Chance slumped over me, biting, sucking the wound, hips still driving slowly as if he wanted to fill me forever.
I didn't want to stop either, not even close.
He licked the wound, closing it with his tongue, sealing the bond. The pain vanished, replaced by this glow that broke out under my skin, gold and red and copper, rippling down my arms and belly, pooling low where his cock still pulsed inside me.
He collapsed on top of me, breath jagged, hands tangled in my hair.
"Christ, Tash," he groaned. "You have no idea what you just did."
I laughed deliriously. "I'm not sure I care, as long as it means you never let me go."
He moved, just enough to look at me, eyes still lit up like fire in a hurricane.
"I'll never let anyone touch you again. Not now. Not ever."
He thrust one last time, rocking us both. I whimpered, clinging to him as I rode out the last aftershocks.
Somewhere, the fire hissed, the world blurred at the edges, and I could taste every heartbeat and breath and shockwave of want between us.
He pulled out, slowly. The loss made me sob, but he shifted, rolling me onto my side, spooning me close so his mouth could land right on the bite again.
He kissed it. Then his hand found my thigh, hooked me open, and he slid his slick cock along my soaked, swollen folds.
Even empty, I needed more. "Again," I whispered. "Don't stop."
He obliged, rubbing his cock against my clit until Iarched, then teased my opening, easing inside for round two.
It was different this time. Not desperate, but rich and slow and electric. Every nerve under my skin shivered. I could feel the magic winding through us, binding my pulse to his. Even as the pain faded, the bite still buzzed, an anchor sunk deep in my neck, throbbing with every thrust.
He cupped my breast, pinched the nipple hard, and I moaned.
We rocked together, slow and dirty, and he kept whispering things in my ear. Filthy, sweet, never-ending promises about how he'd keep me, how the girls would never be alone, how I was the only mate he'd ever want.
It was almost too much. I squeezed around him, chasing my orgasm up and over the edge, and when it broke, I saw stars. He came again, less wild but just as fierce, hips jerking as he buried himself inside me.
I'd never felt so alive. Every sense, every cell, lit up.
Chance rolled onto his back, dragging me across his chest.
"It's done," he said, almost in awe. "You're mine. We're—" He broke off, like the words had failed him for once.
I kissed him, softer now. When his tongue dartedinto my mouth, I sucked it, tasting the last traces of salt and blood.
The magic still prickled under my skin, chasing itself in circles.
I could feel my heart syncing to his. Could feel the way my body had started to change. My senses were sharper, heat blooming, muscles twitching under the new power.
But the real shift was inside. I wasn't Tash-the-stray, Tash-the-runner, not anymore. I was Tash Meyer, mate, mother, monster. Unbreakable.
The bond was done.
And neither of us would ever be the same. The tremor in my blood wasn't fading. If anything, the aftershocks got worse.
It started in the bite. The skin there still throbbed, but instead of pain, a heat poured outward, hotter than sunlight, sharper than new whiskey, bright as the fire licking just feet away. The sensation radiated, burning through my veins like molten metal. My bones twitched. My muscles jumped.
I gasped. Then I sobbed, because the avalanche was just that strong.
Chance noticed. He caught my jaw, fingers gentle. "Easy. It's working. You're strong. You got this."
