001 — The Mate He Could Never Claim

Soraya Miller’s POV

My wolf knew it was him even before the knock sounded.

But I waited, and sure enough, the patterned knock came at around 1am. Trying to contain my excitement, I quickly paused the movie I was watching on my phone and hopped over, unlocking the door as quietly as I could.

His hands found my waist, pulling me into his embrace, lips enclosing mine with an intensity I'd grown used to but could never get tired of.

This was so goddamn wrong, and we both knew it. But as they said, the forbidden fruit always tasted the sweetest.

He smiled against my lips, finally breaking free as he came into my room. I poked my head out a bit, taking a clean sweep of the hallway with my eyes, but there was no one in sight.

Satisfied, I quietly shut the door and turned the lock.

“You know you shouldn’t be opening the door this late.”

“I know, that’s why we can't keep meeting like this, Cas,” I muttered, sitting beside him on my bed. “It's dangerous.”

“Be calm, Sora,” he assured me in that laid-back, velvety tone of his that seemed to turn my brain to mush. “I just needed to see you.”

“I literally just served your family dinner,” I teased, placing my phone on the bedside table.

“Sure,” he groaned, stretching out onto my bed. “But that was six whole hours ago.”

I chuckled, watching as he turned on his side, using a hand to support his chin. The way his eyes trailed on me, lips drawn back in a barely noticeable smirk, made me feel all fuzzy inside.

“But seriously, Cas,” I maintained, taking my hair out of its bun. “What if they figure out what's going on? My mum would freak out big time, and your parents? They would send me packing without a second thought, or worse, have me executed. I don't—”

“Shush it, love,” he quieted me, placing a firm finger on my lips. He ran a hand through my hair, and it finally settled gently on my cheek. “Things might change soon, so let's not waste the moment we have tonight.”

My eyebrow lifted in curiosity. “What do you mean by things might change soon?”

His Adam's apple bobbed as he cleared his throat. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I only meant we're not going to get this moment back, so why not make the best of it?”

Honestly, I wasn't convinced, but he had no reason to lie to me.

Just to be sure, I asked, “Are you hiding anything from me?”

He looked at me, really looked at me, then turned away. “I'm offended, Sora.”

“Look at me, Cas. I'm sorry, okay?” I let out a sigh, tugging at his shirt. “I didn't mean it that way. Just thought what you said was a bit weird.”

His jaw ticked once before he finally held onto my arm.

Those cerulean eyes of his were pinned on me, and I knew then and there that I was willing to risk it all for Cassian Blackwell, the Alpha heir I was never supposed to touch.

"Mine," Azura called out from within me.

I could tell he sensed it because those ocean eyes bled to black in an instant, and his grip tightened against me.

“Fuck,” Cas breathed out. “Don't look at me that way, Soraya. It makes me lose whatever self-control I'm clinging to.”

My body felt hot all over, and before I knew what was happening, I was straddling him. His hands instantly found my hips, pressing me closer to him. He looked up at me, like I was the moon goddess herself.

I placed light kisses on his lips and forehead as his eyes fluttered shut. Cassian's hold on me tightened as he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me impossibly closer. The friction of his arousal began grinding against the ache between my thighs through the barrier of our clothes.

“Ruin me, Cas,” I whispered into his ear, and that was enough to have me pinned beneath him in a flash. His eyes were still darkened as he looked at me with an expression that spoke of hunger and desire.

“Are you sure you want this?” The question sounded strained, as though he was fighting for control.

We'd never gone this far before. It was always kisses and foreplay, because he knew I wasn't ready.

But now... now, I needed him inside of me and I could feel Azura yearning for me to let her out.

“Yes,” I managed.

His eyes returned to normal as he pressed a kiss to my hair. “I'll make it worth your while, my love.”

I gasped as he took off my nightshirt. My fingers, urgent now, tugged at the hem of his shirt, yanking it upward to expose the sculpted flesh of his chest. I pressed my palms flat against his skin, feeling the rapid thud of his heart beneath my touch and the heat of him searing into me like a brand.

“Cas,” I drawled as he sucked on the sensitive spot on my neck with an intensity that pooled warmth in my belly.

His hand slid beneath me, arching my back as his tongue circled my nipples. It felt good, so goddamn good, as I fisted his hair. In one swift motion, he took off my damp undies as his warm tongue trailed lower down my abdomen.

My legs clamped above his shoulders, hips bucking as he sucked on my slick folds with an eager hunger.

“Fuck, Cassian...” I whimpered against him. “Please...”

That seemed to finally destroy all that was left of his restraints as he slipped a finger into me, pumping in a rhythmic motion that set my senses on fire. He let out a low groan as he felt the evidence of my desire.

"Yes!" I cried out as he plunged two fingers in, curling to stroke that hidden spot that made my vision blur and my back arch off the bed. “Fuck, don’t stop.”

“Soraya.” My name had never sounded this good coming from another. “So fucking wet...”

I might have pulled out chunks of his hair as he worked me mercilessly now, his thumb grinding against my throbbing clit while his fingers thrust deeply, stretching me and preparing me for what I craved most. Pleasure coiled tighter, a wire of fire in my veins, as I neared the edge.

But I refused release... not yet. Not without him buried inside me.

The way his eyes darkened as he slammed harder into me filled me with even more courage as my hands tugged at his sweatpants, releasing his veiny cock. Its tip glistened with precum that made my mouth water as my core clenched in anticipation.

Cassian slowly pulled out of me, his breath hitching as my hand wrapped around his heavy length, stroking him firmly from base to tip, feeling him pulse hot and alive in my grasp. He backed off the bed, standing up as I crawled to my knees before him. He leaned closer, softly claiming my lips in his.

I pulled away from him, my thumb circling the sensitive head to spread the bead of moisture there.

“Sora... fuck, you’re...“

The rest of his words dissolved in a hiss as I took him in my mouth, pumping him once, then twice. My gaze remained firmly on his face, watching his eyes squeeze shut, head thrown back, as my tongue circled every inch of his cock.

I'd never seen this side of him before. He always tried to keep his emotions contained, but tonight was quite different. Still, I couldn't deny that Cassian looked so hot with the way his black, wavy hair kept falling over his eyes and the stance he'd assumed...

Dear heavens.

“Fucking hell,” he growled, his waist jerking up as he fisted the back of my hair. “You're so warm, Sora.”

He was losing control, and I could feel it as he tensed in my mouth.

Quite suddenly, he pulled out of me and carried me in his arms, my thighs wrapping tightly against his waist. His lips crashed into mine, tongue parting through and meeting mine in blissful sync.

“It'll hurt a bit,” he told me as we parted from the kiss.

“I want you, Cas,” I breathed against him.

He positioned himself at my entrance, teasing me with shallow dips that coated him in my arousal, his eyes locked on mine, seeking final permission amid the haze of lust.

I nodded, fierce and unyielding. "Fuck me, Cassian. Make me yours, Alpha or not."

He surged forward in one powerful thrust, burying himself into me in a single, devastating stroke that tore a cry from my throat. The stretch was exquisite agony. He stilled for a moment, his forehead pressed to mine as we both adjusted to the overwhelming union, our breaths mingling in ragged harmony.

Without breaking contact, Cassian lay me back on the bed, and then he moved. Slowly at first, a deliberate drag-out and a punishing slam back in. Each thrust of his pelvis against my clit was a blissful blur of pleasure and pain.

I met him thrust for thrust, moaning his name like a prayer, my nails digging crescents into his back as I urged him deeper and faster.

"Harder," I gasped, my legs locking around his waist to pull him impossibly closer. "Don't stop, please..."

He fucked me with unrestrained ferocity, his hips bucking in a brutal rhythm that shook the bedframe.

Sweat slicked our skin, and the scent of arousal was thick in the air. I raked my nails down his back, marking him as he claimed me, our bodies slapping together in a frenzy of forbidden need.

As the wet sounds of his invasion filled the room like an obscene symphony, Azura stirred with a primal urgency within me.

“Mate,” she cried, shocking me to the depths of my soul.

And he must have felt it too because his pace quickened. I tried to push my spirit into his. But he resisted.

“Why are you locking me out, Cas?” I groaned. “Mark me.”

“At the right time, love,” he moaned into my neck.

One hand pinned my wrists above my head while the other gripped my thigh, spreading me wider for his relentless assault.

“Christ, Sora,” he growled, his voice rough as his words reached my ears. “So tight... so fucking perfect.”

He angled his hips, hitting that devastating spot inside with ridiculous accuracy, and I shattered. My orgasm ripped through me like lightning, a wail escaping my lips as my body convulsed.

“Cas...” I moaned his name, my inner muscles spasming around his length in aftershocks that dragged him over the edge with me.

We collapsed together, breaths coming out in short bursts as hot jets of his release flooded me. He remained inside me a moment longer, softening slowly, as if he never wanted to sever our connection. He pressed a lingering kiss to my temple before lying on his back and pulling me closer to him.

“Cassian,” I called tiredly.

“Yes, love?”

“Thank you,” I muttered, getting comfortable in his arms.

“No, thank you, Sora,” he whispered into my hair. “Thank you for trusting me.”

Smiling against his chest, my finger traced lazy patterns on his skin. “Did I do okay tonight?”

“Okay?” A quiet laugh rumbled from within him as his fingers tightened slightly on my waist. “You nearly drove me insane, Sora.”

Heat crawled into my cheeks as I laughed softly, burying my face in his chest. But he tilted my chin up anyway, pressing another kiss to my lips. I smiled at him again, and he returned it.

God, I never wanted this feeling to end.

Holding his gaze, I asked, “What are we, Cassian?”

The atmosphere tensed a bit, a heavy silence settling between us.

“It's complicated,” he said after a moment as he lightly massaged my scalp. “But you matter to me a lot more than you should.”

The confession wedged itself in my heart as Azura purred inside me.

Cassian’s thumb brushed beneath my eye before he exhaled softly. “Your eyes are gold again, Sora.”

“You’re acting like it’s my fault,” I muttered with a slight pout.

A faint smirk tugged at his lips.

“This is all your fault, Cas. You look at me like that and say things like that, but expect me to behave.”

I teasingly hit him across the chest, earning another low laugh from him.

“Do you remember the first time we snuck out together?”

I smiled instantly. “The bonfire?”

“You nearly got us caught.”

An amused gasp escaped my lips. “Shoving me into the bushes when your father showed up is still not cool, Cas.”

He smirked, his eyes flickering with mischief as he recalled the incident. “So was following me everywhere back then; I just couldn’t get rid of you.”

“Really?” I laughed, stifling a yawn. “You flatter me.”

His fingers brushed through my hair again as the tease in his features faded. The look in his eyes nearly ruined me as I tried to fight the exhaustion seeping into my body.

“You're tired,” he murmured eventually, pressing a kiss on my temple. “Sleep, Sora.”

In that moment, tangled in Cassian Blackwell’s arms, I felt safer than I ever had in my entire life.