[b]Chapter 10 – Knotted by Proxy[/b]

[i]*What starts as permission becomes transformation. Ven submits—fully, knowingly—and through the bond, the pack feels everything. Three Alphas. One Omega. No jealousy. No apologies. Just instinct, desire, and something terrifyingly whole.*[/i]

Ven's breath hitched, caught in his throat as Hassan's paw hovered between his thighs—dangerously close, terrifyingly sure.

His heart pounded.

He should say no.

He should say stop.

But instead, his mind did something he didn’t fully understand.

It reached.

Not outward.

Inward.

Into the bond.

He didn’t know how—had never been taught. But something primal in him knew. Something inside him uncoiled like a tether on instinct. It stretched like a hand in the dark, trembling and uncertain, reaching for one thing.

Victor.

And the second he found it—

He felt him.

Not in words.

Not even in thoughts.

Just a presence—immense, warm, steady. Like a mountain wrapped in armor. Like teeth around his throat without ever closing.

Victor felt the call.

And he answered.

The bond thrummed—hard. Solid. A pulse of possessive, devastating understanding, so pure it made Ven’s throat tighten.

The message was simple.

I don’t care how many Alphas you touch.

You’ll always be mine.

Ven gasped, eyes going wide.

Not from fear.

From relief.

Like setting down a weight he didn’t know he’d been carrying.

The shame melted.

The confusion clarified.

He could.

He wanted to.

And it didn’t make him less Victor’s.

It just made him Ven.

The fox’s lips curled. Slow. Lascivious. Unrepentant.

He leaned forward, brushing his mouth against the fur of Hassan’s ear.

His breath was hot. His voice low.

And what he said—

We’ll never know.

Because Hassan threw his head back and laughed.

A deep, primal sound that rolled through the walls like thunder. His arms wrapped around Ven’s waist so suddenly and forcefully that the fox nearly slipped—but Hassan caught him. Held him. Buried his snout in his shoulder, still laughing, still shaking.

The words didn’t matter.

The permission was all he’d needed.

And now, it was given.

The laughter still echoed faintly, a warm tremor in Hassan’s massive chest.

Ven remained in his lap, but the air between them had changed. Gone was the languid banter, the diplomatic foreplay. What lived there now was heat—the kind that fogged the windows and curled the toes. The kind that didn't ask for permission a second time.

Ven’s hands rested on Hassan’s chest, feeling the slow rise and fall of his breath. It was deliberate now. Slowed. Controlled. Like a creature preparing to feast.

Hassan’s paw returned—slowly, with no apology—to the inside of the fox’s thigh. His fingers brushed upward, spreading warmth and intent as he moved.

But it wasn’t rough. Not yet.

It was sure.

Ven’s legs parted, just slightly. Just enough.

The polar bear rumbled approval, nose brushing up against the fox’s neck again. He inhaled once more, deeper this time, and when he pulled back, his voice was velvet-wrapped iron.

“You smell like claiming. Like heat. You sure your boys got all of it out of you?”

Ven bit his lip, that same wicked grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Guess I’m a little greedy.”

Hassan growled, low and appreciative. “Gods bless the greedy ones.”

His paw shifted again, pressing more firmly, grinding against silk and heat and the unmistakable wet bloom of slick through the fox’s tailored trousers.

Ven gasped, eyes fluttering half-shut.

“You want this to stop,” Hassan murmured, his breath grazing Ven’s cheek, “you tell me now.”

Ven didn’t speak.

He rolled his hips once, slow, grinding back into the bear’s touch.

Hassan grinned.

That was his answer.

He leaned in, nose brushing Ven’s jaw, teeth grazing just under his ear.

“Good girl.”

Ven’s breath caught—a high, punched-out sound.

Not from shame this time.

From recognition.

The fox whimpered.

Hassan’s teeth nipped his throat. Not hard. Not yet. Just promising.

“I won't knot you,” he whispered. “Not unless your Alpha begs me for the footage.”

Ven shivered violently.

“I will, however—” his fingers slipped lower, more deliberate now, grinding against the soaked heat between the fox’s legs, “—fuck you slow enough to make the walls remember.”

Ven choked on a moan.

Their lips met—not sweet, not cruel—claiming. Tongues sliding, teeth scraping, the fox yielding just enough, just for now.

And far beneath the desire, beneath the power games and the political theater—

Something else stirred.

Something dangerous.

Something bond-worthy.

And neither of them were pretending anymore.

The Residence – Victor’s Quarters, Hours Into the Dinner

The first twinge hit just after the first course.

Victor had been standing by the window, arms crossed, staring out into the night like it owed him answers. The bond flared—a pulse of awareness, heat, movement—and the German Shepherd’s head tilted slightly.

Contact.

A scent memory. A heartbeat not his own. The faint hum of arousal that didn’t belong to him—but flowed through him anyway.

He closed his eyes.

Ven.

Across the room, Kael stirred in the oversized bed, sprawled on his stomach, one leg cocked lazily off the side. He blinked up at Victor, confused. Then he froze.

“…Oh.”

Victor didn’t need to ask.

Kael shifted under the sheets. “He’s…”

“Yeah.”

The silence between them was soft. Familiar.

Then Kael rolled onto his back, groaned into his forearm, and said what they were both thinking.

“I’m gonna need to jerk off again.”

Victor said nothing.

Kael got up and padded to the bathroom.

It wasn’t the first time.

And it wouldn’t be the last.

The fox’s pleasure—his heat, his submission, his intent—radiated through the bond like smoke curling under a door. It wasn't as strong as Victor’s tie. But it was enough. Enough to make Kael feel the shape of it. The sound of it. Enough to turn idle curiosity into need.

The first time Kael had gone in there, Victor had stayed by the window.

By the third, he was sitting in the armchair, gripping the edge, his own erection hard and heavy beneath his slacks, pulse thudding low in his throat.

He felt it all.

The flush in Ven’s cheeks. The breathless way he whimpered when someone else pressed between his thighs. The biting sting of jealousy sparked in Victor’s chest—but it was useful. It was part of the ritual. He fed on it.

Because it wasn’t disloyalty.

It wasn’t betrayal.

It was the pack.

Growing.

He breathed in slowly through his nose, grounding himself in the truth.

Hassan is exactly what he was meant to be.

He’d never like him. They were too different. Too old in different directions. One wore power like armor. The other like a weapon.

But Victor would make it work.

He had to.

Because everything—the whole structure—was for Ven.

And whatever happened behind those doors… whatever things the fox whispered into Hassan’s ear, whatever heat bloomed under another Alpha’s paw…

It didn’t change the truth.

The fox was his.

And this?

This was just another knot in the pack’s weave.

Victor closed his eyes, breathed, and smiled.

Tight.

Hungry.

Ready.

Victor’s Quarters — Deep into the Night

The air in the room had grown thick. Saturated.

Not with heat.

With him.

With Ven.

Victor sat on the edge of the bed now, shirt unbuttoned, chest rising and falling like he’d run ten kilometers through a monsoon. His jaw was tight, sweat slicking the fur along his throat and collarbone, knot swollen and pinned uncomfortably against the inside of his slacks.

Across from him, Kael lay splayed over the sheets again—panting, fist clenched, a thin sheen of slick sweat glistening along his massive chest and arms. His cock was fully hard, again, twitching with every pulse of sensation that wasn’t his and completely was.

“I c-can’t,” Kael groaned. “I can’t keep—”

Victor held up a hand. Silencing him.

Something had changed.

The bond snapped taut.

And Victor gasped. A sharp inhale.

Kael sat bolt upright at the exact same time.

Their eyes locked.

Neither of them spoke.

Because they felt it.

Ven’s pleasure—already mounting, already a siren song that dragged them to their knees—shifted into something deeper. Denser.

Not release.

But the edge of it.

And not just physical.

This was instinct. This was biology. This was the fox’s body surrendering to something bigger than orgasm. Bigger than play. Bigger than them.

Hassan.

His massive body pinning the fox beneath him.

His jaws—right there—on Ven’s shoulder, pressing against the delicate curve of the bond point. Not biting. Not yet. But ready. Willing. Tempting fate.

And lower—

Victor groaned, grabbing the edge of the mattress as he doubled over, legs trembling.

Kael let out a choked cry, hands gripping his own thighs.

Because they both felt the pressure.

Hassan’s knot.

Slick with Ven’s desire, pressed flush against the trembling rim of his entrance. Holding him there. Teasing that fragile ring of muscle. Not forcing. Not even coaxing.

Just waiting.

Just hovering.

Victor’s teeth bared. His claws dug into the bedsheets so hard the fabric tore.

Kael’s hips twitched violently. “He’s not—he’s not gonna do it.”

Victor’s breath was ragged. “He’s keeping him on the edge.”

Kael groaned, voice cracking. “Fuck.”

They both felt it: Ven’s trembling, his heat spiking. The high, whimpering gasps being muffled into thick fur. The way his body rocked, so desperate for that final push—so perfectly wrecked already—and still not allowed over the edge.

Hassan was toying with him.

Holding him like a starving thing cupped between massive paws.

So close.

The knot, throbbing.

The bite, poised.

And Victor could feel it in every nerve—every breath Ven took, every tremble, every mounting wave of unbearable tension stretched to a breaking point that would not come.

Kael buried his face in his hands, voice raw. “He’s punishing him.”

Victor’s eyes burned gold in the dark.

“No.”

He smiled.

Grim.

Possessive.

Pleased.

“He’s training him.”

Victor’s Quarters — Near Midnight

Kael had long since abandoned any pretense of composure.

He was on the floor now, legs spread wide, braced against the bed with one trembling arm while the other moved rhythmically over his own cock. His breath came in shallow pants, eyes unfocused, jaw slack.

Victor remained on the bed, knees wide, trousers unbuttoned, knot bulging, slick and wet with pre-orgasmic tension. One hand fisted in the torn bedding. The other palmed the base of his cock, gripping it hard enough to hurt—because he had to.

They were both there—with him.

Inside him.

Not just watching what Hassan was doing to Ven.

Feeling it.

The mount. The grip. The press of massive paws holding the fox down as his thighs trembled.

The teeth just over the bond point.

The knot nudging, grinding, threatening.

Ven’s heat flared through the bond like wildfire, mixing with the aching, glass-bright tension of instinct denied.

And then—

Then it happened.

It snapped.

Not in Ven.

In Hassan.

That last thread of restraint broke.

And Kael cried out, voice breaking like glass. “He’s going to knot him.”

Victor arched off the bed, a full-body shudder tearing through him as Ven’s body accepted it—opened willingly, eagerly, as Hassan’s knot pushed past the resistance and locked into place.

It was thunder.

It was detonation.

Slick rushed around it. Muscles clamped. And then—oh, gods then—came the bite.

Victor felt it like it was his own throat being claimed. His own scent gland being punctured. The weight of the bond sinking in like a blade sheathed to the hilt.

Kael came instantly, groaning into the bedspread, body convulsing as if he were the one being filled.

Victor didn’t.

He held on.

Because what was pouring through the bond now wasn’t just pleasure.

It was expansion.

Formation.

The third bond igniting. Not just Ven to Hassan. But them—Victor, Kael—being wrapped into it. Threaded through the middle. A ring closing around them.

Ven moaned in their blood.

Hassan’s growl rumbled in their bones.

And Victor—Alpha, handler, mate—felt the completion land in his chest like a heartbeat that wasn’t his.

For the briefest moment—

He was inside Ven.

Not physically.

Completely.

And through that intimacy, that unbearable union, he saw Kael.

Not as a rival.

Not as an intruder.

But as a brother.

And Hassan?

Still a bastard.

Still infuriating.

But necessary.

A shape in the bond that made it whole.

Victor finally let himself go.

He came with a ragged groan, hips jerking, cock pulsing hard between his fists, a snarl of something primal leaving his throat as the full bond set.

Three Alphas.

One Omega.

Not a harem.

Pack.

The Diplomatic Wing – Private Suite, Sometime After Midnight

Ven lay limp across Hassan’s chest, his slender frame trembling, slick-soaked thighs still twitching with aftershocks. His hair clung to his neck in damp strands, and the firelight flickered against his flushed skin, painting him in molten gold.

Hassan’s arms cradled him easily. Like he weighed nothing. Like he was precious.

The knot remained buried deep, thick and swollen, locked tight inside the fox’s slick warmth. The bond still pulsed raw and new between them, like lightning braided into blood.

Ven couldn’t move.

Didn’t want to.

His mouth was slightly open, breath coming in soft gasps. His eyelids fluttered, lost somewhere between exhaustion and euphoria, pinned in place by instinct, heat, and the slow, possessive rise and fall of the polar bear’s chest beneath him.

Hassan nuzzled behind his ear. Gently now. Reverently.

He pressed his lips to the fox’s temple. Kissed the place just beneath his ear.

And whispered, low and close:

“I don’t need to lead your pack, little fox.”

His voice was deeper than the fire, darker than smoke.

“I just need to be the one to put a cub in you.”

The words hit like a stone dropped into still water.

Not a boast.

Not a question.

An inevitability.

Ven’s eyes flew wide, pupils dilating.

And his body—

His body—

Clenched.

Tight.

Hard.

Possessive.

A moan tore from his throat.

And at that exact moment—

—from far away—

Victor groaned deep in his chest, collapsing forward against Kael’s bare shoulder with a low, hungry sound.

Kael arched, his hips jerking again as his second orgasm hit him harder than the first, eyes rolling back, teeth bared.

Because the bond didn’t ask for permission.

It broadcasted.

Ven’s mind blurred with the weight of it: not just the knot still locked inside him, but the truth behind Hassan’s voice.

The bear didn’t wonder if he would breed him.

He knew he would.

And so did Ven.

His fingers curled weakly into Hassan’s fur. His belly fluttered with something that wasn’t just fear, or lust, or instinct.

It was acceptance.

Because it was right.

Because this was how packs were built.

Not with declarations.

With cubs.

And the fox, ruined and full and panting, finally—finally—understood what he was made for.

Post-Midnight – Diplomatic Suite

The room was quiet now.

Too quiet.

Only the crackle of the fire remained, licking softly against stone, casting flickering shadows over fur, over torn silk, over bruised and sated skin.

Ven lay draped over Hassan’s massive chest, more breath than body. His thighs trembled, and his scent still poured out in soft waves of heat, bond-hazed and bred. His eyelids drooped, lips parted in exhaustion. The knot inside him had stopped pulsing—but the gravity of what had just happened hadn’t lessened.

If anything, it was growing.

Hassan ran a thick paw gently down the fox’s spine. Not a claiming touch now. Something kind. But unapologetic.

Then, with surprising ease, the bear shifted beneath him—one arm moving to brace the fox’s side. Ven barely had time to register the motion before he felt the knot slide free.

He let out a sharp gasp, the mix of pain and pleasure blooming again through his nerves.

Hassan caught him. Held him.

And then set him down, gently, on the plush rug near the hearth.

He leaned over, pressed a kiss—just a kiss—on the crown of the fox’s head.

“You should get some rest,” he said quietly, voice softened only slightly by the fire and the hour. “I don’t think your father intended for me to actually bond with you.”

Ven blinked, still somewhere between worlds, pupils wide, throat dry.

Hassan’s grin widened. It was indulgent. Relaxed. Untouchable.

“I imagine,” he murmured, “we’ll have an interesting breakfast.”

Ven opened his mouth—but nothing came out.

He just breathed. Shaken. Raw.

“Go now,” Hassan said, brushing a thumb along the fox’s cheekbone. “Tell the pack I’m excited to meet them.”

Ven rose slowly.

Unsteady on his feet.

Slick still clung to the inside of his thighs. His bond point throbbed with phantom teeth. His heart ached with fullness.

But his spine—

Straightened.

And his tail—

Flicked.

He didn’t look back as he walked to the door.

But his scent—

Smug.

Ruined.

Complete.

—told the bear everything.

Erem Residence – Victor’s Quarters, Just Before Dawn

The hallway outside the room was dark, save for the low amber safety lights lining the baseboards—enough to cast long shadows, not enough to soften what had just happened.

Ven stood outside the door for a moment, hand resting lightly against the polished wood.

His fingers trembled.

Not from fear.

Not from shame.

But from the gravity of it all.

He was still slick between the thighs, dried in some places, fresh in others. His legs ached. His scent was wrecked—not just from sex, not just from knotting, but from bonding. The mark still pulsed faintly on his shoulder, a soft heat under his fur. A bruise. A brand.

But the bond was steady.

Stronger now.

Not louder. Deeper.

He exhaled and pushed the door open.

The room was dim, lit only by the bedside lamp—muted yellow casting soft halos over the disheveled bed, the wrinkled clothes, the tangle of limbs.

Kael was passed out on his side, shirtless, one arm curled under his head, the other lying palm-up beside him. His massive chest rose and fell with slow, heavy breaths, exhaustion etched into every muscle.

Victor, though—

Victor sat in the chair by the bed.

Awake.

Waiting.

He was shirtless, too. Pants still unbuttoned, chest still damp with sweat. His eyes were gold in the low light. Unmoving. Unblinking.

He watched the fox enter like he had been watching the door for hours.

Ven took two steps inside, closed the door behind him.

Silence.

Victor’s nostrils flared.

His jaw tightened.

Ven opened his mouth to say something—anything—but his Alpha spoke first.

"You're still leaking."

Ven flushed, instinctive and sharp. He looked down, legs suddenly heavy again.

Victor stood. Slow. Smooth.

He crossed the room and stopped in front of him, one paw gently cupping Ven’s jaw, thumb brushing over the corner of his mouth.

"You smell like him," Victor said.

Ven swallowed. Didn’t look away.

"I know."

Victor leaned in, breathing him in deeply. The tip of his nose traced the line of Ven’s throat, pausing—lingering—just over the bite.

A sound rumbled deep in his chest. Not quite a growl. Not quite a sigh.

And then he kissed the fox’s forehead.

Tender. Certain.

"Welcome home, sweetheart."

Ven let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

Victor opened his arms.

Ven fell into them.

And behind them, Kael stirred—eyes fluttering open, gaze finding the silhouette of the fox wrapped in the Alpha’s arms.

He smiled.

Soft.

Safe.

Because the pack was whole now.

And tomorrow could burn.