Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The knot finally softened sometime before dawn.

Kai woke to the slow, wet slide of Riven’s cock slipping free of his body. A thick rush of come and slick followed, spilling out of him onto the already ruined furs. The loss made him whimper before he could stop himself. His hole clenched around nothing, sore and oversensitive, still trying to hold onto what was no longer there.

Riven was already watching him.

The Alpha lay on his side, propped up on one elbow, eyes dark and steady in the low light of the den. One large hand rested possessively on the soft curve of Kai’s stomach, thumb stroking idle circles through the mess of sweat and come on his skin. He looked completely unhurried, like a man who had all the time in the world to ruin someone.

“You’re still producing slick,” Riven said quietly. His voice was rough from sleep and sex. “Heat’s not done with you yet.”

Kai turned his face into the furs, too raw to meet that stare. “How long…?”

“A few hours.” Riven’s hand slid lower, two fingers gently parting his cheeks to feel the mess still leaking out of him. Kai jerked, a broken sound escaping his throat. “You’ve taken two knots. Your body is already adjusting. By the time this heat ends, you’ll open for me like you were made for it.”

“I wasn’t.”

Riven’s mouth curved, not quite a smile. “You are now.”

He didn’t give Kai time to argue. The Alpha moved over him again, knees spreading his soft thighs wide. Kai’s body was still pliant from the last knot, hole loose and wet and aching. When Riven pushed back inside, there was almost no resistance—just a long, obscene slide until he was buried to the root again.

Kai’s back arched. The stretch still burned, but it burned in a way that made his toes curl. The claim mark on his neck throbbed in time with his pulse, and through the fresh bond he could feel Riven’s dark satisfaction flooding into him like heat.

Riven fucked him slower this time.

Deep, rolling thrusts that dragged over every sensitive place inside him. One hand stayed locked around Kai’s wrist, pinning it above his head. The other slid under his lower back, tilting his hips up so every stroke went deeper. The wet sound of their bodies meeting filled the den. Come and slick squelched out around Riven’s cock with every thrust, making a filthy mess between them.

“Look at me,” Riven ordered.

Kai forced his eyes open. The Alpha’s face was close, jaw tight with restraint, eyes almost black. Sweat dampened the dark hair at his temples. He looked like he was holding himself back from simply mauling him.

“You’re softer like this,” Riven murmured. He rolled his hips in a particularly deep grind that made Kai’s mouth fall open. “All warm and open. Taking me so well.” His hand moved from Kai’s back to grip one full thigh, fingers sinking into the plush flesh. “I can feel how much you hate that you want it.”

Kai’s voice came out wrecked. “I don’t—”

Riven thrust harder, cutting him off. “Liar.”

The bond pulsed between them, thick and undeniable. Kai could feel the truth of it bleeding through—his own unwanted need tangled up with Riven’s fierce, obsessive hunger. Every time the Alpha bottomed out, another pulse of heat rolled through Kai’s belly. His cock lay hard and neglected against his soft stomach, leaking steadily.

Riven noticed. Of course he did.

He wrapped a large hand around Kai’s cock and stroked him in time with his thrusts—tight, perfect pressure that made Kai’s hips jerk. “Come on my cock again,” he said, voice low and dark. “I want to feel it while I knot you.”

Kai didn’t stand a chance.

The orgasm tore through him hard enough to make his vision blur. His hole clamped down in helpless, rhythmic pulses, and Riven snarled, hips snapping forward as his knot began to swell again. This time Kai felt every second of it—the thick base forcing its way past his rim, the heavy pressure locking them together, the first hot rush of come flooding deep inside him.

Riven buried his face against the claim mark and bit down again, not hard enough to break skin this time, just enough to hold him in place while he pumped him full. Kai shook through it, overstimulated and sobbing for breath, fingers twisted in the furs.

They stayed locked for a long time.

Riven eventually rolled them onto their sides without pulling out, keeping Kai’s back tucked against his chest, one heavy arm banded around his soft middle. His hand rested low on Kai’s stomach, fingers spread like he was feeling the come still settling inside him.

Kai’s voice was barely a whisper.

“The pack…”

“Will get used to it.” Riven’s mouth brushed the shell of his ear. “Or they won’t. Either way, you’re not leaving this den until I decide you’re ready. And even then…” His arm tightened. “You’re coming back to my bed every night. The claim is permanent, Kai. So is this.”

Outside, the first gray light of morning touched the trees.

Inside the den, the Alpha’s knot stayed buried deep, and Kai—sore, claimed, and still leaking around the thick lock of flesh inside him—could already feel the next wave of heat beginning to build.