“Be still, my mate,” she teases, echoing my words from before.

Hearing Zhuliya call me her ‘mate’ sends me into a frenzy. I yank her atop of me so she can touch her tongue to mine like before.

Her pussy pins my stoyuk between our bodies, and I shudder when she slides up and down the length of it.

I can still taste her, and I inhale sharply at the memory as Zhuliya’s scent inflames me even more.

She’s just as pink as I imagined but a thousand times softer, and I wonder how she’ll feel wrapped around—

“Ilian, I need you inside of me.”

Fuck, how can I deny her when she says things like that?

Deep down, I know this is wrong. It doesn’t matter that Zhuliya consents—she didn’t say ‘yes’ to me imprinting upon her and she deserves to know the facts to make an informed choice.

But I can’t stop. No matter how much I run from my execrable past, I can’t escape. Living among humans doesn’t make me one of them.

I’m not civilized—I’m a monster—and this is my mate.

The only thing I can see beyond the vision of the woman on top of me is the golden thread connecting my heart to hers.

An unbreakable bond that can only be shattered by the goddess herself; one that grows brighter and stronger with every touch.

I’ve been alone for so long that even if the force of my imprint wasn’t compelling me to mark my mate with my seed, I would still seek out Zhuliya’s warmth.

In the heat of the moment, it’s almost like I can pretend that someone actually loves me.

Zhuliya wiggles against me, becoming impatient, and I lift her until her pretty pink center rests just above my stoyuk.

She’s so small compared to me, and I lower Zhuliya with care. The sight of my white tip piercing her perfect folds rips a possessive snarl from my lips.

Mine.

My mate gasps at the contact, her gaze never leaving mine. She clutches my arms to brace herself but gives everything to me. There’s no resistance, and her trust humbles me.

There’s no doubt it’s going to be the tightest fit of my life—if Zhuliya can even take all of me. She’s dripping, but I want my stoyuk drenched in her arousal before I fuck her.

“You need to come again—you’re not wet enough for me.”

Zhuliya’s eyes widen. “I-I’m not?”

“No. Touch yourself while I hold you in place. Show me how you make yourself come.”

That fabulous streak of scarlet I adore tints her cheeks. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Have you never made yourself come before?”

She snorts. “You know I have.”

I cock my head.

Why would I know that?

“Then show me, soyam.”

The Ithaquan term of endearment flows from me without thought, but I won’t—can’t—take it back.

Zhuliya is my cherished one.

With a tentative nod, she traces a line from her collarbone and down her body, stopping at the hidden nub just above where we’re joined.

My breath catches when she circles it, and I memorize the pattern her fingers make that brings her pleasure.

She uses her right hand—the one with the bones along the fingers—and I’m enthralled by the sight of her long, glossy black nails working her sensitive flesh.

It pleases me that my mate unconsciously mimics my claws, even though it was unlikely ever her intention.

And seeing Zhuliya touch herself with them makes me even harder. I thrust upward in an imperceptible move, my mate’s pussy swallowing almost all of the white of my stoyuk.

She mewls, now using two fingers to press firmly against her flesh, rubbing quickly as her breath hitches.

Zhuliya’s head falls back as she abandons herself to the moment. I could live like this forever, the two of us connected, my mate forever etched in ecstasy.

“Ilian, growl at me!”

Her command surprises me, but I don’t hesitate to do as she requests because I know she’s going to come from it—because of me.

A feral snarl tears from my throat, reverberating between the two of us. It’s the keening cry of a man on the edge of his sanity.

It’s desperate, possessive, and needy, exactly how this woman makes me feel, but it does the trick, and Zhuliya screams as she explodes around me.

Great Ulu, even the smallest measure of her pussy around my stoyuk clutches like a vice, spasming as my mate rides out her pleasure.

Her beautiful face is painted in shades of elation, and it takes everything inside of me not to join my mate.

I grind my teeth against the sensation of her coming and focus on lowering her a bit more down my length.

She slips down with ease, taking in almost all the ridges on the underside of my stoyuk. That’s not even halfway down me, but I’m still impressed.

From my angle, it literally looks like I’m cleaving my mate in two, and like the fucking degenerate I am, I love it.

“Again.”

Zhuliya stares at me, still in a daze. “Again? You want me to come again?”

Her voice is husky and goes straight to my stoyuk. “Yes.”

“Ilian, I don’t—”