by Liv Brywood
“I want someone willing to be my mate.”
“You could have anyone.”
“I only want you.”
Thunder rumbles, lightning flashes, and the bed starts to float. All my fears about relationships come raging back. My heart skips wildly in my chest. To bind myself to someone else, to mate with them… well, that would be a formidable bond. One that would be impossible to break. We’d be locked together for lifetimes, destined to replay our love story over and over again. Unless it wasn’t love. Then…
I shudder.
“I can’t.”
“There’s nothing you can’t do.”
The bed rises another foot. Outside, the storm rages. Sparks snap between us.
“Stop being afraid of this. Of us.”
He doesn’t let me respond. His lips are wild and savage on my delicate folds. I’m caught up in a tornado of sensation. And this time, he doesn’t let up. He pushes me harder and faster toward the abyss and I’m utterly helpless to resist because he’s right. I am afraid of what it would mean to truly become his mate. And until I can let go of that fear, I’ll never be able to fully give myself to him.
“Please,” I whimper.
His growl against my clit sends me soaring. We levitate off the bed. His hands grip my hips, while his tongue continues to ravage me. A particularly rough stroke of his tongue has me screaming out his name.
“You’re mine, Azealia.”
I’m lost in waves of pleasure as we crash onto the mattress. He knees my thighs open and when he surges into me, I’m lost. I cling to him as he pushes his rigid heat deeper and deeper until I’m filled with every inch of him. I can hardly hang on as he moves with maddening precision. It’s like he already knows me, inside and out. And he knows exactly how to make me burn for him.
He’s thick, hot, and he goes on and on. I drop my head into the mattress. My eyes roll back and guttural sounds of feral pleasure burst from my lips. I’m lost to him. Utterly possessed by him, and he’s not nearly done with me.
“I’ve loved you from the moment we met,” he growls into my ear. “And I swear I’m going to claim you.”
“Kael, oh, God!” I shake apart, lose everything but the thread of his voice.
“That’s it my love, come for me. I want to feel you shatter.”
I do, fracturing into a million tiny pieces. But it’s not enough for him.
He reaches between us and strokes my clit. I undulate toward his touch. He’s inside me, not just my body, but my heart and soul too. I can deny it all I want, but we both know that I belong to him, and he belongs to me.
I rise to meet him every time he pushes his thick cock into me. I pull on his hair, and he sinks his teeth harder into my shoulder. His bite is deep, and it’ll scar, but it’s a true mating mark, an Alpha's claim.
I’m his. By all the gods, I’m his, marked and claimed forever.
Make him yours.
I push him to the side, and we roll until he’s on his back, and I’m straddling his hips. I sink back onto his cock, letting him fill me completely.
As I ride him, another orgasm rips through my body.
“That’s it,” he whispers. “Take what you want from me. Take everything.” He’s beautiful, almost feral, the wolf inside him shimmers across his face.
Our eyes lock, hold, and the bond completes. As his breath becomes mine and our souls melt together, he throws his head back and howls. The cords of muscle in his neck stand out, gorgeous and strong under all that tan skin. His dark hair is a tangled mess on the pillowcase, and I can’t resist marking him too. I lean down and sink my teeth into his shoulder to give him the same scar he’s given me. He cries out more from shock than from pain. The feedback of magic is instantaneous. It’s a blood bond that will keep us together forever.
His thrusts become raw and needy. I lose track of everything but the sparks of pleasure emanating from where we’re locked in the most intimate embrace. His breath catches in his throat as an explosive orgasm rolls through me. He follows me into a sea of pure ecstasy and together we drown in the sensation of complete bliss.
I collapse against him and he holds me close. He’s still inside me, and I never want to let him go.
“Now you’ll always be mine,” he murmurs.
I freeze. I have to tell him about my feelings for Bastian and Cobalt. Keeping this secret will kill me. This is not the way I’d intended to tell him, but I must be truthful if I’m going to honor our bond.
“You’re mine…” I begin slowly. “And I’m yours… but I’m not only yours.”
He rolls me onto my side. We’re facing each other and I read more than just concern in his furrowed brow. He’s upset. I don’t want to hurt him, but we can’t move forward together until we talk about the other guys.
“You want that bear? That dragon too?” he asks through clenched teeth.
“They’re mine like you’re mine.”
“Bullshit.” He moves to leave the bed. I scramble to straddle him and pin him in place. Anger and desire burn in his eyes. He’s already getting hard, already trying to probe my slick heat.
“It’s not bullshit.” I keep my voice low to try to calm him.
“You’re my mate. Mine.”
“I’m sure they’d say the same. It’s not that simple, but it’s not that complicated either.” His jaw clenches and he looks away. I gently grasp his chin and turn his face toward me. “I’ll still be yours… I’d just be theirs, too.”
“That will never work.” Kael scoffs.
I hook my feet under his thighs and slowly drag my pussy up and down the length of his shaft, careful not to let him inside me.
“You’re not going to distract me.”
He’s glaring at me as I palm a breast. With one hand, I pinch at one nipple, while my other hand trails down my stomach toward where I’m spread open. I stroke my clit, and my knuckles brush his cock. I play with myself, already close to the edge.
“It’s what I want. You told me to take what I want,” I say with a sigh.
“I meant me, and you know it.”
I lower myself onto his cock, drawing him inside me inch by excruciating inch. There’s so much heat between us that he’s sucked into the vortex. His thick cock stretches me until I’m filled with the full length of him.
“You’re trying to trick me,” he grunts.
“It’s not a trick, or a game, or a ploy. You’re mine, Kael. And you’ve already made me yours.”
He makes an angry little sound, a snarl with the snap of teeth. He tumbles me onto the bed and pins me beneath him. He thrust deep, stroking into me with possessive, dangerously sexy strokes.
“You’re mine,” he growls.
“And you’re mine. Nothing will ever change that. No one will come between us.” He pounds me into the bed, and I’m lost in the pleasure. Rough and demanding, he’s desperately trying to hold onto me, but he can’t, and he knows it. He knows I belong to all three of my men.
“Look at me,” he says. My eyes snap to his. He’s stone-faced, full of his own power and determination. He thrusts deep. The moan that slips from my throat makes him smirk. “Don’t you think I can satisfy you?”
“You do.”
“But you need more? More than any one man can give?”
“Oh, yes.” I’ve lost track of the conversation, but he doesn’t seem to notice. I’m caught in a salacious fantasy. Six hands. Three mouths. Tongues and cocks in every place imaginable. “I’m yours. I’m greedy, I need it, fuck, please—”
“My needy fucking mate.” He grinds his cock against my clit and it’s more than I can take.
I come so hard my muscles seize. My nails claw down his back. He roars, coming deep inside me. His teeth dig into my shoulder, mingling pleasure and pain. Together our power is infinite, magical, and as we crash back to earth, I just know everything will work out for us. It has to, because he’s got a piece of my soul now, and I know he’ll never give it back.
Chapter 13
Azealia
My head pounds as Kael’s voice rises. We’re standing in the great room of the wolf pack’s den. He’s been yelling at the pack for the last five minutes. It’s only been twenty minutes since I left his bed, but he’s making me reconsider our relationship already.
“Why didn’t you scent her before she made it to the den? We have enemies in our territory,” he snaps. “Where the hell were you when my mate needed protection?”
His mate? I’m barely his mate now, and certainly not in a traditional sense. But the title doesn’t seem to surprise any of his wolves—no one bats an eye.
“There’s no fucking excuse for this. What binds this pack together?”
As one they raise their eyes to him, their voices joined. “Unity.”
“And what is the death of this pack?”
“Division.”
Kael crosses his arms, cracks his neck, and forces his shoulders down to a calmer position. “Now what the fuck do we know about these other shifters?”
Mason steps between Kael and the rest of the wolves. “Ten wolves are unaccounted for. Most of them live in town, and they wouldn’t have gotten the summons yet.”
“Get them here. Now.” Kael points at me. “The scars of their claws and teeth are on what’s mine.”
“I am not a possession.” My tone is low and filled with warning.
“You’re my mate!” He spins to face me. The full force of his fury and fear are evident in his eyes.
Lightning crackles between my fingers. My hair lifts from the back of my neck as power arcs through me. I know if I speak, it will be with the rumble of thunder. I roll to the balls of my feet.
The stakes are too high for this. I can’t unleash my frustration right now. Not in public. Later.
“I will do what I deem necessary to protect you,” Kael’s voice booms.
Above us, one of the charmed glass orbs shatters. Shards cascade down between us. The door behind me flies open, slamming into the stone wall. Some of the wolves startle. Kael’s eyes dart to the ceiling, over to the door, and then back to me.
I turn and leave without a word.
Outside, clouds roil and churn, blotting out the sun. Pine needles jab at the cuts and bruises on my feet. I cast spells to heal myself. I should have done so last night, but Kael distracted me from everything, including my pain. The bond between us took me to a place of pure pleasure, so I forgot everything that came before it.
Maybe that’s over now. If he can’t keep his temper under control, I’ll need to find a way to sever our connection. I’ve lived too long and have fought too hard to let a man dictate my life.
I check the trees. They’re devoid of crows. The woods are quiet, the calm before a storm. If this vampire has the power to possess shifters, then we’re all in danger.
“Sweet Jesus, darlin’. Thank God you’re all right.”
Bastian charges out of the trees, undeterred by the blackberry brambles in his way. His eyes are wild; his pace frantic. He runs his hand over my hair before pulling me into his arms. My anger toward Kael drops away. It’s replaced by sadness. Tears well in my eyes because with Bastian, there’s no need to pretend to be strong.
“Let me see you. Are you hurt?” He runs his hands over my arms and shoulders, stopping to look at the still-pink wounds as my healing spell finishes. His breath is fast, and his heart hammers against his ribs. I lay a hand on his bare chest and send a calming spell into his body.
“I’m fine.” My shaky voice betrays me.
“I found wolf tracks all around your cottage and saw their charred remains. Your blood was everywhere. I followed the scent trail to get here. What the hell happened?”
“Shifters. There was an attack—we’re not sure if they were Kael’s.” His bear lets out a growl. When he steps toward the door of the den, I push against his broad chest. “Don’t. Whoever it was, they were possessed, just like the crows. It wasn’t their fault.”
He glares at the den. His jaw twitches. His gaze is intent, as if he’s weighing his options. If he decided to force the issue, there’s no way I’d be able to stop him physically, perhaps not even magically. Bastian is a force of nature when it comes to my safety.
“You scared me.” He cups my cheek and draws me closer.
“I’ll be okay. My magic will heal me.”
He takes a breath, then lets it out slowly. His hands rest lightly on my hips. The nearness of him is so comforting that I can’t help but lean into his chest. He slides his hands around my waist and closes the distance between us. A soft, sweet kiss brings us together.
His lips are pure magic, and his hands are strong and warm. I want to sink into his protective arms and make sure he never lets me go.
“That’s a hell of a goodbye kiss, darlin’. I guess I missed my chance, lettin’ you go this long.” He sees the confusion and the hurt in my eyes. “You smell like Kael. I’ve got to say, I’m jealous. I’d probably pitch a fit if you weren’t hurtin’. I wanted you all to myself.”
“Bastian, it’s not like that.”
“I always knew you’d choose; I’d just hoped it’d be me.”
“I’m not with Kael—”
A growl sounds from the doorway to the den.
Kael’s standing in the doorway. Some of the larger wolves in his pack form a line behind him. His shoulders tense when he sees how close I am to Bastian. With his hands on my hips, and my hands on his chest, we look like lovers. We look like everything Kael doesn’t want us to be.
Kael’s teeth snap. His eyes glow with a mixture of anger and betrayal. He flicks his hand forward and wolves pour out of the den. Ten, twenty, thirty, maybe more. It’s not his whole pack, but it’s a majority of them.
When they’re gone, he continues to hold my gaze. Anger darkens his eyes because I’ve shamed him. I let his pack know that I’m not entirely his. I don’t belong to him, no matter what he might choose to believe.
I straighten my spine and move out of Bastian’s arms. I don’t watch his pack shift. Instead, I hold Kael’s eyes, refusing to look away first.
He glances toward the woods. He strips, leaving his clothes in the doorway of the den. In a flash of light and fur, he shifts. As inky black, amber eyed wolf gives me a hungry look before snarling at Bastian.
“You’re being rude,” I snap.
He huffs and takes off into the woods behind his pack.
“Leave him be. He’ll get over it eventually.” Bastian takes my hand, then draws me toward the trees in the opposite direction. I don’t have the strength to resist him. I let him draw me into the woods, with no thought given as to where he might take me. We wander for half a mile before he lets out a little growl.
I freeze and scan the trees.
“What is it?” I whisper.
“There’s nothin’ wrong out there. I’m just… I’m mad at myself is all.”
“About what?” My heart slows to a normal rhythm.
“I stayed up all night, chasin’ that dead smell. I was still in my bear form when I passed out in your greenhouse. I slept through the whole attack, and I was probably still there during most of your…your time with Kael. I didn’t even notice you were gone until you missed breakfast in the garden.” He shakes his head. “I’m a shitty protector, a damn fool.”
“I never feel safer than when I’m with you.” I tug his hand, stopping us just inside the tree line at the edge of a meadow.
“Don’t say things like that unless you mean it.”
“I mean it.” I draw him closer, settling his hand on the small of my back.
He sets his forehead against mine. Our breath mingles as we stand in the shade of an ancient pine.
“Help me understand what’s goin’ on here. You’ve got another man’s smell on you, his mark on your shoulder, and you’re comin’ to me for love and comfort.”
“I don’t want to choose. I don’t know how this works, or if it works, or how to move forward, but I can’t lose you. I can’t lose him.
I can’t lose Cobalt. I want—”
He stops me, kissing me until I’m breathless and overcome with desire. We may not have shared the mating bite the way I did with Kael, but we’re just as bound. I’m falling for him. Or maybe I fell a long time ago. It doesn’t matter now. I’m in the arms of one of the men I love, and that’s the only thing I care about.
His kiss is filled with longing. I slide my fingers into his hair and stroke his head. When we finally break apart, his eyes are radiant with love.
“I don’t care who else you want, darlin’. Let me have this. Let me keep you close. Let me keep you safe. I want to take care of you.”
“I want that. I want you.”
A deep, rich vibration rumbles in his chest. My nipples tighten, and my breath hitches. I guide his hand to the tie which is holding my skirt together. He works the knot gently, my sweet bear shifter, the man I’ve loved for so long. I let years pass, knowing that he was waiting for me. I gave up time we could have had together because I was too afraid to let myself feel again. And now that’s all I seem to be doing—feeling. And I can’t stop it. I can’t deny my feelings anymore.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” he murmurs as my dress slips free.
I moan in response. For a brief moment, I wonder if we should let ourselves get so vulnerable out in the middle of the forest, but I’m sick of hiding. I don’t want to wait another second. I need him here and now.
He’s out of his clothes before I have a chance to help him. Naked and warm, pressed chest to chest, we embrace. His lips find mine and I’m lost in a kiss that intensifies with each passing second.
Time stands still when he fully claims my mouth. I part my lips and the stroke of his tongue over mine electrifies every cell in my body. I’m coming alive again in his arms. With Kael, we came together in a sort of rough desperation, but with Bastian, there’s a wistfulness to the kiss that is so endearing, I can’t help but kick myself for pushing him away for all these years.
As his kisses trail down to my throat, I entangle my fingers in his hair. His lips mark me everywhere except where Kael bit me. Bastian skips over that tender spot and moves down to nuzzle my breasts.
