Page 17 of Come for Me
Caleb’s canines descend, settling on my sweet spot. They puncture my skin with searing pain as they cut through sensitive flesh.
This is supposed to be euphoric; the claiming of your mate is meant to start a lifetime of pleasure and connection. Nothingof that nature is true. It’s as if I’m being stabbed with silver as my heart is ripped open. Claiming of a chosen signified the loss of our fated, while pleasure from the bond of your chosen only occurs after severing ties with your fated.
My wolf alternates between whimpering and growling. My head and heart are split in two. I’m frozen, fighting the compulsion to push Caleb away and run to my mate. All the while, my heart breaks in my choice to end my fated bond. The struggle coursing through my brain is showing the world my wavering conviction. I whimper from the pang of betraying my mate and the Moon Goddess Herself.
My wolfattempts to pull my neck from Caleb’s embrace. Claws dig into Caleb’s biceps in torment instead of scratching in bliss. Once again, I try to persuade my wolf of what’s best for us, promising a happy ending with the wolf in front of me. Silent pleas fill my head as I beg my wolf to hold claim to Caleb, our family, our home.
Caleb notes my hesitation and extracts his canines from my neck. My blood drips onto his tongue, quickly licked and savored by his wolf. My wolf sneers at his display of pleasure at our taste.
He looks at me as if to ask if he should proceed. A flicker of emotion swirls in his eyes and settles in his pupils: love and concern. To try to make this as painless as possible, he’s going slow, but we don’t have time to be gentle.
Despite my wolf, Iwantto be his luna, and once we claim each other, my wolf will, too.
“Babe, we don’t have to. We can wait,” Caleb says.
His sincerity proves that statement is true, but time is running out.
I shake my head, not wanting to wait another minute in case my mate discovers me, his smell never wavering.
“No, I want this.”
Caleb continues to stare at me, not convinced.
“It’s fine, really. I’m just nervous. Please, just do it quickly.”
Caleb furrows his brow at my impatience, pausing as he gauges my request. Finally, he sighs and gives in. His canines protrude once more ashe leans into my neck and pierces the sensitive skin. Careful not to hurt me, he stops again, allowing me to adjust to the pain. He moves his thumb in caressing circles to distract and console my mind. His claws puncture my hip to hold me in place, doing little to numb the pain radiating through my body. His knee finds its way between my thighs, friction threatening to build as fire spreads through my veins, and my breath ceases.
This isn’t what I imagined.As pups, we were told marking is beautiful, a declaration of love and commitment. It’s pleasurable. As young adults, we were even told marking was erotic. Mating comes with inevitable pain as our animalistic nature declares another. But the bite shifts to pleasure and ecstasy. Like the first time one experiences sex, the scary, unknown, painful entry is replaced with pleasure, joy, and love.
This feels nothing like that.This hurts like hell.As agony spreads through my body, I remind myself why I have to do this.The sex is always good. He’s undeniably handsome, is the pack’s future alpha, and has many qualities of a great father. He’s an ideal match, and I believe we can be happy. The pain will be worth it then.
The smell of spice and leather hits my nose more than it ever has, and fury mixed with fear envelops me. These are not my emotions but his.
Mate has found us. Mate is close.
I panic.
“Hurry,”I mindlink Caleb.
I close my eyes in anticipation for him to go deeper into my neck, but he doesn’t.
A growl permeates the air.
My heart stops, and a chill travels up my spine. Caleb’s weight is lifted off me.
A snarling wolf, dark as midnight and the size of a horse, throws Caleb against a tree, cracking wood and bone.
Caleb shifts into his wolf, and I panic once more as his form doesn’t even compare to this wolf. Caleb lunges at him, and the tussle is a blur until he has Caleb pinned under him. The wolf’s paw rises, ready to strike.
“No! Please!” I beg just before his massive paw guts Caleb.
The wolf looks at me. His caramel eyes stare into my own, his downturned muzzle painted into a sinister grin. He’s the big bad wolf, ready to devour his enemy whole. My human and wolf are dwarfed by his frame before me.
“Run!”Caleb urges.
The wolf’s aura exudes a power unlike any alpha I’ve ever encountered. Fire dances in those eyes as his energy imposes the surrounding clearing, threatening to bring me to my feet.He demands submission from my wolf and me. We had planned his undoing by letting Caleb attempt to mate me. To him, Caleb was just as guilty as I, almost taking what belongs to my mate.
Carefully, I approach the black wolf and stare directly into his eyes, my hands raised. “Please, let him go.”
