244- Ravens, Wounds, and the Weight of Truth
POV Aldren Valmorin:
I forced my cock into her mouth, rocking my hips forward and back. Greedy, she grabbed my ass, taking everything I was giving her.
I fucked that warm, wet mouth, between chokes and muffled moans, until the blows of orgasm hit me, making her drink every single drop.
I pulled her by the hair to her feet and crashed a burning kiss onto her lips.
With every purr of satisfaction she gave me, my chest rumbled in answer. If this were a damned dream and I woke, I would be capable of reducing Valmorin to ashes.
But it was real.
Her skin burning against mine was real. The way she melted in my arms was real. My desire to protect her from everything—except ourselves—was also real.
I turned the shower on again and broke the kiss, running my hands along the curve off her body. Vulnerable and a little shy, she struggled to keep eye contact.
“You commit atrocities and then blush afterward. Impossible to understand.” The piece of perdition closed her eyes and hid her face in my chest. “Come, let me take care of you.”
I spread my soap over her entire body, pressing my fingers to massage her skin. Relaxed, she felt like a doll in my hands.
I leaned her, fully soaped, against the glass of the stall and slid my hand between her legs, fingering her pussy.
“Aldren…” she gasped, lips parting.
“Close your eyes and focus on your pleasure.”
She did, as if I possessed her on-off switch.
I circled her swollen, sensitive clit before lowering my head to her neck. With control over which part of me transformed, I released my fangs and roughened my tongue.
I slid it out, licking her neck, still touching her pleasure point gently.
“Your tongue, Aldren… it gives me chills all over…”
“Wait until you feel it on those delicious nipples.” I dragged it down the valley of her breasts and reached the first bud with the rigid tip.
“Ah! That feels so good,” she moaned, her breathing turning ragged.
I caressed each one, feeling her body begin its first spasms of pleasure.
“I know you love the knot, but you’ll love this too,” I growled, sinking my fangs into her shoulder while increasing the speed and pressure of my finger on her clit.
“Ah! ALDREN!” she screamed.
And she did not stop screaming painfully for a single second.
Her sweet blood warmed in my mouth and, trembling, she steadied herself by holding my shoulders while her legs faltered.
Better than satisfying myself in her body was dominating her until she lost herself, closing into a spiral of pleasure only the two of us could enter.
“Mine!” I growled, licking the bite to seal it.
I could control whether the mark remained, and my choice was easy: it would.
I rinsed our bodies, and besides drying her, I had to carry her to the bed.
Elowen could do things that should only be possible after her transformation, but she still lacked the strength that would come when her creature emerged.
As for me, a few minutes revitalized me, but seeing her heavy-lidded on my pillow, I realized she needed rest.
“Lie down with me…” she asked gently, patting the sheet, yawning. “Please…”
The reason I had stayed distant was this.
All we had done was have sex. I hadn’t even managed to ask again the name of who had hurt her, so affected by my addiction to her.
Even feeling pity, noticing her exhaustion, I circled the mattress and lay behind her, embracing her, hooking one leg between hers.
I inhaled the scent of her neck, drawing a sigh from her.
“I know you want to sleep, but I need a name. Who made you cry?”
“I swear there’s no one to blame…”
“I need a name.”
“I… ended up discovering that my sister is pregnant and happy, while I nearly killed myself searching for her.”
More guilt.
“Rest and forget this. When you wake, we’ll talk about Lunara.”
“All right…”
Knowing I could use my pheromones to calm her, I released them over her until she fell asleep.
I changed quickly, intending to go down to the basement and have a conversation with Bratvo. But before leaving, I opened one of the windows so air could circulate through the room while she slept.
I thought I had been clear with him when I said he should not inform Elowen about anything, only let her discover Valmorin with her own eyes, keeping her safe.
Just as I was about to descend the second staircase to the basement, I saw, from the corner of my eye, a familiar figure in my living room beside Nerin.
I entered, confused to see Korlina there.
“How is she, Aldren?” she asked, leaving me puzzled.
“Who?”
...
“Elowen was at her house before returning, sir,” Nerin said.
That wasn’t possible. I rubbed my eyes, disbelieving.
“Korlina, what the fuck is your problem?” I growled.
“Aldren, I had no intention of hurting her. I didn’t even know Lunara was your sister. We were talking about the territories and…” she explained desperately, her eyes filling with tears.
I walked toward her in a threatening manner, staring at her, searching for any sign that she was lying.
“You told her about the sister on purpose, to get back at me, Korlina?”
“No! Never! Believe me, by the goddess. I’m here because I’m worried—I’ve grown fond of her,” she sounded sincere, leaving a trail of tears running through the lines of her wrinkled face.
I swallowed my anger and stepped back, taking two steps away. I crossed my arms and kept staring at her, dissatisfied with her answers.
“Explain to me, Korlina, why you would grow fond of someone when your grandson is imprisoned in Noctheria.”
“Kehin isn’t imprisoned because of Elowen, but because of his own weakness. Elowen is the only one completely blameless in this situation.”
“And you expect me to believe that?” On the visit she made to her grandson, he had certainly told her his distorted version of the facts.
She gave a toothless smile, heavy with sorrow.
“I am an old woman close to the passage. I do not fear death, nor your fury. What I say is the truth, Aldren Valmorin.”
“I may not grant you a dignified death, and then there will be no fucking passage at all.”
“I know you wouldn’t do that.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“You are a just alpha, and I am on the side of justice. For reasons I don’t understand, I feel affection for this female. I would never hurt her on purpose.”
“Korlina, you are the only witch in Valmorin. Don’t make me regret letting you stay.”
“If I had known the girl would end up like that, I would never have said anything.”
“Then why the hell was Elowen at your house?”
“We met in the village. I invited her for coffee—the poor thing looked downcast.”