Page 14 of THE SOULBOND AND HER BELOVED (Beasts Of Wrath And Madness #4)

Chapter fourteen

THE STRANGER. THE INTRUDER. THE BELOVED.

“It’s bad." Lady Merilyn turned to the grand king. “Very bad.”

King Daemonikai came to a halt. “What is the matter? What can I do for her?”

Lady Merilyn looked down at the trembling princess. "Princess, can you hear me?"

The faintest whimper was the only response she got.

"She is suffering." She looked up to the grand king. " We must put her to sleep first."

"I have a sleeping potion in the drawer," Lord Vladya’s voice came from the doorway. He leaned against the frame, arms crossed, brows pinched with worry. "It does not work on me, but Faiwick swears by its strength."

Merilyn was already reaching for it, pulling open the drawer and retrieving the small glass vial. Uncorking it, she shifted to the head of the bed, lifting the princess’s head onto her lap.

Tilting the vial carefully, she poured a small measure of the potion between the princess’s parted lips, watching as it trickled down.

"She is in heat,” Merilyn murmured, watching for a reaction. "The sleep will not last long."

Across the chamber, King Daemonikai resumed pacing, agitation rolling off him in waves. Merilyn had never seen him look so helpless.

The potion worked quickly. Within moments, Emeriel’s lashes fluttered, and her head lolled to the side, her breath softening as she slipped into sleep.

A pained cry echoed from the adjacent chamber.

Lord Vladya stiffened, snapping to attention before he disappeared through the doorway, leaving Merilyn, the grand king, and the sleeping princess behind.

King Daemonikai halted. His gaze was fierce when it settled upon her. "Tell me what is wrong, Merry."

"I will, Your Grace," Merilyn hesitated. "But first, if you do not mind, I would ask that you sit down for this."

Frustration flashed across his face, and for a second, Merilyn was certain he was about to snap. “For Emeriel. Try to stay calm… for her.”

His nostrils flared, but the words had struck their mark. Running a hand over his face, he forced himself to steady his breathing, chest rising and falling in deep, open-mouthed exhales.

Finally, after a long moment, he lowered himself into the chair beside her.

"First, there's the heat suppressants," Merilyn began cautiously.

"I already gathered that much," he snapped, cursing unfiltered under his breath. "Morina should never have given them to her in the first place, damn it."

"Second, her body is waiting for her Beloved to soothe her heat, yet… it does not recognize you."

The grand king's face paled as the words sank in. “Our severed bond?”

Merilyn nodded, her expression sympathetic. “The princess isn’t just a Syren; she’s a Soulbond . One who has already been claimed through heat sex by her destined mate in the past. Her body expects that same connection, yet the bond is missing."

Daemonikai stared into space, absorbing the words.

"It would not be a problem in a different circumstance. All you would need to do is mount her again, and her body would recognize you. But because of the suppressants, her body is in survival mode, desperate to ward off anything it perceives as an intruder. And…" she struggled to find the right words. "I—I don’t know how to ask this, Your Grace…"

He sat with his elbow propped on the armrest, fingers rubbing his forehead as if trying to ward off a headache. Merilyn could only imagine the toll the situation—and his unsatisfied rut—was taking on him.

"Ask," he growled.

She cleared her throat. There was no delicate way to address this.

"That night your mind was… unclear when you mounted her," she threaded carefully "The experience was not… pleasant for her, was it?"

The distant, pleasured cries of Princess Aekeira from the adjoining chamber filled the silent room.

Daemonikai’s nod was shallow, barely more than a twitch, but Merilyn caught it.

“Was that your last… um, intimacy with her?”

His head turned slightly, and he regarded her from beneath his hand. "How could I possibly touch her again after that? It hasn't even been a month. I’m not a monster, Merilyn."

Merilyn nodded, pushing forward. "That night being your last intimacy with the princess has contributed to this, Your Grace. Her body now associates your touch with that memory."

"So what you’re saying is, her body isn't just trying to protect her from any intruder, but from the very one who hurt her… all while still waiting for her Beloved?"

"I am afraid so, Your Majesty."

His eyes slipped shut. He did not speak or move, sitting there in silence.

Merilyn had the sudden urge to reach out, to offer some small measure of comfort. But she was not foolish enough to touch a male fighting against the pull of his rut.

"I am so sorry, Your Majesty," she said softly.

He barked out a laugh, devoid of humor. "Why? It’s not your fault. I’m the monster that brutalized my woman.”

Merilyn turned her gaze to the sleeping princess. Even now, despite the potion’s effects, she was restless. Her breaths came unevenly, her small body shifting now and then, letting out pained cries.

"Can anything be done?" he asked in the quietest tone.

"Yes, actually." She lifted Emeriel’s head, resting it on her thighs.

King Daemonikai's head snapped up, his hand falling away from his face. "What is it?"

"You must reintroduce yourself to her body."

His brows furrowed. "How?"

Merilyn exhaled. "It will not be easy."

Impatience flashed across his face. "Tell me."

"Your semen. And a great deal of it." Merilyn could feel the heat creeping up her neck, but she cleared her throat and pressed on. "You must spill outside of her and then… reintroduce it with your fingers. Encouraging her to swallow, will also help. You need to do whatever is necessary to bring yourself to release as many times as possible, and introduce it into her body. Through your semen, her body may recognize you again."

King Daemonikai mulled over her words. "I am not the kind to climax quickly."

She had already deduced as much.

"That is why I said it will not be easy," she replied. "Yet you must find a way to make it possible. Do whatever you must. Keep these instructions in mind, and more than anything… simply be yourself."

"Listen to her body, notice even the smallest details… Then listen to your own and simply be yourself," he muttered.

Merilyn tilted her head. "Huh?"

"The Oracle. Those were the words she spoke to me. She claimed that to be the only way I could help Emeriel during this heat."

Merilyn considered this, then gave a slow nod. "That makes sense."

Then, she rose, carefully easing the princess’s head back onto the pillows. Emeriel shifted slightly but remained in a deep, troubled sleep.

"I will take my leave now," Merilyn said, pulling the covers over Emeriel’s naked form. "She will not remain asleep for long."

"You know a great deal about this," the grand king assessed her closely. "It has happened to you."

Merilyn's finger clenched in the folds of her skirt, her eyes going toward the closed door.

King Daemonikai followed her gaze. "It was with Vladya, was it not?"

"After our bonding ritual failed." She admitted, looking away from the door. "I could not believe it was over—just like that. After everything we had endured."

She gave a sad, fleeting smile. "Those were dark times. While trying to deal with the heartbreak, I went on heat suppressants. Vladya… he was an even greater mess than I was. And let us just say—our intimacies then were for all the wrong reasons, and they reflected that."

"When I went off suppressants six months later, my next heat with him was… a challenge." She shook her head, pulling herself out of the memory. "I daresay he has forgotten entirely. It was over a millennial ago, after all. But some experiences, a lady does not ever forget."

King Daemonikai nodded.

"I am delighted he has found happiness. That we both have. Our future was so bleak then… and now, here we are." She gave a soft chuckle. "And now I am rambling. Forgive me, Your Majesty—I will leave you to your duties."

“Thank you, Merilyn.”

She dipped into a graceful bow and took her leave.

***

Daemonikai remained lost in thought, pondering all Merilyn had said while watching over Emeriel’s restless sleep. He should have awakened her by now, but after the turmoil of the day she had endured, he lacked the heart to rouse her.

His rut had finally loosened its hold on him, granting him the clarity he needed to steady his thoughts and determine his next course of action.

Emeriel stirred. "My Beloved..."

That name, coming from her lips, always did something to him. For a name he had heard countless times over the course of his long life, there was something uniquely beautiful about the way it sounded coming from her. Everything with her felt new, different.

"It burns… I am burning," she cried, rolling restlessly to the side.

From beyond the chamber walls, Aekeira’s cries of bliss rose again. Daemonikai’s senses, amplified by his rut, picked up every detail. The wet sound of skin meeting skin, the murmured filth of passion.

He forced himself to tune them out, focusing solely on Emeriel.

Rising, he shed his loose pants and climbed into bed behind her. “Hey, little princess.” He turned her gently, rolling her to face him.

Her eyes opened slowly, pinching in confusion as they darted about the room before settling on him. The tension eased from her face.

"My king," she breathed, relieved.

Daemonikai kissed her, his lips claiming hers with a tenderness that belied the fire burning within him.

He pulled her flush against his body, his rock-hard cock pressing against her belly. Within seconds, she tensed, making a throaty whimper as her heat returned.

"Open your legs for me,” he said against her lips.

Her thighs parted obediently, and he found the swollen bundle of nerves, pressing firmly against it.

She gasped, hips jerking.

He kept kissing her, tongue ravaging her mouth with the same intensity he planned to show her sweet, aching core when she finally let him in.

His free hand wrapped around his thick, throbbing cock as he rubbed and flicked her clit, swallowing her moans.

After a long day of tension and a night of unfulfilled rut, he could already feel his first climax building. Any other time, Daemonikai might have tried to stave it off, but not now.

Now, he welcomed it. Let it build as he played her body like a finely tuned instrument.

She came with him, his release spilling across her stomach, warm and thick, streaking down to her womanhood.

Daemonikai let out a slow exhale, a bit of tension easing from his body. Scooping up the pearly seed, he pressed his hand to her opening. It remained sealed tight like sinful lips clamped shut to hold back confession.

He massaged the sensitive area, spreading his release over her slowly, deliberately, as quivers wracked her body.

Wrenching her mouth from his, she panted. "Please… I need… I need you inside me."

Daemonikai did not tell her he could not. Instead, he distracted her by kissing her again while smoothing every drop of his release to where it needed to be.

When he pulled back, her hazy eyes blinked up at him, clouded with want. The heat wave was there, enough to make her restless, but his touch was keeping the worst of it at bay. That was all he needed.

“I really need your...” Her voice wavered as her gaze flickered downward to his dick. “Please, don’t make me beg… Daemon, I tr-truly need it.”

"And you shall have it, young princess, I promise." He cupped her cheek, tilting her face toward him. "But only if you will be a good girl for your king."

"I will, Your Highness." She nodded eagerly, hungrily. "Your wish is my command."

"Good. Now, come here.” He guided her where he wanted, maneuvering her until she was face-to-face with his arousal.

Gripping his thick length in his hand, he held it out before her. “Open your mouth.”

Her lips parted instantly, though confusion flashed across her face. They had never done this before. He doubted she had even heard of it.

Her innocence had always been intoxicating, made him possessive. Made him want to ruin her in every way imaginable.

Daemonikai slid his thick length past her lips, watching as her tongue darted out, giving the swollen head a hesitant lick. The shy exploration sent a low groan rolling from his chest.

"Suck on it, sweet Riel," he ordered, pressing deeper.

She gagged a few times as he stretched her, but she did not pull away, making a needy, breathless sound that made his cock twitch.

Daemonikai had no idea if it was the heat driving her, but his little star was eager now, lips stretching wider as she let him push further, deeper, guiding his cock into the tight, wet cocoon of her throat.

Fuck .

The sight of those refined, prim little lips swallowing his manhood as though she had done this a hundred times pushed him closer to the edge than the act itself.

Daemonikai kept control, taking his time, watching for the signs. How deep she could take him, when she needed to breathe, when she struggled, when she craved more.

And all the while, her tongue was learning him, flicking over the sensitive ridge of his cockhead every chance she got. Teasing him, tracing the pulsing veins along his shaft as he moved in and out of her mouth.

Soon enough, heat coiled in his abdomen, his balls pulling tight, pleasure building until he couldn’t hold back any longer. With a low groan, he spilled deep into her throat, shaking like some untried youngling getting his first taste of a female’s body. The first burst of his release hit the back of her throat, and Emeriel coughed, instinctively trying to pull back, but he kept his hand tangled in her hair. Holding her right where he wanted her as he groaned, spilling deep. "Take every last drop."

Her teary eyes fluttered up to him, and she nodded in obedience, relaxing into his hold.

Damn. Her submission, her trust.

Does she have any idea what she did to him?

Times like this, he was grateful their kind always released in abundance. Of course, the irony was, even with that, it was difficult to impregnate their females.

But right now, none of that mattered. Not when he was watching her throat work to swallow him down, feeling the desperate way she clung to him, knowing the work his semen was doing in her body.

His hungry eager kitten soon sought more, lips clamping tighter, eyes half-lidded in pleasure as she sucked greedily. Her tongue lapping, her mouth slurping with an eagerness that had his dick on a constant hard-on, fire in his veins.

And the night stretched on.

Session after session, she took him and let him use her mouth as he pleased.

But the longer he held back from giving her what she needed most, the longer her hungry pussy remained painfully empty, the higher her heat rose. A slow-building tsunami.

She grew restless.

Shifting against him, small, frustrated sounds slipping free.

At times, her hand drifted between her thighs, jerkily trying to touch herself, but the relief she sought eluded her and frustration followed. A sound of dissatisfaction, and her hand fell away once more.

The need clawed at her, harsher, deeper.

Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes as she sucked him down, humping the sheets in urgent, futile friction, frantic for something more as he released once again into her throat.

She began to weep. Cries of misery vibrating his length, her lust-filled blue eyes pleading with him to put an end to her suffering.

Fucking Ukrae. Daemonikai could no longer do nothing.

"Come here, dearling." Pulling her up, he gathered her quivering form in a full-body embrace. His lips brushed against the delicate curve of her neck.

At once, saliva filled his mouth at her intoxicating scent. His tongue darted out, licking the heated skin, before his fangs sank home.

She cried out, arching so hard. He shoved his thigh between her, pressing blatantly against her depraved clitoris as he drank.

"Yes… oh yes, oh yes , Daemon, Daemon—ahhh !" She undulated wildly against his leg, riding it for all she was worth, her cries dissolving into high-pitched moans.

Daemonikai released pheromones, pumping her full of them.

Emeriel went wild in his arms, bulking, convulsing, scratching, and pinching him with the intensity of her pleasure. He held her firm through it all.

And when she peaked, dissolving into a shuddering, wailing climax, he still held her.

Pleasure licked up his spine, and he was spilling again, his seed jetting in thick, hot spurts.

Dawn flickered through the curtains, bathing them in its light as he worked those drops around her much-softened entrance.

Then, he worked two fingers inside. A pleased growl rumbled in his throat as the stubborn walls parted for his digits.

"Fuck, you feel really good, my little star." He decorated her inner walls with his release.

She made small throaty sounds as he coated her Syren gland. And then, at last, he rolled, rising over her.

Grasping her beneath the knees, he bent her legs upward, angling her body until her hips were tilted, her back arched, leaving her open and ready.

His gaze locked onto hers. “Open your eyes, Emeriel. Look at me.”

Her lashes fluttered.

Slowly, those brilliant blue eyes opened, heavy-lidded, dazed from heat and exhaustion.

“You will let me in.” His cock nudged her entrance, not pushing inside, just teasing, massaging her there. “I do not care if our bond never emerges again but hear me now and hear me clearly. You are my Soulbond . You belong to me. You were made for me.”

"Daemon..." She blinked slowly, nodding.

“Look at me. Your body and soul are mine, just as mine are yours. Do you understand?”

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, soft as starlight, washing over him with more love than he deserved.

“Yes,” she whispered, her voice barely a breath. “I hear you, my king. My Beloved.”

Daemonikai braced himself to be rejected as he pushed in. To feel her body resist him, to be forced out again.

But she opened for him.

Wet and tight, her inner walls held him close, pulling him deeper, inch by inch. Welcoming him.

Daemonikai let out a low, ragged groan burying himself to the hilt.