C3

"Don't look at the door, Ebu. Look at the beast inside me. You said you wanted to feel the ground? I am the only solid thing in this sky."

"Ifu... stop talking. Just—by the Goddess, your hands... I’ve never felt anyone this strong."

"Because you've spent your life around runts and street dogs in the Shadowclaw District. You've never had a Northern Alpha claim your space before. Do you like how I handle you?"

"I hate that I like it. I hate that my wolf is purring instead of fighting. You're a stranger."

"A stranger who knows the exact frequency of your heartbeat. A stranger who can smell that you've been starved of a real touch for years. Is it enough, Little Wolf? Or do you need more?"

"I need... I need to know why you're looking at me like I'm the most precious thing you've ever hunted."

"Because you are. Now, hold onto the silver rail. I’m going to remind you why the Adeyemi bloodline was feared, and I’m going to do it by making you scream my name."

The vibration of the Great Beast’s engines through the floor was nothing compared to the tremor in my own legs. I surrendered because Ifu’s presence was a gravity I couldn't escape.

"I knew you'd be a feast," Ifu growled against my ear, his voice a low-frequency vibration that rattled my bones.

His tongue traced the shell of my ear before he began trailing wet, searing heat down the column of my throat. His hands were everywhere—broad, calloused, and utterly possessive. He wasn't just touching me; he was mapping a territory he intended to occupy. He kneaded the muscles of my shoulders and dragged his palms down my chest, squeezing with a primal intensity that left no room for doubt. I belonged to him for the duration of this flight.

"This is madness," I choked out, my head falling back.

"Then let it consume you," he countered, pinning me against the cold stone-composite wall of the chamber. He didn't give me space to overthink. He crashed his mouth against mine again, a desperate, crushing collision that tasted of dark brew and raw power.

Our tongues fought for dominance, a skirmish of heat and saliva that sent lightning straight to my groin. I felt the rough texture of his tongue against mine, tasting the spicy, masculine scent of the Northern Dominion that clung to him.

When he reached for the fastenings of my tunic, I felt a flash of vulnerability. My wolf was lean, but my human form carried the weight of a male who hadn't yet been hardened by a pack's war. I’d always felt too conspicuous—too broad in the beam, too much flesh where there should be muscle.

"I... I don't do this, Ifu. I'm not that kind of wolf."

He pulled back just enough to sear me with a look of pure, unadulterated hunger. "Ebu," he rasped, his voice thick with arousal. "You are a masterpiece of biology. You have no idea the power in these curves."

He ripped the fabric away, and the cool air hit my skin, followed immediately by the furnace of his gaze.

"Ancient Mother... you are the definition of a primal sin. From the second I caught your scent at Ravenfall, I knew I would have you pinned like this."

He didn't wait. He dropped his head, his mouth finding my chest. He spent agonizing minutes circling one nipple with his tongue, the friction creating a desperate ache in my core, before he took the nub into his mouth and suckled with a force that made my toes curl.

"Oh, gods... Ifu!"

A riot of sensation erupted behind my ribs, a thunderstorm of need pooling low in my belly. My wolf was pacing now, frantic and whining for more.

"So soft," he marveled, his large hands roaming over my pectoral muscles, teasing and pulling until I was a panting mess. "You were bred for this, Ebu. Look at this frame..."

He hooked his fingers into my trousers, dragging them down to reveal my thick thighs and heavy hips—the parts of me I usually tried to hide under baggy layers.

"Ifu, please..."

"You were built to carry the weight of an Alpha," he declared, his voice a command that bypassed my brain and went straight to my instincts.

He kissed me again, his hand sliding down, diving into the heat.

"Fuck," he hissed, his fingers slicking through the moisture already coating me. "You're flooding for me already. So hot. So ready."

The rest of my clothes were gone in a blur of motion.

"It's your fault," I gasped, pulling his head back by the hair to look into those storm-grey eyes. He was magnificent. His chest was a wall of scarred, dense muscle, his shoulders broad enough to carry the world. Veins pulsed along his forearms like living ropes of power.

Yet, he looked at me like I was the one holding all the cards.

"I'll take the blame," he whispered, his middle finger beginning a slow, torturous circle around my entrance. "But I'm going to fix it first."

The tension was a physical weight. I grabbed his hair, pulling him back into a kiss that tasted of desperation. He massaged my glutes, his grip tight and territorial, while his thumb kept up that rhythmic, maddening friction.

"I could spend an eternity devouring you and still be starving," he groaned.

"Then don't stop. Don't you dare stop."

He pressed the heel of his hand against my heat and drove two fingers deep inside me.

I forgot how to breathe.

"I need to know how you feel," Ifu whispered. "I need to feel the pulse of your wolf around me."

He began to move his fingers, a rhythmic, deep thrusting that shattered my remaining composure. I lost track of the Great Beast, the flight to Valemont, and my own name. There was only the slick sound of his friction and the mounting pressure behind my navel.

I hit the peak with a jagged cry, my body arching off the wall as an orgasm tore through me. I came with a violence that left me sobbing for air, my internal muscles clenching around his fingers as he increased the speed, driving me through the aftershocks.

"That's it," he hummed, his voice vibrating against my lips as he drank my moans. "Give it all to me."

I rode the waves until the world stopped spinning. He stood there, dark and looming, his eyes glowing with a predatory light that made me shiver.

"I have to taste what I've claimed," Ifu announced.

"Ifu..." I breathed, but he was already lifting me. He sat me on the edge of the stone vanity as if I weighed nothing at all. In his arms, my size felt perfect—not a burden, but a gift.

I leaned back, my eyes fluttering shut as he knelt between my knees. He dove in, his tongue working with a devastating expertise. He dismantled every bit of my reserve, his tongue gliding from my core up to the sensitive bundle of nerves above, before taking me into his mouth entirely.

The wolf in me howled.

"Mercy," I whimpered as he used his lips and teeth to apply pressure, his fingers still buried deep, mimicking the act of a knotting.

"No mercy in the Dominion, Ebu. Only surrender."

He went feral then, his tongue lapping at me, his groans echoing in the small space. I gripped his hair, my hips bucking instinctively to meet his mouth. I was losing my mind. I was a creature of pure sensation, hovering higher than any transport could ever fly.

I exploded again—a fountain of release that had me clawing at his shoulders. I had to bite my hand to keep from alerting the entire cabin. It was all-consuming, a billion tiny stars igniting under my skin.

"Good male," Ifu murmured, rising back up.

I pulled him into a kiss, tasting myself on his tongue. It was decadent, addictive, and utterly ruinous. I knew I'd regret the lack of caution later, but right now, I was a starving man at a banquet.

"I need you inside," I whispered. "Properly."

Ifu paused, his hand moving to the heavy buckle of his belt. "Is that an order, Little Wolf?"

"It's a plea."

"Say it again. Let me hear the hunger."

I looked at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. I saw his length spring free—a massive, dark-veined pillar of heat that made my breath hitch.

"Please, Ifu. Fill the void. I need to feel the Alpha in me."

"Then take it all."

He lunged forward, spearing me in one fluid motion. I gasped, my eyes widening at the sheer scale of him, my legs locking around his waist to pull him even deeper.

"Gods..."

"You were made to be filled like this, Ebu. Your body was designed to hold mine."

Every thought vanished. He was a force of nature, stretching me, claiming me. The first few thrusts were slow, agonizingly deep, ensuring I felt every ridge of him. Then, the pace changed.

He gripped my waist, his fingers digging into my skin, and began to hammer into me with a rhythmic, brutal grace. The transport jolted in the wind, but I didn't care. If we went down, I would die at the peak of the only heaven I'd ever known.

"You're mine," he growled, his lips brushing mine. "Say it."

"Yours," I sobbed, my head tossing back. "I'm yours."

"Good. Now come for your Alpha."

The release was a physical snap. I writhed as he drilled into me, his own release coming in a hot, thick flood that seemed to go on forever. He stiffened, burying his face in my neck, his growl vibrating through my entire chest.

We stayed like that for a long time, breathing each other's air, the silence of the chamber thick with the scent of sex and spent magic.

"You are extraordinary," Ifu said, his voice finally softening.

"Ifu," I whispered, melting into his chest. I felt boneless, a creature made of liquid and light.

"Addictive," he added, slowly withdrawing. The sudden coldness where he had been was a physical ache. I felt like I had lost a limb. I looked into his eyes and saw a shadow there—a secret he wasn't ready to share.

"I don't even know you," I realized aloud.

"You know me better than anyone in Valemont will," he replied, helping me back into my clothes with a gentleness that was almost more overwhelming than the sex.

He cleaned me up, his movements efficient and tender. I watched my reflection in the mirror—my eyes were amber-bright, my cheeks flushed with the marking of a wolf who had been seen.

"I'll exit first," he said quietly.

I nodded, unable to find my voice.

"I won't forget the taste of you, Ebu. This wasn't just a flight."

He stepped out, and I was alone with the humming of the engines. I splashed cold water on my face, trying to find the man who had boarded in Blackthorn City. He was gone.

When I finally returned to the cabin, the lights were low. Ifu was in his seat, holding a heavy fur blanket.

"Rest," he said, his smile small and private. "We have a long night ahead of us in Valemont."

I settled beside him, my head finding his shoulder as if it had always belonged there. I closed my eyes, the scent of cedar and the Northern Dominion wrapping around me, and for the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid of the fall.