15

Tarian POV

I walked into the walk-in closet, closing the door behind me, and leaned heavily against the edge of the half-length mirror. I closed my eyes and drew in a long, steadying breath. I just needed to do this for a few minutes to calm the mixed feelings brewing inside me.

I hated sharing my bed. I detested the very thought of someone invading my personal space, and for that single reason, I was deeply grateful for one thing: Livyana and I would only be spending this one mandatory night together. Tomorrow, she would return to her own quarters. I urged myself to simply endure her presence for a few hours. Just one night.

I reached out and picked a set of dark blue nightwear from the rack. The moment the smooth fabric touched my fingers, a wave of nostalgia slammed into my chest. Dark blue had been Moriah’s favorite color.

And While I tried it on, Instantly, my mind flashed back to my first night with Moriah in this very villa. It had been wild, passionate, and completely uninhibited. We had made mad, intoxicating love until the sun came up. The vivid, sudden memory made a sharp jolt of heat shoot straight down to my groin.

Fuck. Not again.

My dick instantly hardened inbetween my thigh, straining heavy and thick against my pants. I cursed under my breath, gripping the edge of the dresser. I had a rare, persistent physical condition that kept me erect for hours on end once sexually triggered, and the only way my body ever calmed down was after a complete sexual release. Under normal circumstances, this wasn’t an issue. I had the privacy of my own room; I would simply wank off in the shower, clear my head, and be completely fine.

But right now, that insufferable, sharp-tongued girl, Livyana, was lying directly on my bed.

What the hell do I do now?

Allowing her to stay in my room tonight was a terible mistake. But if I threw her out and ordered her back to her quarters at this hour, it would instantly raise dust across the entire estate. My mother would be utterly disheartened, and the elders would start demanding answers.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Ramsey’s private line.

He picked up on the fourth ring. In the background, loud, wet slaps and heavy, raspy panting echoed through the speaker.

“Tarian?” Ramsey groaned, his voice rough and breathless. “Man, you are calling at the absolute worst time! If you weren’t my Alpha and my best friend, I would have fucking cursed you out right now!” A woman’s high-pitched moan cut through the line, followed by Ramsey’s dirty whisper: “Yeah, baby... just like that... fuck...”

Gross. The idiot was actively fucking someone.

Before I could even open my mouth to tell him what was happening to me, Ramsey barked into the mic, “Why the fuck are you calling me anyway?! It’s the full moon, man! You should be making love to your new wife as we speak! Go perform your husbandly duties!”

Click.

He hung up on me.

I stared at the black screen of my phone, my jaw clenching as the reality set in. Of course. It made total sense now. It was the twelfth hour of the full moon. As the Alpha King, my body was reacting to primal, natural forces completely beyond my control—it wasn’t just my condition acting up; the lunar heat was amplifying every nerve in my body.

The realization made me miss Moriah with an agonizing ache. Moriah had been just as energetic, fierce, and devoted to our intimate life as I was. She matched my stamina strike for strike.

I already told this girl I wanted nothing romantic with her, I reminded myself, my chest heaving as my pulse throbbed in my neck. And having sex with her under the full moon... Moon Goddess, it could ignite a mate bond between us.

I scoffed silently, looking down at the massive, indiscreet bulge stretching my pants to their absolute limit. Can she even handle me? Will a timid, delicate girl like her even survive the night with an Alpha in full moon heat?

“Tarian, snap out of it,” I growled softly to my reflection in the mirror. “You can control yourself. You’re an Alpha King, for fuck’s sake.”

I tried to tuck my hard, throbbing shaft securely against my waistband, but it had a completely unyielding mind of its own. I glanced up at the wall clock. As the second hand ticked relentlessly toward midnight, the auspicious hour of the full moon peak heightened my raw, primal desire for sex to a near-unbearable fever pitch.

I was going to have to do this if I wanted my sanity back. I had to challenge myself to get through it. Even if the full moon ended up forging some mate bond between us, it wouldn’t change anything in my heart. My heart belonged entirely to Moriah, and it always would.

Fuck it, I thought, a dark haze settling over my mind. She’s my wedded wife after all.

I untied the drawstring of my blue pajama pants, letting the waistband hang low beneath my hipbones. I didn’t bother hiding it anymore. I walked out of the closet and back into the bedroom, my fully erect dick heavy and completely exposed beneath the open fly of my pajamas.

Livyana was curled up on the far left edge of the mattress, wrapped tightly in a silk sheet like a frightened rabbit.

I didn’t waste time with soft words or romantic build-up. I unbuckled the rope tie of my top, letting the silk fall open over my chest as I stood towering over the edge of the bed.

“Take off your clothes,” I commanded, my voice deep, raspy, and completely stripped of patience. “Spread your legs.”

She snapped her head around, her wide eyes dropping instantly to my front. Her jaw dropped in absolute horror.

“What... what do you mean?!” she stammered, scrambling backward against the headboard and clutching the duvet to her neck. “Are you out of your mind?!”

I stepped closer, my Alpha aura filling the frigid air of the room. I pointed a finger toward the clock ticking on the wall.

“Look at the clock,” I ordered coldly, my blood burning like liquid fire beneath my skin. “It is midnight. It is the full moon, and it is time for us to do what married couples are legally and naturally bound to do.”

She stared at me, trembling, her cheeks flushed bright red.

“I know what I told you earlier,” I continued, stepping right up to the edge of the mattress and looking down at her trapped form. “I told you I want nothing romantic with you, and I meant it. So don’t flatter yourself. This is simply me getting over the heat of the twelfth hour. Now stop wasting my time—take off that hideous dress, spread those legs, and look away.”