Page 76 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“Then we will send Lieutenant Norkon and an elite team of warriors to protect them while they carry out their work. It is theonly path I see to victory now. We must take this opportunity to forge ahead while our army engages in battles on the long road to Norello.”
When Kitsuki remained silent, Jaega continued. “You forget I have seen what happens when a Deathward Constellation activates. Milvlar, the capital of Quintox, fell in a single night once Ishibiya summoned the ward. No living soldier could breach the barrier. Anyone who tried became corrupted and turned against their comrades. By dawn, the entire city had become a necropolis, with every citizen transformed into a Hollowed servant or harvested for their bones. It took centuries for them to recover from the catastrophic losses.”
“Your point is well made, Uncle,” Kitsuki said, genuine appreciation in his voice. “Your experience with necromantic threats is invaluable in this situation. I will defer to your judgment. We must do what is best for the greater good.”
The guard outside interrupted them. “Your Majesty, Lieutenant Norkon has arrived with his guest.”
Kitsuki straightened, composing his features into the calm, regal expression expected of a king. “Send them in.”
The tent flap opened, and for one merciful heartbeat, Kitsuki registered only the familiar scent of Maseo’s beautiful blend of sun-warmed cedar, wild mountain herbs, and the subtle sweetness of berries.
Then the second wave hit him.
The cedar ignited into smoldering incense that coiled through his senses with deliberate, sinuous intent. His herbal undertones had transformed into an aphrodisiac that made his mouth desperate to taste its source. The berries fermented into amulled wine so rich that loosened his inhibitions. Beneath it all pulsed the unmistakable, primal scent of sweat-slicked bodies moving together in the ancient, carnal rhythm.
Heat. Maseo was inheat.
Kitsuki’s body responded with such force that he had to steady himself against the war table. With practiced discipline, he forced ice through his veins, suppressed his scent, and fought the physical evidence of his arousal before it could manifest in a tent full of shifters with heightened senses.
Take him, his dragon commanded, the words vibrating through Kitsuki’s mind.He burns for us. No one else reacts because his body only calls to us. We must answer.
Kitsuki pushed his dragon down.Not now. Not like this.
His dragon retaliated by flooding his mind with images of Maseo naked and writhing beneath him, legs wrapped around Kitsuki’s waist as he drove deep into his willing body. The vision was so vivid that he could almost feel Maseo’s inner walls clenching around him, could hear the broken moans escaping those lips with each thrust.
Silence, Kitsuki commanded his dragon. But he responded with a more explicit vision of Maseo presenting himself in the most primal position of submission, looking back over his shoulder with eyes dark with need as Kitsuki mounted him from behind.
The effort to suppress both his physical reaction and his dragon’s relentless assault left Kitsuki light-headed. His impeccable, unshakeable control, which had defined him for centuries, fractured under the dual onslaught.
Respect our choice, Kitsuki reminded his dragon.We will wait until after the war. Not during it when he faces his father across the battlefield.
“Your Majesty?” Jaega’s voice cut through his internal struggle. His uncle’s perceptive gaze held a question that made Kitsuki’s stomach clench with dread.
Jaega’s eyebrow arched, a subtle gesture that spoke volumes between them. His uncle knew of the trinity bond, understood what Kitsuki and Auslin had discovered about their connection to Maseo.
“Lieutenant Norkon, Maseo,” Kitsuki acknowledged, forcing his voice to remain steady despite the storm raging within him. “Please join us.”
Kitsuki met Maseo’s gaze, accepting the surge of desire that followed as part of what he must endure. Every muscle in his body remained taut, not from denial but from the restraint required to honor the decision he and Auslin had made together.
He would yield so sweetly for us, his dragon purred, shifting tactics.See how his pulse flutters at his throat? How his scent deepens when we speak? He wants us as desperately as we want him.
His dragon forced another vision into his mind, one more elaborate and damning than the others. Auslin lay spread beneath the half-wolf shifter, face contorted in ecstasy as Maseo thrust into him. At the same time, Kitsuki claimed Maseo from behind, driving the rhythm as the three of them moved together in perfect, impossible harmony as the trinity bond completed.
The image sent a surge of desire through Kitsuki so powerful that his ice magic faltered. His cock throbbed, but he did his best to suppress it. Unseemly desires would not defeat him.
Norkon’s nostrils flared, and then a knowing smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. The raven shifter’s reaction confirmed Kitsuki’s worst fear that his control had slipped.
Kitsuki doubled his efforts, forcing his arousal down with brutal efficiency. The effort left him feeling hollow and drained, but he refused to allow himself to be exposed.
As Maseo moved deeper into the tent, each step brought a fresh wave of intoxicating aroma. Kitsuki burned with the need to taste, to claim, to possess. His body ached to be buried deep inside Maseo and bind him in the most ancient and irrevocable way as a mate.
Maseo himself seemed unaware of the effect he was having, though a faint flush colored his cheeks as he approached the table. Perhaps he sensed something of what Kitsuki felt but couldn’t yet name it.
Kitsuki straightened in his chair, reinforcing his walls of ice, burying his desire beneath layers of royal discipline. He was a king before he was anything else.
Chapter 28
Maseo
