Page 33 of Alpha Unbound

A predatory grin spreads across his face, baring teeth in a slow, fierce arc, as if something ancient stirs just beneath his skin.

Our bodies collide, the heat between us erupting into raw, urgent need.

A gnawing, unquenchable hunger fuels every touch and kiss. Any coverings we have fly off in a frenzy, discarded like leaves ripped from branches in a gale. With a low growl, Hudson spins me around and presses me back onto the bench, the wood cool beneath my spine. His palms grip my thighs as he spreads me open beneath him, his body towering, taut with barely restrained need. I reach for him, breath catching, and he comes down over me—mouth claiming mine, weight pressing me into the grain of the wood until I feel like a part of it.

One hand braces beside my head, the other sliding under my knee to hitch my leg around his waist. I arch up, hungry for the heat of him, my body already slick and aching. And then I ride his hardness, a low moan vibrating through my core as our rhythm ignites into something primal and consuming.

His hands clamp around my thighs with fierce authority, guiding me up against him, his dominance making my breath hitch. I ache for that raw edge, that wild intensity.

“Still want proof?” he growls, voice rough as gravel.

“I want you,” I gasp, words soaked in longing.

He fills me in one powerful thrust and I cry out, fingers digging into his shoulders, nails scoring soft crescents into his flesh—secret marks of our union. Our rhythm builds into a storm: each thrust branding me deeper, each movement a silent vow echoing through my bones. Sweat slicks our skin as we move in savage harmony, driven by pure, primeval urgency.

He trails kisses up my throat, across my collarbone, over my breasts, teeth skimming that delicious line between pleasure and pain. I clamp my jaws around his neck and he growls—a deep, rumbling purr vibrating in my chest.

“Mine,” he declares, voice unyielding.

“Prove it,” I challenge, fierce.

As I shatter into my climax, Hudson sinks his fangs into the curve of my neck, a savage bite that seals us together. His scent mingles with mine, an indelible mark of our bond. I cry out, my muscles clamping around him, a wave of white-hot sensation tearing through me until the world narrows to our fierce connection. The air around us hums with something wild—this is more than pleasure; it’s transformation.

Pleasure and pain crash through me in a single, shattering wave. I arch beneath him, my wolf howling in triumph, the bond flaring to life between us—bright, primal,permanent. His scent floods my senses. My blood sings. My body answers without hesitation, legs locking around his hips as I pull him deeper.

It’s not gentle. It’s not slow.

I shriek, every muscle clamping around him as ecstasy detonates inside me—nerves aflame, senses roiled by a white-hot tide. My vision blurs; each ragged breath feels stolen as the world narrows to our union. The air hums, electric and dense, alive with something primal. This is more than pleasure—it’stransformation, a crackling surge that leaves me clinging for fear of drifting away.

My legs give way, and I fold against him—trembling, frayed at the edges of feeling. My head lolls to one side as the last echoes of euphoria dissolve into a warm, foggy haze. Hudson catches me effortlessly, one arm securing my back, the other beneath my thighs, lifting me close. Skin gleams with sweat; a shallow gasp escapes me as mind and body fall out of sync. I murmur a few inaudible words, then stillness claims me—breath slowing, form slack. Not broken, not beaten—simply undone. Wholly, irrevocably his. He holds me like a treasure, jaw set, pulse drumming beneath my ear. I slip into the darkness in his arms, utterly claimed, forever changed.

It’s everything we’ve been holding back.

He marks me again with his mouth everywhere—my collarbone, my ribs, the dip of my waist. Worship and possession tangled in every stroke. My name comes out of his mouth like a prayer and a promise all at once.

And when we finally still, tangled in each other beneath the stars, the silence isn’t empty.

Somewhere in the woods behind us, a howl splits the night.

CHAPTER 13

HUDSON

The woods are quiet again, but not empty.

Kate’s curled against me, her skin still warm from our mating and the claiming bite, her breath even but shallow.

I can still smell her pleasure in the air, her satisfaction clinging to my skin like a second scent. The bond between us is new, raw, electric—like lightning braided into my spine. I’ve never felt so grounded and unmoored at the same time.

Not that I’d want to. The way she fits against me, soft where I’m hard, fire where I’m steel—it’s more than comfort. It’s right. Like a storm destined to break against the mountain. And as much as my instincts bristle at being still for too long, I could lie here another hour just listening to the rhythm of her breathing and pretending the world beyond the trees doesn’t exist.

I let her rest as long as I can stand it, but the stillness is starting to itch. My wolf wants to move—not from moonlight or instinct, but from purpose. We need to go. Not because these woods are unsafe. But because what we are can’t stay in the shadows anymore. Not from the pack. Not from the Hollow. Not from ourselves.

"Time to go, sweetheart," I murmur against her temple. Her eyes flutter open, dazed but sharp beneath the haze. She nods.

We shift again, fast and clean. The forest doesn’t fight us. It welcomes us now. There’s something different in the way the wind moves through the trees, like even the land recognizes the bond forged between us. Every leaf underfoot, every scent in the air—it all feels sharper. More vivid.

For the first time since I took the mantle of Alpha, the world doesn’t just feel like something I protect. It feels like something that finally belongs to me. To us. One wolf gray with tawny points, my coat catching glints of bronze in the low light. And one wolf whose fur was once as golden red as fire, whose coat has become silvered with reddish streaks, bold and unmistakable.

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