Daemonikai allowed his beast to rise to the surface, his body undergoing a partial shift. He grew taller, his muscles bulging, his features hardening into his fierce, hybrid form.
"Clear away from her. Now," his voice became a menacing growl.
Whines and whimpers filled the air, but the males slowly backed away, creating a path to the girl. Daemonikai was not yet satisfied, his beast still agitated.
With a sharp breath, he released a burst of pheromones into the air.
"Your Grace," several soldiers rasped in unison, their defiance replaced with fear and pain. They fell to their knees, heads bowed in deference. Even his grand lords felt the power of his dominance, their necks bared in submission.
The display calmed him slightly, but the agitation remained. With the absence of his bondmate to soothe him, the girl’s scent and the multiple scents of male arousal assaulted his senses.
And for some inexplicable reason, his mind drifted to Princess Galilea. Her scent had been calming. Like a balm to his troubled soul.
"Oh, Ukrae, oh Ukrae, please mount me. Somebody, please…!" the girl cried, her voice broken and desperate. She lurched to her knees, and—
"Do not do—" Daemonikai's warning died in his throat as the girl grabbed her cheeks and presented to all of them.
By the scents of Hades.Growls rumbled through the air. Followed by a new wave of arousal so thick it was nearly suffocating.
The males surged forward, their eyes burning with raw hunger.
"Don't you dare," Daemonikai barked, his voice a thunderclap of authority. "Control it! All of you!"
Their grand king’s forced restraint warred against his urge to mate, a force stronger than nature itself. Cries of pain and frustration rose, muscles strained, and bodies trembled.
Then came the moment Daemonikai dreaded most. He opened his senses further, inhaling deeply.
Two of the males were in a rut. Urekai alphas only entered a rut for females they cared deeply for. Out of all these males, two had formed a bond with this girl.
"You and you, stay." Daemonikai pointed at the two. "The rest of you are dismissed. Go and sate yourselves with willing, clear-headed females."
Slowly, reluctantly, the soldiers dispersed, leaving only the two alphas behind.
Daemonikai knelt beside the trembling girl, his touch gentle as he cupped her cheek. He lifted her chin until her red, hazy eyes met his. "Who do you want amongst these males?"
The girl looked barely a hundred years old. A mere child by Urekai standards. She whimpered and nuzzled against his palm.
It was no use. She was too far gone, her body wracked with pain and need.
"You two can share her heat with her," he said, rising, his voice stern. "Be gentle. Do not hurt her. Take care of her."
"We will, Your Grace," one replied, his voice thick with lust.
"Thank you so much, Greatest Majesty," the other added, his gratitude evident.
Together, they lifted the girl and disappeared into the night.
Daemonikai watched them go, a flicker of worry in his eyes.
"If they went into rut because of her, they will take good care of her,” Ottai’s voice was low and reassuring as he drew closer. “You know trying to keep either male away would have resulted in a fight to the death. You did the right thing."
"I know," Daemonikai replied, turning away and starting back towards the fortress.
Without his bondmate to diffuse the effect of the heat, he was vulnerable. Arousal throbbed in his veins, every muscle coiled tight. He could barely think straight.
He needed to sate this lust. Fast.
Chapter eleven