Her teeth break through my skin, and I roar as shedrinks from me. The pain is sharp but distant, overwhelmed by the pleasure crashing through me as I come harder than I’ve ever come in my life. I spill inside her, filling her up, claiming her even as she claims me.
Her tongue drags across the wound, sealing it, and I feel the final piece lock home.
Complete. Whole. Two halves finally joined.
She pulls back, her lips stained with my blood, her eyes hazy and satisfied.
“Tolin,” she whispers. “I can feel... everything. I can feel you.”
“I know, baby.” I kiss her softly, tasting myself on her lips. “The bond is complete. We’re fully mated now.”
“It’s so much.” Her eyes are already drooping, exhaustion pulling at her. “It’s so intense. I feel like I’m...”
“Sleep,” I tell her, rolling onto my back and gathering her against me. “Let your body adjust. I’ve got you.”
“Don’t let go,” she mumbles, already half asleep.
“Never.” I press a kiss to her hair. “I’ve got you, Imani. I’ve got you forever.”
She’s asleep within seconds, her body going limp against mine, her breathing evening out into soft, steady rhythms. Something has shifted. I feel not just her emotions but her presence, her soul intertwined with mine.
And then I feel it. The pull that’s been building for weeks, the one my bear has been fighting since before the storm ended. Hibernation.
She’s safe now,my bear rumbles, finally satisfied.She’s home. She’s ours completely.
The heaviness weighs on me, undeniable now. My bear is going under, retreating into that deep winter sleep that all bears need. I won’t be able to shift while he sleeps. Mysenses will dull, my strength diminish. I’ll be more human than I’ve been since I first shifted as a cub.
Vulnerable. For the first time in my adult life, truly vulnerable.
But I’m not afraid. Because she’s here. Because the bond is complete. Because I know, with absolute certainty, that my mate will protect me while I’m weak, just as I’ll protect her when I’m strong.
“Tolin?” Imani murmurs against my shoulder, her voice sleepy. “Something feels different. Your bear... he’s quieter.”
“Hibernation,” I murmur against her hair. “He’s finally letting go. He wouldn’t sleep until you were safe. Until the bond was complete.”
She props herself up on her elbow, her eyes searching my face. “What does that mean? For you?”
“It means I’ll be weaker for a while. Can’t shift. Senses aren’t as sharp.” I rest my forehead against hers. “It means I’ll need you to take care of me for once.”
Her expression softens into something fierce and tender. “I can do that.”
“I know you can.” I draw her back down against me. “That’s why he finally let go. He trusts you. We both do.”
She’s quiet for a moment, her hand resting over my heart. “How long will you be like this? Just a month?”
“Few weeks, maybe a month. It varies.” I’m already feeling the heaviness pulling at me, my bear sinking deeper. “I’ll still be here. Still be me. Just... slower. Sleepier.”
“Like a real bear in winter.”
“Something like that.”
She presses a kiss to my chest, right over my heart. “Then sleep, grumpy bear. I’ve got you.”
The words echo back to me, the same ones I said to her moments ago.I’ve got you.
My eyes drift closed. It’s just regular sleep pulling at me now, exhaustion from the claiming and the emotion of the day. But underneath it, I feel my bear settling into something deeper. His long winter rest, finally begun.
Tomorrow I’ll wake up weaker. More human. I’ll need her in ways I’ve never needed anyone.
