The Royal Beta

Ch. 11 - Dante

Chapter 11 – Dante

Dante welcomed the pain he was met with when Emma's canines penetrated the skin on his neck to mark him and claim him as hers, forever. He had his own teeth buried deep into her neck as well. And neither of them was letting go, they held onto each other, drawing and tasting each other's blood.

Their still fragile mate bond was strengthening and their minds were connecting. They were in the process of accepting the other as part of their own.

It was excruciatingly painful, but in its pain was also the beauty of joy. Joy of unspoken wishes coming true, unanswered longings were finally answered. And there was a new kind of hope sparking in Dante. Hope that he wouldn't have to go through life alone after all. She would be right there with him. Emma, his Emma.

Yes, right now the pain was almost too much to bear. But they were going through this hardship together. That was all Dante had ever wanted. And in this hardship they showed the other their own devotion. And boy, was Dante devoted.

Some wolves didn't make it through the marking. They were not resilient enough to withstand the pain that was caused by the marking. The bond between those mates wasn't all that strong, but it wouldn't break if the marking were to fail. Those wolves would just have to fight that much harder to accept each other as full mates.

The stories told that the moon goddess wanted the marking to be a challenge to prevent couples from marking each other either on a whim, or against their will.

Dante knew Emma's knees were buckling as her hands were gripping his firm biceps to the point her nails were digging into his skin. He supported her by gripping her hips tighter. Her teeth sank deeper into his neck in response as she tried to transfer some of the pain onto him. And Dante welcomed that pain. He would take it all from her if that meant she would become his for all eternity.

Even with all the pain she was inflicting on him, Dante knew he was no saint himself. He was unable to stop himself from sinking his teeth deeper into her neck, drawing more blood into his mouth. She tasted define. The hold he had on her waist became almost unbearable. And for a brief moment, Dante was afraid he would break her back.

But neither of them gave in to the pain, neither of them was pulling back. They would hold on until they had come together as one person.

And just as the pain had reached its climax and Dante felt like he would cave, incapable of holding on any longer, the pain slowly diminished.

Yet Dante didn't dare to release Emma from his canines, afraid he was pulling away too soon. The both of them were standing like statues, waiting for something –anything – that would indicate the marking was completed. But they also didn't want to let go just yet. Now that there was no pain, they rather enjoyed the warmth the other provided them with.

Dante breathed out when little sparks started to dance on his skin wherever her skin touched his, and he knew without a doubt that Emma felt them, too. Slowly they retracted their canines.

As they pulled away, their gazes locked again and a smile broke out on their lips.

But the beautiful, dazzling smile on Emma's face soon turned to shear shock and shame. It dawned on the freshly marked couple that Emma's dad was still present. At least Dante had the decency to feel ashamed; usually marking happened in private. But not with them, Dante guessed.

Dante scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Not daring to look alpha Samuel in the eye.

He may have been the Royal beta, right now he was nothing more than his youngest daughter's mate who rudely marked Emma in front of her father. Though it obviously was with Emma's consent.