Chapter 106 - The Alpha's Mate **

"Aahh..." Sophie was startled by his action and reflexively pushed him away from her body but Leland was much, much stronger than her.

He pinned her hands above her head and continued the ritual. He suck the blood from her wound and pumped rapidly and finally... he released his seeds inside her. It was heavenly.

Now, they were one. A solemn feeling slowly filled his chest as the pleasure subsided. His body trembled slightly because he was overwhelmed with gratitude and love for this woman.

Mating was a blessing for all lycans. At this moment, they could bond with their mate, share joy and pleasure, and establish such a deep connection as a couple. Unfortunately, since Sophie was not really a lycan, her gene was too thin to feel that connection, only Leland could enjoy the process.

Perhaps, if there was a next time, and they could mate again, he hoped they could both do it properly.

Now, Sophie must have thought it was just normal consummation between a newly-wedded couple to formalize their marriage. It was fine too. She would have way too many questions if she felt the striking difference from her previous experience. Leland didn't think she was ready for the truth.

He was right. Sophie couldn't help but arch her back when her body was stimulated by his rapid movements. Her breath was panting and she let out nonstop moans, even though they were really faint.

The pain in her shoulder was immediately replaced by a sense of pleasure that was foreign to her when she was sent to a high place.  Did she orgasm just now?

Why did it feel different from what she experienced when she had sex with Nicholas? The pleasure she received from his pounding mixed with the pain from his bite on her shoulder and gave her a weird but pleasant sensation.

She didn't know that sex could feel this way.

Was this how the duke liked it? Did he enjoy playing rough? Sophie didn't quite know how to feel about this. She didn't dislike it but she also didn't want her husband to treat her roughly during sex. More than this would not be okay for her.

When her panting breath finally subside, his body had stopped trembling and he had released all his seeds inside her womb. The deed was done. He could smell his scent all over her and he loved it so much.

This woman, this wonderful woman was his mate.

She was his and his alone.

Leland closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling her sweet scent as much as he could, before he ended the intercourse. He could feel something different after he marked her permanently. He could feel... her feelings and emotions.

Right now, they were not the good ones. Her emotions were all over the place. Sophie was shocked because he suddenly bit her and sucked some of her blood. Her mind was filled with fear that Leland would take it further and hurt her physically to get pleasure.

Leland was really bothered by her fear. He instantly rolled over from her body.

This was enough, he told himself. He had established the mate bond between them. It was time to go and let her rest. If he lingered and didn't explain why he bit her during sex earlier, she would really assume that he enjoyed inflicting pain on his sex partner to reach pleasure.

He cleared his throat and said, "It's done."

There was not a shred of emotion in his deep and dark voice. This actually made Sophie feel awful. He didn't explain why he ended their intercourse that way. She bit her lip. She stopped herself from asking him about it because... it's just a one-time thing, right?

After this, there would be no more sex involved in their marriage?

So... who cares if that's how he enjoyed sex. He wouldn't get it from her again. This would be the first and the last one.

"Y-yes..." Sophie said weakly. She wanted to touch her shoulder, but she was worried he wouldn't like the gesture, so she decided to wait. She didn't want to offend him.

Leland could sense what she was thinking and knew she was now feeling uncomfortable with his presence. So, he reluctantly got up and got ready to leave. The man took his clothes from the floor and started getting dressed. He didn't say a word, worried that his voice would just make her feel more uncomfortable.

What should he say anyway? Thank you? Sorry about the bite? 

He was never really good with words, and of all the times, this was the moment where he didn't want to mess up by saying the wrong things.

Once he was dressed, the man said, "Good night."

Then he left, not even giving her another glance. 

***

Sophie watched Duke Romanov leave her room after sleeping with her. The man did not linger around for anything else. He performed the act of having sex with her without a hint of emotion on his face.

She covered herself with her blankets as she watched him leave, but that was unnecessary. The man never looked back at her that it made her feel as if she was invisible and that even having sex with her was nothing but one of his duties.

Sophie bit down on her lip. This was really the first and only time they would have sex... right?

Even though she wanted to forget about what happened just now, she couldn't really get rid of the memory from her mind. She kept thinking about his hot breath on her face, his body on hers... and the one time he kissed her before he penetrated her.

She knew that she should be bothered about this. A normal man would have had at least shown an ounce of interest towards her but there really had been close to nothing on his gesture as if only the act mattered and nothing else.

***