Page 25 of Rehabilitated

I won’t face it alone.

7

Russo

The full moon changes everything. I’ve lived through dozens of them, but never like this. Never with my mate asleep beside me.

I wake before dawn, my bear already pacing beneath my skin.

Mate. Claim her.

Tonight. In a few hours, I tell him. Be patient.

Mine, he growls.

His voice has been relentless since yesterday, and now it’s almost impossible to think about anything else.

Ever sighs softly in her sleep and instinctively rolls closer until her forehead rests against my shoulder. My bear immediately settles.

I smile, brushing my fingers through her hair. She’s warm, safe, and here. After searching half the world for her, waking up beside Ever still feels unreal.

Her eyes flutter open a few moments later, and my heart lurches in my chest.

“Morning,” she whispers.

“Morning, mate.”

She smiles sleepily before stretching. Halfway through, she freezes. “Do you…feel different today?”

I chuckle quietly. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

She presses a hand to her chest. “It feels like…electricity,” she says, sounding amazed.

“Yeah.”

“I can feel the energy. It’s buzzing all over my skin. I-I’m so aware of my body and yours—” she cuts off, blushing.

I grin. “Me too.”

“My bear won’t stop humming.”

“Mine either.”

She bites her lip. “I kind of… just want to be close to you.”

I reach for her hand. “I know.”

The moment our fingers lace together, my bear rumbles contentedly.

Neither of us lets go.

Not that morning, nor the rest of the day. It’s like as soon as we touch, we can’t bear to pull away from the other. We’re two magnets, and with each passing second, our force, our bond, only grows stronger.

We make breakfast, our hips brushing as we move. We head outside to practice shifting, and I had hoped that the cool air would ease the fire burning inside me. It doesn’t.

It doesn’t help when we both strip down and work on getting her to shift easily. I can’t stop reaching for her hand or brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. My eyes drink in her curves, her pale skin, the sweet swell of her tits and ass.

My mouth waters, and I strain to hold my bear back. He wants me to claim her now; fuck waiting for tonight. I want that too, but I won’t rush my mate.