Kapitel 30: Chapter 30: Fight Like a Witch

Ravyn POV

Alphas were stubborn, and Jude Faolan had just become top of the list of Most Hard-Headed Alphas. But Ravyn could be stubborn too. He wasn't going to stop her from making the journey with Daxius, and he needed to understand that right now if they were going to have any kind of future.

His eyes looked like pale golden flames and his teeth were even sharper than when he'd given her several love nips a short time ago. He would never harm her or humiliate her, but he could intimidate with the best of them. Why? Because he was an Alpha, and in order to still be Alpha, everyone needed to respect him, including his mate.

Ravyn respected and admired him, but she also knew that any Luna worthy of the title had to be ready to keep the Alpha in check and guide him. And shifter women had the advantage of sparring. Lilia had adopted that tactic.

When she pounced on him, she wasn't prepared for the heady rush of battle, the feeling of matching herself against someone physically stronger with the power and majesty of the wolf.

"Fenrir's guts, you can fight, witch," he growled.

"Of course I can fight. If you rely on magic to do your fighting for you, you get lazy–OOF!"

Breath became a stranger as he knocked her to the floor of his bedroom. OUCH. She was going to feel the impact later.

Straddling her. Jude growled, "You were saying?"

Even though she lacked his sharp teeth, she bit him on the shoulder. Jude's loud roar of pain and arousal filled the room. His skin tasted salty–and was that blood on her lips?

Merciful Goddess, she knew Lilia and Anneliese and Thessi enjoyed sparring with their mates, but she had no idea how intoxicating it could be.

"Who taught you to spar like this?"

She grinned cheekily. "Watching all of you."

She rolled over and over with him, keeping him off-balance, pummeling him with all her strength. The first time she saw shifters fight, she felt appalled. They bit. They clawed. They beat each other until their wolf bodies could barely stand it. Lilia had to remind her that the healing was instant, and even if Dane or Jiro or Azandra or Kyon felt sore afterward, any shifter considered it a badge of honor … and sparring often led to mating.

He flipped her over, pinning her near the dresser but judging the distance so that she wouldn't bump her head. "Yield?"

"No. Not until I get what I want."

The place between her legs wanted something quite different than what Ravyn was asking. It wanted Jude deep inside her, joined with her, making love to her.

But she had to … she had to …

The fever in her blood fogged her brain and she was having trouble remembering why she was fighting Jude, her man, her mate.

Jude groaned, his eyes lust-filled. "You're so determined to go on this insane quest that you'll fight me–all for this sorry excuse for a man."

"NO. It's not for Daxius. As I told you, it's for us. You and me."

He lowered his mouth to her throat. "No, THIS is for you and me. I'm about to claim you."

She knew it. She wanted it with everything inside her. "Only if you accept my condition."

The growl seemed to come from deep within him. "FINE–as you say, this bargain was my idea. We'll go on this journey of yours. But in return, starting from this moment, I will be claiming you for at least a day. Maybe two or five. Do YOU accept?"

She held his head and kissed him with all her strength, pulling him against her, opening her thighs to capture him and make sure he didn't escape.

Tearing his mouth away from her eager one, he rolled off her and reached out to her. "Get up, if you please." His voice was smoky and raw. "I'm not claiming you on the floor. I'm going to do this properly."

Accepting his hand, she rose and felt wildly off-balance. "Carry me to bed."

"With pleasure."

He scooped her up in his powerful, strong arms. She could levitate if she had to, but Jude's embrace felt just like floating. She nestled against him on the short trip to the bed, and when he lowered her down, she seemed to float even more until she landed on soft sheets and flower petals.

Her breath caught when Jude joined her on the bed, his satiny muscles slick with sweat from their battle. He reached down and brushed her hair aside, baring the right side of her neck to his hungry gaze. "Are you ready for me to mark you, beautiful one? There'll only be a moment of pain."

"After seven bondings in the family, I know that." She made herself relax, because suddenly she felt nervous. "It'll be visible, yes?"

"Oh yes, and any shifter will sense it, as you know."

A shudder went through her. "Your pack will sense it. Your children. Will they be unhappy?"

"Not when the merchants approved of you and Wise Woman Eirika all but shoved me towards you–and you're Ravyn Rolfe, who helped conquer Hades." He brushed the hair back from the other side of her face. "Bram won't be happy–but he likes you. I'm not sure about Mali. I hope Lilia understands."

She smiled softly. "She's at least trying to–and if she does, Dane will."

"Good. Any further objections before this sweet little neck of yours gets marked?" He licked the spot he wanted to claim, preparing it.

Heat bloomed on that patch of skin. Goddess. How could her skin feel so sensitive, so ready for his touch? "Jude … please."

That was all the encouragement he needed.

His teeth sank into her flesh and she gasped. First the pain came, followed by sweet, exquisite pleasure. "JUDE!"

Shudders went through her body and she lay in his arms as he stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "I had no idea," she whispered.

Wrapping her in his arms, he kissed her. "It's the greatest thing the Goddess ever created–other than the ability to shift into our wolf forms. And, of course, mating itself."

She felt moist all over … especially between her legs. A wet, hot pool of desire awaited Jude. Feeling bold and sexy, she leaned back, giving him a perfect view of her breasts and belly. "You mentioned spending days claiming me, speaking of mating."

His eyes blazed golden and, without warning, he lowered his head and kissed between her breasts, his fingers sensually kneading those soft mounds. Exquisitely gentle, tender, and slow, his touch set her body afire. "I've wanted to kiss these beauties for days. Sweet … so sweet. I'm so very glad you trust me with your body."

"With everything. All of me. Take what's yours."

She thrust out her chest, bringing her breasts closer to his wicked lips. When his mouth opened on her breast, ecstasy shot through her, so intense she thought she'd faint. Expertly suckling and caressing, his mouth delivered the sweetest torment she could imagine.

She screamed as his clever fingers slipped between her legs and palmed her womanhood while his tongue teased and tantalized her breasts. Stealing a glance at him, she saw his seductive, knowing expression, relishing what he was doing to her.

"Mmmm. This is delicious to me," he murmured in a husky voice. "And what's this?"

Her cheeks burned along with the rest of her as he slipped a finger inside her. "Jude …"

"Are you wet for me?"

She wanted to tell him he could determine that for himself, but the masterful way he stroked her had her biting her lip. She was close to begging for his touch.

"Ravyn?"

"YES. It's an ocean down there," she moaned. "Jude … I want you inside me."

His voice unsteady for the first time, he growled, "I want this first time to last."

"Jude, as I understand it, mating seals the bond …"

And she wanted the bond to be sealed. To belong to someone, really belong to him. To know that he was hers, and she was his and nothing short of death could ever separate them. And not even then.

"Correct," he said in a strained voice.

She thrust her hips up. "Claim me now, Jude. Take me, have me … make love to me. I've waited so long and didn't even know …"

She felt like she'd waited a lifetime. The sandalwood smell from the incense burner and from him made everything dreamlike. The smooth, hot skin under her hands felt so luxurious and almost sinful. His hard body against her drove her wild. She could feel powerful desire, even beyond anything she'd felt before. Hungry, demanding need that must be satisfied.

With a growl, Jude gripped her thighs, spreading them, and with a primal howl, he thrust deep inside her wet, snug heat. So deep he buried himself to the hilt. Her entire body rocked with pleasure and the intensity of his claiming her.

"Goddess, Ravyn … you feel incredible. Worth waiting for."

She paused, relishing the feel of him inside her and the weight of his body covering hers. He trembled, impatient to move. "Ravyn …"

Her hips cradled him, capturing him as she'd wanted, pulling him even deeper into her, if that were possible. She didn't know where he ended and she began, and it was a wonderful feeling. "Patience, Jude." She took his face in her hands, running her fingers over it. "This moment is to be savored."

He growled. "That's why I told you I wanted to take my time with our first mating. I'm not some impatient pup who doesn't care if he pleases his mate. Quite the opposite. In fact, I intend to please you so often this first time that you'll beg me for mercy."

Her pulse raced. "That sounds interesting …"

"But I do like being inside you," he purred. "You had the right idea. I liked feeling everything you felt when I claimed you. All those emotions, like a warm bath around me and inside me."

She shuddered. "You're like a tidal wave, sweeping me away …"

His eyes glistened with emotion. "I've never even seen the sea–I suppose I'm about to."

The sharp sting of pain and regret hit her, but then vanished/ Her intuition whispered that it had something to do with Emer. She caressed his face and kissed him.

"You're an incredible man, Jude. And you deserve everything that's good in this world."

He growled, low and sexy, and moved inside her. "Right now, that's you. Hold onto me, sweet one. Wrap your legs around me."

She did, and felt the intensity as he drove hard inside her, lighting up every pleasure point within her. The sensations unfurled inside her, making her dizzy with ecstasy. Her eyes hazy and love-drugged, she stared up into his beautiful face as he rode her with wild abandon, pushing her body to the limits of pleasure and beyond.

Her screams of fulfillment blended with Jude's, and their mutual orgasm shattered her.