“Take me. Mark me. Mate me. Please, Braden. Don’t make me wait any longer. I need you.” The words slid past my lips before I realized I was going to say them. The pleading tone was one I’d never heard from myself before. I sounded needy and frantic as I begged him to do what he’d wanted to do from the moment he laid eyes on me. All along, I’d thought the wait was harder on him since I was the one in control. I’d been the one to insist we wait until I could finish my mission. And maybe it really had been harder for him; I’d been focused on the mission while he’d had nothing else to distract him and no choice but to do as I’d asked.
But now, I realized how foolish I’d been to miss exactly how terrified I was thinking the wait had been long enough for him to decide he didn’t want me as his mate—didn’t need me in the same way I’d grown to need him. Braden was the one with all the control now. It would destroy me if he walked away. I’d scoffed back when he’d told me he wanted to hear me beg for him, and now, I was more than willing to beg and plead if that’s what it took.
“Please don’t leave me.” With the barest whisper of sound, I confessed my fear as my voice broke on the last word. Braden must have heard my desperation. All the warmth bled back into his gaze right before they flashed with his bear.
“Never,” he swore. “I’m never fucking leaving you. Not ever. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“You seemed so far away. Like there was a wall between us I couldn’t climb to reach you.”
“I’m fighting for control, honey. Trying my hardest to make this special for you instead of just ripping the clothes from your body and fucking you like the wild animal I am right now.”
My pulse raced even as I relaxed onto the mattress. The reason he was holding back was the opposite of my fears and exactly what I wanted for our mating. “I don’t want you to fight it. I want you wild.”
I lengthened my claws and sliced my skirt open.
“I want you to mark me.”
Flipping the shredded material to the side, I ripped my panties and spread my legs open.
“And I want you to do it while fucking me.”
I watched as his control snapped, and then, I couldn’t see anything else. He flipped me onto my stomach and gave my ass one hard whack before pulling me to my knees. With my ass high in the air and my face pressed into the mattress, he trailed his fingers over my back, along my ass, and through my folds. My hips rocked against him as I moaned. When I felt his tongue dart out to lick my clit, I gasped and squirmed. He didn’t let me move far, his hands holding me down as he licked with expert strokes.
He ate me like a starving man. Devoured me until I was shaking beneath him, a quivering mess as my orgasm roared through my body. My pussy was still quivering and clenching when I felt him rub his cock against me, coating it with my wetness. He slid the head of his cock inside me once, pulled out for a few seconds, then slammed into me, burying himself to the hilt—filling me entirely as his balls crashed against me.
“Mine,” he growled in my ear, his hand wrapped around my neck while he rode me hard. His other hand held my hip as he plunged in and out of me. His cock bottomed out on each thrust, making me scream from the mixture of pain and pleasure. My muscles clenched against him, trying to hold him inside my body as long as possible. My climax was building slowly as he fucked me with all the animalistic passion he’d been attempting to hold back earlier. Gone was my considerate lover, and in his place was a man who knew exactly what he wanted from me and didn’t hesitate to take it.
His hand moved from my neck, sliding down my body until he reached my clit and rubbed. I felt the sting of his teeth on my shoulder, holding me there without breaking my skin, and I lost it. I clenched around him and cried out as the biggest orgasm of my life crashed over me. Then the impossible happened: it got even better when his fangs lengthened and sunk into me. My vision darkened while he thrust against me, licking at my shoulder until I felt him spasm inside me.
Maybe a minute had passed before he pulled out of me and I slumped onto the bed, completely boneless.
"Tá mo chroí istigh ionat,” he growled against my skin right before he sank his fangs into my left ass cheek. Then he flipped me over and took my right nipple into his mouth, sucking deep before he bit down and marked me a third time.
The third mark set off my lioness, and I didn’t have the energy to fight her as she surged to the forefront. My claws lengthened, ripping against his back. Having his marks all over my body wasn’t enough. She wanted him to bear the slashes from her claws. When he collapsed onto the mattress next to me, I was worried I’d gone too far, until I saw the satisfaction in his eyes as he looked at me.
“You’re finally mine,” he rasped, gasping for air.
I was as breathless as he was, and it took me a couple minutes before I could speak again. “All yours,” I confirmed. “And you’re finally mine.”
I couldn’t help the hint of satisfaction that crept into my voice as I thought about the scratch marks on his back. My lioness was damn proud of them.
“You made me wait for the mating and marking, but the claiming is going to be damn soon. No more waiting.”
Claiming ceremonies in our pride were few and far between. I couldn’t even remember the last one I’d attended. Most of my fellow pride members were unmated. And when they did occur, they weren’t nearly as formal as some of the ceremonies I’d heard about since becoming a council agent. “What can I expect at a bear claiming ceremony?”
My nerves must have shown. Braden gathered me into his arms and held me tight before answering my question. “You can expect whatever you want. The McMahon’s aren’t super formal and our claimings tend to be short. Bear claiming, lion claiming. I don’t care how we do it as long as it happens as soon as possible.”
“Informal and short sounds good to me, as long as my mom is there.”
He kissed the top of my head, his hold loosening a little. “Can you call her tonight and ask her to meet us there as soon as we leave town?”
“I’m sure my mom can beat us there if I tell her I’m mated. She’s gonna want to meet you...like yesterday.”
“What are you waiting for then? Give her a call. If the only thing you want is your mom, then I’m going to claim you as soon as I get you home.”
I honest-to-goodness giggled in response. I sounded like a schoolgirl and couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt like this before. Probably because nothing else had ever made me this happy. Not even my work for the council. Only Braden had the power to make me this happy. It was worth considering as I pondered about our future beyond the claiming.
Epilogue
Braden
I hadn’t been kidding when I told Tahlia I wasn’t going to wait for the claiming ceremony. It only took us a couple days to wrap up the loose ends remaining after the deaths of Annora’s mom and step-uncle. We’d arrived back in my hometown late last night and I’d already set the plans in motion to ensure I could claim her this morning. The knock on my door as we were drinking our coffee was exactly what I was waiting for.
“Ugh, I don’t think I’m ready for company yet,” Tahlia grouched, her mug practically covering her face as she inhaled her drink. “Doesn’t your family know how late we got in last night?”
She was adorable when she was grumpy, but she was wrong about who was at the door. “Why don’t you answer it and give them hell for bothering us this morning?”
“I can’t give them hell,” she complained as she stomped toward the door. “They’re your family.”
“Our family,” I corrected before laughing at the shock on her face when the door swung open and she found her mom standing there.
“Mom!” she gasped.
“Where’s that new son-in-law of mine? He called me last night and told me to get my tail down here so I wouldn’t miss your claiming.”
“Miss my claiming?”
Tahlia’s mom laughed and pulled her daughter in for a hug. “He must be a hell of a man if he’s
managed to surprise you enough that all you can do is stand there repeating after me.”
When her eyes met mine over Tahlia’s shoulder, they were filled with humor and so very much like her daughter’s that it was startling. “Well, you raised one hell of a daughter. I’ve gotta stay on my toes to keep up with her.”
She wrapped me in a hug before pulling away to sweep her gaze up and down, checking me out. “I’m pretty sure my baby girl has better things to do with you than keep you on your toes.”
“Mom!” Tahlia gasped again, this time in embarrassment.
“I may be old, but I’m not dead,” her mom teased.
“You’re not even old,” Tahlia tossed back.
“Old enough to want to know when you two are going to give me some grandbabies to spoil.”
“Don’t you think you’re jumping ahead of yourself, Mom? We haven’t even had our claiming ceremony yet.”
Tahlia’s mom switched her gaze back to me and tapped on the watch strapped to her wrist. “You better hop to it, girl. From what your mate’s father was telling me before I walked over here to wake up you two lovebirds, you’ve only got about an hour to get ready.”
“An hour?” Tahlia shot me an accusing glare before grabbing her coffee mug off the counter and stomping back into the bedroom.
“There she goes again with the repeating. I think I like this new version of my daughter. You’re good for her.”
Her approval meant the world to me, but she had it backwards. “She’s wonderful for me, but I’m not nearly good enough for her. I’m still going to keep her, though.”
“Then I guess I’d better grab all the stuff from my car so I can help my daughter get ready for her claiming.”
****
A little more than an hour later, we were standing in my dad’s backyard with our family surrounding us. Annora and Parker had driven in last night with Kyla. They’d stayed at my dad’s house while Tahlia’s mom had bunked at Alasdair and Finley’s place. I hadn’t given Talhia much time to meet everyone before we gathered for the ceremony. She had a lifetime to get to know them.
“Are you sure you want the McMahon clan bear claiming and not something more feline?”
Tahlia nodded and slapped my shoulder. “Isn’t it a little late to ask me that?” She jerked her head in my dad’s direction as he walked toward us.
He reached for our joined hands and wrapped his own around them. He smiled at both of us before looking up at the sky.
“Bless mé an aontas!” he bellowed.
Everyone clapped and moved forward to offer their congratulations as I laid claim to my mate’s lips. When I pulled myself away, I felt her mouth move as she spoke. “That’s it?”
“I told you we weren’t formal.”
“I think you understated it a bit,” she huffed.
“Are you complaining?”
“Not at all.”
The actual ceremony itself might have been simple and quick, but the breakfast buffet Annora and Finley had laid out for us was extravagant. Eggs, bacon, fruit, pancakes—if it was a breakfast food, it was on the table. We were toasted repeatedly; I figured it was everyone’s excuse to have another mimosa. As breakfast was winding down, Tahlia’s mom slid her cell phone toward us.
“I knew you didn’t have anywhere to tuck this in your dress, so I tossed it into my purse when we left Braden’s place. I had to turn the ringer off because the alerts would have interrupted the festivities.”
“Alerts?” Tahlia glanced down at her phone. I had started to laugh because she’d repeated her mom yet again, but my humor dried up at her expression. All the joy from our morning had leeched from her face. She raised worried eyes to mine. “Damien was trying to get a hold of me. He says he knows why it was hard to track the threat to Annora for so long. Her stepfather is in league with a witch coven. He’s been using magic to cover his tracks.”
Shifters and witches usually didn’t mix well, unless they’d both chosen a darker path. Annora’s stepdad had definitely gone that route, so I could see how he might have gotten involved with some witches. It would make catching him that much harder, but as my gaze swept across my family with my arm around my mate, I knew we’d hunt him down and make him pay for the damage he’d caused. The McMahons had always protected their own, even when it was just the four of us. Now that our family was bigger, the need to keep everyone safe had grown right along with it.
Alasdair and I had mates to defend now—women who came before anyone else, even the brothers with whom we’d shared a womb. When I locked eyes with Camden and saw the steely determination in his gaze, I knew he was ready to step forward and take the lead. I could only hope my brother’s journey would lead him down the same path Alasdair’s and mine had—to his mate.
Bear the Burden
Prologue
Selene
Growing up as the daughter of a coven’s high priestess meant you were raised knowing there was one particular path you were supposed to follow: treading along the same steps your mother took before you to ensure you’d be ready to assume her place one day. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready to step into her shoes, but the expectation was there just the same. I felt the weight of it on my shoulders everyday. My fear of failing the coven, failing my mother, was something I’d lived with for almost as far back as I could remember. It was also the one thing I’d never shared with anyone else. Speaking about it would only give my fellow coveners a reason to doubt doubt my abilities.
It wasn’t that I was unhappy in the coven—quite the opposite, actually, since I’d flourished under their care. They were the only family I’d ever known other than my mom. She’d been kicked out of her home by her adoptive parents as a teenager when she started to dabble in witchcraft. The magic had always been strong in her, and she’d felt the pull toward witchcraft long before she even knew it existed outside books and movies.
My mom had always possessed strong psychic powers and a heightened intuition. It was something she must have inherited from her biological parents, but she’d never been able to trace them to discover her roots. Her lineage remained a mystery, but the gifts they’d passed along to her were what made her such an effective high priestess. Her sensitive understanding allowed her to guide the coven while maintaining our spiritual integrity. With her in charge, none of the coveners felt the pull toward the darker side of magic. She was responsible for the wellbeing of all of us and bringing harmony within the group. These were daunting tasks in a world where witches were often discriminated against by other supernatural beings. Even more so now since the coven was divided over what to do with the information about a threat to a prominent shifter family that had unexpectedly fallen into our hands. One who was known to avoid witches like the plague.
“It’s decided,” my mom said firmly, her tone allowing no room for argument. “We cannot ignore this news. If dark practitioners are involved, we must intervene. It’s our duty.”
Our coven’s maiden, my mother’s second, moved from the other side of the circle to stand in front of my mother, resting her hands on my mom’s shoulders as she lowered her head in a sign of respect. “And so it will be.”
When she stepped to the side and walked past my mom, I turned and faced her next. “Exactly as it should.”
I kissed her cheek before stepping outside the circle and walking to the tree line behind us. While I leaned against an old oak tree, each member of the coven, in order of their rank, took their turn and vocalized their support for her decision to intercede. A begrudging acceptance was clear when a few of them spoke, but they weren’t about to go up against my mom in front of everyone else. It was possible they’d try to argue their case with her in private later, but highly doubtful when the maiden and I both fully supported her decision.
My eyes turned toward the sky, drawn by the sliver of moon still visible. Our meeting had begun at the start of the lunar eclipse, my mom calling us together at the last minute. We only had one topic to talk about, but it was a
lengthy discussion which took up nearly half the eclipse. Staring up at the moon as it disappeared from sight, I felt more than heard my mom’s approach from behind me.
“It’s late,” she chided.
“I’ve always enjoyed the night. It used to worry me when I was younger, the idea of being attracted to the darkness.”
“It’s the moon which draws you,” she corrected. “It’s always been the moon for you, even when you were but a baby in my belly. I named you after the Goddess of the Moon for a reason.”
“Hmm,” I hummed, well aware of how I got my name.
“You surprised me tonight,” she sighed. “I expected more resistance from you.”
I didn’t shift my gaze toward her, afraid to see disappointment in her eyes. Sometimes I felt like I never did what she expected—even at times like this when I did what I would have thought she wanted me to do. “You sound upset that I agreed with you.”
She moved closer, until our arms were resting against each other. “You’re at peace with the decision?”
“There’s no reason for me to be at anything but peace since it’s the right thing to do. How could you even doubt it when you’re the one who taught me the difference between right and wrong?”
She reached for my hand and squeezed it tightly. “I might have taught you everything you know, but you still have a mind of your own. And as much as I hate to admit it, the decision wasn’t an easy one.”
I finally turned to look at her, surprised by her admission. “Are you second-guessing yourself?”
“I’m not sure how to explain what I’m feeling. In my head, I know it’s the right thing to do. But in my heart, I have this inexplicable feeling of dread.”
Bear It All: McMahon Clan 2 (Fated Mates #5) Page 8
