CHAPTER 104: CHAPTER 103. THE BABY’S NEED & THE ALPHA’S RUT

The moment they halt for the day, the entire camp knows. Something is going to happen, just like any other day.

The air is thick with it, an unspoken heaviness, a slow-burning heat that coils around Roxanne like a second skin. Her scent, usually sharp and commanding, has deepened and grown richer and more intoxicating. The pheromones roll off her in waves, saturating the space around her. The crew doesn’t need to be told what’s coming. They feel it in their bones.

Tents are pitched at a careful distance from the Grand Duke and her wife, granting them privacy. A wooden tub has already been prepared, filled with water warmed by Afrit’s reluctant but steady flames, coaxed into cooperation by Vivianne’s soft request. Undine’s presence lingers in the steam, her magic ensuring the heat remains just right, enough to soothe, but not to scald.

"Get inside first." Vivianne’s voice is smooth, but beneath it thrums something darker, something possessive. Her gaze roves over Roxanne’s bare form, drinking in every line, every scar, every flex of muscle beneath golden skin.

The marks of battle still mar Roxanne’s body, the most prominent a jagged slash from Leonhart, left untouched by Undine’s healing at Roxanne’s own insistence. A proud alpha wears her scars, she had told Undine, fingers tracing the ridge of it with reverence. Now, in the flickering lamplight of the tent, the silvered lines of old wounds gleam like badges of endurance.

And Roxanne herself, Vivianne takes a deep breath as she drinks at the sight of her own wife, she is a vision.

Her body is a study in power, lean muscle carved into perfect definition, her stomach a taut plane of six firm ridges, each flexing with her breath. Her arms, corded with strength, catch the dim light as she moves, shadows playing along the curves of her biceps and the dip of her collarbones.

And between her legs, Vivianne’s gaze lingers there, heat pooling low in her belly, Roxanne’s alpha genital stands proud, flushed and heavy, a blatant demand.

"Are you not coming?" Roxanne asks, voice rough with need.

"Just get inside and sit." Vivianne doesn’t raise her voice. The command is there, threaded through every syllable, and Roxanne obeys without hesitation.

A slow smirk curls Vivianne’s lips as Roxanne sinks into the water with a soft groan, steam rising around her like an offering. "Good."

"Yes, sweetheart," Roxanne murmurs, settling in as instructed, though her eyes burn with hunger.

Vivianne takes her time undressing.

The fabric slips from her shoulders like a whispered secret, pooling at her feet. The lamplight caresses her skin, porcelain, flawless, untouched by battle, though Roxanne’s hands have left their own marks upon it. A brush of fingers and the scrape of teeth cause her body, a canvas that responds only to Roxanne, to turn red beneath her alpha’s touch.

And now, that body carries proof of their union. The soft swell of her stomach, just a gentle curve beneath her navel, is impossible to ignore. Roxanne’s child.

The thought alone makes the alpha’s shaft twitch in the water, a pulse of primal pride. Vivianne’s nipples, pink, peaked, and sensitive, stand taut in the humid air, begging for attention. But she doesn’t give Roxanne the satisfaction of touching them. Not yet.

Instead, she steps into the tub, water sloshing around them, steam curling between their bodies like a living thing. But she doesn’t sink. She stands over Roxanne, thighs framing her alpha’s face, her heated core hovering just inches from Roxanne’s mouth. The scent of her is thick, heady, and an intoxicating blend of slick and want.

Vivianne tilts her head, fingers trailing through Roxanne’s damp hair as she murmurs, "You used to go down on me when we were in bed."

A pause. The water ripples as Roxanne’s breath grows uneven. "Can you do it now?"

Vivianne’s voice is both sweet and seductive, commanding attention like velvet. "Prepare me. So I can sit nicely on your shaft."

Roxanne shudders.

The sound that tears from her throat is half growl, half groan—raw, unfiltered need. Her hands clamp around Vivianne’s hips, fingers digging into the soft flesh there, possessive.

"Yes." It’s the only word she can manage before she drags Vivianne closer, her mouth sealing over her omega’s dripping entrance.

The first lick is devotion.

Roxanne tongues her slow, deep, savoring the taste of her, sweet and salt and pure Vivianne. Her wife’s thighs tremble, a muffled gasp escaping as Roxanne laps at her in long, greedy strokes. She flicks her tongue over Vivianne’s bud, teasing, before sucking it between her lips, hard.

Vivianne’s moan is a broken thing. "Oh! Your grace!"

Her fingers knot in Roxanne’s hair, holding her in place as she grinds down against her mouth, chasing the pleasure with reckless abandon. Water sloshes over the edge of the tub, forgotten. The only thing that matters is this, Roxanne’s tongue spearing inside her, curling just right, making her thighs quake.

Roxanne doesn’t let up. She eats her like a woman starved, worshiping her heated core with lips and teeth and tongue, drinking down every drop of her slick. And when Vivianne’s breathing turns ragged, when her grip turns punishing, Roxanne growls against her, the vibration sending a shockwave of pleasure through her omega’s body.

"That’s it," Vivianne pants, arching into her. "Just like that. Make me ready for you."

And Roxanne is obeying. She obeys without hesitation, behaving like a loyal pup in front of her owner.

Vivianne’s thighs tremble as she pulls back from Roxanne’s mouth, her core glistening, swollen from the relentless attention. The alpha’s lips are slick with her, her breath ragged, her golden eyes blown black with hunger.

"My good alpha," Vivianne purrs, voice thick with praise and sin.

Then, slowly, deliberately, she sinks down onto Roxanne’s hard shaft, "Argh." The stretch is exquisite; Roxanne held Vivianne’s waist to help her steady.

A breathy moan escapes her as she takes Roxanne inch by torturous inch, her body clenching around the thick, throbbing length. The water ripples around them, heat and steam and sweat mingling as Vivianne seats herself fully, her ass pressed flush against Roxanne’s hips.

Roxanne groans, fingers digging into Vivianne’s waist hard enough to bruise. "Vivianne..."

Vivianne smiles, all wicked grace. Then she moves.

Her hips roll in a slow, maddening rhythm, lifting just enough to tease before sinking back down, taking Roxanne deep. Each drag of her walls around Roxanne’s shaft wrings a ragged sound from the alpha’s throat, her control unraveling with every rise and fall of Vivianne’s body.

"You feel so good inside me," Vivianne breathes, nails scraping down Roxanne’s chest. "So deep, so perfect."

Roxanne’s jaw clenches, her hips jerking upward, desperate to thrust, to claim, but Vivianne pins her down with a hand on her stomach, tutting softly. "No, your grace. Let me take care of you."

And she does.

Her pace quickens, her body rising and falling with slick, filthy sounds, her inner walls fluttering around Roxanne’s shaft in tight, rhythmic pulses. The water sloshes violently as Vivianne rides her carelessly, her swollen stomach pressed against Roxanne’s, the proof of their bond between them.

Roxanne is lost.

Her vision whites out, her grip on Vivianne’s hips ironclad as pleasure crests, shatters—but Vivianne doesn’t stop. She keeps moving, keeps milking her through it, until Roxanne is trembling beneath her, gasping her name like a prayer.

Only then does Vivianne allow herself to chase her own release. "Watch me," she demands, and Roxanne does, helpless, as Vivianne comes with a sharp cry, her core clamping down around Roxanne’s shaft in ruthless aftershocks.

Collapsing against Roxanne’s heaving chest, Vivianne kisses the sweat-damp hollow of her throat. "My alpha," she murmurs again. "You did so well."

Roxanne growls, flipping her suddenly, water spilling, bodies shifting, before pinning her beneath the surface, teeth at her neck. "Mine."

And Vivianne, breathless and satisfied, claimed she only laughs, low and warm. "Always." Already expecting her alpha to ram into her again from behind.

"Again," Vivianne sighs, arching her back in the water, bracing her hands on the edge of the tub. The heat from the steam clings to her skin, her body still trembling from her last climax. But she wants more. Needs it.

Roxanne doesn’t hesitate.

A rough hand grips Vivianne’s hip, fingers biting into flesh as the alpha drags her backwards, positioning her on all fours. Water sloshes violently as Roxanne’s shaft, still hard, still throbbing, slots against her slick entrance.

"Vivianne." Roxanne growls, teeth grazing the nape of Vivianne’s neck.

Vivianne shudders, pressing her ass back in deliberate temptation. "Yes, your grace." She always knows how to deal with Roxanne.

A snarl, then Roxanne rams into her.

The force drives Vivianne forward, water splashing over the tub’s edge as Roxanne’s hips meet hers in a brutal snap. She’s deep, so deep Vivianne chokes on a moan, her inner walls fluttering around the invasion.

"Roxanne!"

Roxanne doesn’t give her time to adjust. She sets a punishing pace, each thrust slamming into Vivianne with enough force to make the wooden tub groan beneath them. Water churns around their bodies, steam rising as Roxanne takes her, claims her, fingers bruising into Vivianne’s hips to keep her in place.

"Mine," Roxanne snarls, bending over her, teeth sinking into the mating mark on Vivianne’s shoulder.

Vivianne whimpers, pleasure and pain sparking white-hot down her spine. "Yours—always yours—!"

The slap of skin on skin, the slick push-pull of Roxanne’s shaft pistoning into her, the way her alpha’s breath comes in ragged bursts against her ear—it’s too much. Vivianne’s vision blurs, her fingers slipping on the wet wood as another orgasm crashes into her, her core clamping down around Roxanne in violent pulses.

Roxanne growls, hips stuttering as she loses rhythm, her knot swelling at the base. "Take it," she orders, forcing Vivianne down onto it, locking them together with a final, possessive thrust.

Vivianne cries out, collapsing onto her forearms, feeling Roxanne’s release flood her in thick, hot spurts. The alpha’s body drapes over hers, heavy and spent, teeth still latched onto her shoulder.

They stay like that, knot-tied, panting, water cooling around them, until Roxanne finally releases her bite. Vivianne turns her head, meeting her alpha’s darkened gaze with a lazy, sated smirk.

"Still think you can handle round three?" Roxanne’s eyes flash.

The water erupts as she takes Vivianne out from the tub and into their bed.