All Chapters of Marked For Ruin: Chapter 41 - Chapter 43

LucienHer desperate gasp of his name was not a word. It was a key.It was the final, perfect key that unlocked the cage he had spent centuries building around the beast inside him. The sound, so full of pleading and raw, instinctual need, bypassed his ears and struck him directly in the soul, and the beast roared in triumph.His vision narrowed to a single, burning point of focus: her. The omega in her nest, calling for him, offering herself to him. Every rational thought, every vow of control, every kingly duty was incinerated in a white-hot wave of pure, possessive instinct. His muscles coiled, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, and a low, guttural growl rumbled in his chest, a sound he had not made in a thousand years. The primal Alpha wanted nothing more than to lunge, to claim, to bury himself in her and mark her as his, to answer her call with the full, untamed force of his nature.But somewhere, in a distant, besieged fortress in his mind, the King was still fighting.

That single, unspoken act of deference was the only thing that could have reached her through the storm. It was a respect so profound it recalibrated her entire world. The last vestiges of fear, the ingrained terror of Alphas and their desires, were washed away in a tidal wave of pure, unadulterated trust in him.Words were useless. The King had asked a question, and her body, finally free, gave him its answer.With a desperate whimper that was no longer of pain but of pure, aching need, she arched her back, lifting her hips from the soft blankets of the nest. It was a complete, instinctual offering of her body, her soul, her trust. It was the most honest thing she had ever done in her entire life. Her eyes, wide and unseeing but fixed entirely on his powerful form, were black pools of absolute surrender.At the peak of her arch, her scent shifted, the last hints of fear and distress burning away. A new, potent wave of pure invitation pulsed from her, a fragrant