Rayner woke wrapped in Vera’s scent. It coated the inside of his mouth, his skin, the sheets around them, and his entire house. He’d never smelled anything that had stayed with him for so long, even when he wasn’t near her. Her scent—her—brought something to life inside him that he hadn’t even known existed.

She shifted against him with a happy little sound of contentment, and whatever it was inside him that thrilled at her scent surged. It flooded his mind with thoughts of her. Her in his bed at night. Beneath him. Waking beside him with those noises of happiness. Living with him. Being with him. Forever. As his mate.

That place inside him roared in agreement at the word. Mate.

He tightened his arms around her and planted a kiss against her tussled red hair. A thought niggled at him, but no, it couldn’t be. A true mating call happened once every few generations. It was a rare, precious thing, and Rayner would have known for certain if he’d experienced it. It was undeniable.

Distracting him from his inner argument, she stretched, arching her back off the bed, and threw her arms over her head. She moaned, her eyes still closed, a soft smile stretching her lips. Beneath the light, her skin glowed opalescent and kissable. Her breasts jiggled as she fell back against the bed and draped an arm across his chest.

She opened her eyes and stared up at him. “Morning.”

His mouth twitched. “Good morning. How do you feel?”

“Like you woke me up a few times last night.” Her hand trailed down his stomach. His cock jumped at her stroking fingers. “Do you think I was too loud?”

He’d woken her more than a few times. His appetite for her was insatiable. Even now, as she dragged her hand down his thigh, he needed her. Needed inside her.

But then, he thought she knew that, judging by the mischievous glint in her eyes. She smiled at him, pure and bright, and he could have existed in this moment with her forever.

Mate, that place inside him whispered. Fate. Forever.

She scooted across his body to straddle his hips. The ends of her hair swung across the swells of her breasts. He leaned up to kiss her, but she pushed on his shoulder to keep him flat against the bed. Grinning like a milk-drunk pup, he let her pin him.

She nibbled along his neck as her hands ran across his bare chest. Dipping lower, she found a hard nipple and drew it into her mouth. Rayner hissed, his hands latching onto her hips.

She smirked up at him and flicked her tongue against the sensitive flesh. He gritted his teeth.

“I like being in control.” She skimmed her fingers down his belly and back up.

“I can tell,” he said shakily.

She licked his nipple once more before moving lower, kissing along the lines of his abs. When she came to the V of his hips, she kissed the inside of his hip bone, making electricity shoot up his spine. He jumped.

“Are you ticklish?” she asked.

“No.”

But he’d answered too quickly, and he saw her sharp mind log the information away for future use. He groaned.

“I want to taste you.”

Her words sent his thoughts into slip space, too fast for him to catch. He watched as she slid even lower down his body. She gripped his cock, and Rayner’s entire body shuddered. He throbbed in her fist. When she dipped down to take him in her mouth, he stopped her with a gentle touch to her shoulder.

“Don’t do that.” he said, chest heaving.

She frowned at his serious tone. “Why? I want to.”

“Here, women don’t …” Was he really about to say this? What the hell was wrong with him? Her mouth had been two inches away from sending him to the Great Beyond. He lifted up onto his elbows and forced himself to say, “Women don’t do that. Only servants and prostitutes.”

Vera watched him, her hazel eyes searching. “But I am your servant,” she whispered.

Rayner gave a hard shake of his head. “Not in here. Not in bed. Not when it’s just the two of us.”

The faintest hint of a smile touched her lips. His words had pleased her. He slumped back against the pillows in relief. “So, if I’m not your servant, then I can do what I want when we’re in bed.”

“Vilkan women don’t do that—”

Vera rolled her eyes. “I’m not from here, remember? I do what I want, and I want to taste you. Do you not like it?”

She waited for an answer. He cleared his throat, feeling his insides burn like kindling beneath her steady gaze. “No one’s ever …”

“Because you’ve never been with a servant or a prostitute.”

Rayner nodded. “I don’t want to be with anyone who doesn’t want to be with me.”

“You’re a good man, Rayner.” Her grip tightened around his cock, shocking him. She stroked him. “But I’m still going to take you in my mouth.”

“Vera—”

But her mouth was already around him. She swallowed his head in a warm, sucking rush and pulled him deeper. He fisted the sheets in his hands to keep from grabbing her hair. His entire body went as stiff as a Draqon scale, and bright stars flashed across his vision.

He lifted his head to watch as she brought him deep into her mouth until he hit the back of her throat. Her hand worked the remaining length of his shaft. She pulled him back out and tongued his pulsing tip. Her gleaming, self-satisfied gaze met his.

“Vera,” he hissed through his teeth. The sound of ripping fabric filled the room. He’d torn the sheets in his grip. A ripple cascaded through him, and a low-humming growl vibrated up from deep in his chest.

In a rush, she took him again. Her mouth was hotter than an electrical storm, her tongue more devastating than Draqon acid. His inner Vilka stalked just beneath his skin, and he struggled to fight it back, to control it. Inside his mouth, his canines lengthened and pierced his lip, sending blood pooling back down his throat.

She twisted her hand up his shaft at the same time she sucked his head, and Rayner’s vision went white.

He roared, his body thrashing. His hand fisted deep into her hair, and she groaned against his cock. She swallowed him until he hit the back of her throat, and he came harder than he ever had before.

When he could breathe again, he dropped his hand from her hair and sank deep into the bed. His spine ached, and his muscles quivered. Vera sat back, wiping at the corner of her mouth with a smug little grin. She’d swallowed every drop, and the thought had him hardening again.

Mate. Fate. Forever.

Her eyes widened when she looked down, feeling his readiness. “How in the world—”

He had her flipped onto her back and her legs spread before she could finish her sentence. When he was finished with her, she wouldn’t be able to speak, and he’d be the one with a smug grin on his face.

* * *

A few hours later, Vera was once again draped across his chest, their bodies slick with sweat. She pushed a loose curl off her face and stared at him.

“What?” he asked, smiling, his eyes drifting closed.

“I shouldn’t be this happy.”

His eyes flew open. She was serious, her beautiful face tense with worry. He cupped her chin in his hand and ran his thumb across her lips. “I’m sorry, Vera.”

Would there ever be a time when he didn’t feel the need to beg her forgiveness? Everything had been taken from her, and it was his fault. His people’s fault. Kladuu’s fault.

The war inside him was the price he had to pay to protect his home.

“I should hate you,” she whispered up at him, eyes shining. “I should only be thinking about escape. About running away and never seeing this stupid mountain again.”

His heart hammered in his chest so loudly he knew she must hear it. “I understand.”

“But I don’t hate you. I’m happy with you. That’s wrong, Rayner.”

It couldn’t be wrong. It couldn’t. “I’m happy with you too.”

She pushed off his chest and crossed her legs beside him. Chewing on a nail, she asked, “Could this work?”

Relief brighter than any sun blazed through him. “We can make it work.”

“But how? How can I be with you when I don’t have my freedom?”

And how could he ask her? Ask her to forget how she’d arrived on his planet. Forget what had happened to Niva, what was happening to her friends. Forget everything but him. She would have to lose herself to be that. And what could he do? There were clan laws. He couldn’t punish Savas and Drausus and then bend the rules himself by elevating a servant’s status.

But her scent. This thing inside him. The single word that he couldn’t shake: mate.

She leaned over and kissed him. Her hand gripped his jaw like she might try to hold him close to her forever.

She wouldn’t have to try that hard.

“Beta!” A knock against the front door made Rayner start. Vera jerked away from him, leaving behind a cold emptiness he had never experienced before.

“Stay in here,” he said. He swung his legs over the bed and jerked his pants on. He ran a hand through his hair to smooth it down before he walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

His quarters smelled of Vera and their lovemaking. He smelled of it.

With a growl, he swung open his front door and shouldered the young guard back a few steps. With a slam, Rayner sealed off his quarters from the man’s prying eyes. But his nostrils still flared around the scent pouring off Rayner. There would be no secret keeping about what had happened between him and Vera now.

“What is it?” Rayner barked.

“Ah, sir,” the guard fumbled. He held out what looked like a folded paper. “Confidential message from Alpha Kaveh.” His gaze skimmed past Rayner to the closed door behind him.

The entire mountain would be talking about this within the hour. Rayner fought back a groan. “Thank you. You may leave.”

The guard dropped his gaze and scurried away to tell all his friends.

With a sigh, Rayner went back inside. Vera stood at the bedroom door, wearing his shirt. The dark silk swallowed her, the hem brushing against her muscular thighs. It gleamed in the low light and turned her hair to fire.

“What is it?” she asked.

Rayner thought he knew. He took a seat behind his desk and unfolded the blank page. Withdrawing a blue beam from his desk, he directed the light over the page to illuminate the hidden message. Only a few people in the mountain had such a device, and it meant that confidential messages actually stayed confidential.

He read the letter quickly, confirming his guess.

“Rayner?” Vera came closer, moving cautiously.

He gave her a half-hearted smile to reassure her. “Our Alpha has agreed that Savas and Drausus must be punished in an Omega Selection.”

A breath whooshed from Vera’s mouth. She wrapped her arms around her waist. “When?”

“On the next full moons.”

“What does an Omega Selection mean?”

Rayner ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his chair. His heart ached for his clan, but it was the punishment the men deserved. He was convinced of that now more than ever. “There can be only one Omega in each clan. Savas and Drausus will fight to the death for the position. The one who lives becomes the Omega, and he’ll rank below even the servants. Savas is Kaveh’s half-brother. Though illegitimate, he’s still Alpha born, and becoming the Omega would be worse than death.”

Vera closed the distance between them. Rayner opened his arms, and she settled into his lap. “So, no matter what, it’s a death sentence for Savas. That’s why you’re upset?”

An Omega Selection was brutal. He’d thought they were past such acts when Kaveh took his position as Alpha and led the Vilkas away from such bestial ceremonies. Even as much as he hated Savas and Drausus, he still pitied what would happen to them. “It’s the punishment they deserve, but it won’t be pleasant to witness. It’ll pull the clan into a bloodlust. It’ll bring us closer to the nature of our Vilkas and farther away from the men and women we truly are.”

“If it’s so terrible, why did you recommend it?”

Rayner’s grip tightened on Vera, and he heard her heart begin to race. Perhaps she saw the wrath in his eyes, because even though he pitied the traitors, he wanted them dead.

“For you,” he said. “I recommended it for you.”