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  “Then you’re sentenced to die,” Dimitri said flatly.

  The Alpha might look all hard and cold, but Cal knew it had shaken Dimitri that Maurice, one of his trusted enforcers, had betrayed him.

  “I die by my own terms,” Maurice yelled, left hand shifting to claws.

  The other enforcers, Dimitri, and Duncan tensed, but Maurice sunk his partially shifted claws right to his pulse point. Blood flowed as Maurice made choking noises. He missed, Cal thought with some shock.

  Dimitri stepped forward, face glum, and finished off the kill with the swipe of his own clawed hand.

  “That’s that,” Dustin said next to him.

  He sucked in a breath. What a horrible way to die.

  “Hey,” Dustin said, touching his arm. “Don’t feel bad for the asshole. He sent us both to die, didn’t he?”

  Maurice could have lured him alone to the trap, but he didn’t care Dustin was also collateral damage. That was how much the former enforcer wanted to get rid of him. Dustin, his first and loyal friend, could have died.

  “You’re right,” he said. The pressure in his chest eased. “I’m glad it’s all over.”

  There might be clan mates who would have agreed with Maurice, but Cal wasn’t the weak coward he’d been before Dimitri Turned him. Whatever fate challenges threw at him, he’d tackle them head-on.

  * * * *

  Later that evening, Cal entered their tent. He retired early for the night just so he could get ready. Dimitri and he hardly spoken today, but that was expected, given Dimitri had to have a long meeting with his other enforcers. His Alpha would probably return needing a respite from the day’s events.

  Cal stripped down. Hearing Dimitri’s footsteps outside, he positioned himself on the edge of the bed, ensured he displayed the frontal part of his body. Remembering the lube, he grabbed the bottle from the table next to the bed.

  “We’ll talk more tomorrow,” Dimitri said outside, voice hoarse. The Alpha entered, closed the tent flap behind him, then licked his lips.

  Cal’s pulse spiked as Dimitri simply stood there, gazing at him and not saying a word. A predatory look crossed the Alpha’s face. Even now, that made his heart race faster. Dimitri looked at him like he was the most desirable man in the world.

  He was one lucky bastard, Cal mused, admiring his Alpha’s body.

  “Enduring that meeting was worth it, if it meant coming back to this,” Dimitri said, beginning to peel off his armor.

  “Yum,” he said, wagging his ass at his mate.

  Dimitri growled. “I intend to ravish you fully tonight. It’s time.”

  “Time?” he asked coyly. Excitement coursed down his spine. He understood the implications of Dimitri’s words.

  “I nearly lost you yesterday. I didn’t expect to feel that so soon again.” Dimitri shook his head. “This night will end one way. With you bearing my mate marks.”

  “Finally.”

  Dimitri chuckled, approaching him. Cal couldn’t take his eyes off Dimitri’s impressive, rock-hard dick. He licked his lips.

  “Give me.”

  “Oh? My mate has grown pretty demanding. Maybe he needs a little more discipline.”

  “Discipline? Maybe,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder.

  Dimitri smirked, joined him on the bed, and patted his lap. Feeling sexy and bold, Cal clambered over Dimitri’s legs and locked his arms behind Dimitri’s neck. Dimitri took his mouth, cupped his hands over his ass, bringing him close. Flesh touched flesh. Heaven. He missed Dimitri badly, despite Dimitri having fucked him last night.

  Hornier than ever, he rubbed his chest, his dick against Dimitri’s abs. Cal moaned when Dimitri parted from the kiss, only to thrust his tongue down his throat. He gripped the Alpha’s shoulders, surrendering himself to the kiss, to this man, who owned him, body, heart, and soul.

  Dimitri pulled away, flashing a wicked smile at him. “Get yourself off with your hand. That’s your first punishment.”

  If that was Dimitri’s version of a punishment, then Cal would happily obey his orders. He reached for his prick and began moving his hand up and down. Dimitri’s intense gaze only made him harden instantly. Dimitri reached for the lube he left on the bed and handed it to him.

  “Slick that ass for my cock. That’s number two.”

  Cal blushed but accepted it. He uncapped the bottle, applied plenty on his fingers, then his hole. He squirmed on Dimitri’s lap, aware of Dimitri smearing pre-cum over his belly. He went to work, pushing one finger inside his ass, then a second.

  “That’s so fucking hot.” Dimitri nipped at the side of his neck, started leaving a trail of kisses there and along his collarbone as Cal got himself ready.

  “Please. I need you in me,” he whispered, putting the bottle of lube aside.

  Dimitri gripped his hips, slid him forward, and guided his cock into his puckered entrance. He groaned, holding onto his man as Dimitri worked his way into his slick entrance. The Alpha met no resistance, didn’t stop until he was buried balls deep inside of him.

  “I love you,” he said simply. Like this, they were perfect. One. He clenched his inner muscles, made sure they clamped over the Alpha’s dick. Dimitri let out a rumble, holding him tight.

  “Love you, too. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Dimitri began moving in and out of him, quickening his pace with each push.

  The Alpha reduced them both to pants and moans.

  “Dimitri,” he murmured, unable to say anything else as Dimitri began fucking him faster.

  He met Dimitri for every push. His inner bear rose up to meet the Alpha’s bigger, dominant beast, yielding to it without question. Dimitri unsheathed his fangs. His heart felt like it would leap out of his chest any second. This was it. The moment Cal would forever brand in his head.

  “Please!”

  Dimitri sunk his fangs to the other side of his neck, going deep. He cried out, but he was too distracted by Dimitri’s cock, brushing up against his prostate. Pain collided with pleasure. The pressure building inside him broke. He screamed as both his bear and Dimitri’s melded, became one united life force.

  He climaxed, painted his cum all over Dimitri’s stomach and abs. Dimitri plowed in and out of him a couple more times before filling his ass with his seed. He moaned as Dimitri pulled his fangs away.

  “Your turn,” Dimitri said.

  Knowing what to do because Dimitri had prepared him for this moment, he left his own bite mark right over the spot that hid Dimitri’s heart. A heart that now belonged to him. Feeling expended, more content than he’d ever been, he laid his head against Dimitri’s chest.

  Over the past few weeks, he had a hard time, meeting his bear on equal ground. His first battle yesterday alongside a clan mate, a friend, and this intimate moment with his mate changed things for the better. They made peace.

  “You’re smiling,” Dimitri said after. They both lay on the bed in his favorite position, with him snuggling close to Dimitri’s chest.

  “I’m happy. Stupidly and indescribably happy.”

  “I’ve put off giving you my mate mark far too long.”

  Cal shook his head, then looked at Dimitri in the eye. “We both agreed to wait, because it felt like the right thing to do. Plus, I needed time to learn all the responsibilities of being the Alpha’s mate. If you gave it to me weeks ago, the other Skull Crushers would have taken so much longer to trust me.”

  Cal had learned plenty during his training sessions, too. In the process, he’d also managed to open his heart a little to others, not just his mate.

  Dimitri nuzzled his neck. “Do you feel more at home now, baby?”

  Home. Once a tricky word, but not anymore, Cal realized.

  Dimitri had updated him on the developments in Thorne Village last night. Cal remembered Gordon, the former head of the guard, and knew he was a decent man. He had bitter memories there, but also good ones with his mother. Cal had ceased seeing that place as his home after she passed away, but it
didn’t matter.

  Before she died, he knew she still worried about her son never truly fitting in anywhere. Cal knew if she was watching him from above, she’d rest easy, knowing he finally found a place where he truly belonged.

  “I do,” he said. “When I first arrived here, I arrogantly assumed that if I have you, I can live with that. That’s no longer the case. I didn’t expect to make so many friends. The Skull Crushers, everyone here. They’re family.”

  If Dimitri had never entered his life, he would have joined his mother in death without ever fulfilling his promise to her that he’d try his hand at living. Hell, he even found a man to spend his entire life with—something he never anticipated.

  “If my mom were alive, she would be astounded by my amazing catch of a mate.”

  “Oh?” Dimitri chuckled. “Would she really have approved of me?”

  “When I first saw you, you terrified me. You looked like some kind of wild, savage god. She might have been scared of you at first, but she’d soon realize you’re not so bad, after all.”

  “Just not so bad?” Dimitri teased, reaching over his hip to close his fingers over his prick.

  He groaned, his dick already coming back to life. Sometimes, he didn’t know whether to be thankful or overwhelmed by how fast shifters recovered during his sex. He definitely didn’t mind his mate’s voracious appetites.

  “Better than average,” he agreed.

  Cal never believed in happy endings—he’d once considered those as fairy tales for children, but not anymore. Some days, he still thought this was all a dream, but Dimitri possessively holding him close and kissing the back of this neck told him this was reality. Right now, Cal was doing more than living. He couldn’t wait to see what the future lay in store for him and Dimitri.

  THE END

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