Page 92 of Examining the Bond

“What about here?” I brush my thumb over the spot I’ve fantasized about since I decided to claim her, and goosebumps erupt over her skin. It’s high and obvious on her neck, somewhere everyone will be able to see it.

Her breath stutters as she nods.

I tuck myself in closer, my hand coming up to cup the back of her neck. “Are you sure, preciosa? Are you sure you want to be my mate?”

“Skylar Morales, if you don't bite me now, I swear to God…”

I laugh as I give her one last squeeze before lining my teeth up. Another nervous breath, another jump of my heart, and I bite down hard enough to taste blood.

A loud cry rings from her, and guilt pierces my gut for causing her pain. She writhes against me, her fingers digging into my thighs as I feel the bond snap into place. My alphasenses explode, fiery hot, ready to burn my skin off my bones, and she’s suddenlythere, in my mind. Her excitement, her love, her pain exploding through my head, so visceral it’s like the feelings are my own.

When I pull back, a perfect bloody imprint of my teeth is gouged into her flesh, and I instinctively lick over the oozing wound to clean it. It’ll sting for a bit, but my alpha saliva will help speed up the healing and seal the bond.

“Riann,” I groan against her skin, her name sounding like a hymn. And fuck, am I ready to worship her. “My mate. Myomega.”

I take a deep breath, breathing in her familiar marshmallow, but my heart trips over itself when I register the scent. It’s softer, more delicate than it was before, but still rich and sticky-sweet. Any hint of an edge it had to it is gone, and it slams into me hard enough to rob my lungs of air.

I only thought it was perfect before, but now…

The way her scent grips me and refuses to let go, taking over my mind like a drug made especially for me…

She isn’t just my omega.

She’s my scent match.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

RIANN

Pain radiates down my neck, burning my skin, but I don’t care. Not when I can feel the shift inside me amplifying my omega instincts, and I can sense Skylar’s emotions radiating through our new bond.

No, the pain is the last thing on my mind in this perfect moment. I wish it would last forever.

My alpha is everywhere. She’s rubbing her nose in the crook of my neck, swiping her tongue delicately over my fresh bite mark, murmuring as she kisses every place she can reach. I'm drowning in her, and it's the best I've ever felt.

“I’m never letting you go,” she promises as she pushes my hair away with her nose before nipping my ear lobe. “I’m yours now, and I’m never leaving you.”

Warmth explodes through my chest, my heart beating hard against my ribs with the amount of adoration overrunning my system, and I grab her by the chin to drag her mouth to mine.

The second we meet, I’m complete.

“And I’m yours,” I whisper against her lips.

Skylar growls, her sharp scent of pine and smoke spreading over me, and my body responds. Our kiss deepens, her hold tightens, her moans ring clear in my head as my already racing pulse speeds up. My mind is completely consumed with her, my body eager to feel her all over as slick pools between my thighs, drenching the front of her pants.

A pulse throbs through my body, heat riding on its tail, and a cramp in my stomach makes me flinch. The pain is a flicker of clarity through my love-induced haze, and my eyes snap to Skylar’s nervously.

“Riann?” she says, her brow creasing as her hands tighten their grip on me. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s…” I rasp, trailing off as another cramp twists my middle, wrenching the breath from my lungs. “I think it’s my heat.”

I look up at her in wide-eyed shock, trying to make sense of what’s happening.

If it really is a heat, that means the bite worked. I’m finally an omega.

An omega in heat.

Oh, shit.