4.The King's Shadow.

The deep, velvety voice sent a violent shockwave through my chest. I retreated a sharp step into the mud, my hand dropping instinctively to the silver dagger strapped against my thigh. Every instinct born from three years of Kael's cruel dominance flared up in aggressive defense. I hated powerful Alphas, and the suffocating pressure radiating from the shadows before me was stronger than anything I had ever felt in my life.

"Show yourself!" I demanded, my fingers gripping the hilt of my dagger so tightly the metal bit into my palm. "Step into the light or I will slit your throat!"

A low, rumbling chuckle echoed through the towering pine trees. Heavy, slow footsteps crunched against the wet leaves. Out of the pitch-black darkness stepped a towering figure that made the shadow of the night seem pale by comparison.

It was King Damon Nightfang.

His massive, broad-shouldered frame loomed over me, blocking out the sky. Dark, wind-swept hair framed a sharp, ruthlessly handsome jaw, but it was his eyes that made my blood run cold. They glowed with a terrifying, radiant silver, swirling with ancient power that made the very air around us vibrate with raw energy.

My gold-eyed wolf, Lyra, screamed inside my mind. She thrashed against her cage, howling in pure, unbridled joy, her royal power surging toward him like a wild wave. He was ours. The true King.

I fought against her urge, my human mind filled with hostility and suspicion. "Stay back," I hissed, whipping the silver dagger out and leveling the lethal tip directly at his heart. "I have no master, Alpha. Stand down!"

Damon did not flinch. He did not slow his stride. Instead, he took a long, deliberate step directly into the sharp point of my blade. The metal pierced through his dark velvet coat, pressing flush against the center of his wide chest over his beating heart. Blood did not spill; his chest remained firm as iron.

"You can strike me if you wish, little bird," Damon murmured, his silver eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that burned through the freezing rain. "I would let you carve my heart out if it gave you peace."

My hand trembled on the hilt. I stared up into his face, expecting the cold cruelty I had known for three years, but I found only a fierce, consuming devotion.

Slowly, Damon reached out his large, warm hand. His long, calloused fingers wrapped around my wrist, pulling my hand away from his chest before cupping my rain-soaked cheek.

The moment his bare skin touched mine, an explosive, intoxicating heat erupted through my body. It felt like liquid lightning, searing through every vein and sweeping away the freezing cold of the storm. The suffocating weight that had rested on my shoulders for twelve years instantly vanished.

A sharp, electric tingling flared around my wrists. I gasped, looking down through the dim darkness. The faded, ugly scars left by Kael's heavy lead suppression cuffs, the marks I had carried in shame for three years, were glowing with a soft silver light. Beneath Damon's gentle touch, the damaged tissue softened, smoothed out, and completely erased, leaving behind flawless, smooth skin.

Damon pinned me against an old pine tree with his rock-hard frame, his heavy hands gripping my waist with a possessive, crushing force. His massive thigh surged forward, sliding straight between my legs to press hard into my soaked, aching crotch. My breaths hitched into filthy, breathless gasps as the sudden, overwhelming friction sent a violent shockwave of raw heat straight to my pussy, drenching my underwear in thick, needy slickness.

He leaned down, burying his face into the side of my neck. He did not kiss me softly; he bit hard into the sensitive meat of my shoulder, his sharp teeth scraping against my flesh until I let out a loud, pathetic whimper. His dark, thick dick was rock-hard against my belly, pulsing through his heavy trousers with enough size to make my head swim. He shifted his hips, grinding his hard cock forcefully against my wet core through our soaked clothes, driving me out of my fucking mind.

My hands flew to his broad shoulders, my nails digging into his leather coat as my hips twitched helplessly against his leg. My pussy throbbed with a dark, filthy hunger, practically begging him to rip my clothes off, throw me face down in the dirt, and ram his thick shaft inside me until I couldn't speak.

Damon let out a low, predatory growl that vibrated directly against my wet skin, his large hand sliding down to cup my rear, squeezing the soft flesh so tightly it left bruised marks. He lifted me slightly, pressing my soaking wet pussy harder onto his rigid, massive thigh.

"You want me to take you right here in the mud, don't you?" he rasped, his filthy words dark, heavy, and hot against my ear. "You want me to strip you naked and fuck you until you forget that weak bastard's name?"

My head rolled back, a loud moan escaping my mouth as his thumb rubbed ruthlessly over my hip bone. My pussy slicked even more, dripping down my thighs, desperate for his cock.

Then, with a heavy, shuddering breath, Damon abruptly stopped.

He locked his muscular arms around my waist, freezing his hips in place. His knuckles turned white as he fought his own wild, feral instincts, his silver eyes dark with pure, agonized lust. He squeezed his eyes shut, his chest heaving violently against mine as he forced himself to hold back. He refused to claim me while I was terrified, exhausted, and running from my past. He was going to earn every single inch of my body.

Slowly, reluctantly, he eased my feet back onto the muddy ground, though he refused to let go of my waist.

He reached into his coat pocket, his fingers briefly touching a faded childhood ribbon he had guarded for twelve years, before his grip tightened again. He lowered his face back to my neck, inhaling deeply, taking in the pure scent of honey and orchids radiating from my feverish skin.

A dark, lethal growl vibrated deep inside his chest, shaking the ground beneath our feet.

"Who made my mate cry?" he whispered, his voice dangerously low, dripping with pure, ruthless violence.