TY
Ihad lost control.
The very thing I feared had happened.
I had gone into a rut as soon as I entered her. At least Lance had the sense enough to keep his distance, but I ignored all the signs of my loss of control, and when I tasted her blood, it was as if my mind had left my body, and I only moved on primitive instinct. She had no idea how far gone I was at the time she suggested I bite her.
So, when I woke up hours later, it really wasn’t surprising that I saw a small red mark on her neck. It wasn’t from my fangs, that had healed with my saliva. No, it was the shape of a double infinity sign, about two inches long at the base of her neck. It was the mark of our pack magic. A claiming.
Fuck.
The others were going to be livid. She was going to be enraged. I had claimed her without her consent by biting her and pushing my alpha magic into her. And even if she had fully understood what I was doing, it was before Daniel, who was the pack lead. Technically, he should have claimed her first. How had I let myself get so out of control? I’d behaved in the very way that she hated the most. How could I fix this?
Billie stirred and stretched her body, eyes still closed. She lifted a hand and touched her neck where the mark lay. A sleepy smile crept up her lips. She couldn’t possibly know what she was touching, but I figured she must have felt good. It would give pleasure to her if she or I touched it, no one else. I could also connect to her mentally with it. I could feel her emotions and even speak to her telepathically, and she the same.
She would hate me when she found out. And I would feel it. Forever.
My eyes watered with the realization that I would lose her. Lose this beautiful, smart, funny, kind-hearted woman because I had no control over myself.
Billie opened her eyes and smiled up at me. “I’m hungry. Let’s go find food.”
She was so oblivious. She couldn’t tap into my emotions yet or understand, but she would soon. I had to tell her before the others saw. “I need to tell you something.”
She sat up, swinging her legs to the other side of the bed. “Can you tell me when we’re cooking? I feel like my stomach is about to eat itself. That marathon session took a lot out of me.” She got up and walked to the couch to throw on a robe.
I sighed and put on my pants, not bothering with anything else. I wanted to keep looking at her and remain where I was because it might be the last time she ever looked at me so kindly again. My heart felt heavy, as if a great boulder was squashing it. I touched my stomach, feeling sick.
She opened the door and paused, turning back to me with concerned eyes. “Stop being so melancholy. I can practically feel the gloom emanating from you. We just had a great time. I’m feeling really good. About everything. That knot was kind of awesome, and the fangs.” She winked at me and walked out of the room.
She had no idea that the only reason she knew my feelings was because of our bond.
When we got downstairs, Daniel was already there cooking. It was the evening, and I wasn’t surprised that so much time had passed.
Lila was sitting at the kitchen island with a glass of wine, chatting it up with Kai. She waved over at us. “Hey guys, had fun? At least it sounded that way. I’m going to need you guys to solve this demon thing quickly so I can get out of this house where everyone’s having great sex but me.”
Billie gave an embarrassed chuckle and peeked over at the stove where Daniel stood. “We can find you a harem.”
Lila tapped her chin. “Do betas get to have harems?”
Billie shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”
Daniel tilted his head back, glancing over to Billie and then me. He then looked back at Billie, his eyes narrowing with an unreadable expression as he looked at her neck. “Explain.”
I nodded quickly, already knowing what he meant and that he was not talking to Billie.
Kai lifted his head and sniffed the air, a scowl overshadowing his face. “Did you fucking claim her!” he shouted, jumping off his bar stool.
I braced myself for whatever attack he was going to give. I deserved it. “It was an accident. I wasn’t in my right head.”
Daniel stopped stirring his food and put his spoon down. “I expected this of Kai and maybe even Lance, if he wasn’t keeping away, but you, I had more faith in.”
Lila and Billie exchanged confused looks. She quickly touched her neck again, then lifted her brows in surprise. Her mouth dropped open, but she didn’t say anything as Lila leaned forward and inspected her friend’s neck. Stunned would be the best way to describe Billie’s face as it was frozen. She didn’t even look like she was breathing.
I wanted to get on my knees in front of her and beg for forgiveness. But Kai stood in front of me instead. He crossed his arms but didn’t say anything. No, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if he’d claimed Billie without us discussing it. I shook my head. “Tell me how to fix this. I can leave the pack.”
Kai growled. “No, that won’t work because she’d have to go with you.”
Lance walked into the kitchen area, looking hesitantly around at our faces. “What I’d miss?”
