Page 20 of The Alpha's Crimson Vow (Eternal Oath Saga #2)

Alex

The sound of her laughter fills the night, weaving through the trees, bright and full of something light. Something free.

Her arms tighten around me, her body pressed against my back, her warmth sinking into my fur, and my wolf is beside himself. He feels her, feels the way she clings to us, trusts us, and he thrums with joy, a deep, pulsing excitement that rattles through my chest. I can’t help it—I nudge her gently, urging her to hold on tighter.

She does.

She squeezes her arms around me, her body molding against my back, and that simple touch—that simple, innocent embrace—destroys me. I can feel her heartbeat drumming against me, fast and alive, syncing with mine, fueling something inside me, something instinctual and unshakable.

And then I run.

The forest blurs around us as I move, my paws pounding against the earth, the wind whipping past us. She lets out another laugh—loud, unrestrained, filled with pure, unfiltered joy—and I swear I feel it in my soul. It’s like she’s weightless, like the world hasn’t been sitting on her shoulders, like nothing has been trying to break her. I live for this moment. For the way she trusts me enough to let go.

I push myself faster, the thrill of the run surging through me. Her legs grip my sides, her hands fist into my fur, and I know this is one of the happiest moments I’ve ever had.

She’s here. She’s with me. After everything. After all the ways I’ve fucked up.

Eventually, I slow, my paws pressing softer into the dirt as I come to a halt in a clearing, the trees stretching high above us, the stars blinking against the deep navy sky. There’s a massive tree in the center, its branches stretching wide, and I let out a slow exhale before lowering myself just enough for her to climb off.

She slides down, her fingers running through my fur one last time, and fuck—that simple touch, that carelessness of it, nearly undoes me.

She’s still laughing, her voice breathless, her cheeks flushed, her entire body glowing. And then I shift. My body pulls itself back together, bones cracking and realigning, fur retreating into skin, and in seconds, I’m standing in front of her again. Human.

Her eyes meet mine, still filled with laughter, and I glance down at my watch. It’s midnight.

I look back at her.

“Happy birthday, Katherine.”

Her smile is immediate, so damn effortless, and she exhales a small, almost disbelieving laugh. “I feel like fifteen-year-old Katherine again.”

Something in me clenches at that, at the way she says it, at what it means. I swallow hard and force a small smile. “I’m glad I could make your wish come true.”

We sit under the tree, the quiet settling in around us. And for a long moment, neither of us speaks. Because this is what it should feel like.

Just the two of us. No tension. No anger. No weight between us. Just her. Just me. Just this.

I rub a hand down my face, exhaling slowly. My chest feels heavy, my thoughts pressing hard against my ribs. And then, before I can second-guess it, before I can let my own pride hold me back again, I look at her and say—

“Katherine, I need to say this.”

Her eyes turn to me, the lightness in them dimming slightly.

I clear my throat, hating the thickness in my voice. “I’m sorry.”

She blinks.

“For everything,” I continue, my voice quieter now. “For how I left you. For how I told you I used you. For making you think, even for a second, that you weren’t—” I stop, dragging a hand through my hair, my teeth clenching before I force myself to look at her again. “It was the only way I could think of protecting you from Valerian. I thought if I hurt you enough, you’d stay away from me. That you’d—”

My throat tightens. I shake my head.

“I just wanted to keep you safe.”

Her lips press together, her expression unreadable.

I keep going.

“I’m sorry for following you,” I admit, my voice hoarse. “For trying to stay close to you even when I had no right to. I—” I exhale sharply. “I was an idiot. A prideful, stubborn idiot, and I should’ve told you the truth from the start. I should’ve fought for you instead of trying to push you away.”

Silence stretches between us.

I wait.

The silence lingers longer, thick with the weight of everything I’ve just said. My heart pounds as I watch her, waiting—praying—that she’ll say something, that she’ll give me anything to hold onto.

Then, finally she exhales softly.

“I accept your apology, Alex.”

The words come quietly, but they slam into my chest with the force of a tidal wave. My wolf stirs, his ears perking, his presence thrumming stronger inside me than it has in months.

“I won’t lie to you,” she says, her voice steady but edged with something fragile. “I don’t know how to forgive you just yet. But I’m willing to try.”

Something inside me—something that’s been aching—breaks free. A sharp exhale rips from my chest, and without thinking, I reach for her hands, gripping them tight, pressing my forehead against them.

“Thank you,” I murmur, voice thick. “You don’t know what this means to me.” I lift my gaze to hers, locking onto those eyes I’ve missed so damn much

She sucks in a breath, and for the first time tonight, her eyes gloss over. Her throat works like she’s trying to hold something back, but then—

“I needed you, Alex.”

Her voice is raw. Almost broken. I feel my stomach drop.

She pulls her hands from mine, wrapping her arms around herself as if trying to hold herself together. “That day, when you left me… when you said those things to me…” She shakes her head, her lips pressing into a tight line before she continues. “I still hear them sometimes. The way you said it. The way you looked at me.”

A lump lodges itself in my throat.

“I had a private investigator look into the crash,” she continues, her voice barely above a whisper. “The one we were in.” She exhales shakily. “He found out that my parents were murdered, Alex.”

Her gaze flicks to me, pained and distant. “And I needed you.” Her voice breaks—just a little. “I needed you more than anything in that moment. And instead…” She lets out a shaky breath, her arms tightening around herself. “Instead, you told me I meant nothing to you.”

Fuck. I can’t take it.

I grab her hands again, pull her toward me—into me—until her head rests against my chest, until I can wrap my arms around her and just hold her.

Her body trembles slightly.

My jaw clenches as I press my lips to the top of her head, my arms tightening around her. “I’m so fucking sorry, Katherine,” I murmur into her hair. “I swear, I never wanted to hurt you like that. I thought I was protecting you, but I see now—I see how badly I failed you.” I shake my head. “I won’t make that mistake again. I won’t leave you again.”

She doesn’t say anything at first. Just stays there, breathing, feeling. I can feel her heartbeat against my chest, and it’s fast. It makes something inside me ache.

“I always try to be strong,” she murmurs, her voice small. “But everything hit me all at once. Finding out about my parents, losing you, the company going bankrupt—I didn’t even know how to stand anymore.”

Her words gut me. I move, just enough to bring my hand to her cheek, tilting her face up to look at me.

I hate the pain I see there. Hate that I put some of it there.

“I should’ve been there,” I whisper. “I should’ve held you up when you couldn’t stand.”

She doesn’t respond right away. Just watches me. And then—

“I missed you, Alex.”

Her voice is so soft, so unguarded, and fuck, I feel it everywhere.

I swallow hard, my fingers tightening on her face.

“I missed you too, Katherine,” I murmur, my forehead dipping to touch hers. “More than I’ve ever missed anything in my life.”

And then she kisses me.

It’s soft at first, like she’s testing the feel of me again, like she’s remembering what it’s like to want me this close.

And then I kiss her back. Harder. Deeper.

All the months of longing, all the months of suffering in silence, all the pain, all the regret—everything pours into it.

She fists her hands into my shirt, pulling me closer, and fuck—I’ve needed this. I’ve needed her. And now that I have her again. I never want to let go. My arms say as much as I pull her tighter into myself instinctively, the kiss becoming fuller, more insistent now, carrying the weight of everything I feel for her. Her mouth parts slightly and our tongues clash like two caged animals finally set free.

I drink into her, and she drinks into me. We lap at each other with such an untamed frenzy that it makes my pulse race. She moves now, setting herself up on my lap, our lips never parting from each other for even a second during the motion. Her hand claws at my shirt almost like she’s angry with it, and I indulge her. I take off the buttons, letting the shirt slip past my shoulders as I hold her weight on my lap.

I can feel myself pulsating, the firm ache of my need for her rippling through me like a wild fire. I grab her blouse, and she raises her arms into the air, letting me slip it off from over her head. We keep kissing as her fingers trace around my chest and torso with a frantic energy, almost as frantic as her breathing now.

The way her chest moves up and down as she breathes calls to me, and my attention moves to her bra. It disappears in a flash, slipping off her slender shoulders as she twists to give them room to fall off. Her kissing is so urgent, such a mirror of the intense desire that’s burning in me, but I pull out of the kiss. I need to look at her like this.

And goodness, what a sight she is, she bites onto her lower lip, still heaving heavy breathes that make her firm, round breasts look all the more irresistible. My mouth clings onto her nipple, and she lets out a soft moan as she cradles my face. Her scent fills my nostrils as I suck and lick at her hardened, pointy nipple, and I can tell she likes it by how she sounds and how she grinds herself against my crotch.

Feeling her like this, seeing her like this, desire taking over her, it fuels something in me. I want to see her pleased. I want to make her cum. My hand finds the zipper of her skirt, pulling it down and she wiggles gently as I pull the skirt off her. I pick her up in my arms and it’s like she has the weight of a feather. I set her down on the soft, cushiony grass and trail kisses down her neck.

I kiss every inch of her. Savoring the taste of her skin on my lips. Her neck, down to her collarbone, to her beautiful breasts and her hardened nipples, to her belly button. When I reach her thighs, her hand reaches down and grabs a handful of my hair. I savor her scent here, I savor the sight of her panties looking soaked. The fact that I can make her need me this much sends a thrill through me like nothing else could.

Gently, I obliged her impatient clawing at my scalp. I slip her soaked panties to the side and inhale deeply, taking in the scent of my meal served right in front of me. And then, without further ado, I dig in.

“Oh fuck. Alex!” She howls, her legs twitching with every lap of my tongue against her beautiful, wet centre. Her hands dig deeper into my hair, pushing me further into her. I thrust my tongue as deep into her as it can go, allowing its full length to slip in. And then I suck on her swollen clit, and I push my middle and ring fingers into her.

She matches the rhythm of my hands, pushing her hips into me, moving against me as my name falls from her lips. She says my name in low gasps, her eyes barely opened. But then she pulls at my face, making me look into her eyes.

“Alex. I need you now.” She says in a raspy moan. And fuck, the way she says it almost shatters me right there.

In a matter of seconds, I free my pulsating, stiff member from the cage that my trousers have become. It’s only then I realize that I’m drenched in precum, my sheer desire for her clearly evident in how unshakably hard I am right now. It almost makes me laugh at myself. I’ve wanted her for so long, I’ve yearned for her… for this.

She holds her legs open, a silent invitation in her eyes as she gazes at me with her lower lip firmly under her teeth. And I don’t hesitate.

When my hard cock sinks into her, in that exact moment, it feels like a welcome home. It doesn’t just feel good. It feels right. It feels justified in a way that is beyond description. It feels meant to be. Her eyes roll back at that first thrust, and I know that the feeling I have is the same in her.

I thrust into her purposefully, each one carrying within it everything I feel for her. It’s a promise… it’s an apology. It’s everything. “I missed you so much Katherine.” The words fall from my mouth.

“I wanted to hate you. I wanted to hate you so much.” She moans.

“I’m sorry baby.” My voice is raw, as raw as everything I feel.

“I missed you so much.” She cries out again, her hands moving frantically on my back. Her fingers dig into me, scratching along my back as I fuck her. It only fuels my fire, my thrusts become firmer, harder, more intense.

“Fuck… Fuck… I’m going to cum.” She screams out.

“Yes baby! Cum with me.” I yell as my hips move like something crazed. The forests fills out with our noises. With the sound of our skin smacking against each other and our voices piercing through the night as the moon shines down on us. I lose myself completely to the moment, I want the moon itself to look down on us and turn green with envy, wishing it could be the one experiencing what we are experiencing right now.

And then, we erupt. And it’s beautiful. Her mouth opens but no words come out, not even an audibly scream. It’s just a long gasp for air as her eyes stay locked on mine. The sight is what tips me over the edge, I explode into her like I did the last time I was inside her like this. And as the orgasm shatters me to bits, the golden thread flashes in my eyes. It stays there for what feels like an eternal second. It looks stronger, more beautiful than I’ve ever seen it, and I know she can feel it too.

My body feels limp and I drop onto her. Not in a hard way, but in a way that makes her wrap herself around me. My head rests on her chest and I can hear the thundering of her heart.

And then, we just lay there, caring nothing of time or anything else. In this moment it’s just us, naked in this shade under the moonlight, wrapped up in each other.

The night is quiet around us, the air cool against our skin, but all I feel is her. The warmth of her body, the steady rhythm of her breathing as she rests against my chest, her fingers idly tracing along my side. My arm is wrapped around her, my hand moving slowly over her bare back, savoring the feeling of her—of this moment.

This is perfect.

For the first time in months, I feel at peace. Like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

I tighten my hold on her, pressing a slow kiss to the top of her head. My heart is so full, that I can’t keep it inside.

“That was incredible,” I murmur, my lips brushing against her hair. “You’re incredible.”

She hums in amusement, nuzzling closer.

I grin, running my fingers through her hair. “I hope I’ve made this one of your favorite birthdays ever.”

. “Well…” She lifts her head just enough to look at me, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight. “I’ll admit, it’s definitely better than any birthday I’ve had since I was a kid.”

Something about that tugs at me.

She smiles, shaking her head slightly. “But seriously? I feel this… warmth inside me that I haven’t felt in a long time. And…” Her smile turns wistful. “When I was on your back, riding through the woods… it was like a dream I had as a child. A wish that finally came true.”

Something swells in me at that—this deep, intense satisfaction at having given her that moment.

I watch her, committing every detail of her to memory—her hair tousled, her skin glowing in the moonlight, the softness in her gaze that I never thought I’d see again.

She moves slightly, resting her head back on my chest, tracing absent patterns against my skin. And then, almost absentmindedly, she speaks again. In the same way she always seems to speak when we are together.

“When I have children,” she says casually, “I want to make sure their birthdays are special.”

My breath stills.

She doesn’t notice. She just keeps talking, her voice light, thoughtful.

“I always told myself that, after my parents never got me that puppy I wanted when I was fifteen. It seems silly now, but back then…” She exhales softly. “It meant everything to me. So, I promised myself that if I ever had kids, I’d make sure they never felt like their wishes didn’t matter.”

My hand stills against her back. My chest tightens. I don’t say anything—I can’t say anything. I just keep holding her, keep stroking my fingers over her skin like nothing’s changed.

But inside, my mind is racing. Because I know what she doesn’t.

I know that for a human woman, carrying a shifter’s child is dangerous. Lethally dangerous. The strength of our genes… the way the fetus grows… it’s too much for a human body. I’ve know very well how risky that is. I’ve heard multiple instances of human women who died while being pregnant for a shifter. It’s one of the reasons why marrying a human isn’t encouraged among shifters.

And suddenly, I can’t breathe.

But I know one thing for sure…

I will not put her in danger. Never.

We can be happy without children. We have this—we have us. That’s enough. It has to be enough.

But as she lies here, warm and soft against me, I can’t shake the way she said it. The quiet longing in her voice. Like it’s something she’s thought about a lot. Like it’s something she wants.

I close my eyes, my jaw tightening. I don’t say a word. I just keep holding her, keep running my fingers through her hair, letting her rest against me. Even as a quiet, uneasy weight settles in my chest.