radicalducati Chapter 99
Chapter 99
Katrina’s POV
It was the night of our mating ceremony, the night I would be crowned the Alpha Queen of the Crimson Pack.
And still, it didn’t feel real.
I stood in front of the mirror, running my fingers down the bodice of my ceremonial gown, trying to anchor myself to the moment. The reflection staring back at me felt like someone else, a woman who had survived battles, betrayal, and heartbreak, and now stood on the edge of something new. Something sacred.
This moment had been years in the making.
Every scar etched into my heart, every challenge I’d endured had all led me here. My fingers trembled slightly as I tried to pull the back of the dress up, struggling with the ornate fastenings. The fabric shimmered like moonlight, clinging to me in all the right places.
And then, his hands. Warm, firm, and far too eager, they slid along my waist, drawing me back against him. I hadn’t even heard him approach.
“Marcus,” I whispered, biting back a smile. “Stop that.”
But he wasn’t listening. His lips found the curve of my neck, trailing upward with deliberate slowness, making it hard to think straight. I closed my eyes for a second, caught between laughter and exasperation.
He kissed me again, my shoulder, then my jaw, and finally my mouth. Every kiss was laced with hunger, with something that spoke louder than words.
“Adolphus, stop it!” I giggled, using his old name out of habit, my palm pressing lightly against his chest in protest.
He chuckled low in his throat and only pulled me closer, his breath warm against my ear. “I can’t help it,” he murmured. “You look stunning tonight, Katrina. I just... I can't wait anymore.”
I turned in his arms, meeting his gaze. There was mischief there, sure, but beneath it was something deeper. Possession. Adoration. Awe.
I shook my head, still grinning. “Well, you’ll have to wait a little longer. I need to get dressed properly.”
“I’ll help,” he offered with a grin that told me he had absolutely no intention of being helpful.
Before I could stop him, he swept me off my feet and dropped me onto the bed. I let out a surprised yelp, then laughter burst from my lips as I sat up and swatted at him. “Marcus!”
He leaned over me, his hair falling slightly into his eyes. “Are you really that surprised?” he asked, his voice lower now. Rougher. “Are you so impatient for tonight?”
I swallowed hard as his eyes darkened. “Maybe,” I said breathlessly.
His hands moved slowly, tracing the shape of my waist with reverence. But then, just as the heat began to climb again between us, his movements stilled.
He looked down at my belly. A beat of silence passed before he spoke.
“Not yet,” he said, pulling back slightly, his voice different now. Quieter. Measured.
I blinked at him. “What?”
He didn’t look away. His gaze remained fixed on the gentle rise of my stomach. “I want to be extra cautious until the baby’s here.”
I rolled my eyes with a smile. “You’re just using that as an excuse to tease me.”
“I’m serious, Katrina.” His tone softened. “I know you're strong. But I want to protect what we’ve created. I want to protect you.”
Then he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the curve of my belly.
A strange, warm stillness bloomed in my chest.
Something about that gesture, the way he kissed our unborn child as if offering a vow, made the world pause for a second. No noise. No chaos. Just us.
“Fine,” I whispered, my fingers brushing his jaw. “We’ll wait.”
We stood together after that, helping one another get ready. There wasn’t much talking. We didn’t need words. Every exchanged glance said more than a sentence could.
A shared smile here. A stolen kiss there. He adjusted my sash, I fixed his collar. We were a unit. Not just lovers, not just leaders, but something else entirely.
As I fastened the final clasp of my gown and turned to face him fully dressed, my heart swelled.
I had never pictured this, never imagined this life. Yet here I was, standing in our shared chambers, a crown waiting for me at the altar, and a child growing inside me. All the pain I had endured to get here had finally given way to something that felt like peace.
A sharp, abrupt knock came to the door..
I straightened, heart thudding. “That must be them. It’s starting.”
I walked to the door, fingers trembling slightly with excitement. The ceremony. The moment we’d waited for. The moment the world would see what we had become.
But when I opened the door, the excitement died in my throat.
A guard stood in the corridor, expression grave. His armor was still dusty from the road, and his jaw was tight.
I knew that look. It wasn’t ceremony. It was either war or something worse.
“What is it?” I asked, my voice low, tense. My stomach coiled as dread settled in my bones.
The guard hesitated, then spoke the words that made my world tilt.