Gavriel’s mind was a storm. His emotions were scattered everywhere, crashing into each other until he could barely think straight. He had already put up several walls through their matebond so Althea wouldn’t feel how chaotic he truly was. He hated that he had to hide it from her, but he couldn’t let his panic weigh on her already fragile state.
Riela was taken. Althea’s life was now at risk. And worst of all—he was helpless.
It was the first time he had ever felt something like this, a crushing fear he couldn’t fight with claws or strength.
‘Is there nothing we can do?!’ he demanded at his lycan Chaos despite already knowing his answer.
‘There is,’ Chaos replied, voice steady, ‘but I need time. My full strength only awakens when the redmoon rises. We have to wait. Be patient. And follow our mate’s plan. No matter what happens... we’ll take her back.’
Gavriel clenched his jaw, torn between fury and fear, holding Althea tightly against him as if she might slip away any second. He wanted to console her, to promise everything would be fine, but his throat felt locked.
Wait?
He hated that word right now. He didn’t want to wait. He didn’t want to stand still or pretend he was calm, not when his mate was involved. Gavriel wanted to secure Althea, protect her, keep her where nothing and no one could take her away.
matebond didn’t matter. Even if it disappeared tomorrow, even if some ancient spell cut it clean, it wouldn’t change anything. Althea had already carved her place inside his heart long before he realized it.
That wasn’t the problem.
The problem was her life. The problem was the threat hanging over her neck. The problem was the possibility that she would be taken away from him, not because she wanted to leave, but because fate and curses and twisted magic demanded it.
And that was something Gavriel could not accept. Not now. Not ever.
Then, gently, Althea moved out of his arms, snapping him back to his chaotic thoughts.
Gavriel’s breath caught when he saw her step back and begin removing her clothes. Under the glow of the lanterns, she stood bare before him, looking fragile yet unbelievably brave.
“I’m always yours,” she whispered.
Those were the words he always asked and demanded for from her in their moments of intimacy, words he cherished more than anything... and hearing them now hit him harder than ever.
He knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to calm him. Trying to pull him out of the chaos consuming him. Trying to bring him back to her.
And it was working.
She stepped closer, and he didn’t move. His eyes never left hers as she reached for him, her fingers slowly undoing his clothes. Every small touch, every brush of her skin, soothed the storm inside him bit by bit.
Piece by piece, she pulled off his clothes, and he let her. Then she kissed his lips, and it trailed down to his neck and his chest. He growled when she suckled and nipped on his nipple while her fingers flicked the other. She did this alternately until his body trembled.
He could barely keep himself standing as she continued kissing him further south.
And now here she was on her knees between his thighs. She looked so damn alluring with her eyes staring at him, absorbing all his expressions as she stuck out her tongue and licked the tip of his member that was already glistening with precum.
Gavriel grabbed her hair gently and groaned, “Oh, Althea.”
He shuddered when her tongue left the tip and dragged slowly downward. Althea licked him from base to tip, long and deliberate, as if tasting every inch of him. Gavriel’s breath hitched, his fingers tightening gently in her hair when she reached the bottom and pressed her mouth against the thick root of his length.
“Althea...” His voice dropped low, almost a warning, almost a plea.
She ignored the tremor in his tone and shifted lower. Her lips brushed against his balls before she parted them and took one into her warm mouth, suckling softly. Gavriel’s legs nearly buckled. A deep, uncontrollable groan tore from his chest as she licked and kissed them, alternating between gentle suckles and slow strokes of her tongue.
“Oh... you’re—” He cut off with a hiss when she cupped them with one hand while her tongue moved back up along his shaft.
She licked her way upward again, the long glide of her tongue making him twitch helplessly in her hold. When she reached the tip, she circled it slowly, teasing the sensitive ridge until he cursed under his breath.
Then she wrapped her lips around him once more, taking him into her mouth. Warm. Wet. Perfect.
Her head began to bob slowly, her tongue sliding and curling along his length with each movement. Gavriel’s jaw clenched so tight it hurt. His hands held her hair, guiding but never forcing, letting her set the pace as she sucked him deeper.
“Althea... heavens...” he groaned, his voice rough and nearly broken as her mouth worked him with devastating rhythm.
Gavriel felt himself losing control with every smooth pull of her mouth. The wet heat of her lips, the soft pressure of her tongue, the way she hollowed her cheeks and took him deeper each time, it pushed him far past the edge of restraint.
“Althea... I’m going to...” he warned through gritted teeth, but even he didn’t sound like he wanted her to stop.
She only tightened her hold on his thighs and sucked harder, her mouth moving with slow, devastating insistence. Her tongue flicked beneath the sensitive ridge, and that was it.
Gavriel’s whole body jerked.
A harsh, guttural growl ripped from him as he finally exploded, release surging with overwhelming force. His fingers tangled in her hair, not pulling her away but holding her steady as he came hard inside her mouth.
Althea didn’t flinch. She took it all in, swallowing every pulse of him as he spilled into her. Her lips stayed sealed around him, warm and soft, her throat working gently with each swallow until his trembling began to calm.
“Althea...” he breathed out, voice low and wrecked, looking down at her with a mixture of disbelief and dark, raw desire as she slowly lifted her mouth from him, lips wet and eyes shining up at him.