To Rule the Alpha's Heart

31. The Salt Caves

EINARR FJERSTÄD

For the first time in his life, Einarr sprawled on a bed of furs and blankets with no intention of sleeping.

After his battle against the challenger, he needed rest, but he didn't dare to close his eyes. Not while his little mate curled her naked body against his side, silver-blonde head resting on his chest and fingers lazily drawing circles along his shoulder. Their bodies had been twined together since their latest coupling – their third thus far that night – and Einarr would be damned if he missed a moment of Calla's nearness.

"How do you feel, drekihjar?" Einarr murmured, rubbing a hand down the length of her slender spine.

Calla shivered under his touch and lifted her head to properly meet his gaze. Her crystalline blue eyes shimmered with devotion, echoed by the smile on her pink, swollen lips. "Like I want to stay here, just like this, forever," she cooed.

Forever. Einarr's heart palpated in his chest, but he daren't broach the subject of her staying in Nortend after the year's end. He wouldn't risk ruining their night when they were so close to dawn.

"You are not sore?" he questioned further, sweeping a strand of moon-kissed hair away from her brow.

Although Calla had instigated their first coupling that evening, Einarr could not stop himself from claiming her a second and a third time. The second occurred only moments after they'd finished, when Einarr's cock hardened again while still resting in Calla's womb. She'd mewled that her legs were tired, so Einarr had flipped their positions, nestling himself between her legs while she leaned back against the pillows. She'd moved her lips against his mouth while he worked.

Calla chuckled, peering up at him to press her lips to his chin. "I've told you already. You did not hurt me."

Satisfied by her insistence, Einarr tilted his jaw down so that he might capture Calla's lips with his own. The mouth-mating – or, kissing, as Calla liked to call it – was utterly foreign to him, but his body craved it nonetheless. She moaned against him, her lips parting to allow his tongue deeper access to her.

The soft sound, born at the back of his mate's throat, caused a familiar tightness to form in his groin. Einarr pulled back before he risked hardening beneath Calla's body once more.

He hummed, fingers trailing up and down her back. "How did you learn to mouth-mate?"

Another trill of laughter escaped Calla's lips, the sound vibrating from her full breasts into his chest. "It is called kissing, marano," she reminded him, playfully pinching the muscle atop his heart. "And I learned from watching others. My parents and other couples. The people in Eatrela kiss to show affection. Love."

Love?

Was that the correct word to describe the complete devotion that Einarr felt for this female? He'd known when he first laid eyes on her that their souls were intertwined, woven of the same cloth. He'd taken her as his mate because the Moon Goddess declared it so. He hadn't expected the connection to blossom beyond his physical desire to claim her and protect her. And yet...

When she'd mounted him that eve, Einarr realized that he would destroy the world and lay it at her feet if she asked.

He slowly leaned his head back against the pillows and stared up at the tent's ceiling. The very first light of dawn had begun to peek through the flaps.

The pack would be rising soon, but Einarr had already decided that they would remain in their current camp's position until his neck wound healed. With his body's healing abilities, he guessed that the gruesome bite would be closed by nightfall.