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CHAPTER 33 - BOUND BY FATE



Castle Xanthe City of Aphelion, Wolfen Territory The Realm of Xathos



The room was bathed in the soft glow of dying embers, and Ailara was still catching her breath, the weight of the moment pressing down on her like a tangible force.

Dimitrios was still inside her, his knot keeping them connected as they lay intertwined on the bed of furs. It felt both intimate and strange, a physical bond neither of them had expected to form.

Dimitrios adjusted their position, pulling her closer to him as he shifted his massive body to make them more comfortable. Ailara felt the hard muscles of his chest against her back, the warmth of his skin seeping into hers.

They were both silent, but the silence wasn't empty—it was heavy with unspoken questions and thoughts and neither dared voice just yet.

Ailara took a slow breath, trying to steady the whirlwind in her mind. What had just happened between them was beyond anything she had ever experienced. It wasn't just the intensity—it was the feeling of something far more profound settling between them.

Ailara shifted her hips to be more comfortable and Dimitrios groaned. "Does that hurt?" she asked.

"No... Just very sensitive," Dimitrios replied.

After that, they were silent again for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Dimitrios?" she finally whispered, her voice breaking through the stillness.

"Hmm?" He sounded almost distant, still lost in his own thoughts.

"What... what was that?" She shifted slightly, feeling the unfamiliar tightness that still held them together. Her cheeks flushed at the sensation.

Dimitrios inhaled deeply, the sound almost like a sigh. "It's my knot," he said, his voice gravelly and filled with lingering desire. "It... it happens only in rare cases. In special circumstances."

"Special?" Ailara repeated, her brows furrowed in confusion. She felt the tightness again, her body's sensitivity making her acutely aware of the connection. "It didn't happen before. Not the previous times."

She knew him more intimately now than before but her cheeks still reddened at the thought of the past.

"That's because..." Dimitrios hesitated, as if searching for the right words. He seemed conflicted, almost vulnerable, which was a rare sight for the imposing King of the Wolfen. "It's a sign of a bond that goes beyond simple mating. A bond that only occurs between... true mates."

Ailara's breath caught in her throat, and she gasped softly. "True mates?" Her voice came out as a whisper, almost disbelieving.

Dimitrios tilted her head gently to meet his gaze. His eyes were intense, the gray depths swirling with emotions she couldn't fully decipher. "Yes," he said, his voice steady despite the turmoil beneath. "This phenomenon only happens between Wolfen pairs who are true mates. It seems nature or the gods have spoken, and you are my true mate, Ailara."

She shook her head, almost instinctively, as if the mere motion could deny the reality of what he was saying. "But... but that's not possible," she stammered. "We're different species. I'm Vampyr, and you're Wolfen. True mates are—"

"—rare for the Vampyr but not for the Wolfen," Dimitrios interrupted, his voice firm but not unkind. "Ailara, the signs are there. Your heat was triggered by drinking my blood. And my knot..." He took a breath, as if the words carried a weight he wasn't accustomed to voicing. "These are the signs of a true mate."

Ailara felt her heart pounding, her mind racing to make sense of this revelation. The Wolfen believed in true mates and they spend their whole lives finding their mates. But for the Vampy, true mates were the stuff of legends, stories told to children of both their kinds. Wolfen know by scent who their mates are. For the Vampyr, the sign is a bit more subtle: upon drinking the blood of their true mate, the pair gets stronger and faster.

True mates. A bond beyond love or desire—something preordained, unbreakable, undeniable.

But could that really be what they were?

"How long do we have to stay like... this?" Ailara asked.

"About half an hour is what I know," Dimitrios replied.

"Would this happen every time we mate from now on?"

Dimitrios shook his head. "I don't know. They say it only happens when the mating is... intense. But every time with you is intense."

Ailara blushed at Dimitrios' words. "Does it hurt? Are you uncomfortable?" Dimitrios asked. Ailara shook her head. "It's not painful..." Ailara licked her lips as she remembered feeling her inner walls stretch to accommodate him.

She also remembered the past three days where after they mated, Dimitrios liked to stay deep within her. She thought at first it was just due to the rut. But it must be a Wolfen instinct– something similar to their knot which forces them to stay together for half an hour after.

Dimitrios' gaze grew heavy lidded. "I see it in your eyes, Ailara. You like it," Dimitrios teased. Ailara simply looked away, hiding the blush that stained her cheeks.

Yes, she liked it. She liked it a lot. She liked having him inside her this way.

"What do we do with this information? About true mates?" Ailara asked, her voice trembling slightly. "This... this doesn't change what happened to us in the past. It doesn't erase the secrets that still lie buried between us."

Dimitrios' expression darkened, his possessiveness flaring to life. His arms tightened around her, pulling her impossibly closer. "You're mine," he growled softly, the words carrying a dangerous edge. "The gods and nature have decreed it. My wolf has accepted you, bonded with you through this heat. We will bury the past and move forward. I will never let you go, Ailara."

She shivered at the intensity of his words, her heart torn between fear and something that felt dangerously close to longing. "And what... what do you want of me?" she asked, barely able to keep her voice steady.

Dimitrios' grip on her didn't loosen, and when he spoke, there was a rough honesty in his tone that left no room for doubt. "You are my queen," he said, his voice low and fervent. "You will care for my people, just as I will care for yours. Together, our combined kingdoms will flourish under our rule."

He took a breath, as if gathering his thoughts, then continued, "As for being my mate... I want your trust and your submission, Ailara. Always. I want no secrets between us. And once every drop of Cerran blood is out of your system, you will tell me everything that happened."

The weight of his words hung heavy between them, and Ailara could feel the finality of what he was saying. It wasn't just a demand—it was a declaration of what he expected their bond to be. A union forged not only by the heat of their bodies but by the threads of fate and the will of their gods.

"The wolf has accepted me," Ailara murmured, more to herself than to him. "But... what about the man? And the king?"

Dimitrios shifted slightly, and it was Ailara's turn to groan.

He kissed her neck, his breath warm against her skin. "The man accepts you as his wife and mate," he said softly, his voice barely more than a whisper. "As the one given to him by nature and the gods."

He paused, and she could feel the conflict in him, the struggle to find the right words. "But the heart of a king... is not his own. It belongs to his people."

Ailara closed her eyes, a mixture of emotions surging within her. Relief, uncertainty, and something dangerously close to hope. Dimitrios was still an enigma to her in so many ways—a man driven by duty, power, and a possessiveness that sometimes bordered on obsession. But in this moment, there was a sincerity in his words that made her believe, if only for a fleeting instant, that they could find some kind of peace together.

She took a deep breath, her heart still racing, and opened her eyes to meet his gaze once more. "Then... where do we go from here?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Dimitrios was silent for a long moment, as if considering her question with the weight it deserved. When he finally spoke, there was a quiet resolve in his tone. "We move forward," he said simply. "Together."

It wasn't a promise of love, nor was it a declaration of an easy future. But it was a step—one that acknowledged the bond they shared and the journey that still lay ahead.

"Rest, Ailara. This heat is far from over," Dimitrios said. He reached between them and rested his hand near where they're still connected.

"This is mine," he said possessively. "I'll be inside you every single second of this heat and every single night from now until eternity ends," he told her.

Ailara's breath caught in her throat at the possessiveness and the promise of more pleasure in his declaration.

As they lay there, still connected by the physical bond that had been forged between them, Ailara felt a strange sense of calm settle over her. It wasn't the resolution she had hoped for, nor was it the end of all the questions that still haunted her.

But it was a beginning—a tentative, fragile beginning that held the promise of something more.

And for now, that was enough.



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Notes:

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