Chapter 25: Claimed Twice Under the Moon
The swollen knot finally, agonizingly released its hold deep inside her. A gasp tore from Harper’s throat as the impossible pressure eased, leaving her raw and achingly empty. Before she could even register the cool night air kissing her abused flesh, before the tremors in her legs could subside, Knox moved. A guttural snarl ripped from his chest – 'Again' – and massive hands, still furred and tipped with wickedly curved black talons, clamped onto her hips with bruising force. He flipped her.
The world spun. Moss scraped her knees and palms. She was on her hands and knees, the cool earth biting into her skin, her ass presented to him, her back arched instinctively. The scent of her own arousal, thick and heady, mixed with the musk of their coupling and the sharp tang of ozone that clung to them both. She felt exposed, vulnerable, utterly dominated. And the answering fire within her roared in response.
She heard the slick, wet sound of his cock, still thick and rigid, glistening with their mingled fluids. He positioned himself, the blunt, burning head nudging against her swollen, slick entrance. No hesitation. No gentle re-entry. One brutal, piston-hard thrust buried him to the hilt in one savage stroke.
"FUCK!" Harper screamed into the moss, the sound muffled but raw. The stretch was immediate and brutal, a searing invasion that tore a ragged cry from her lungs. He filled her impossibly again, deeper somehow, the angle unforgiving. He was massive, a relentless force slamming home. Her inner walls, already sensitized and raw, clenched violently around the invading thickness, sparking a confusing surge of pain and shocking, electric pleasure that shot straight to her core.
His claws dug into the flesh of her hips, sharp points drawing pinpricks of blood that mingled with sweat. He didn't hold back. He fucked her like an animal in rut, his powerful hips pistoning relentlessly. Each thrust hammered her forward, driving her hands deeper into the yielding earth. Wet, obscene slaps of flesh meeting flesh echoed obscenely in the clearing, punctuated by his guttural grunts and her choked, gasping cries. His rhythm was primal, punishing, a raw assertion of possession that left no room for tenderness, only claiming.
"Take it," he growled, the words thick and distorted, barely human. His breath was hot gusts against her sweat-slicked back. "Take all of me, mate. Gonna fill you up. Mark you inside and out." His pace intensified, the force driving her knees wider apart on the moss. The thick base of his cock began to swell again, promising another locking knot, another anchor.
Harper’s vision swam, the golden hue intensifying. Pain warred with a terrifying, undeniable arousal. The sheer brutality of it, the complete surrender of control, ignited something feral and desperate within her. She pushed back against him, meeting his thrusts, a ragged moan escaping her as the friction ignited sparks deep inside her battered core. "Knox... fuck... yes... harder!" The plea was torn from her, half-sob, half-snarl.
He answered with a thunderous roar of approval. One large hand left her hip, tangling roughly in her fiery hair, pulling her head back, arching her spine painfully. Her breath hitched. Then she felt it – the sharp, searing pressure of his teeth against the junction of her neck and shoulder, right beside his initial claiming mark. Not a gentle nip. A bite.
He sank his elongated canines deep into her flesh. The pain was white-hot, blinding, a branding iron searing through muscle and nerve. Harper screamed, a raw sound of agony and ecstasy tangled together. The shockwave of it detonated her climax. Her inner muscles convulsed violently around his driving cock, milking the swelling knot as wave after wave of brutal, shattering pleasure ripped through her, so intense it bordered on torture. Stars exploded behind her golden eyes.
Knox roared against her skin, the sound vibrating through her bones as he ground his teeth deeper, locking the new claiming mark into place. His hips jerked erratically, slamming his knot deep inside her convulsing channel just as his release surged. Thick, hot jets of come pulsed into her, filling her deep, the heat scalding her sensitized walls, mingling with the searing pain in her shoulder. He held himself there, buried to the hilt in both her body and her shoulder, a feral beast utterly claiming his mate.
Silas stood rigid at the edge of the clearing, his face grim, his knuckles white where he clenched his fists. The pack members who had gathered during the brutal display stood frozen, a mixture of horror, primal arousal, and stark terror etched on their faces. Some looked away, unable to stomach the raw carnality. Others stared, transfixed, a dark hunger flickering in their eyes. The scent of blood, sex, sweat, and overwhelming Alpha power hung thick and cloying in the air.
Finally, Knox released his grip on her hair and slowly, agonizingly, withdrew his teeth from Harper’s shoulder. Blood welled from the deep puncture wounds, dark rivulets tracing paths down her sweat-slicked back. He remained lodged deep within her, his knot fully swollen and locked once more, his immense, furred body draped over hers, pinning her to the moss. His breath rasped harshly against her newly marked skin.
He lifted his head, his molten gold eyes scanning the stunned, silent pack. They glowed with savage satisfaction, the light catching the fresh blood smeared around his mouth. His voice, when it came, was a guttural rumble that vibrated through Harper’s prone body and echoed in the clearing, a declaration laced with primal threat.
"See her?" he snarled, the sound raw with possession. "See the marks? See the fucking glow?" He shifted slightly, grinding his thick knot deeper inside Harper, drawing a choked whimper from her. "First Wolf claims his fucking mate! Mine! Challenge that..." His gaze swept the terrified pack, lingering on the spots where the elders had been. "...and die screaming."
He lowered his head again, nuzzling roughly against Harper’s bleeding shoulder, his tongue rasping over the fresh wounds in a possessive, cleansing swipe. The pain flared, sharp and bright, but Harper had no strength left to protest. She was pinned, filled, marked inside and out, adrift on a sea of pain, exhaustion, and the terrifying, all-consuming heat of the bond. The pack remained utterly silent, held captive by the terrifying tableau of their Alpha’s primal claim. The forest itself seemed to recoil, the moonlight cold on Harper’s bloodied back as Knox’s possessive growl rumbled against her skin, a continuous vibration promising no escape. Ever.