Claimed by the Assassins (An Academy of Assassins Novel Book 3)

by Stacey Brutger

  The sound of Breanna and her mates bickering rose from behind them, the four of them watching over a small, dark-haired child who observed everything a little too closely. But Morgan considered the kid family, and that was enough for everyone. As the arguing grew in volume, Atlas grinned wickedly and rubbed his hands together. “I win. For the next week, you’re both training dummies in my class.”

  Ascher sighed while Kincade grunted, the poor schmucks.

  Draven was too smart to place a bet when it came to mates.

  Then he completely blocked out the others when Morgan and Ryder made their way toward them.

  Her steps slowed, and she studied them suspiciously, those stunning blue eyes of hers piercing his heart when she captured his gaze.

  “Can I talk to you?”

  She looked wary, and he couldn’t say he blamed her. He’d hidden the truth and even out-and-out lied to her more than once. But instead of retreating, she lifted her stubborn chin and planted her hands on her hips. The wind played with her hair for a few seconds, and he could swear he smelled the ocean and home when she was near.

  Blowing out a heavy breath, he wiped his fingers against his pants, then pulled out the spell he’d shoved in his pocket, so nervous he couldn’t even smile to ease her anxiety.

  He couldn’t fuck this up.

  It was too important.

  She was his future. He just had to convince her.

  “I love you.” Heat surged in his face, and he mentally kicked himself, wondering where the fuck he’d lost his usual ability to charm.

  But he knew…she mattered.

  She’d always mattered.

  “I love you too.” Morgan relaxed and gave him a hesitant smile that made his heart flip in his chest.

  “I want to make it formal—I want people to know I belong to you and you belong to me.” Was it warm out here? He felt warm, and he shifted on his feet nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

  Instead of laughing at him, her whole face softened, and her eyes lit up. She didn’t run the way he’d expected. Instead she walked up to him, and his whole body hardened at her nearness. When she rested her hand on his chest, those star-studded nails of hers digging slightly into his chest, his heart beat just for her.

  “I would love that.”

  His nervousness faded a bit now she was close enough for him to catch in case she changed her mind. He unfolded the paper that held the spell. “I got this from Harper. It’s enchanted ink. I’m not sure if I’ll ever heal enough for a mating mark, but I don’t want to leave it to fate. You are my future, my everything. Would you bear my mark?”

  There were two matching tattoos carefully sketched on the paper—a large koi fish for himself, and a smaller, daintier version for her.

  He’d spent hours sketching to get them just right.

  They reminded him of home, reminded him of her, and he wanted to see her bear his mark, have it remind her of him every time she saw it. He swallowed hard while he waited for her answer.

  A single tear slid down her cheek, and his heart stopped. He’d swear that it cracked. When he was about to back away, she nodded repeatedly, slipping her arms around him to snuggle against him, and he immediately dragged her closer. “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes.” Morgan snorted out a laugh, pulling away only long enough to peer up at him, and his heart melted. “Yes.”

  He pulled away, a thrill surging through his veins, and all at once he was in a hurry to get this done before she came to her senses. He picked up the parchment that held the spell, then looked at her, his eyes automatically sliding down her body, his own heating at the thought of marking her. “Where?”

  She lifted a brow at him, then smiled in a way that made him swallow hard. She ran her fingers down her neck, across her collar bone, between her breasts, and he nearly forgot what they were doing. It was only when her fingers came to rest against the edge of her hip that he remembered to breathe again.

  Then she smirked at him. “You first.”

  It took Draven a second to process what she said, then he grinned. “Can’t wait to get me naked, huh?”

  His cock hardened further when she blushed, not denying it. Without hesitation, he yanked his shirt over his head, letting it drop to the ground, the scars across his back and arms forgotten. Conscious that he would be placing the tattoo in the exact same spot on her body, he swallowed again and carefully set the parchment above his hip.

  As soon as it came into contact with his skin, the tattoo stitched into his flesh in seconds.

  And Morgan gasped.

  When she lifted her shirt, he saw a deep line curl and dance across her hip until two black and white koi fish seemed to be swimming around each other, and a faint purple began to darken the smaller fish. When he pulled the parchment away from his side, the exact same tattoo was imprinted against his flesh…the larger fish began to bleed in with a vivid aqua green.

  “Holy shit.” He touched the mark reverently.

  Morgan peered up at him, her joy blinding. “I take it that wasn’t supposed to happen with the spell?”

  “We’re mates.” He shook his head in wonder, his heart swelling painfully, unable to contain his joy. He gave a whoop of pure bliss, then scooped her up and whirled her around. “We’re really, truly mated. No one will ever be able to tear us apart again.”

  Morgan laughed up at him with pure delight. “I guess you just needed to decide what you wanted.”

  Draven slowly lowered her to the ground, then rested his forehead against hers, not sure what he’d done to deserve such a miracle as her in his life, but he was going to spend the rest of his days making sure that she didn’t regret it. “You. It’s always been you.”

  Acknowledgments

  To my readers—

  Thank you for taking a chance on my books.

  I hope you love reading about the Assassins as much as I had writing them.