Rheakar arrived at my chambers carrying the particular satisfaction of a man who believes the world has bent properly to his will.
The evening had showcased Korin's humiliation perfectly, wine spilled, dignity stripped, authority reduced to servitude, and now he came to claim his other victory with the confidence of one who expects no resistance.
"You seemed more at ease tonight," he observed, his fingers already working at the fastenings of his jacket. "Perhaps seeing your former conspirator properly placed has finally freed your conscience."
"Your wisdom in the matter has proven itself," I replied, each word carefully measured to stroke his ego without seeming obsequious. "The mind settles when justice is visible rather than hidden."
This time, when he reached for me, I didn't flinch or stiffen. Years of marriage had taught me the choreography of his desires, and tonight I performed with an authenticity born of desperate necessity.
Each touch I allowed, each soft sound I released, each carefully calibrated response—all delivered with the precision of one who has learned that survival often requires masterful deception.
My mind retreated to that familiar floating place while my body played its role, counting heartbeats until this particular degradation would end.
Yet when completion found him, he didn't immediately withdraw as had become his custom. Instead, he settled beside me, his arm draped across my waist with an intimacy that felt more threatening than any violence.
This unexpected lingering set every nerve aflame with warning.
"I've been thinking," he said, his voice carrying a nostalgia that chilled my blood more than any threat.
"Once you conceive, once this heir is secured, perhaps we might restore what we once were. Luna and Alpha, as we were meant to be. The pack would benefit from seeing unity at its head again."
"An interesting consideration," I managed, each word walking the razor's edge between agreement and evasion. "Though much has changed in six years."
"Changed, yes, but not irreparably."
His fingers traced idle patterns on my shoulder, a gesture that might have seemed tender if not for the possession underlying it.
"You've learned hard lessons about loyalty and place. I've learned patience. Together, we could rebuild what your flight destroyed."
"The pack's needs must come first," I said, offering neutrality disguised as wisdom while my mind raced toward a more immediate crisis.
Beneath my pillow, Martha's potion waited, each moment that passed with him beside me another moment closer to discovery.
"Spoken like a true Luna," he said with satisfaction, as if my carefully empty words confirmed something. "Perhaps motherhood will restore what rebellion stole. You were softer before the triplets, more... malleable."
The irony of his observation, that I had been weak before my children, not after, nearly drew bitter laughter. Instead, I let my breathing deepen, feigning the exhaustion that often followed our encounters.
"The evening has drained me," I murmured. "Success requires rest."
"Then rest." But instead of rising to leave, he shifted to adjust the lamp on the bedside table. "I'll remain tonight. It's been too long since we shared sleep as properly mated pairs should."
The declaration transformed my bed into a prison more confining than any cell. Refusal would invite suspicion, questions about why his presence disturbed me when we were supposedly working toward the same goal.
"Of course," I acquiesced, though every fiber of my being rebelled against his continued presence in this space that should offer sanctuary.
As he turned to dim the lamp, I seized those precious seconds. My hand found the vial beneath my pillow, bringing it to my lips in one fluid motion born of desperate practice.
The liquid burned down my throat. Too much? Too little? But precision mattered less than prevention. The empty vial disappeared back into hiding before he settled again beside me.
Rheakar breathing gradually deepened into the rhythm of genuine sleep, each exhale marking time with agonizing clarity.
I counted to one thousand, then two thousand, ensuring his slumber was complete before I dared move.
The journey from bed to door required infinite patience, each movement calculated to prevent the slightest disturbance.
The corridors stretched before me like a gauntlet, my thin night robe offering no protection against the castle's chill or the possibility of discovery.
My bare feet moved silently against cold stone, following the servants' passages I'd memorized during my years as Luna. Each shadow could hide a guard, each corner could reveal disaster, yet necessity drove me forward.
Korin's chamber, more closet than bedroom, a deliberate humiliation in its dimensions, lay in the servants' wing where former Betas were housed to maximize their fall.
When I slipped inside, he jerked awake instantly, warrior instincts intact despite everything.
"Lyanna?" Shock transformed to alarm as he took in my state of undress, the wild desperation I could no longer hide. "What are you… if they find you here…"
"Listen," I interrupted, words tumbling forth with desperate efficiency. "I've taken the contraceptive, but it's nearly gone. Rheakar expects conception soon, and when the potion runs dry..."
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to continue. "If there must be a child, it cannot be his. The bloodline that destroyed Silvermoon cannot continue through me."
Understanding dawned in his eyes, followed immediately by conflict. "Lyanna, you can't ask… This is—"
"I'm not asking," I said, moving closer in the cramped space. "I'm choosing. Between two deceptions, I choose the one that might create life from love rather than conquest. Forgive…"
I began, but the apology died beneath his kiss, fierce with understanding that this moment offered both necessity and desire intertwined.
His tongue slipped between my lips, exploring my mouth hungrily as his hands found their way to my hips.
His hands framed my face with infinite tenderness, such contrast to everything I'd endured hours before. He pulled back slightly as he unclasped my nightrobe, revealing my breasts.
Goosebumps spread across my skin at his gentle touch as he cupped them in his palms.
"There's nothing to forgive," he whispered against my lips. "Nothing between us requires forgiveness."
Korin didn’t disappoint. His lips wrapping around one peak, his tongue flicking and suckling it into hardness. I cried out, my fingers tangling in his hair.
“Korin,” I gasped, my voice trembling as his hands roamed lower, sliding over the curve of my ass, squeezing greedily before slipping between thighs.
His fingers found my slick folds easily, parting them, sliding through the wetness, teasing my clit with expert precision.
“Please,” I begged, my voice barely audible. “Korin, I need you. Fuck me, please.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. In one swift motion, he stripped off his trousers, his cock springing free, thick and throbbing with need. The veins running along the length of him begging to be touched.
Korin didn’t make me wait any longer. With one powerful thrust, he was inside of me, stretching me in ways that made me scream his name.
My nails dug into his shoulders, my body clamping down on him.
"I've imagined this," Korin confessed between kisses, his voice rough with emotion. "Through the worst of the torture, through the darkest nights, I imagined holding you like this."
“I’m all yours, Korin,” I moaned, my voice breaking as he began to move, his hips slamming into mine with relentless force.
“Fuck, Lyanna, you’re going to make me come,” he groaned, his hands gripping my ass, lifting me slightly to change the angle, thrusting deeper still.
I could feel him everywhere, his body pressed against mine, his cock filling me fucking me into oblivion.
“I’m so close,” I whimpered, my body trembling with the effort to hold on, to keep myself from falling. “Please cum in me.”
The orgasm crashed over me, but Korin wasn’t far behind. With a guttural groan, he spilled inside of me. He held me close, his face buried in my neck, his breath hot against my skin as we both came down from our high.
“If there’s a child…” Korin began, his voice soft.
“Then it will be ours,” I finished firmly. “Rheakar will never know, but we will.”
The aftermath allowed no lingering tenderness. Reality crashed back with brutal clarity—I had to return before Rheakar's absence became discovery, even though I wanted to stay in this moment forever.