Titus was known to be quiet, even reserved, but never speechless. Until Rae took off his t-shirt, and revealednothingbeneath. Absolutely nothing, her fair skin bare to his gaze.
Fucking brat.
He hadn’t said a word, instead locking his legs from stepping closer, to test whether her skin was as soft as it looked. Whether her nipples peaked because of the cool air, or because of him. The fabric had hit the floor, his beast a roar inside his head and she’d simply shrugged, turned on her heels with a‘good night,’and left with what he was sure was an extra wiggle to her hips. And now he was suffering with the most painful erection, despite relieving himself only hours earlier.
“Fuck,” he grunted, palming his cock through the fabric, only to immediately let go. The idea of touching himself to the image of a certain redhead pissed him off. He’d been so fucking close to just taking her, to tease and edge until she was a wet mess on her knees, begging him to allow her to come.
He could envision it, her pretty lips crying out, eyes glazed over in pleasure as he thrust his fingers in the perfect rhythm that would drive her mad.‘Yes, sir.’
It was the first time he’d been aroused since… before. He’d had no interest in sex, not when the jagged memories from the Rite still haunted him. He hadn’t had much interest in… anything. He might not have recalled what had happened except for bursts of colour and sound, but his body sure remembered. He’d shake, every inch of skin slick with sweat as he sunk to his knees, dread coating his tongue. There were no triggers that he could figure out, no reason for his response. He would be sitting there, and the next moment he’d find himself on the floor.
A weak, pathetic mess.
He’d hidden his reactions from his brothers, locking himself away as much as possible, only emerging when he was on rotation. He couldn’t stomach their concern, their constant worry that he was going to break, to explode.
Titus counted his stomach crunches, gritting his teeth from the tightness against his cock. All he wanted to do was sleep, to reset the creeping anxiety that set him on edge, but even as his muscles ached with exhaustion, he couldn’t. Not because of the nightmares, nor the dark magic that never slumbered. No, it was because his beast was so attuned to the human woman who slept next door. In his bed.
Oh fuck!
Titus reached for his phone, dialling his cousin.
“Hey, where are –?”
“When your beast chose Sam, how did you know?” Titus’s stomach tightened at the pause.
Axel’s concerned rumble crackled in his ears.“What happened?”
“Just… what was it like? Was it instant?” Titus gripped his phone so hard the case creaked. “Can the beast change his mind?”
“Are you talking about your beast choosing? Or the actual mating bond?”Rustling, Axel’s voice muffled as he held the microphone.“We already know everyone’s bond’s very different. I know with Kace his beast pushed the mating, binding them both without permission. But you know Kace, his beast’s always been volatile.”
“And you?”
“I guess my beast chose Sam, yeah. But I wouldn’t say it was instant, the mating bond snapped into place a few months of me being clean.”More static, followed by whispering.“It’s difficult to explain, but it felt right.”
“Fuck.”Titus dragged a hand down his face. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
“Are you saying –?”
“I’ve got to go. Just… don’t worry, I’m fine.” A lie, one he’d told so frequently recently he’d believe it himself soon enough. “I’m staying out tonight. I’ll be home soon.”
“Wait, Ti!”
Titus clicked off his phone, and then silenced it when Axel immediately called back. He had to deal with one thing at a time, his beast choosing a mate, choosing the fucking assassin that had tried to kill him was the least of his worries. He needed to figure out who the fuck had ordered the hit, deal with them before he could even consider… no. Rae wasn’t his mate. He didn’t even fucking want a mate.
His beast was wrong.
Mine.
Titus groaned at the growl echoing across his mind, a thought that wasn’t his own. His control over his beast wasn’t as strong, not since the black magic that had entwined like vines around his chi. He felt the weight, effluence as Kyra called it. It was thick, like a blackened sludge impossible to remove. It wrapped around him, suffocating every breath with more power than he’d ever asked for. Had ever wanted. He had no idea how Lucifer dealt with it, or Kyra, for that matter. How they slept so easily while it wriggled and curled, keeping him awake.
Titus brushed his fingers through his hair, scraping hard against his skull. No bumps or horns, the confirmation releasing some of the tension that held his muscles. Turning his head, he stared at the fabric still crumpled on the floor. He’d been an arsehole, but the sight of her in his clothes had made him violent. A reaction he sure as fuck hadn’t expected.
A whimper, Rae letting out a delicate cry. Without thought he’d moved towards the bedroom on silent feet, to find her face creased, body twisting in the black satin of his sheets. The duvet had slipped off, revealing bare legs all the way up to the bright red thong and her dusty, ripped t-shirt. She twisted some more, flinging herself on her back, arms spread as her legs scissored, pushing the rest of the duvet to the floor.
Bright pink kittens decorated the bottom sheet, the same design he’d bought Axel as a prank for mating with a leopard.Fuck’s sake.Rae already thought he was weird, and now she thought he slept on cute cartoons of kittens playing in fluffy clouds.
Another whimper, her fists clenching, gripping.
