When I lower my head to her neck, she exhales between parted lips. “Wh-what are you doing?”
Words won’t come—speaking would explain how I’m about to damn myself. All the distance created this week is obliteratedin the name of her safety. Even holding her in bed isn’t like this; with her back to my front, it’s easy to pretend she’s not meant for me. When she’s asleep and unaware how my insides are literally reshaping themselves around the beat of her heart.
But this…there is no ignoring what I’m about to do.
With my head in her neck, my wolf curls up and dies a happy animal. A low whine scrapes my throat, teeth clenching to keep the noise as hidden as possible before she questions it.
My hands travel the length of her body, slipping beneath the sweater until reaching her top and finding the smoothest skin. Female wolves aren’t like this. They’re rugged from living outdoors, but Carina’s been bred into a house of comfort. Four walls and heat and luxurious services at her fingertips.
Her breath catches as one hand cups her back and the other remains on her hip. I catch the sharp gasp with my mouth on her throat, first pressing a close-mouthed kiss to her clavicle to ensure she doesn’t throw magick at me. Then I trail up to her neck, lips parting the further I go until my tongue slips past and laps her skin.
Fucking paradise.
Years of restraint conceal my moan. Her taste bursts on my tongue, ensuring no matter what happens in the coming days or weeks, no matter how much I deny thenîkâkîstisbond, this moment will never be lost.
Her taste.
Her scent.
The beat of her heart thrumming against my chest.
The warmth of her breath against my face.
Her.
Mate.
Mine.
Claim.
Every instinct hammers into me as my tongue laves her neck, over her pulse, and down to her collarbone. Her heart thumps beneath my hands, and for my own simple pleasure, I pull my tongue back in to nip her with my teeth instead.
“Ryder… What…” My name on her tongue, a breathy sound, will replay in my head long after she goes.
I can’t stay here forever, no matter how much I want to. To ignore all that’s around and bury my head in her, and for fucking once, forget everythingbut her.
Before I move, I brace for what she’ll find in my expression; the wolf halfway jumping from my skin, my nails sliding up her spine making her shiver, or my teeth ready to pierce her skin with the bite that’ll ensure she never goes anywhere without me.
A mark that’ll link us together and signal her importance to everyone in there. A bite that’ll hurt a bit, to showherwhat she is to me, but one I’ll soothe and prove how I can care for her—for my mate.
Only when I trust I won’t do any of that, when I’m no longer about to sayfuck itand do all I crave, I lift my head to look her in those violet expression-filled eyes of hers.
“You’re in my clothing. My scent is on you. As a witch, they won’t expect me to protect you. As mine, it’d be a fight to start anything with you now. If I’m not around, remain close to Xander or Conan.”
Then, without another glance, I give her my back and start for the clearing. Every step is a shrapnel imbedding deeper in my gut. After having my hands on her—twice in one day—and my tongue savouring her skin, my instincts beg me to officially claim her.
Not only for the wolf, but forme. Ilikeher.
Xander throws me a look of pure amusement. Knowing about the bond, he assumes he’s aware of what touching her likethat did to me, but he’d be wrong because it’s so much worse than words can describe.
I pass them to lead the way into the clearing. Conan slips behind Carina, whose small steps stagger on the uneven ground every so often, while Xander hovers close, glaring through the treeline, at—if I know my best friend—Sterling, Alpha of Moonforge Pack.
There are three packs in attendance tonight. Moonforge from Saskatchewan, Goldridge from Seattle over the Canada-United States border, and Hightooth from British Columbia.
“You know what’ll happen if you kill him.” It’s the reminder I give every few months, sealed with a firm clap to Xander’s shoulder to break his daze.
A death caused my beta to another Alpha would spark a war we’d be on the wrong side of.
