AN: God, I am terrible with updates I'm so sorry. I rewrote this chapter in places because I hated it, gonna get cracking on the final chapter as soon as, will have it finished by christmas (for real this time)

Merlin's Heat took three days to die down. During that entire time Arthur found that none-stop sex for hours on end, even with someone you desired more than anything and undoubtedly loved, was actually far more enjoyable in theory. The sex itself was not at fault, no, that was definitely the most pleasurable aspect of the situation.

It was the natural instinct of ensuring that his Mate was at full health, at all times, which rather made itself a nuisance. Constant repeated fucking took quite the physical toll it seems, and Arthur found that keeping both himself and his Mate on the opposite side of dehydration more than a challenge.

He shifted the panting sweaty Omega on his lap, grasping the slick thighs to hoist them further up on either side of his own hips. Merlin made a soft sound at the movement, the action causing him to rise and then fall back onto Arthur's cock.

It wasn't the most comfortable position, as Merlin had to alternate between grasping the headboard and the Prince's hips to steady himself, but it was one that was quickly becoming their favourite as the new shift in position allowed Arthur's cock to slide even deeper into his Mate's slick hole and making them both groan aloud.

Merlin let out a soft tired whimper as he tilted back his head, an invitation for his Mate to sink his teeth into his already kiss-bitten neck. Arthur thrust up with his powerful thighs as he bit into the warlock. His knot had long since deflated and the Alpha was close to becoming finally spent.

But it was Merlin who came first, his Alpha's thick cock brushing over his prostate one too many times as it threw him over the edge. The warlock cried out as he reached orgasm, arms looping around his Mate's neck and tugging on his hair, as he splattered their chests in another bout of cum.

Arthur chuckled tiredly as he squeezed Merlin's thighs again, throwing him back suddenly against the bed and pounding into him until he reached his own completion, before collapsing on top of his Mate, panting heavily.

He nosed Merlin's neck, inhaling the heady scent of cum, sweat and pheromones as they lay in an exhausted tangle of limbs.

"We need to get you something to eat and drink," Arthur murmured against his Mate's throat and the Omega hummed in agreement, but whined softly as Arthur rolled off of his body to grab the now almost empty pitcher nearby the bed.

The Prince poured the last of the water into a cup, handing it to his Mate. Merlin pulled himself up and drank greedily as Arthur rubbed at his back, finding all the bruises from their lovemaking with part guilt and pride.

Arthur massaged his Mates body, soothing out all the sore spots, pressing soft kisses along the bruised skin. The slight caresses and gentle administrations lulling his Mate into a sleep and Arthur wanted nothing more than to lie down with him, but instead forced himself to see about finding some food.

He was hesitant to leave his Mate alone and unprotected in their chambers, especially as vulnerable as the Omega was right now. But finding food and drink was becoming an increasing concern. They were lucky that Arthur had neglected a tray of his evening meal on the night of their first Mating; but it had only lasted so long.

Covering his Omega with a blanket, Arthur left the bed and stretched out his strained muscles. Conscious, that he must reek of sweat and cum, but so must his Mate, and it brought the Prince pride to know that he'd thoroughly marked the Omega as his own. However his own bodily stench could be a problem when leaving the Chambers in search of food.

With the knowledge he didn't exactly have any other options; Arthur dressed himself in a pair of loose slacks and opened his chamber door. Before he even left the room, the Prince noticed the tray on the ground beside the open door. An even larger pitcher of water sat on it, along with some bread, oil and cheeses.

Arthur's stomach grumbled and he was suddenly deathly aware of his aching thirst. He sighed gratefully at the offering of food left outside his chambers, retrieving the tray and bringing it inside.

He was already guzzling some of the water as he gently roused his Mate. Merlin took only a little coaxing in his sleepy state to begin eating the food offered as they both sat back on the bed.

"Where did you get this from?" Merlin asked, threw a mouthful of bread.

"It was outside the door." Arthur sighed again, and then rubbed at his eyes, the enormity of their Mating beginning to sink in. the offering food outside of his Chamber was undoubtedly from his father, and with him understanding the gravity of interrupting a couple in Heat, they had been relatively undisturbed during the past three days.

Merlin was clearly too drained to begin to care or even think about the ramifications of their coupling, but Arthur was starting to feel the nagging worry already. The fact that their Mating had been allowed to carry on without his father's guards bursting into the room, forcefully separating them and stabbing Merlin to end their bond - didn't mean that it had been accepted at all. But the offerings of food for the worn out couple was a sign of an understanding.

The Prince and his Mate quickly devoured what food that was there, and Arthur set the tray back down, then found a relatively clean sheet that had fallen to the floor, and cocooned it around himself and his Mate. He wrapped his arms protectively around Merlin's chest, and allowed himself to breathe in the sweet scent of their sex still lingering on the Omegas skin.

Merlin shifted comfortably in his Mate's warm embrace, relishing in the feel of the Alpha's thick cock lying against his ass, and the engulfing dominant scent that was Arthur. It didn't take long for Merlin to fall back asleep.

Arthur was awoken first, the sound of crashing cutlery and raised voices evident even through the thick castle walls. He jolted up, disturbing Merlin and just in time to see his Father crash through his Chamber doors followed by the heated protests of Morganna.

"Uther, I said wait! Wait! You can't just burst in this is ridiculo- Uther stop!" Morganna demanded, the beta's tone commanding but laced with panic.

The King barged past his Ward, seething in rage as he advanced on his son now alert on the bed teeth bared in a protective stance over his Mate.

"YOU."

"Father." Arthur growled, wrapping the waking and dazed Merlin into his arms.

"What is the meaning of this?! Are you MAD?!" Uther thundered moving closer to the couples bed, eliciting another growl from his son prompting Morganna to begin desperately pulling him back.

"Stay back, Father, I swear it! Don't come any closer!" Arthur all but snarled as Uther raged but halted at the foot of the bed.

Merlin let out a whimper before he could stop himself, the sound drawing Arthur to hold him even tighter.

The King fumed at the couple, but did not come any closer. Standing his ground as his Alpha presence filled the room, brushing off Morganna who was still tugging back his arm.

"Both of you please," She pleaded, buckling slightly under the King's dominant pheromones quickly as it flooded her senses spurred the betan instinct to obey the Alpa gender. "Let's not do this now, the Mate's are exhausted. We can discuss this tomorrow, we can't change what has happened now just leave it. Uther, please." Any other time, Uther would have felt pride at the Beta's strength, but for now he ignored his Ward, glowering at Arthur as he glanced between him and his Mate. Arthur stared darkly at his father, shielding the Omega close.

There was a tense silence, ready to snap at any second, but gradually Uther's breathing began to slow and he turned away.

"We will discuss this….later." He said in heavy finality, his voice tight in attempts to keep his anger tempered. Morganna breathed a sigh of relief, but Arthur did not lower his gaze nor release the protective hold on Merlin.

"You will see me in the Great Hall when the clock strikes at 3 this afternoon. Do not make me have the guards come get you, Arthur. Do you understand me?" He looked back at his son, expression stern. Arthur continued to glower at him, but nodded.

"Good."

Uther batted Morganna out of his way as he left the room. She frowned, finally letting her anger show, now that the need for urgency had dissipated. Looking back to the distressed couple she swallowed worldessly before following Uther from the room.

When both had finally left, Merlin let out another pathetic whimper, unable to hold it back. At the distressed sound of his Mate, Arthur let his aggression go in favour of comforting his Mate. "Shh shh it's ok, they're gone, I have you, Merlin, I have you."

The Omega bit back a second whimper and buried his face in Arthur's chest, his face heated with embarrassment. What was wrong with him? Since when did he respond to stress like a pathetic Omega? Not once before his Heat, had he ever felt this emotionally weak.

Arthur in response to his Mate's distress pulled Merlin fully into his lap and curled his legs tight around him. "It's gonna be ok I promise." He murmured softly into Merlins' hair.

Merlin despite his pride, clung to the Princes' chest allowing himself to be soothed by the closeness of his Mate. "I'm not going to let you go, Merlin." Arthur rocked him gently, "Never, I swear, nothing will separate us I promise." Merlin nodded as he inhaled the others scent deeply, the words calming him, his Mate calming him –

His Mate.

Shit.

He and Arthur were now mated. Their bond unbreakable.

And the thing about mated bonds: It often isn't easy to keep secrets from your mate; particularly secrets about, say – being a warlock.

Arthur was unsure when the comforting session had turned into another quick romp, but it may have had something to do with their naked bodies entwined as intimately as they were. Merlin's legs were wrapped tight around Arthurs's muscled thighs with his Alpha's hardening cock brushing against his entrance with every slight movement, until it pushed in.

Merlin sighed as he easily bottomed out, squirming in his Mate's lap to a more comfortable position. He found Arthur's lips, and it was only natural to lick into his mouth kissing him deeply. Arthur moaned softly into the kiss and Merlins's hands came up to rest on his shoulders, gently pushing him down to lie back on the tangled sheets.

The Alpha watched, his eyes hooded with lust as his Mate took a dominant position and began to ride him. The need to flip their bodies over and rut into him, hard and fast was not as strong as the desire to see Merlin him fuck himself on Arthur's cock, glistening with sweat and beautiful the way he was doing now. Merlins' head was falling to the side in pleasure, his mouth opening and closing with soft little moans and gasps as he picked up the pace.

Soon the sticky slap of skin on skin began to fill the air again, and Arthur groaned as he wrapped a hand around Merlins' cock. He pumped him lazily as Merlin was already close, his breath came out in short pants and he lent his head back facing the ceiling, and closing his eyes as he continued to ride Arthurs' cock.

With a short cry Merlin came, his back arched beautifully and Arthur moaned at the sight. He began to thrust up into the spent Omega, hands moving to hold each side of his hips to fuck up into his Mate. Soon Arthur was cumming too, and he panted splaying back against the sheets, Merlin dislodging himself from Mate's cock to lie across his chest.

They lay in contented silence, Uthers aggressive encounter pushed from their minds for the time being, but Merlin was remembering his earlier worry.

"Arthur," He murmured softly, kissing the Alpha's skin.

"Hmm?" Was Arthur's reply as ran a hand lovingly along his Mates' back.

Merlin sighed at the touch, but began to sit up and Arthur moved to face him properly, bringing an arm up to rub soothing circles onto Merlins' chest. "There's something I have to tell you."

"You can tell me anything, Merlin." Arthur said almost sleepily, a slight smile appearing on his face and it made Merlins' heart ache that he could lose this with just a few more words.

He signed again. "It's nothing, sorry just – be careful when you go to see your father."

The Prince's expression darkened at the reminder of the oncoming conflict. "Don't worry Merlin," He said firmly, and suddenly swung his legs off of the bed finding the pants he had discarded before the interrupted nap and pulling them back on. "I won't let my father do anything to keep us apart." He grasped Merlins' chin and pulled him into a kiss before grinning bravely at his Mate. "Ok?"

Merlin couldn't help but smile back. "Alright Arthur," He said softly, slipping out of bed as well. "I suppose you'll need to take a bath, and if you haven't noticed I'm in dire need of one myself." His grin suddenly turned mischievous as Arthur caught on and began to laugh.

"You're insatiable, Merlin." He purred softly, pulling his Mate into another deep kiss and kneading his ass. The Omega purred back in response before pulling away to grab a pair of his own loose slacks whilst Arthur left the Chambers momentarily to call for a bath to be drawn.

"I can get used to this." Merlin murmured, some time later as he settled against Arthur in the tub. "Makes a pleasant change from running to fill this bloody thing myself, just to watch you lounge about in it."

At that, Arthur chuckled and began to massage soap into his Mate's hair. "I suppose this is a pleasant change too; me washing you."

"Hmmm" Merlin moaned in affirmation and relaxed back against Arthurs' chest. "I could definitely get used to this."

The Prince let out another low chuckle as he washed Merlins' hair, eyes following the droplets of water which ran down his neck and shoulders over the claiming bites and bruises. He would see to it Merlin never wore that blasted neckscarf again.

Despite Merlins' earlier flirtation, both men were too exhausted and spent for any more forms of vigorous intimacy, and their bath was concluded once they were both clean.

Arthur kissed Merlin after they were dressed and pressed their foreheads together, revelling in the simple presence of his Mate. The strength of their bond threatened to overwhelm him for a moment and Arthur felt his chest tighten as he moved away, glancing at the clock which told him the time of his fathers' meeting was almost upon them.

"I'll be back, Merlin, soon I promise."

Merlin nodded as he watched his Mate go and sighed heavily once he was alone. He rubbed at his neck, the flesh tender with the marks of their coupling, but not as sore as the ache deep in his rear and up to the base of his spine. But it was a pleasant ache, a reminder that he was now claimed.

The warlock wanted to smile, as every thought about his Mate made him feel so contented and complete, but there was the nagging worry about his magic. Instead Merlin sighed again; there was nothing he could do about that now. Now was a time for: rest, thinking about what his job would even be now – he can't possibly be Arthurs' manservant AND his mate, and waiting for the Prince to return.

If it comes down to Uther not giving Arthur and him his blessing, well, Merlin still had his magic and he would not be separated from his Mate at any cost.