Captured by the Alpha King

5 Onyx

5: Onyx

That scent. That lavender, sweet with a hint of danger... it was her. My wolf stirred, hackles rising.

There.

A flash of chestnut hair. Pale, freckled skin. Full lips painted a deep, sultry red.

My mate.

The wolf howled, breaking free of its cage. Primal need clawed inside my chest, raking hot talons through my veins. I had to claim her. Make her mine.

The festivals bar disappeared; my vision tunneled on her. On the slow sway of her hips as she made her way through the crowd. The soft curve of her neck as she tossed her hair over one shoulder, baring the unmarred column of her throat.

My fangs lengthened, saliva pooling on my tongue. I swallowed hard, heartbeat thundering in my ears.

Not here. Not now.

But when? How long could I resist this burning need, this soul-deep craving for her touch, her taste, the sweet song of her cries as I claimed every inch of her body? These thoughts plagued me as Tyrone and I drove to The Glint. Our bar spot. I could smell her. As if she was right there...

She turned, gaze locking on mine from across the bar. A startled breath caught in my throat. Her eyes were a deep hazel, filled with secrets and shadows. They saw too much. Knew too much.

As if in a trance, she moved toward me, one hand outstretched. Our fingers brushed, and a jolt shot through me, as if I'd touched a live wire.

"Onyx." My name was a whisper on her lips.

I grasped her hand, yanking her hard against me. Her scent enveloped me, and the wolf howled in triumph. She was mine. Tonight, she would be mine.

Rowan stiffened in my arms, pulse leaping beneath my fingers. Her breath came fast and shallow, fear and desire mingling in her scent.

She shook her head, eyes squeezed shut. "I can't. This is dangerous. You're dangerous. I can feel it. How are you even here?"

"Not to you," I rasped, nuzzling her neck. She shuddered, a soft moan escaping her lips. "You know you want this as much as I do."

She pushed at my chest, to no avail. "I don't even know you. Let me go, Onyx."

"I can't do that. We were meant to be together, Rowan. I won't give up so easily."

Rowan wrenched out of my grasp, eyes flashing. "I don't believe in fate or destiny or any of that nonsense. Stay away from me, Onyx, or you'll regret it."

I bared my teeth in a grin. "Is that a promise?"

She hissed out a breath, hands curling into fists at her sides. But she didn't move to leave. I had her, and we both knew it. Only a matter of time before she surrendered completely.

I took a step back, holding up my hands in surrender. "You're right, I apologize. I shouldn't have been so forward."

Rowan searched my face, suspicion etched into every line of her body. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." I offered her a rueful smile, dipping my head. "You fascinate me, Rowan, in a way no one has for ages. I lost myself for a moment. It won't happen again."

Her stance relaxed, fractionally. "Fine. Go, then, and leave me alone."

"As you wish." I bowed, a gesture of old-world courtesy, and turned to go.

"Onyx."

I paused, heartbeat quickening. "Yes?"

A sigh. "You can buy me a drink. If you promise to behave yourself."

My wolf snapped to attention, hungry anticipation flooding my veins. She was giving in. I had won this round.

Tonight, she would be mine.

We sat in a dimly lit corner booth, the noise and press of bodies giving us privacy in the crowded bar. Rowan nursed her whiskey, gaze flickering to me then away. The air between us hummed with tension.

Time to lay my cards on the table. "There's something you should know about me, before this goes any further."

Her eyes narrowed. "What's that?"

"I'm not like other men." I leaned forward, dropping my voice. "I'm the king of the werewolves."

She froze, glass halfway to her lips. Disbelief and fear warred on her face as she searched mine for any sign I was joking. I held her gaze, unblinking. Despite the fact she looked so shocked, something told me this woman knew. She knew more than she let on.

Finally she set down her drink with a sharp crack of glass on wood. "You're insane."

"Am I?" I brushed a lock of hair from her forehead, fingertips lingering on her skin. Her pulse jumped under my touch. "Why would I lie to you?"

She jerked away. "Don't touch me! This isn't funny, Onyx. I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing, but -"

"Shh." I cupped her cheek, thumb stroking her lower lip. "No lies between us, Rowan. I promise. I don't want us to start off on the wrong foot."

Her breath caught as the truth settled over her, dark and inexorable as the tide. She knew. In the depths of those stormy eyes, she knew I spoke the truth.

And still she didn't run.

"We were meant to be, you and I." I brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, thrilled when she didn't pull away. "Destiny brought us together. You're my mate, Rowan, the one I've searched lifetimes to find." I hadn't. Not really, but she didn't need to know that. Now that I have her, I feel like an i***t for not looking before. She was perfection.

She stared at me, wide-eyed and trembling.

Encouraged, I went on. "Legend speaks of a woman with eyes of change and a spirit like flame. A woman strong enough to stand beside the werewolf king as his equal and guide. His mate. You, Rowan. It's always been you."

A flush crept over her pale cheeks. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and I growled deep in my chest. So close. She was falling under my spell, as I knew she would. As she was meant to.

"You're mad," she whispered, but there was no conviction in her tone.

"Am I?" I tipped her chin up, gazing into her eyes. "You feel it too, don't you? This connection between us. You know we're meant to be together, just as I do."

She stared up at me, silent and wide-eyed, the rise and fall of her chest quickening. I had her. Tonight she would accept her destiny, and surrender to me, body and soul.

The wolf within snarled in triumph. He wouldn't shut the f**k up about her, so I really had no choice but to woo her. Clearly she wasn't just some chick I could f**k and chuck. She was it.

She shook her head, but her hands curled into my shirt, as if she couldn't bear to let go. "This is insane," she breathed. "I don't even know you."

"You know me better than anyone ever has." I leaned in, nuzzling her neck and reveling in her soft gasp. "You're the missing piece of my soul, Rowan. We belong together."

A shudder ran through her. She tilted her head to the side in a gesture of submission that made my blood burn. "Onyx, please..."

I took her mouth in a claiming kiss, slow and deep. She tensed for a heartbeat, then melted against me with a soft moan.

When the kiss ended, her eyes were dazed and wanting. "This is dangerous," she whispered. "You're the werewolf king. I'm just a human."

"Not just any human." I stroked her cheek, thrilling at her nuzzle into my palm. "My mate. My equal. The one who will stand beside me and guide me. Who will bear my children, and rule at my side." I kissed her again, swift and hard. "Deny your destiny no longer, Rowan. You're mine, now and forever."

She gazed up at me for a long moment, eyes turbulent with emotion. Then she surged up on her toes and crushed her mouth to mine, kissing me with a passion that ignited my blood.

I growled against her lips, scooping her into my arms. She was mine, as was always meant to be. Destiny had brought us together at last. Tonight, I would claim what was mine by right, and bind her to me for all time.

I carried Rowan out of the bar and drove like a bat outta hell to the pack house. I ran up the stairs and into my room, our mouths fused in a ravenous kiss.

Her hands roamed my body, setting my nerves aflame. By the time I laid her on the bed, we were both panting.

I gazed down at her, taking in the tumble of coppery curls across my pillows, the rapid rise and fall of her breasts, the way she gazed up at me with eyes gone lusty with desire.

"You're exquisite," I rasped, trailing a claw down the curve of her throat. She shivered, pulse leaping under my touch. "And you're mine."

"Yours," she echoed on a whisper. Her hands reached for me again, pulling me down to her eager mouth.

We came together in a tangle of seeking hands and hungry lips, tearing at clothes until skin met skin. I relished each newly bared inch of her, lavishing kisses and caresses across her trembling flesh.

She gasped as I slid into her tight, wet heat, back arching. I stilled, savoring her satin grip around my length, the way her hands clenched on my shoulders.

"Onyx," she panted, rolling her hips up to meet mine in silent demand.

I began to move, slow and deep. She rose to meet each unhurried thrust, soft cries of pleasure escaping her kiss-swollen lips.

The coil of bliss wound tighter and tighter within me, fueled by her reactions and the knowledge she was now irrevocably mine. I drove into her again and again, relentless as the tide, until she screamed out her climax and dragged me over the edge with her.

In the aftermath, I gathered her close, her heart thudding against mine. She was my mate, my queen - and now, forever my own.

The room was heavy with the scent of s*x. I breathed it in, savoring her warmth against me, the softness of her skin and the way she fit so perfectly in my arms.

A tremor ran through her and she tensed. I stroked a hand down her spine, murmuring, "What is it?"

She didn't answer for a long moment. Then, "what have we done?" Her voice was small, trembling.

I frowned, tilting her chin up so I could gaze into her eyes. They were clouded with uncertainty and something that looked dangerously like regret.

"We just had hot s*x," I said slowly.

"You're the werewolf king," she whispered. "And I'm just...me. A human. We're from two different worlds, Onyx."

"You're my mate," I corrected, a growl threading my tone. "My queen. That is your world now...if you choose to accept it."

Her eyes searched mine and I willed her to understand, to see that she was made for me just as I was made for her. We belonged together, two halves of the same whole, and nothing would change that.

After a long moment, she sighed and relaxed into my embrace once more. "You always get your way, don't you?" A wry smile curved her lips, easing the tension that had coiled inside me.

I brushed a kiss over that smile, nipping at her lower lip. "With you, little bird...always."

She laughed, the sound as bright and warm as sunshine. "I'm not denying nor accepting. I just... want some time okay?"

I growled as her eyebrows shot up. "Fine. But I will be waiting for you."