood but enough to cause pain. Enough for him to feel me.

He growled immediately, and suddenly, my jaw was in his grip as he forced me to look at him. His grip wasn’t painful, but certainly firm enough that I could feel his large fingers on my skin.

“Is that what you want?” He asked, his voice low and raspy. It went straight to my core. “You want to see what I’m capable of? What I’m capable of doing to you?”

My breath hitched – I could hardly nod with my chin in his grip, but he interpreted the small movement well enough.

His pupils dilated for a moment, and then a ring of familiar blue lit up in his eyes. It didn’t consume his eyes like it had the time he lost control – it stayed a ring of blue. “If that’s what you want,” he said, his voice barely above a growl, “Then I think you should run.”

Maybe it was the tone of his voice or that ring of blue in his multi-colored eyes, but I didn’t need to be told twice.

There wasn’t an ounce of fear in my body as I bolted from his lap and out the door…but there was plenty of excitement and adrenaline pumping through my veins.

The only thought that crossed my mind as I sprinted through the hallways at breakneck speed was that I needed to get somewhere without people.

I supposed I could’ve ran to our bedroom or even one of the secluded bathrooms in the castle, but instead, I turned left.

I went for the exit – for the thick forest that lay beyond the castle.

I sped past a few of the guards on my way out, but if they had questions as to where or why I was rushing off into the woods, they knew better than to ask.

I wasn’t even sure I’d have an answer if they did.

I’d made it nearly half a mile into the woods when the first crack of thunder sounded.

It was so loud that it sent my heart into overdrive, like two boulders colliding right next to my ear.

But I didn’t stop, not even when lightning lit up the entire forest.

My entire body was flushed and warm when I finally took the time to pause and orient my surroundings.

There were tall pine trees on all sides, and the forest felt unusually quiet. I strained my ears to listen for the sounds of wildlife that normally occupied the woods, but nothing.

Just the sound of my own breath, heavy with enthusiasm.

Another crack of thunder sounded, and for a moment, I couldn’t shake how familiar all of this felt. Running away, the thunder and lightning – it mirrored the first time I’d found Ambrose in that tomb, and dashed into the woods.

The only difference was that I’d been confused and scared then, not sure if that man would try to hurt me.

But now…

I *wanted* him to find me.

I wanted him to hunt me.

Like I was prey, and he was the predator.

*Is that a bad thing to admit?*

It’s not as if I had long to ponder it – one moment I was staring into the darkness of the woods, thunder clapping above me, and the next, my back was pinned to a tree, and large hands were wrapped around my throat.

Familiar large hands, that is.

Even in the dark, I could see him hovering over me, the ring of blue in his eyes still shining.

“Well, this feels familiar,” I breathed.

Ambrose cocked his head like a predator observing his prey. “Do you know how I found you, little wolf?” He asked.

I shook my head – or at least as much as I could with his large hand still wrapped around my neck, keeping me in place.

“It wasn’t because of your scent,” he said, his voice low.

“It wasn’t?” I repeated. I went to say something else, but Ambrose buried his nose into the crook of my neck, his breath ghosting over the claiming mark on my neck.

“No,” he said, and I could feel every word against my skin. “It was your mark. When I claimed you, I sealed a little of my magic inside you. Made it so that wherever you go, I’ll always be able to find you. You’ll never be able to run from me.”

*As if I’d want to*, I wanted to say.

But in the moment, I was feeling a little more daring.

So, instead, I said, “Even if you did, I bet I could give you a run for your money. I could make you chase me across the world.”

He growled, and in a flash, he’d ripped my pants and underwear off me, and my bare legs were wrapped around his waist, my back still pressed against the tree. A finger teased my entrance before sinking into my warmth.

“You could,” he murmured against my neck, “And I would. To the ends of this earth. Use my magic, my power, whatever I had to make sure you never strayed from my sight again. Not that I’d let you get that far to begin with – I never let what belongs to me stray too far.”

I clenched around his finger, and I could feel his smile.

“Oh, you like that thought, don’t you, little wolf?” He said, “You know you’re mine. Your mind does.” He added a second finger. “And so does your body.”

He pulled his head back as he removed his fingers, and I barely held back a whimper at the loss of them inside me. He held up the two fingers he'd buried inside me only moments ago – both gleaming with my wetness – and stuck them in his mouth.

“You taste delicious, little wolf,” he said, and his eyes sparked with hunger.

I wasn’t sure what came over me, but suddenly, I felt the absence of his fingers all too much.

I wanted more.

I wanted *him.*

Ambrose must’ve read the desperation in my eyes because the hand on my neck suddenly tightened, and his smile widened until I could see his large canines. “You know, I don’t need to chase you across the world,” he said, “I’ve already caught you, my little prey. I think it’s time I claim my prize, don’t you?”

My little whimper was the only confirmation he needed before something much bigger than his fingers was at my entrance. Slowly, he sunk his entire length into me until all I could register was pleasurable fullness.

Very full.

I moaned as he buried his entire cock in me. He groaned in pleasure, and murmured something in a language that I could not understand – but it sounded dirty.

We stayed like that for just a moment.

And then he started moving, fucking me hard and fast.

His face returned to my neck and we moved in sync, but his hand never strayed from my throat. At various points, he’d tighten his grip as he pounded into me, filling me to the hilt and cutting off my moans before they’d even escaped my throat.

All I knew was him – his body, his sounds, and his cock hammering into me at a pace that felt almost punishing.

There, in the woods, he’d caught me like a wild animal.

And for the rest of the night, he fucked me like one.