Marked by my Enemy.

Time lost all meaning.

The sharp, gnawing ache that had built inside me for what felt like hours was finally, mercifully, replaced by waves of overwhelming relief and pleasure. Every time Thorne moved, every thrust of his hips sent a new wave of pleasure through my body, cooling off the frantic heat, at least for a little while.

My fingers grabbed the sheets beneath me. My breath came in short pants, my body trembling uncontrollably beneath his. My head spun as pleasure, lust, and desire blurred together into a haze I couldn’t escape.

And worst of all, what terrified me most, I didn’t want to.

I was surrendering to him. Completely.

To Thorne.

The alpha I had hated for so long.

He kissed me again, this time it was desperate, consuming—as though he needed me as much as I needed him. His hands gripped my hips with possessive strength, pulling me closer, deeper, until my body was fully molded to his.

The scent of him—his alpha pheromones-filled my lungs, thick and heavy, until nothing else existed but us.

Thorne growled against my throat, his voice hoarse. “You’re driving me insane.”

I could barely answer. My body responded with another needy moan, my eyes fluttering shut as I arched up to meet him.

This was wrong.

Everything about this was wrong.

And yet, my body betrayed me again and again.

Thorne’s hand moved to cradle the side of my face, forcing me to look up at him as his pace slowed briefly. His gaze burned into mine, pupils blown wide with desire, but something else flickered beneath this ancient hunger.

Possession.

His voice dropped into a hoarse whisper. “Say my name.”

I moaned, biting my lip, trying to resist, but my body was too far gone, my mind lost in the pleasure.

“Say it,” he urged again, more commanding now.

I swallowed hard, tears stinging my eyes from the humiliation of what I was about to do.

“Thorne ...” I whispered, my voice breaking.

His growl deepened, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. “That’s right. You’re mine right now.”

“No, I’m not,” I tried to protest, but he silenced me with another passionate kiss, swallowing my weak resistance whole.

He was right.

At this moment, there was no escaping him.

I was trapped in my first heat. My desires had overpowered my pride, my hatred, my logic. I clung to him like a lifeline as waves of pleasure continued to crash over me.

He wasn’t gentle anymore.

Thorne’s control shattered completely as he finally allowed his desire to take over. His movements grew rougher, more desperate, as though he couldn’t stop himself. His tongue trailed across my skin, his teeth nipped at my throat.

I felt the sharp edge of his canines hovering over the vulnerable gland at the base of my neck—the place where a mark would be made.

The place that would bind me to him.

Permanently.

He hesitated there, breathing hard, his warm breath was all over my sweat-drenched skin.

“This changes everything,” he whispered again, almost as if trying to convince himself.

“No mark,” I managed to gasp, my voice shaking. “Don’t mark me.”

A low growl rumbled from his chest. His body trembled above mine, his instincts screaming to claim me fully, but his mind still barely holding back.

“You don’t want it,” he murmured, his voice pained. “But your body does.”

I cried out as another wave of desire washed over me, my body clenching desperately around him. The pressure was unbearable. The more I tried to fight, the more turned on I became. His name spilled from my lips again, this time involuntarily—as tears of humiliation rolled down my cheeks.

Thorne groaned, his voice breaking. “You’re killing me.”

For a moment, I truly believed he might lose himself entirely, that desire would win, that his teeth would sink into my neck and forever brand me as his.

But instead, Thorne squeezed his eyes shut and pulled his mouth away from my throat, his control returning just enough to resist the final step.

He didn’t mark me.

Not yet.

The final waves of my heat cycle were complete as my body convulsed in release. My vision blurred completely as I collapsed against him, utterly spent, my breath coming in broken gasps.

Thorne’s release followed soon after. His breath hitched, his voice hoarse and raw as he groaned my name in a way I’d never heard before — not as a rival, but as something far more intimate.

When it was over, we both remained still for a long moment, our bodies tangled together in the mess we had made.

The only sound was our heavy breathing, the slow, desperate return to reality.

I felt his arms tighten protectively around me. His scent was still everywhere. His warmth pressed against me. His heartbeat was strong and steady beneath my ear.

It should have been comforting.

It wasn’t.

Because reality was beginning to sink in.

I had slept with Thorne 

Not just slept with him, I had surrendered to him, submitted to him in the most intimate way possible for an omega. For the first time in my life, I had been vulnerable, exposed, and completely at the mercy of someone else.

And it had been him.

My worst enemy.

Tears stung my eyes again, not from pleasure this time, but from shame.

Thorne's voice broke the silence first, soft but still heavy. “The doctor’s on his way.”

I nodded weakly, unable to speak.

For several long minutes, neither of us moved. The air between us was thick, not with pheromones this time, but with the heavy weight of what we had just done.

I didn’t know where we went from here.

I only knew one thing for certain:

Nothing would ever be the same again.