Chapter #9 Heat

Emara Dell POV

The Small Packhouse, Reborn

By late morning, the abandoned packhouse didn’t feel abandoned at all.

Fenric lifted a fallen support beam like it weighed nothing, Rowan followed behind him flicking silver magic everywhere like glitter, and I used shadowfire to mend the cracked stone and rotten wood.

We worked like a strange, magical little construction crew.

“Do not play with the nails,” I warned Rowan as they floated in a sparkling spiral.

He grinned at me. “You gave me power, Emara. You made this mistake yourself.”

“My mistake,” I muttered, “was not putting you under supervision.”

Fenric passed behind me, grazing my lower back with his hand. “You two are chaos,” he rumbled, pleased. “I approve.”

He said it like he approved of kissing, sparring, sleeping in my bed, and probably eating my soul just to taste it. He was impossible.

And gods help me… I adored him.

As shadowfire swept over the walls, the wood brightened and straightened, warm and honey-colored again. Fenric repaired the hearth with a cold blue glow of bone-magic. The place actually looked like a home.

A real home. One I had never been allowed before. The knock on the door startled all three of us. Rowan answered with a dramatic, “We are closed unless you brought snacks.”

Instead of snacks, three terrified omegas stood there. Then five warriors. Then four cooks. And a medic.

All with bags.

“Shadow Luna…” the eldest cook whispered. “We were… dismissed from Alpha Corvin’s keep for defending your name. We beg your permission to live here.”

My heart cracked. They had risked everything. For me.

I stepped forward immediately. “Yes. All of you. You belong here more than I ever did.”

Relief hit them like a tidal wave. Some cried openly. Others bowed. A few hugged Rowan instantly, poor man nearly suffocated in affection.

Fenric knelt to help a trembling omega girl with her bags, gentle as snowfall. “You are safe here,” he murmured. “No harm will touch you again.”

Her tears soaked his sleeve. My own heart melted so hard it practically puddled on the floor.

We spent the next hours building beds, clearing rooms, and fixing broken windows. Wolves worked beside us with fierce happiness. Rowan flirted shamelessly with half the kitchen staff. Fenric lifted furniture with one arm just to make me look at him.

I did. A lot. Couldn't even help myself. The man was delicious. And every time, he smirked like he knew exactly what he was doing.

By sunset, the halls glowed with firelight and warm blankets. Wolves were laughing. Talking. Eating. Living.

Maybe this really could work. Maybe I could save them. I touched the doorway of the main hall, my heart feeling full. Balance. Hope. Home.

Fenric stepped behind me, sliding his arms around my waist. “You are thinking too hard,” he murmured into my neck.

“I’m thinking we might actually fix this place.”

His lips brushed my cheek. “Of course you will. My mate was forged for impossible things.”

My breath hitched. “Fenric…”

He gently turned me toward the far stairwell, where a curtain hung across the old hallway entrance. His eyes burned.

“Come,” he whispered.

Rowan spotted us from across the room and stage whispered, “TRY NOT TO BREAK ANY WALLS.”

“I WILL if I wish,” Fenric snarled over his shoulder.

Laughter followed us as Fenric tugged me behind the curtain. The world narrowed to just us.

He cupped my cheeks, reverent and a little wild. “You smell like moonlight,” he whispered, then lowered his head and kissed me.

Slow. Deep. Undoing me.

My fingers curled into his shirt. Heat pooled low in my belly, sharp, needy, and overwhelming.

Fenric’s breath caught. He drew in a long inhale at my throat… then froze. His pupils blew wide.

“Emara,” he growled, pressing his forehead to mine. “You’re going into heat, love.”

My knees buckled. “What?”

He let out a low, sinful sound. “Your body is ready for me. Calling for me.” He dragged his thumb over my lower lip. “Begging.”

I flushed scarlet.

“I’ve never…”

My voice cracked. “I’ve never been with anyone.”

He stilled completely… like the world stopped spinning.

A soft, reverent groan left him.

“Oh, my heart.” He gathered me against his chest, almost shaking. “Then what a blessed gift I shall treasure for all my days.”

My breath left me.

“Fenric…”

He kissed me again, slower this time, almost aching, before lifting me effortlessly into his arms.

“Let’s go,” he murmured, his voice rough with devotion. “Your heat is rising. You need rest. Comfort. Safety. Me.”

Heat curled through me as he carried me up the stairs toward the newly cleaned Alpha suite, Rowan whooping somewhere behind us.

Fenric ignored him completely. His lips brushed my temple.

“You will never face anything alone again,” he whispered. “Not desire. Not fear. Not destiny.”

My heart felt too big for my chest. And as he set me gently on the bed, the last thing I saw was the raw, worshipful look in his eyes.

Like I was the beginning of his life. And the end of his hunger.

And everything in between.

_____________________

Moonlight filtered through the frosted window, casting a silvery glow over the rumpled furs on the bed, but it was Fenric who commanded the space, his arms still wrapped around me, strong and unyielding, like he could hold back the world itself.

He was enormous, easily six-foot-six, all corded muscle and ancient power, with those bone white horns sweeping back from his brow and blue eyes that burned into me, seeing straight through to the parts I kept hidden.

He lowered me onto the bed with a care that made my chest ache, his massive hands lingering at my waist, and his thumbs tracing slow circles over the soft swell of my hips. In that moment, I felt every curve of my body pressing against the world, my thick thighs rubbing together, the gentle give of my belly, my heavy breasts rising with each shaky inhale.

I'd spent years shrinking from those stares in the pack, the whispers about how I didn't fit their ideal. But Fenric... he looked at me like my softness was the only thing that mattered.

"I love you Emara," he murmured, dropping to one knee so his face was level with mine, his voice a deep, resonant rumble that vibrated right through the bond humming between us. "I was born from the earth's oldest fires, timeless and fierce. And I was made for you, Emara, just you. Every shadow I weave, every strength I carry... it's all for this."

His words wrapped around me like warm smoke, stoking the fire of my heat that was already simmering low in my belly, making my skin flush and my pulse race. But doubt crept in anyway, that old habit, and I crossed my arms over my stomach, trying to hide the extra softness there.

He noticed, of course he did. His hand closed gently but firmly around my wrist, easing it away, his blue eyes holding mine with that unshakeable intensity.

"Let me see you," he said, the command soft-edged but absolute, like he wouldn't accept anything less than all of me. "The goddess shaped you perfectly. Show me."

My throat tightened, and heat flooded my cheeks. "Fenric... I'm nervous," I whispered, the words tumbling out fragile and honest, my heart pounding as I laid myself bare.

He rumbled softly, "Give yourself to me, Emara, and I'll show you what it means to burn alive."

I nodded, the decision settling over me like a release, my body already leaning into his pull. He started with my tunic, his fingers hooking the hem and lifting it slowly, the fabric whispering over my skin until my breasts spilled free, heavy and sensitive in the cool air.

Then my breeches, eased down the full length of my thighs, leaving me exposed on the furs, my curves on full display, hips flaring wide, and the faint scars from old beatings tracing pale lines over my softness.

Instinct screamed to curl up, to shield myself, but he caught both my wrists in one hand, pinning them lightly above my head as his other palm cupped the underside of my breast, his thumb brushing the peak until it tightened.

"Don't hide from me," he breathed, his gaze roaming like he was memorizing a sacred text. "These thighs, they're a goddamn revelation, thick and strong enough to break me and I'd thank you for it. Your body's a masterpiece, Emara, all these curves begging to be touched. You're my goddess, every inch."

His mouth followed his words, closing over one nipple with a warm, deliberate suck that pulled a gasp from deep in my chest. His tongue swirled slowly and teasing, his teeth grazing just enough to spark electricity down my spine, while his free hand kneaded the full weight of my breast, rolling it gently and possessively.

The bond amplified it all, turning touches into flames, and pleasure coiled tight in my core, building until I couldn't breathe, my back arching off the bed, a sharp cry escaping as I came undone right there, waves of pleasure crashing through me, my thighs trembling and clenching around nothing.

He released my wrists with a satisfied hum, his lips trailing lower, a hot path over my collarbone, dipping into the valley between my breasts, then across the yielding curve of my belly, tasting the salt of my skin. He settled between my legs, his broad shoulders nudging my thighs apart wider, the scrape of his stubble against my inner skin sending fresh shivers racing up my legs.

"Look at you," he growled low, his voice thick with want, "so wet and ready. A feast only for me."

Then he was there, his mouth devouring me, his tongue plunging into my folds, lapping broad and hungrily before circling my clit with precise, unhurried strokes. I threaded my fingers through his dark hair, gripping the base of one horn as he sucked harder, growling vibrations right against me that made stars burst behind my eyes.

My hips bucked, my pleas turning to broken moans,"Fenric, oh gods"...and it hit like a storm, my body seizing as I squirted against his face, warm and messy, my release soaking us both while he drank it down like it was nectar.

He pulled back just enough to strip, his movements quick and fluid, revealing the raw power of him: his muscles rippling under scarred skin, and his cock, massive and as thick as my wrist, with veins standing out along the length, the knot at the base already swelling with promise.

My breath caught, a mix of nerves and raw need twisting in my gut, but I reached for him anyway, my fingers brushing the heat of him, and drawing him closer.

He positioned himself at my entrance, the blunt tip nudging my slick heat. "Breathe with me, goddess," he instructed, his hand stroking soothing circles on my thigh, grounding me. He pushed in slowly, inch by stretching inch, and god, it burned for a heartbeat, that sharp, tearing ache of being split open for the first time, but he froze, his eyes locked on mine, whispering, "You're taking me so beautifully. So brave, so perfect for this."

Then he thrust deeper, the roughness kicking in, filling me completely, and the pain melted into something fuller and hotter, my moan spilling out his name like a spell: "Fenric."

He found his rhythm, slow, deliberate drags that hit deep, each one rougher than the last, his hips snapping with controlled power.

"That's it," he rasped, his hands roaming my body, one palming my breast, his thumb flicking the nipple, the other digging into the plush flesh of my thigh.

"Feel how you squeeze me? Like you were carved for my cock. These curves, your tits bouncing like that, your thighs wrapping me up, they're driving me insane. All mine, my goddess."

The bond thrummed wildly between us, urging him on, and in one smooth move, he flipped me onto my stomach, the furs soft against my cheek as he pulled my hips up. His fingers tangled in my hair, tugging just enough to arch my back, exposing me fully as he slid back in from behind, deeper this way, the angle making me gasp.

He set a harder pace, skin slapping skin in a rhythm that echoed off the walls, and then his palm came down on my ass, in firm, stinging cracks that bloomed heat across my skin, once, twice, drawing whimpers I couldn't hold back.

I pushed into it, meeting every thrust, loving the burn, and he rumbled deep in his chest, that pleased growl vibrating through me at how I responded, eager and open.

"Fuck, you're so good for me," he said, his voice rough with awe. His thumb found my rear entrance then, circling light and teasing, pressing just enough to spark something filthy and electric, I clenched hard around him, a wild keen escaping my lips, the sensation driving me right to the edge.

He shattered first, a guttural groan tearing from him as he buried deep, his knot swelling thick and hot, locking us together while he pulsed inside me, filling me up in waves that sealed us as one.

It dragged me under too, another climax ripping through, my walls fluttering around the knot, milking him as I cried out, and the world narrowed to the stretch and the heat of him holding me there.

We stayed fused like that, his body curled over mine protectively, until the knot finally softened. He eased out with careful hands, and I collapsed against him, boneless, my head resting on the steady rise and fall of his chest. A laugh bubbled up, light and disbelieving, cutting through the haze.

"I had no idea... it could be like this. Like flying and falling all at once."

But my heat wasn't sated, not even close. It simmered under my skin, keeping me restless, my nipples pebbled against his warmth, and that needy ache built again between my thighs. "More," I whispered, the word slipping out bold and breathy as I shifted closer, pressing my curves into his side.

Emboldened by the way he'd unraveled me, I let my hand trail down, over the hard ridges of his abs, my fingers wrapping around his cock, still slick and heavy from us, stroking with slow, deliberate pulls.

The knot twitched under my thumb as I teased the tip, circling the sensitive head, and he sucked in a sharp breath, his growl rolling low and dangerous through his chest.

"Emara," he warned, half plea, half command, his hand coming over mine, not stopping, just guiding, and possessive.

I tilted my head up, meeting those blue eyes with a teasing smile, my strokes picking up a lazy rhythm. "Hold on, bone wolf," I said, the words coming easier now, laced with a queen's confidence. "Let me have my fun first."

His growl deepened into something primal, his eyes flashing with dark promise, and I knew, he'd indulge me.

The night stretched out ahead, full of heat and hunger, and for the first time, I couldn't wait to dive deeper.