Her Chosen Mate

Part 24

(POV - Dual)

Aria stirred, her body sore and tired. It must have been the early hours of the morning, although she couldn't be sure. There were no windows in Marcus' room, and all she could rely on was her own body clock. It told her that there were a few hours left before sunrise.

Marcus hummed in his sleep, and she looked up at him. She lay on his chest, her cheek pressed close to his collarbones and her palm flat on his sternum. The muscle there rippled with each of his deep breaths, and she ignored the urge to run her fingers over the hard planes of his stomach.

She sensed his rut was over, his face finally smooth and free of the tension that had drawn almost each of his expressions into a harsh frown. His scent had lost the overpowering edge that had made her more drunk than the alcohol had, and she wanted to stay there, curled up against his side, and go back to sleep.

But the stickiness between her thighs had grown far too uncomfortable to be ignored, and she knew she needed to clean up before she left. There was no way she could go back home, not only smelling of another Alpha, but reeking of his cum.

And even though she kind of liked the idea of it, she squirmed out of Marcus' hold as slowly as possible, trying so hard not to wake him. It was pointless, though. He had practically fallen asleep inside her as soon as he'd hit his very last high and hadn't woken up since.

She got to her feet and cringed as the thick mixture of her arousal and his slid down her inner thighs. She tiptoed into the restroom, that was thankfully also equipped with a shower. She didn't have time to wash as thoroughly as she would have liked, but when she stepped out again, only a small part of her mourned the warmth between her thighs.

She walked back into the room and quickly got dressed. She grabbed her heels and her purse before casting one last glance at Marcus, who hadn't even moved since she woke up.

She sighed wistfully, thinking that Marcus was possibly the best partner she could have had after Aiden had broken her heart. She wished they could have been something more than just a one-night stand.

'Well, three nights,' she supposed, but that was beside the point.

She'd finally met a male who hadn't looked at her with pity in his eyes, who didn't know she'd been cast aside by her true mate. And who had seemed genuinely interested in her when they were talking at the club.

Even in the throes of his rut, Marcus had been lucid enough at times to speak to her, and they talked about so much while his cock was still buried inside her. They waited out those moments between the waves of intense rutting together. His fingers traced soft shapes on her bare back while he told her old stories he'd heard growing up. And when she sensed another wave coming, she'd cradled him close, letting her wolf guide her, soothing him through the agonizing pain until he was too far gone to notice it.

And when he came back down, he licked at her throat, nipping at her skin in a gentle show of appreciation before they started the cycle all over again.

Aria had always heard that when males, especially Alphas, went into rut, it could be a terrifying experience. But she had felt at ease with Marcus, even though he'd been a stranger just a few days ago.

Maybe that was why her heart panged as she slipped out, grateful that someone had already unlocked the door from the outside. She ghosted through the packhouse, letting her nose guide her to the front door and feeling a little sad as she slipped out. Marcus' potent scent faded away the further she got.

She sighed again and pulled out her phone. It was dead, although it shouldn't have surprised her. She'd wanted to text April, but had been otherwise... preoccupied with Marcus.