CHAPTER FOUR: THE ATTACK ON THE VALE ESTATE

The strange, ancient heat surging through Elias’s blood was no longer just power; it was a wildfire demanding a release that shattered every remaining thread of his control. His breath came ragged, his chest heaving as the scent of Cassian’s dark cedar and ozone surged over him like an intoxicating wave. The battlefield, the fleeing rogues, the dark secrets all of it paled in comparison to the blinding, primal pull binding him to the king.

Cassian’s eyes flared an incandescent gold as the stranger vanished into the shadows. He didn't order a pursuit. Instead, he spun around, his sword clattering heavily against the stone courtyard as he stalked toward Elias. In two brutal strides, Cassian closed the distance, shoving Elias backward until his spine slammed against the cold, unyielding stone of the estate’s outer archway.

"Cassian" Elias gasped, but the rest of his words were consumed as Cassian’s mouth crashed over his with ruthless, possessive fury.

It wasn't a gentle touch; it was an act of absolute conquest. Cassian grabbed Elias by the jaw, his fingers digging deep, thrusting his tongue into Elias’s mouth to claim every inch of him. Elias let out a broken groan, his arms whipping around Cassian’s neck, pulling the massive king flush against him. The friction of their bodies was agonizing. Elias could feel the rock-hard, heavy ridge of Cassian’s length pressing through their clothes, pulsing with a terrifying, heavy beat right against his hip.

"You think you can awaken like that in front of me and expect me to stand still?" Cassian growled against his lips, his voice a low, animalistic vibration that sent electricity straight to Elias’s core. "Your ancient blood... your wolf... it belongs to me."

"Prove it," Elias whimpered, completely undone, his hips jerking helplessly against Cassian's. "Claim me before they tear us apart."

Cassian didn't hesitate. With a harsh, tearing sound, he ripped open Elias’s trousers, exposing his bare, flushed hips to the cold night air. His broad, calloused hand slipped down, holding Elias’s heat, dragging his thumb over the sensitive, dripping head of his aching shaft. Elias threw his head back against the stone, a loud, shameless cry echoing into the dark.

Without waiting, Cassian spat into his own palm, slicking two thick fingers, and drove them deep into Elias in one hard, fluid stroke.

Elias screamed, his legs instantly wrapping around Cassian’s waist as his tight, virgin heat stretched around the violent intrusion. Cassian scissored his fingers mercilessly, curling them upward to hit the sweet, sensitive center inside Elias over and over until Elias was crying out his name, his body shaking with genuine pleasure.

"Look at me," Cassian demanded, his thumb ruthlessly crushing Elias's leak-slicked tip as his fingers stretched him wide. "You are my mate. Heir to a throne or not, I will mark you so deeply no king or rogue will ever dare touch you."

"Cassian, please!" Elias sobbed, his internal muscles gripping Cassian's fingers tightly, begging for the full weight of his Alpha.

Cassian pulled his hand back, freed his thick, heavy length, and lined the broad, pre cum glistening head directly against Elias’s frantic entrance. Gripping Elias’s thighs with a force that would leave dark bruises, Cassian shoved his hips forward, burying himself to the root in one deep, brutal thrust.

A shattered, breathless cry tore from Elias’s throat as his body stretched to capacity, taking all of Cassian’s massive size. His inner walls clamped around the intrusion like a burning vise. Cassian groaned a deep, guttural sound of pure triumph before he began to move, pounding into Elias with a relentless, punishing rhythm.

Each hard, heavy drive of Cassian’s hips slammed into Elias's deepest core, the wet, slapping sound of their skin mingling with the distant chaos of the estate. Cassian drove him higher and higher, his teeth sinking into the crook of Elias’s neck, biting down hard enough to draw a copper taste of blood as he marked him temporarily, filling Elias with the terrifying, intoxicating high of the mate bond.

"You're mine," Cassian growled into his skin, his thrusts turning wild, shallow, and fast, hammering Elias into the stone wall until Elias was seeing stars. "Say it, Elias!"

"I'm yours! Yours!" Elias screamed, his body coiling tight.

With a final, devastating thrust that buried Cassian to the hilt, Elias shattered, his climax spurting hot between their pressed stomachs as his walls convulsed violently around his mate. The intense, milking grip pushed Cassian over the edge; the king roared into the night, slamming deep inside Elias one last time as hot, thick waves of his seed flooded Elias’s depths.

They clung to each other in the dark, heavy breath mingling with the rising mist, completely bound by blood, lust, and an ancient destiny that had only just begun to unspool.