As she sat there, riding the orgasm, not realizing his fangs were still sitting in her skin, the surge of adrenaline and euphoria was ripping through her.
Ayla orgasmed harder than she ever had as she pulsated around him.
The bite alone was enough to push her over the edge.
Titan hadn't quite grasped what he'd done when her teeth sank into his neck in response.
In that moment, as they reached their pinnacle together, it felt like they were in another world entirely, and they felt as though they had merged into one.
The citrus-infused steam swirled around them, the scent still lingering thick in the air around them as the waters began to calm, settling gently against their bodies, still entwined.
As he held her tight to his body, a knot had formed inside of her that neither of them realized was even happening.
The Moon Goddess bound them together, adding a special touch to their bond by painting their skin with permanent art.
Their bites were adorned with matching crescent moon emblems framed by mountains, while Ayla's design was further embellished with delicate vines and white flowers.
They were both caught up in the heat of the moment, riding the wave of endorphins rushing through their veins.
"I never thought it would feel this amazing, having sex with you."
Ayla's head now gently rested on his chest, her fingers lightly tracing the contours of his muscles.
"If I had known it would feel like that, I would have let you do it a lot sooner."
When she was done, she began rolling her hips again, causing him to lean back a bit, pulling slightly.
That was when they realized he was knotted inside of her.
Both of them froze, terror washing over Ayla's face.
"What the fuck?"
Ayla wasn't sure what was going on, but she could tell something was definitely off.
That probably wasn't a good sign.
She sensed something had changed and instinctively pressed her hand to the spot where he'd bitten her.
She instantly pulled away from her own touch, the sensitivity too much to bear.
"You didn't? Did you bite me? What does that mean?"
She glanced at his neck and noticed the fresh marking.
"What is that? What does that mean?"
He glanced at her new mark, nervously rubbing his neck while carefully avoiding the spot where she had bitten him.
"I think we might be here for a short while. The consent thing might just be for the stories, and I don't think it's actually required. If you're mates, then you're mates. Until I know for sure, I'm not sure what will happen."
Ayla looked both angry and afraid, knowing he was just as worried.
"What is this?"
She pointed down at them, locked together.
If there was one thing Ayla couldn't stand, it was being trapped, and that's exactly how this felt.
"It's part of the bonding. We don't have to tell anyone. Your mark's lower, so you can hide it. I'll do my best to hide mine, too. It could actually be a good thing. I can protect you."
"How do you plan on doing that? Being with you won't stop other wolves from searching for me or trying to kidnap me."
Titan arched an eyebrow, challenging anyone to even think about taking her.
"I have the most elusive pack there is, and we're fiercely protective. We're also the only ones who've never chased you or sent anyone to kidnap you. The least you could do is let me try to protect you. That's all I've ever done from the moment I caught you in the woods. The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes."
Titan began by kissing her neck, then moved to her cheek, and finally to her lips.
She pulled away from his kiss.
"You didn't catch me; I lured you into my trap. There's a difference. How else was I supposed to figure out who was stalking me?"
"If that's what you want to say happened. We both know the truth, though."
He was starting to loosen inside of her, and he could feel it, but he wanted to be inside of her, to feel her warmth, the pulsation of her pleasure.
So, he started to rock his hips, which made her feel a certain kind of way, as he started to run his hands up her arms.
As he ran his hands up her arms, he made sure to bring the steaming water with it, which gave her goosebumps, then he started to caress her back, making her arch her back.
Before she knew it, the worries of not consenting to his bite were long gone, and the water was back to splashing everywhere, as she passionately kissed him, as she rode him with even more fierce passion than she did the first time.
Back and forth, up and down, hips in a circle.
It was heaven exploding between the two of them.
Titan took a hand and put it into the water, using his thumb to rub on her clit as she rode him as they both began to edge toward their climax.
When she was close to reaching her climax, he took his other hand and grabbed her throat, bringing her close to passing out, and released it just at the right second, "Moan for me," he told her.
She did as she was told and let out a loud moan, then went to kiss him.
As she began to climax, she bit his bottom lip, drawing a drop of blood, while putting a hand to his throat as he started to climax with her.
Once again, he was right where he wanted to be, knotted deep inside of her.
Now that he was satisfied, and he knew she was too, he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her from the tub as steam drifted off them both.
She hooked her legs around him for support as he carried her across the hall, into his room, and onto his massive, oversized bed.
She laughed and said, "If you wanted me to see your room, you could have just asked," teasing him for what felt like the first time.
He'd made his decision, though.
Ayla was going to sleep in his bed that night, and he wasn't about to take no for an answer.
She belonged to him, and him alone.
He'd take care of everything else in the morning, because all he wanted to do was snuggle with her in his big bed.
Phoenix and Julius quickly grabbed a snack, took a bath, and settled into their beds for some quality rest.
For the first time since leaving Scarlet Crest, they felt a sense of safety, and it didn't take long for them to drift into a deep sleep.
As for Rhae and Raphael, they found themselves in a similar situation as Titan and Ayla in their room, though it wasn't in the tub where they were showing just how much they cared for each other.
They quickly washed up before Raphael carried his love to their bed, treating her to a moment much like the one they had shared on the morning this entire trip began.
He tenderly showed affection to every part of her body, kissing from the tip of her toes on one foot up to her lips, then all the way back down to her other foot.
Once he made his way back down, he ventured back up and stopped where her thighs met and didn't stop making a special meal of her until she was nothing but putty under him.
Since she decided to leave Moonlight Shifters and be with him, Raphael just wanted her to relax and let him pamper her.
That night, she wasn't allowed to lift a finger, but as he finished licking up her ever-flowing juices and went to insert himself, she couldn't help but thrust her hips toward him to make him go that much deeper and that much harder as he went inside of her.
They were in pure ecstasy as they enjoyed sharing their bodies with one another until they both came together, and he collapsed on top of her.
After a few moments, he slid to the side and held her tight in his embrace.
"I can't explain how happy I am that you decided to come home with me. I don't know what I would've done if you had stayed there. You truly feel like my other half."
He pulled her in a bit closer as he finished talking, nestling his face into the curve of her neck.
All he needed was her permission to bite, and then she would be his.
Rhae found more comfort in his embrace than in anything he said.
Words are easy to say, but he made her believe he meant every single one, and that's what truly mattered.
With both of them content, sleep came without effort.
While the group drifted off into peaceful sleep that night, the same couldn't be said for all the wolves involved.
Back in Scarlet Crest, things were getting tougher for Dominic with each passing day.
He couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on.
At that point, Deva and Rollo seemed to have totally iced him out.
Not knowing what he had done, he was now completely relying on Lucas to figure out what had happened to keep the appointed wolves from doing their jobs.
Deva was clearly skilled at spying for the orphan network, a fact the duo quickly picked up on.
After she and Rollo got what they needed from Lucas that first night he arrived, she seemed to steer clear of him, too.
They just couldn't figure out what the pair actually knew.
Finally, Dominic had reached his breaking point.
Caught or not, it was time to get to the bottom of things, and he needed them to report to him just as Alexander had arranged.
That was the plan, and the last thing he wanted was for the group to come home and for him to be the reason it all fell apart.
If everything went according to plan, they should be arriving home within the next day or so with Julius, and he didn't want to seem like a failure.
So that night, as the town quieted down and the club wound to a close, while the young Deva slipped away toward home, Dominic chose that moment to cross her path.
The thing was, he wasn't going to do it by himself.
The wolf was heading out on a hunt with Lucas.
Lucas and Dominic slipped out of the apartment building, weaving through the most secluded paths in hopes of cutting off the elusive spy.
They had no clue how the network actually operated, who was involved, or how they managed to gather their information.
All that mattered was reaching her without being seen.
Now that they felt they had pulled it off, all that was left was to wait for her to walk past.
As they had expected, she was meeting Rollo in secret every night, making sure to stay out of the cameras' view.
That was why she had come over and hugged him that night while he was facing the monitors, curious to see the views he was watching.
She was good, he had to admit, because now that he thought about it, he couldn't recall seeing them on the screens after that night.
They were teaming up and steering clear of Dominic, and this was just one more piece of evidence.
Once she stepped into a dimmer area, the two men appeared and blocked her path, each grabbing one of her arms, and she just smirked.
"Hey, guys. I was just heading over to see you, Nic. I thought you weren't supposed to leave the apartment. You two know each other? That's weird."
She tried to act like her usual bubbly self, but both men could see through the facade, and all Dominic could think about was how much she reminded him of Ayla.
"Dom, she totally had you fooled at the apartment, didn't she?"
Dominic shook his head, hoping to avoid attracting any attention.
Lucas leaned in, offering Deva a quick piece of advice.
"Listen, I like you, but if you do anything to draw attention to us, things could go badly. We've got questions, and your real boss is on his way home. You might not want to get on this boss's bad side."
For the first time, Deva wore a serious expression.
"I'm not the one you need to worry about. Let's go."
They didn't really know what she meant, but they kept walking with her along the hidden paths.
Lucas and Dominic weren't familiar with the town or its occupants, and that might not be in their favor at the moment.
When they arrived at the building, they headed straight to the office and settled in where they could watch the monitors as they talked to her.
"Where have you been. Rollo too. Why haven't you been doing as Alexander asked and we agreed?"
"Honestly, we don't trust you. If Rollo and I are the only ones meant to know about you, then why is he here? He was at the bar the other night, watching us. You never should have sent someone to spy on us."
After saying that, she got up to leave.
"I wasn't there to spy on you," Julius said, sounding offended.
"I came to the club to see you because I happened to be here when you arrived, and I... well, I liked you. That's all there is to it. There was no spying involved."
Deva arched a brow.
"So, you're telling me you didn't come straight back here to report anything?"
"Nothing."
Deva tilted her head slightly and glanced at Dominic.
"So it was a test, then. You wanted to see if we'd admit we saw him. He's from wherever you're from. That much we know. We're not stupid; there's a reason Alexander chose us to keep an eye on you and the town."
Dominic's expression shifted in an instant.
"What do you mean, Alexander chose you two to watch me? He told me I was supposed to watch you two and the town."
Deva laughed, glancing at her cuticles before flipping her wrist to check the time on her watch.
It felt like she was waiting for something.
Dominic and Lucas watched the monitor while she talked.
"We were told to make sure nothing unusual happened around you. No outsiders came poking around. Then, out of nowhere, the same day he left, this one shows up. Kinda strange, don't you think?"
At that moment, Lucas caught sight of something moving outside the building.
Five men walked up to the front door.
"Dominic," he thought, so Dominic could hear.
Both men stared at the screen just beyond the beautiful blonde's head.
Rollo led the men inside, holding the front door open for them.
'When did he get access to the fucking building?' he thought to Lucas.
Dominic rushed to secure the building, but since Rollo had already slipped through, followed closely by the man behind him, there was no point.
All that was left for him to do was kill the lights and grab Deva for a game of hide-and-seek with the intruders.
Deva stayed quiet as a mouse, completely confident in the orphan network.
She knew they were coming because they hadn't received an alert that she'd made it through the front door, nor a message from her telling them she was safe and home for the night.
They guarded their tiny Moon Goddess look-alike, who was sunshine in a bottle.
As soon as he checked to make sure all the lights were out, he knew things were about to get interesting, as two pairs of silver and a gold pair of wolf eyes were staring at him from down the hall.
The realization made him glance at Deva, whose golden wolf eyes met his, mirroring his own.
"Fuck. Lucas. Turn the lights back on. NOW."