The Mad Alpha's Substitute Bride-Chapter 67: Confessions

(CORRINE)

The last couple of weeks have been stressful. It’s been one thing after another. Locke coming back, clearing up our misunderstandings, trying to figure out my next step... It’s been hectic, and I haven’t had one minute to myself. But with Finn out of the house and Locke having returned to the North to deal with some emergency, I have the chance to sit alone with a bottle of wine and think, grieve the friend I lost, and consider the changes in my life.

I won’t ever truly get over the guilt I feel for George’s death. But with Locke providing me the means to financially support his family, I am relieved. George’s death also opened my eyes to something else, something far more profound: my own mortality. My future. I want a new life with my mate and my son. Suddenly, this house feels like less of a home and more of a temporary abode.

In the silence, loneliness creeps in. I’m always on the go, tiring myself out so that I don’t have to think about the emptiness within me that throbs and aches. Even now, as I’m patching things up with Locke, I can still feel a chasm between us. He’s holding himself back. His words are careful, as are his actions. When he touches me, he treats me as if I’m the most delicate thing in the world.

I don’t like it.

I understand that he has changed. Of course, he has. We both have. But it feels like he’s deliberately keeping some distance from me.

I know things won’t automatically become perfect between us, and we both need time, but impatience is brewing within me. Especially tonight.

I miss Locke.

With each glass of wine, the feeling is reinforced within me.

There is no anger or hurt any longer. Just loneliness. My wolf is miserable, and so am I. Tonight, I want the comfort of Locke’s arms. I want the safety that only his presence offers. I want to lose myself in him.

The only problem is that, with the way he has been treating me, I don’t think he’s going to make the first move. That is why I have to seduce him. Or be brave enough to tell him what I need.

Which is where the alcohol comes into play. Glass after glass.

There’s a well-cooked meal on the table for us, but he never comes. I throw the wine bottle away, tired and aching inside.

All the online blogs suggest feeding him and then getting close to him. None of them accounted for the fact that I would pass out after drinking an entire bottle of wine, though. Of course, he shows up when I’m passed out. It’s his scent that wakes me up. I don’t know where I get the courage to convince him to lie next to me. My body moves of its own accord when I straddle him.

And when the words come out, I can’t seem to stop them.

There’s a reason why I don’t drink very often. Because I tend to be blunt and say what’s on my mind. What I don’t expect is for Locke to react the way he does.

His hand reaches out and grabs a fistful of my hair before flipping us both over. When his mouth descends on mine, it’s to deliver a forceful, heated kiss that has my toes curling.

He doesn’t ask any more questions. He doesn’t stop. He simply stakes his claim.

The kiss is fierce, a clash of tongues and teeth, a desperate hunger in it. His mouth moves against mine like a starving man finally getting to eat. His body presses into mine as if he wants to take me right now. I can feel his hard length against my stomach.

I’m instantly sent back to a bedroom surrounded by stone walls, the shadows of the flames from the fireplace dancing along the ceiling as this man ravages me, his body sweaty and strong as he holds me, moving with me at a pace that leaves me breathless and delirious.

I can smell the musky scent of my arousal in the air, and Locke groans as his tongue pushes its way past my lips. I sigh as he licks the inside of my mouth, tasting every inch of me. His grip in my hair is tight, and his body has mine pinned to the bed. My nipples are painfully rigid, pressed against his hard chest.

His touch, his kiss, everything feels far too familiar. It’s almost like coming home. I hear something tear, and then there’s a breeze upon my legs as the fabric that was my pants is pulled off. Locke’s hand comes to fondle my chest, his fingers twisting and pulling at my hard nipples, causing me to moan into his mouth.

He releases my lips, his mouth trailing along my jaw as he forces my head back, settling on the spot where the mating mark is supposed to be. His voice is a throaty growl. "You want to claim me? I never took you to be so possessive."

My wolf paces inside my head, baring its teeth. "Well, I am." My nails dig into his biceps, drawing blood. "I’m not going to share you with anyone. Do you understand?"

He lifts his head to give me a feral smile. "Good." His hands run down my naked body, leaving a trail of blazing white heat across my skin. I tremble at his touch, and my back arches. His thick finger probes my lower slit, and he growls, "Even after all this time, you get wet so easily."

I whimper when he inserts not one finger but two, plunging them deep inside me. It’s an uncomfortable intrusion, my pussy is too tight. It doesn’t stop him, though, and as he pulls his fingers out at a punishingly slow rate, I gasp.

Locke uses those fingers to loosen me up for him, and remembering his cock as I do, I know I’m going to need it. I shatter on his fingers, crying out as he elicits orgasm after orgasm with ease.

My lips are parted as I struggle to breathe. My body is shaking, sweat clinging to me. I feel Locke hold my legs open as he pierces me with his cock. I can feel every inch as it enters me, and I call out his name, clutching him for dear life.

How did I live without him for all these years? Every part of me that he touches feels like it’s coming alive. With his cock fully inside me, Locke begins to move. My hands dig into the sheets, but his sweaty skin is too slippery. I meet him thrust for thrust, both of us chasing our pleasures. But I forgot about my mate’s stamina.

His cock still in me, he grabs me by the waist and twists me around. I yelp at the sharp pleasure. My stomach barely hits the bed before he has my bottom lifted up, his thrusts becoming harder and rougher. I find myself getting closer and closer to the edge, and when I cum, I scream out his name. But Locke isn’t done. My insides feel raw, and yet, I want more.

Panting and moaning, I feel his hand circle my neck and squeeze as he fucks me relentlessly. And then, he releases. His soft growl is followed by a red-hot, piercing pain where my shoulder meets my neck. I can smell the metallic scent of my blood in the air. The agony gives way to an intense pleasure, and I collapse with Locke, our bodies writhing with the aftershocks.

He holds me to him, his teeth still in my flesh. Tiny electric pulses pass through the most sensitive parts of my body, pushing me to the very brink. My eyes flutter shut, and then suddenly, I feel him.

All this time, the fated mate bond has been there. I could sense it, a soft, throbbing presence deep inside me. But now, I’m overwhelmed with this inexplicable warmth, this desire, this love so deep that it makes me want to weep. If there were any doubts in my mind about Locke or how he feels about me or about my safety, they’re washed away.

I can sense his emotions, every one of them. His love for me and his profound, unwavering loyalty humble me, and tears well up in my eyes. Our bodies are still throbbing from the force of the mating bond, and Locke silently gathers me in his arms. He holds me, hiding my face in his chest.

Is this what it is like to be loved? How is it possible that someone could love me so deeply? The truth is that even after Locke came back, even after we sorted things out between us, the most vulnerable and broken part of me still believed I wasn’t worthy of receiving love. Nobody could care about someone like me.

To be proven wrong, to see the evidence of how precious I am to Locke, shakes me to my very core. I didn’t know a mating bond could be like this. I never knew that I would be able to feel how he feels about me, that his existence would completely mesh with mine. We are two individuals, but we are also one.

After a prolonged silence, with Locke simply holding me, he finally asks, "Are you feeling better?"

I nod, sniffling. "That was intense. " I look up at him. "Are you okay?"

Locke wraps a strand of my hair around his finger and tugs it lightly.

"All this time, I had certain misgivings, doubts. When I found out you were alive, the initial relief gave way to feeling hurt. It seemed like I was the only one who cared. Like I was the only one who had been bereft. I didn’t realize how you truly felt about me. But I can feel it all inside me now, the things you don’t say. I will try to change for you, Corrine. I’ll try to become a better man. I will give you everything you could ever dream of."

I wriggle my arms free and wrap them around the neck of this big, hulking man who is feared by all and yet whose heart is soft when it comes to me. "I never want you to change. Who you are is perfect. And if I haven’t said it before, I love you. Despite what happened, despite what I believed had happened. Even when you found me, I could deny the truth to everybody but myself. I loved you back then, too. When you held me at night, I felt secure and safe. When you made sure I was fed and taken care of, I felt happy. But I didn’t know what those feelings were because I had never felt them before. I understand them now. I love you, Locke."

My mate presses his lips to my forehead. "I love you, too, Corrine. But I’m not good with words. If this is something you need to hear frequently—"

I give him a warm smile. "No. You don’t need to say it all the time. I know how you feel." He searches my eyes, and I tilt my head back to kiss him. "I will tell you enough times for both of us."

His response is a fierce kiss, and as he pulls me under him, I laugh, knowing he’s about to ravish me all over again.

I have a feeling I won’t be able to walk tomorrow.