4

Sunlight broke gently over the treetops, filtering through the carved wooden shutters and casting pale gold lines across the room. The fire had long died, but its heat still lingered in the thick furs tangled around the bodies lying in the center of the bed.

Riven stirred first.

His eyelashes fluttered, and a low sigh slipped from his lips as he stretched—only to wince slightly and immediately collapse back into the warmth.

“…Ow,” he mumbled, voice rough with sleep.

A deep rumble echoed against his ear, followed by a lazy hand curling around his waist. Kaelen’s voice came, still husky and amused.

“You okay?”

“I’m broken,” Riven muttered. “You ruined me.”

Kaelen chuckled, low and unhurried, his lips brushing along Riven’s temple. “You didn’t look broken when you were begging for more last night.”

Riven’s cheeks flushed.

“I wasn’t—begging,” he lied unconvincingly.

“You said, ‘Harder, Alpha,’ at least five times,” Kaelen replied with a wicked smile in his voice.

Riven groaned and pulled the fur over his head.

Kaelen didn’t let him hide for long. He slid a hand beneath the covers, trailing warm fingers along Riven’s bare hip, finding the bite mark he’d left just above his thigh. He traced it gently.

“It’s already bruising,” he murmured. “It looks good on you.”

Riven peeked out from the furs, eyes narrowed.

“You’re proud of your damage?”

“Very,” Kaelen said. “Every mark on you says you’re mine.”

Riven turned to face him, cheeks still flushed, hair tousled and wild. His body ached in every beautiful way, but it was the way Kaelen looked at him—eyes burning low like coals—that made something deeper ache too.

“I meant what I said,” Riven whispered. “Last night. I’m yours.”

Kaelen’s teasing expression faded. He reached up, brushing a strand of hair from Riven’s cheek, fingers lingering.

“You don’t know what that does to me.”

“I think I do,” Riven replied, voice soft. “I felt it. Every time you touched me… every time you went deeper. You weren’t just taking my body. You were… claiming all of me.”

Kaelen leaned in and kissed him—slow, deep, and tender this time. His hand cupped the back of Riven’s head, fingers sinking into that dark silk of hair.

When they parted, Kaelen rested his forehead against Riven’s.

“I didn’t know I could feel something like this,” he said. “Not even when I fought and bled for the pack. This… you… I’d burn the whole world to keep you.”

Riven smiled faintly. “Well, let’s not start any fires yet. I’d like to be able to walk again first.”

Kaelen laughed again and pulled Riven closer until his body was completely wrapped around him, legs tangled, bare skin pressing against bare skin.

“You’re staying in bed today,” Kaelen murmured, lips ghosting over Riven’s jaw. “You’re not going anywhere. I want you to feel everything I gave you. Every bruise, every pulse.”

“You’re possessive in the morning,” Riven said, smirking.

“I’m possessive every second of every day,” Kaelen corrected. “But mornings are when I get to have you all to myself.”

Riven sighed happily and let himself melt into the embrace.

A few moments passed in quiet.

Then Riven broke the silence with a grin. “The entire pack knows what we did, don’t they?”

Kaelen looked entirely unashamed. “They heard.”

Riven groaned and buried his face in Kaelen’s chest again. “Loudmouth Alpha.”

“You were louder than me.”

“I was not.”

“You cried out my name like a prayer,” Kaelen teased, pressing kisses down his neck.

Riven huffed. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

“…No. I really don’t.”

Kaelen shifted, pulling the covers tighter around them.

Then, almost shyly, he said, “After everything last night… you really feel like mine. In every way. I’ve had mates before, but none of them ever felt like this. Like… home.”

Riven blinked, his throat suddenly tight.

He reached up and cupped Kaelen’s cheek, thumb brushing over the faint stubble there.

“Good,” he whispered. “Because I don’t ever want to go anywhere else.”

Kaelen kissed him again, long and slow, as if sealing the vow into his skin.

Outside, the pack was waking up.

But inside that room, wrapped in heat and morning light, two souls stayed wrapped around each other—unmoving, eternal.

Together.

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