Page 14 of Mated

My heart thundered, and my body pleasantly ached, Draxus’s cum seeping out of my pussy reminding me rather vividly what we just did and will do again. And again. My cream mixed with the cum dripping from my folds. Draxus growled periodically, his hand moving down my back, over my ass, and sliding it between my thighs to push his seed back into me.

I stood at the top of the dais, the jagged throne of skulls and black stone behind me, intimating and ominous. And then I heard them. Draxus stiffened beside me, massive and unmoving, his gaze fixed on the doors that hadn’t opened yet. His tail was swishing back and forth, the tension radiating out of him.

The air was thick with heat and power and something else that made the hair on my arms stand on end. That heavy feeling clung to my skin like sweat, and with every passing second, I felt that weird feeling weigh heavier on me.

“You look every bit of my queen, Elowen.”

The pride that filled me from his praise was instant.

I heard heavy footsteps on the other side of the throne room doors, and looked down at the grown Draxus gave me for this evening to keep my focus clear.

The dress was black, with an overlay of black lace and silk, and delicate glowing threads throughout it like the lava that surrounded us. I stared at the mark on my wrist, the branding glowing faintly on my flesh. Draxus said when we were together the mark would be brighter, feel hotter.

The crown sat heavy atop my head, a reminder that I held the power.

Draxus curled his hand around my waist, pulling me close to him just as the doors opened and our guests ended. “They will see you, and they will kneel before you, showing their respect.”

“And those who won’t kneel?”

He chuckled. “The ones who feel brave… we’ll bathe in their blood.”

The first to enter was a hulking beast draped in blood red robes. I couldn’t see much because of his hooded cape, but I could see wicked looking hairy antlers that curved outward from the material and arched inches above its head.

He lumbered forward on hooved feet, that marrowclackingon the black stone floor.

He was introduced as a Lord Velgrack, one that resided in the skeleton forest.

Without having to be told, the lord knelt, bowing to us and showing respect without having said a word.

I swallowed in trepidation, the situation, at how terrifying this was, but didn’t let my expression change.

More entered, each one more monstrous and beastly than the next.

A serpent-bodied female slithered in next, undulating across the floor, totally nude aside from the crown on her head and a transparent cloak over her body.

When she stopped in front of us, she slowly smiled, jewels in her fangs, her silted eyes trained right on me.

“My Queen,” she said and bowed, her words slurring slightly because of her forked tongue.

A couple came in next—the first pair I’d seen so far—and I was shocked to see a beastly lord with a tiny human woman close to his side. The way he held her possessively told me whoever this female was, she meant something special to him.

I wanted to talk to the woman, to hear her story, but right now I had to play this part. If this was going to be my life now, I had totry.

The room filled with beings, but then there was this heavy silence that suddenly filled the space.

A massively built humanoid male with pale gray skin covered in distressed leather came into the hall. People parted for him as he came to a stop in front of us.

His black eyes gleamed with a clear hatred as he stared at Draxus. Long black hair fell down his back, plaits on either side of his temples, and pieces of clear spine weaved between them.

This male didn’t bow. He didn’t speak. He just glared at Draxus before moving his slimy gaze to me. That had Draxus growling and pulling me closer and slightly behind his back in a protective manner.

And then the beast grinned at me, his humanoid face terrifying me. I realized that although Draxus didn’t resemble a human at all, I found him handsome in a savage and brutal way.

“Pretty new queen,” the monster growled at me.

Before I knew what was happening, Draxus roared and launched himself from the dais, slamming his big body into the creature.

The males crashed onto the floor with enough force the stone cracked under the onslaught.

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