Chapter 23: Chapter 23:Mine
(Elena)
I’m not supposed to be watching.
I have three reports on my desk, a supply inventory that Brennan needs signed before noon, and a meeting with Senna in an hour. Yet here I am, standing at the window of the upper corridor, eyes fixed on the training yard below.
He doesn’t know I’m here.
Rhydian moves like a force of nature among the eleven young wolves—commanding, precise, unyielding. I watched the entire Cade situation unfold: the cocky comment, the deadly stillness that came over Rhydian, the way he chose control instead of rage. Four seconds later, Cade was on the ground. Then Rhydian offered his hand and pulled the boy back up.
Pride swells in my chest, hot and fierce. My wolf preens. This is *my* mate. The man I chose. The one I’m breaking and remaking into something stronger.
He dismisses the group and stands alone for a moment in the center of the yard, hands on his hips, head bowed as he lets the session settle. When he finally looks up toward the sky, his face is open—tired, satisfied, unguarded. Something deep inside me aches with possession.
Mine.
I step back from the window before he can sense me.
---
The rest of the day drags. Reports. Senna’s confirmation of the vial’s contents. The tightening timeline before Shadowpine makes their move. By dinner, I’m coiled tight with everything I’m carrying.
Rhydian comes in windswept and still buzzing with energy. We eat, exchange words about Cade, and I can’t stop staring at him—his jaw, the new scar on his forearm, the way he’s learning to belong here.
He catches me.
"You’re staring," he says.
"I know." I don’t look away.
The corner of his mouth twitches. Heat simmers between us for the rest of the meal.
---
Later, when the settlement is quiet and the fire has burned low, I come to our room.
He’s already on the bed, shirtless, one arm behind his head, staring at the ceiling. His gold eyes track me as I cross the room. I kick off my boots, then slowly strip out of my clothes, letting him watch every inch I reveal.
I climb onto the bed and straddle him without a word, knees bracketing his hips. His hands settle on my thighs, warm and rough.
"Elena..." His voice is already rough.
I lean down and kiss him hard, claiming his mouth. He groans into it, but I don’t let him take control. I push his shoulders back down when he tries to rise.
"Stay," I order against his lips.
His eyes darken with lust.
I grind down against the hard length of him through his pants, feeling him thicken instantly. He hisses, fingers digging into my hips. I reach between us, shove his pants down just enough to free his cock—thick, heavy, already leaking at the tip.
I wrap my hand around him and stroke once, twice, squeezing the way I know drives him wild. He bucks up into my fist with a growl.
I position myself over him and sink down in one slow, relentless motion.
"Fuck—" he chokes out as I take every inch of him.
The stretch is perfect, almost too much. I pause for just a second, savoring the way he fills me completely, then I start to move.
I ride him hard.
No gentleness tonight. I brace my hands on his chest and slam down onto his cock again and again, hips rolling with aggressive, demanding rhythm. The wet sound of my pussy taking him fills the room. His head tips back, veins standing out in his neck as he fights not to thrust up.
"Elena—gods—"
I lean forward, changing the angle so he hits that spot deep inside me with every downward stroke. My breasts brush his chest. I bite his shoulder, then lick the mark.
"Look at me," I command.
His eyes snap to mine, wild and golden. I ride him faster, grinding my clit against his pelvis on every downstroke. Pleasure coils tight and vicious in my core.
His hands slide up to grip my waist, but he doesn’t try to control the pace—he lets me use him, lets me take what I want.
I feel powerful. I feel *right*.
My orgasm builds fast and brutal. I ride him even harder, chasing it, thighs burning, breath ragged.
"Mine," I gasp as the pleasure crashes over me. I clench around his cock, pulsing, soaking him as I come hard.
Rhydian snarls, the sound pure wolf. His control finally snaps. His hips snap up to meet me, fucking me through my orgasm with deep, punishing thrusts. Then he flips us suddenly, pinning me beneath him for two brutal strokes before he buries himself to the hilt and comes with a guttural roar, flooding me with heat.
But I’m not done.
I push him onto his back again, climbing right back on before he can soften. I sink down onto his spent cock, working him back to full hardness inside me with slow, filthy rolls of my hips.
This time I ride him even more aggressively—wild, desperate, claiming. My nails rake down his chest. His hands grip my ass, helping me bounce on his cock.
"Again," I demand.
He growls, eyes locked on where we’re joined, watching his cock disappear into my dripping pussy.
"Fuck, Elena... you’re going to kill me."
"Good."
I ride him until we’re both sweating and shaking. When the second climax hits me, I throw my head back and cry out.
"Mine," I moan, voice wrecked.
He surges up, arms locking around me, mouth against my throat.
"Yours," he growls, deep and possessive, the word vibrating against my skin as he comes again, pulsing hot and deep inside me.
We collapse together, tangled and breathless. His arms stay wrapped around me, holding me close as our heartbeats slowly settle.
Outside, the frozen world waits. Three days until the new moon.
But right now, there is only this.
Him. Me. And the truth we’ve finally stopped fighting.
