Zehr leaned forward, nosing at her sternum, lips grazing that place over her heart where he knew her magic lived.

It had only been a matter of time before the omega had gone soft-eyed and compliant for him. Conflict ran through him as he considered her magic. It wasn’t good that his omega wielded magic.

In fact, it was downright awful. Magic, especially as old as hers, was meant to be feared.

Breathing deeply, his warm breath puffing up against the silk-soft skin of the shifter in his arms, he reached a decision. Her magic wouldn’t hurt him.

She wouldn’t hurt him.

She was on fire, and she squirmed against her alpha, the whine in her tone communicating her need for the relief that only he could give her.

Her lush lips parted, and she breathed in as deeply as she could. Her searching hands met the warm and steady touch of the alpha, who surged forward, his body pinning her to the bed as he nudged her legs apart. Her legs promptly fell to either side of him, and she pushed her hips up to get the much-needed friction she craved.

His fingers tightened on hers before he snapped his hips down, holding her to the bed and stilling her movements. It was a warning, of that she was sure. He would dictate the pace, and he would give her what she needed when she needed it.

No negotiations, no matter how eager she was.

She whimpered plaintively, though the sound was cut off in a pleased gasp as he shifted his hips, dragging his rock-hard member right over the source of her pain. The contact was a brief respite, and she moaned, trying to force her hips closer to his, but he leaned forward, his teeth bared and a growl in his chest.

His meaning was plain: he was in charge, and if she pushed him, she would get nothing.

She relished the drag of his calloused fingertips over her skin. He rubbed his fingers against her skin, gently at first, but drew a moan from her when he stretched his fingers wide and slid his hands down to roughly palm her ass. The telltale wetness of slick sliding down her thighs would have made the omega blush if she hadn’t been under the spell of her heat haze; as such, she took pride in the low purr of approval her alpha gave her before his fingers sifted through the curls of hair at the apex of her thighs.

Two fingers dipped and slid into her slick wet pussy, and she mewled in pleasure, hips stuttering but not moving as he explored her. When his thumb brushed over her clit she gasped, arching her back and balling her hands into fists. Slowly the alpha began to pump two fingers into her, offering a small measure of respite from the pain of her need.

It was good, but not ideal.

It could be better, she knew it could.

The omega didn’t quite feel full enough. She needed cock, and she grit her teeth, trying to remain patient. A moment later he stopped thrusting into her, but instead of giving her what she wanted he pulled away. Her resolve to stay still broke, and in a fit of panic she surged forward, crawling after him, trying to stay close. He tangled a hand in her hair and tightened his fingers, ever so gently but firmly tugging.

Closing her eyes, she purred at the feel of her alpha’s hand in her hair, fingers against her scalp, and she leaned her head back, baring her neck to him. The alpha tightened his hold on her for a second longer before he let go and placed one hand on her shoulder. The other went back into her hair, and he guided her onto her hands and knees.

She let herself be pushed down from her hands to her forearms. Strong fingers at the base of her neck prompted her to turn her face to the side, laying her cheek on the soft sheets of the bed. Her fingers tightened in the sheets, and she arched her back, fully presenting herself to her soon-to-be-mate.

A rumble of approval rewarded her efforts, and she felt a warmth bloom in her chest as her alpha leaned over her, his body blanketing her and pushing her further into the bed.

She panted when she felt teeth teasingly scrape against the side of her neck.

When his cock breached her cunt, she closed her eyes and let out a relieved sigh, the tension in her body immediately draining away.

She needed this more than she needed air. Almost instantly, the pain that had steadily become more and more unbearable with each passing second was assuaged.

He was taking his time with her, feeding her only an inch at a time of his cock with each thrust forward. By the time his hips were flush against her ass she was practically boneless in his grip. Fully seated inside of her, he leaned forward and curled his body around hers.

Her hindbrain was telling her this was perfect. The feel of him inside of her, the drag of his cock against her pussy as he pulled her tight was made for her, and her alone. This was everything that she would ever need. Her alpha’s hands slid up from her hips to her shoulders, his strong fingers tensing lightly on her when he began to move in and out of her.

If Cora had been in full control of her senses she might have flushed at the sound of their ragged breathing, the sound of their flesh coming together with a slap, but she wasn’t. She was far from embarrassed, and arched her back, trying to take more of her alpha’s hard cock into her.

She wanted more. Needed more.

Her alpha was setting a steady pace, but she craved a faster, rougher tempo, one that would give her the prize she was desperate for: her alpha’s knot.

With the thought of his bond bite on her neck for everyone to see it was hard to be patient, even with the beginnings of his knot starting to swell at the base of his cock. She moaned into the bedding as the knot began to touch places in her that she hadn’t been aware needed touching.

She worked for leverage and began to push back into her alpha’s thrusts, just enough to give them an extra punch, but a firm hand in the middle of her back stopped her. He paused in his movements as he held her down, his fingers gentle as he stroked her skin for a second.

She turned her face back to look at him with a whimper, to see that he was looking down at her with an expression that seemed uncertain.

It was like a knife in her heart, and she wanted to howl in frustration. An alpha as dominant as this wasn’t used to be challenged by omegas. She had been testing him with her eagerness, and now she scrambled to fix her alpha’s hesitation.

Tilting her neck to the side and sliding her long dark hair out of the way, she said the one thing she knew would bring him back to the present.

“Zehr...”

He took in a deep breath through his mouth, his muscular chest expanding. “Mine,” he said, his voice gruff and low as he began to move in earnest.

His thrusts were no longer slow or steady but hard, moving her body up the bed slightly. He took hold of her long hair and fisted it, forcing her neck back until it ached, then he moved forward, holding himself up with one hand as he continued to hold her still, all the while fucking her faster and deeper.

He shifted forward, a muscular forearm filling the panting omega’s vision for a moment before her alpha tipped his head down and looked at her, blond hair wildly falling across his forehead as his almost glowing amber eyes moved over her face.

A keening sound of pleasure escaped the omega as her alpha thrust harder, the movement forcing her body up inch after delicious inch, as he continued to stare into her eyes.

The omega lowered her eyes in submission, fully accepting him, and only then did he shift ever so slightly, his nose against her neck.

Yes, she was his, and he would fill her with his seed. Put pups in her belly and make sure no other alpha dared touch her.

She was his, and no one, including her, would forget that after he bonded her.

He trailed his teeth over the top of her ear, across her shoulder and, finally, down to the spot just above her collarbone, where her neck and shoulder met. The place where the bonding bite would take best.

The knot that had been deliciously stretching her reached its climax and her alpha closed those few centimeters that had separated his teeth from her flesh and finally, blessedly, bit down.

She cried out when his teeth broke the skin, and a growl went through him as he ground himself against her hips, his knot swollen to capacity. His large hands tightened on her skin to the point of bruising, but the omega relished the feeling. She would be glad for the reminder after her heat was finished.

He was her alpha. And she was his omega.

It was that simple.