Kragen flexed his fingers, still embedded in Andromeda’s long, silken hair, and relished the feeling.

The hunger still raged inside him, a screaming, unhinged beast. But it was a beast he now had under rein. It gave him power, and he let it exist. Because he was stronger than the hunger.

And the person who made him stronger was right here, and nearly his.

Kragen inhaled her scent, the smell of her arousal lingering on his tongue. Tangy, and sweet. His cock pulsed in response, and a low growl began in his throat. The hunger was not dead after all. As little as a few hours ago, Kragen would have doubted whether he was strong enough to do what he was doing, right now: holding his mate close to him, her body practically vibrating for him, while restraining himself.

But then something had happened.

He had been standing in the royal chamber, ostensibly playing witness to Andromeda’s plea before the queen, but in truth locked in an internal battle with the hunger. Moment to moment, he had not been sure who would win. Ever since he had nearly lost control in the tunnel, it had raged inside him, more powerful than ever. It had taken all his concentration to keep himself from tearing Andromeda’s dress off, spreading her, and claiming her right there on the floor in front of the queen. It had taken all he had to protect her from the bond.

And then, through the haze, had come Andromeda’s words.

“I know. I know more than any human alive. I understand.”

Everything had fallen into place in that moment.

Kragen had been protecting her from the choice to submit to their mating bond, because he had been protecting her from the unknown. He did not know who he would have to fight to protect her, who he would have to kill. But he knew that he would. He knew that being his mate would almost certainly bring with it untold grief, and he did not think a human female could understand that.

But Andromeda had felt it through their bond. He had not shown it to her; she had seen. She understood.

And that changed everything.

The moment Kragen learned that, he dominated the hunger entirely. He was its master now, as he would soon be hers. Because his love for Andromeda Knowles was stronger than an ancient hunger. It was stronger than anything he had ever encountered, and it made him the strongest Dom he had ever been. And so she would get to choose, freely.

Not that the outcome was in doubt.

“Lubcha,” he growled.

Andromeda’s eyes were half closed as she leaned into him, her body aching for him the way he ached for her. Her beautiful lips were half open, her focus slack, as she was lost to the pleasure of their touch. Kragen could feel it too, arcing between them like strong electrical discharges, but he had more practice. And he was, now, master of it all.

“Lubcha,” he said again. “Look at me.”

She obeyed, as he knew she would. Kragen looked into her eyes, and opened himself to their bond. He could feel it in her—she was fighting it, just as he had been, with her warrior’s heart. He snarled. He ached to give her pleasure, to give her release from this torture, but she was fighting it.

There was still fear in her eyes. It echoed up their bond until he could nearly taste it. His dominant instincts were roused.

She will learn not to hide such things from me.

“You will tell me what frightens you, mate,” Kragen said as gently as he could. “Now.”

Andromeda’s eyes cleared, and he could see tears gathering as she looked up at him.

“I know you need me,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “I know it’s because of the hunger, and neither of us has any control over that. But…”

“Tell me, Andromeda.”

She blinked up at him, her big eyes that were more than just brown stealing a part of his soul.

“Do you want me?” she asked. “You, Kragen. Not just the hunger. Do you really want me, as me?”

Kragen snarled, his fangs extending a little more. He was outraged that his mate would ever have reason to doubt him. She would never have reason to do so again.

“Mate,” he hissed, and he tightened his grip on her hair, knowing it would send little tendrils of pleasure coursing through her. “Feel this.”

Quickly he spun her around, so her back was to him, and pulled her against his body. He let his free hand roam over her breasts before he reached down to free his aching cock from his leathers. With the same hand he pulled up the hem of her dress, as he had done before, the last time he had made her scream with pleasure. Only this time, he pressed the thick, hard, heat of his cock to the bare skin of her lower back.

She moaned, her hips moving all on their own, and Kragen had to steel himself. He had more to say. And she needed to hear it without looking into his eyes. If she looked into his eyes as he said this, she would be helpless to do anything but submit. And his mate would have a choice.

“Feel what you do to me, lubcha,” he said into her ear. “Even if fate had not brought you to me, I would find you. I would want you. Your heart calls out to mine because I can see it. I can see who you are, as you can see me. And you belong to me, as I belong to you.”

He grabbed her hip and ground into her from behind, slowly, until he heard another moan escape her lips.

“The only reason you are not already bent over the claiming bench with my cock inside you is because I love you,” he growled. “And because you will choose to submit, of your own free will. And then you will spend the rest of your days getting all that you deserve, good and hard, until there is no more room for doubt left in your beautiful heart.”

Kragen eased his grip on Andromeda and allowed her to turn around in his arms so that she faced him, and immediately her hands found his bare chest, her little nails digging into his skin. She pawed at him, raked her hands down the ridges of his muscled torso, momentarily caught in the fever. Until he caught her hands.

“Look at me,” he said. “It is time.”

When she looked into his eyes, Kragen saw that the fear was gone. It had melted away. All that was left was the bond between them, throbbing gently, building, building, building.

When she spoke, it wasn’t in English.

It was in Leonid.

* * *

Andie was so lost in a fever of sensation, a swirling freaking hurricane of pleasure and frustration and need, that she was shaking. She wanted to slap Kragen almost as much as she wanted to feel him inside her. He’d grabbed her by the hair again, sending shivers of pain that turned into pleasure shooting down her body, letting her know just who was in control.

As if she could forget.

And then he’d done something really unforgivable. He’d made her face her fears.

He could have taken her. At any point. Andie wasn’t strong like him. All he needed to do was touch her and tell her to submit, and she would have screamed her consent to the rafters.

Instead he let her feel what he had in store for her, and told her what she most needed to hear: this was real. He was real. He was a Dom who respected her, who loved her, who wasn’t going to lose interest or grow bored or turn into a monster. As impossible as that seemed, it was real.

When she’d turned back around, she’d meant to say, “Yes.” She’d meant to say, “I submit.”

Instead, the moment she looked into his shifting, molten eyes, she felt the bond between them more strongly than she’d ever felt it before. And she knew what to say.

“Da’kozak,” she whispered.

It was the formal phrase in Leonid. The one a submissive mate whispered to her Dominant. The one that gave him the right to claim her, forevermore. It was impossible that Andie would know that phrase, let alone know what it meant and when to use it, but she had long since given up thinking she knew what was possible or impossible anymore. She had a fated mate from beyond the stars standing in front of her. She’d take one more miracle.

There was a pause. An endless moment, where she felt weightless, waiting, while Kragen looked down at her with those bottomless eyes.

And then…something was unleashed.

Andie didn’t know if she felt it through the bond or saw it in his eyes, but the sheer power of it made her nipples harden. Kragen growled, grabbed her by the hair all over again, and pinned her gaze with his own.

And then she felt it.

The sheer force of the Dominant energy flowing from him, through their bond, brought Andie to her knees. She didn’t know how it worked, and didn’t care. It was so much more powerful than being topped by a normal male, by someone who only had physical control over her. Kragen was in her mind, in her body, in her soul. He had complete dominion over her.

And he had her on her knees, in front of his bare, throbbing cock.

It was hard, hot, and absolutely fucking huge.

Andie stared at it, fear winding its way into her heart again. It was so beautiful—silver-toned with mother-of-pearl highlights, like the rest of him, but darker in color. She could feel the heat emanating from it, and wanted nothing more than to feel it inside her, but there was no way she could take it. Some miracles were more miraculous than others, and no matter what she’d seen so far in this crazy journey, Andie didn’t see a way that that was going inside of her.

Kragen disagreed.

His huge fist still holding on to her hair, he brought her face close to it, close enough that she could see a drop of silvery pre-cum glistening at the tip. Without thinking, she licked her lips. She had soaked through her panties, her breasts were so full they ached, and her hardened nipples scraped against the material of her dress, but Kragen was still in complete control.

“The second my seed touches you, you will be mine, lubcha,” he growled. “You will be marked. Your body will change to accept me, to mold to me, and it will belong to me for the rest of your life. It will respond to my every command, my every desire. You will be mine. And I will be yours. And we will be bound together for the rest of our lives. Do you understand?”

Andie swallowed, waiting for her mind to freak out. Waiting for some part of her to be like, Hey, whoa, this is nuts, lady!

But nothing came. Every single cell in her being, every part of her wanted this. Wanted him. She had never been so sure about anyone or anything in her life, and the relief of it made her tear up with joy.

“Yes,” she said.

With a satisfied grunt, Kragen brought her to her feet. He looked her over with hungry eyes, and then, like it was nothing at all, he ripped her dress away from her body.

Andie gasped. Not just because she was suddenly naked, but because it hadn’t hurt at all. It was like he melted it away, like it just fell in tatters, knowing it was an affront to her Dom.

Her Dom.

Her Master.

Her Mate.

She looked up at him, half in a daze, wondering if this was real. She could feel her wetness on her thighs, her nipples tightening into little peaks, her pussy aching with absence. He still had hold of her hair, and that utter gesture of control was enough to keep her balanced on the precipice of pleasure.

Kragen growled, “Darth’kozak.”

It was a command. Andie knew it, but she didn’t know how she knew it. It was like she was remembering a dream she’d had many times before, a dream she’d forgotten every time she woke up.

And it made the throne…change.

Behind him, the paired throne seats began to shift and fold in response to Kragen’s command, like some advanced automatic machines. Before her eyes, they turned themselves into an elaborate bench.

A claiming bench.

He’d started the ritual.

This was it.