“The fated mate bond makes everything hit harder.” His expression softened. “I’ve been terrified something would happen to you.”
Knowing he felt it too made the fear easier to carry.
The tension didn’t vanish all at once. It eased slowly instead.
Garner’s hands stayed on me, anchoring us both.
I rested my forehead against his chest, listening to the strong, even beat of his heart. The sound soothed something deep inside me.
“I didn’t mean to unload on you like that,” I murmured.
“If that’s you unloading, I’m a lucky man.” His thumb brushed a slow arc along my jaw. “Seemed to me like you were just sharing your worries, which is what fated mates are supposed to do with each other.”
I tipped my head back just enough for our gazes to meet. His breath mingled with mine, and the words slipped out before I could second-guess them. “I love you.”
For half a heartbeat, panic flared. I’d never said that to anyone before. Ever.
It was another first for me, one that was even scarier than having sex the first time.
Garner stilled. Then his hand tightened at my waist. “I love you, too.”
The world around us remained the same, but something solid locked into place inside me.
My chest ached in a way that wasn’t painful. “That went better than I expected.”
“I’m glad.” He pulled me closer with a deep chuckle. “Love is supposed to be easy.”
He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead, and love didn’t feel like something I had to earn or fear losing for the first time in my life.
But there was still a thread of doubt in the back of my mind that had been ingrained in me over a lifetime of neglect. “You don’t think this is too soon?”
“Not even a little bit.” I didn’t understand why he seemed so unconcerned until he explained, “We’re moving slow by shifter standards. It isn’t unheard of for a couple to solidify their bond with the mating mark the same day they find each other.”
There was a lot to unpack there, so I started by asking, “The same day, really?”
He grinned at me. “The same hour sometimes.”
With that confirmed, I needed to know, “What exactly is the mating mark?”
12
GARNER
“The mating mark is my bite, sweetheart.” My voice was thick with the primal hunger surging through my veins. “It's more than just a scar. It's the seal that binds our souls forever.”
“Forever,” she echoed, joy shining from her stormy blue eyes.
“When I sink my teeth into your shoulder while I'm deep inside you, filling you with my seed, it completes the bond. My cougar claims you as his, and there's no undoing it. You'll feel me in your blood, your thoughts, your every breath. And I'll feel you, too. Your joys, your fears, and everything that makes you mine.”
Elodie's breath hitched, her gorgeous face filled with a mix of awe and anticipation. The air between us crackled with electricity, her scent wrapping around me like a drug and making my cock twitch painfully against my jeans.
I couldn't hold back anymore. The need to claim her, to bury myself in her heat and mark her as my eternal mate, was overwhelming.
Without another word, I swept her into my arms, her body fitting perfectly against my chest. The blanket draped over her shoulders slipped away as I cradled her close, her soft curvespressing into me through the layers of her sweatpants and sweatshirt.
She gasped softly, her arms looping around my neck, fingers tangling in the hair at the back of my head as I stalked toward the cabin. Every step fueled the fire in my blood, my cougar pacing restlessly beneath my skin, urging me to hurry.
I kicked the door open with my boot, the wood slamming against the frame before I nudged it shut behind us, sealing out the world. The cabin's warmth enveloped us as I carried her straight to the bedroom.
