Page 21 of Courting the Tiger King (Romancing the Realms #2)
CHAPTER NINETEEN
WREN
T he magical pressure in the air had been mounting all day and even Wren wasn’t immune to its effects.
Three fights had broken out amidst the court already, and one particularly amorous couple had been escorted from the breakfast hall to the tittering of those surrounding them.
Nobody was particularly phased though, it was all par for the course where the lunar hunt was concerned.
Even those who didn’t actively participate would be helpless to resist the call of the moon, the basic shifter instincts rising to the surface until animal wants and needs were the driving force behind the urges to fuck and fight.
A regular full moon had far less effect on them than the moon that shone during the hunt. Humans and shifters alike considered it to be a holy day, the amber glow of the enlarged moon a sign that the Goddess was watching over them, ready to bestow her favour.
Wren wasn’t sure how accurate that was, but he couldn’t deny that the moon was something to behold. It had been visible since the dawn, strengthening as the day wore on and morphing from its usual silver glow to the amber-gold that signified the beginning of the hunt.
It was a perfect night. The rainfall earlier in the week had ensured favourable conditions for running amid the trees.
Fresh earth and magic permeated the air in a heady scent that made Wren’s heart thump harder.
Every hunt was unique, both in the people who attended and what transpired.
Some would run, either in human or animal form, some would claim a prospective mate, and some would kill the small critters that called the forest home.
Gabe and Skye stood at his side, as was their personal tradition, and the others who’d been invited to attend the king’s hunt were either fanned out along the forest’s perimeter or were already among the trees.
He hadn’t seen Neah and Zennon arrive, but he knew Neah was out there.
Could feel it somehow, like a tingle across his skin that increased the brighter the moon became until the forest was washed with golden shadows and he felt like he might burst out of his skin at any moment.
The moon reached its apex and, wordlessly, Wren shifted as Gabe did the same from his place at Wren’s side.
Magic rose in the air, thick and heady, and the thud of his paws hitting the ground sent sparks of feeling out from under him, rising up through his body until his head lifted to taste the night air and he released the snarl building in his chest.
The hunt had begun.
Miles of forest stretched out from the palace, surrounding the outskirts of the nearby town, and spanning the length of his kingdom. The dirt beneath him felt good, right , as he prowled forward and raked his claws across the tree closest to him, marking his territory.
Footfalls and soft breaths sounded in the vicinity of the tree cover and Wren paused, sinking down low and retreating into the shadows to watch the passerby.
Not her .
Disinterested, he stalked out from the underbrush and ignored the gasp of fear the human woman let out as he passed. His gait quickened, a scent from ahead catching his attention—sweet but earthy, honey mixed with the damp rain.
Was Neah hiding from him? The idea was amusing and he huffed out a laugh as his gait lengthened. The moonlight was his only guidance as he wove through the trees, the sound of breathless laughter and the grunting of an ongoing tussle mere blips that he tuned out in favour of the heartbeat up ahead.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The world narrowed down to that sound. A sharp breath, a muttered curse, and then footsteps. Fleeing.
Was she… running from him? Claws dug into the earth as Wren pushed himself to follow, to meet her stride for stride.
Neah.
As if she could hear him, her heart sped up and her breath hitched and his body vibrated with tension as her scent thickened. The sweet smell of honey grew stronger and Wren let his tongue taste the air, a growl vibrating in his chest. She was enjoying this.
So she liked to be chased. But would she like to be caught?
Her speed was impressive, but she was on two legs and not four despite the influence of the moon. It was a mystery they could look into later. For now, he was closing in.
As if she could tell he was growing closer, a burst of speed impressed him. Had she been holding back? He could just make out her form up ahead, the white silk of her jacket and trousers a ceremonial but impractical choice for running through the forest and the colour a beacon drawing him in.
Neah’s arms pumped at her side, the flash of her pale hands a blur as she ran, trying to increase her speed. It was an impressive feat, she was truly a worthy opponent, and maybe if she’d shifted she might have escaped.
But as it was…
Wren leapt, his paws hitting her back as he rolled so she was above him, taking the brunt of the impact with the leaves on the floor. If he’d been expecting that to be the end of the hunt, however, he was sorely mistaken.
A leg slipped between his haunches and before he could understand what was happening he was airborne. Laughter followed Neah’s retreating back as Wren shook himself, dizzy from the flip.
No matter, he reasoned. He could just catch her again, and again, until she was beneath him and begging.
Mud sprayed as his claws dug deep into the ground, pushing off with enough force to grant him a leap of distance as he pounded after her.
She was fast, but he was faster, something she had worked out, because now Neah used the trees to increase her speed, rebounding from trunk to trunk with strength that awed him.
He almost didn’t want to catch her, to interrupt the display of acrobatics she was putting on.
Almost.
This time, when he leapt for her he didn’t hold back. They collided in mid-air and he shifted simultaneously so that his claws and fangs would'n’t catch on her delicate human skin. Leaves shook as they collapsed to the forest floor and this time when she swung for him, he was ready.
She was panting, her wrists caught in his grip as he flattened her arms above her head, his body pinning her down carefully.
Heat burned in her eyes, arousal pinking her cheeks, tightening her nipples through the silky, now-ripped, shirt.
Even if he couldn’t see the evidence of her desire, he could smell it.
“Do you concede?” The words held more than a trace of a growl and his finger elongated into claws as he held her wrists with one hand and trailed the sharp point of the other lightly down her face, across her throat, down her chest. He pressed more firmly, groaning when the fabric split cleanly under his sharp claw and revealed the pearlescent brightness of her skin beneath.
She wiggled under him, her hips pushing up in an attempt to throw him off that only teased the both of them, her hitched breath telling him she realised her mistake when his eyes shut momentarily to regain control.
His claw nicked the soft skin, a small bead of blood rising to the surface there, and his fingers returned to their normal state immediately as he looked at her, apologetic. But Neah was unfazed, defiance marking the tilt of her chin, like she was daring him to take her right there.
He chuckled at the look and leaned slowly closer, enjoying the way her eyes dropped to his mouth and the warmth that poured out of her as she became pliant under him.
Wren closed the distance, holding back a hairsbreadth away from her lips and instead positioning his mouth by her ear. “Do you concede, caritas? ”
“Never,” she growled, and his laughter cut off only when she surged upward and caught his mouth with her own. For a second there was only bliss, heat and desire pooling low in his stomach as he hardened against her softness.
That lasted all of two seconds, before pain slammed into him and she fled once more.
Wren cursed soundly, pressing a finger up to his lip and shaking it off when it came away stained red. She’d bitten him.
The laughter couldn’t be held back and, this time, he kept things fair. Heedless of his naked body, he gave chase. If she wanted him to prove he could best her on two feet instead of four, then he would do so.
It was cool but not cold, the leaves slapping at his body barely a hindrance as he pushed through them with ease. Neah’s feet thumped rhythmically against the forest floor up ahead and Wren smirked. This was possibly the best lunar hunt of his life.
When the trees thinned, leading to an open clearing, he put on the burst of speed he’d been holding back, bolting across the open space and toward the gold lengths of hair that danced in the wind just ahead of him.
Neah glanced back over her shoulder and that was what cost her. Her eyes widened, following the broad line of his shoulders and then dropping to below his waist. She stumbled and, before she could hit the ground, his arms closed around her.
Her hair hung down in a golden sheet, her breaths warming his chilled skin as she looked up at him with wide amber eyes. The world paused in that moment, their heartbeats caught in sync until the world sped up again and her plump lips opened to whisper, “I concede.”
It was what he’d been waiting for. Magic washed over him, like the Goddess herself was watching, blessing them, and the influx of power made his claws return and fangs to arc down from his mouth.
His kiss turned into a bite, the mark blooming red on the skin between her throat and shoulder, the satisfaction making him growl as he tugged her closer and their lips met.
Neah may have conceded, but that didn’t mean she was subordinate, a fact she proved when she took control of the kiss, licking into his mouth with a possessiveness that made his cock swell, brushing against her stomach.
Her hand closed around it tightly and he hissed at the pinch of her nails, the wicked gleam in her eyes, pulling away and using his claws to finish the work he’d started before.
The silk of her shirt fell away fully, leaving the creamy expanse of her skin bared to the moonlight, and Wren swallowed hard, loving the way his mark looked against the relative perfection of her.
Small scars covered her body, battle wounds that were shaped like tiger stripes, and Wren traced each one with his mouth as he lowered her to the grass beneath where they stood.
He’d known he was right. She was his, whether she accepted it or not — the moon didn’t lie and the connection that throbbed between them was as tangible as the branches of the trees a few paces away.
Impatient to see her, all of her, his claws shredded what remained of her trousers as he pulled them free from her body, wanting to see more, to feel her against him, to taste her and breathe her in until he drowned in the scent of her desire.
Strong hands threaded in his hair, tugging at the long strands until his mouth tasted her skin, licking each line of scars on her body until Wren gave in and let her direct his head as she wanted, chuckling when her thighs came up and around his shoulders.
It wasn’t enough, though, so he unlocked them from his body and instead pushed them wide on either side of her, opening her up until she was spread beautifully for him, glistening with her own arousal beneath the golden moon.
He dipped one clawed finger into her, oh-so careful, and he grinned when she gasped, her hands flying up to clutch at his shoulders.
So she liked the bite of pain with her pleasure? He could work with that.
Wren withdrew, tasting her heady scent in the air as he pressed the tips of his claws into her inner thighs, keeping her spread open like a feast just for him.
He lowered his head slowly, watching her above the top of her mound, loving the way her eyes glowed and her hips bucked in an effort to reach his mouth.
He gave in, taking pity on her, and let his breath coast across her engorged wet heat before closing his mouth around the sweet bud that arced upward, throbbing for his attention.
Her cry made him growl, his tongue working her clit in circles that made her shudder before he stopped fucking around and sucked .
Neah’s back arched and when she screamed his name he felt his cock dip in response, the tip growing wet as she begged him with her body, called for him with her soul so loudly that he knew anyone nearby would hear. Would know she was his.
The thought pleased him and he smiled into her pussy as he speared his tongue into her entrance, lapping at her wetness as she writhed, begging him for more.
He obeyed. One finger, sans-claw, curled into her as he re-focused his attention back on her clit, sucking and licking it until she whimpered—only then did he curl the digit inside of her to rub against her sensitive inner walls.
When she came, she did so with a cry loud enough to send birds flying out of the trees, soaking Wren’s face as she throbbed against him and he grinned, enjoying the way she tried to ride his face even as he kept her pinned in place.
Once her shaking had subsided and the moon began to wane, Wren released her and backed away.
Their instincts had been heightened, they had acted on desires more animal than man, and now that reason would be returning to their bodies and minds, Wren wasn’t sure what he’d find in Neah’s eyes. Regret? Fear at what they’d just done?
He wasn’t sure he wanted to wait around and find out. Perhaps she herself didn’t know how to feel yet. She hadn’t been ready to accept that he was hers before, but now… Well, Wren could be patient.
Under Selene’s moon, he’d proven to Neah what he could offer her as a mate, in the most physical sense anyway. What he had to give her now was time.
Wren bent down, pressing a chaste kiss to the sweat-slicked skin of her forehead and then inclined his head before letting the shift ripple back across his skin and padding away into the night.