He frowned. “That seems needlessly complicated.”
“It’s how humans do things!”
“But you are not fully human anymore. Not now that the bond is forming.”
I froze. “What?”
“Your enhanced senses. You have noticed them, yes?”
“The smelling and hearing things? The super vision? Is that... normal?”
He examined me carefully, his eyes roaming over my face. “The bond is forming earlier than I anticipated. Faster.”
“What does that mean?!” Panic surged through me. “Am I turning into a wolf? Is that a thing that can happen?”
“No, no. You will not shift. You lack the wolf spirit for that.” He cupped my face, his thumbs stroking my cheeks. “But the bond wants to be completed. It is trying to tie us together. Your body is adapting quickly, accepting me and what we are together.”
“Adapting how?”
His voice dropped lower. Rougher. “Soon, you will go into heat. The first one is always the strongest. Most intense.”
“HEAT?!” My voice went up an octave. “Like an ANIMAL?!”
“Like a mate ready to be fully claimed.” His eyes flashed red. “It is your body’s way of preparing for pups. For completing the bond. We should finish the bonding before then, or it will be... difficult. For both of us.”
“Difficult how?”
“You will be in pain without my touch. Desperate for mating. I will be driven half-mad trying to ease your suffering while also maintaining enough control not to hurt you.” He pulled me closer. “It is better to complete the bond now. While we are both rational.”
I stared at him. At this werewolf king who’d crashed into my life and turned everything upside down. Who’d made me fall for him. Who’d claimed me and bonded with me and apparently now my body was deciding to go full wolf whether I was ready or not.
“This is insane,” I whispered.
“This is the mate bond.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “I know it is fast. I know you are overwhelmed. But your body has chosen me, Wen. Just as mine has chosen you. We can fight it, make it harder on ourselves. Or we can accept it and move forward together.”
“How do we complete it?” I asked, even though part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.
“You need to bite me. Mark me as I marked you. Claim me as yours.” His voice was rough with need. “Make me yours in every way that matters.”
“I have to bite you?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Wherever you wish. The neck is traditional. More visible. But anywhere will work.”
I pulled back to look at him. “And then what? We’re fully bonded? Married in wolf terms? I go into heat? We have pups?”
“Eventually, yes. Though we can take precautions against pups if you truly wish to wait. There are herbs. Methods.” He stroked my hair. “I will not force you into anything you do not want, little mate. But I will not lie to you either. Your body is changing. The bond is forming. Denying it will only cause you pain.”
Through the bond, I could feel his certainty. His love. His absolute conviction that we were meant to be together.
And the terrifying part? I felt it too. The insanity was real. We’d only known each other for a couple weeks. Everything logical in my brain screamed that this was fast, intense, completely ridiculous.
But I felt it. The rightness of being with him. The completeness.
“When?” I asked quietly.
