Shepherd raised a brow and challenged, "I am your mate. You may mark me if you wish."
Something in his words caused a jolting craving to chomp so strong her lips peeled back from her teeth. With a snap of speed, Claire rolled out from under the blankets, her nails already digging little red moons into Shepherd's biceps as she scrambled to the position so she might sink in her teeth at the juncture of shoulder and neck.
Somewhere in the haze of action, she recognized the beast was holding still, that no great swiping arm had sent her flying in response to her aggression. Her instinctive reaction had been so very quick, so mindless, that she only caught herself a second before punching her mark into the proper patch of skin.
An unexpected wave of dizziness made her vision swim, overwhelming nausea snapping her out of madness.
After a shaky breath, reason returned.
Confused by how badly she still wished to bite, how everything inside her told her it was her right—that she needed it—Claire slumped, exhausted. Shepherd's hands were already on her waist, steadying her as she dropped her forehead to his shoulder.
Flesh to flesh, he smelled like he was hers, the thread gratified by his proximity.
Why did it have to feel so good when he pulled her closer, holding her so that she might find her strength?
After a minute she clumsily unhooked her claws from his arm, back in control of her urges, stubborn and resolute to resist. But her head was still spinning when she glanced up. Liquid mercury watched as he always watched her, like a wolf licking his chops. She made a move to climb off his lap and return to the warmth of the bed but his arms held her firm, settling her body where she straddled his thighs.
A finger traced down her spine, a reminder she was naked... a state he had seen her in so many times there was little shame in it.
"There are topics that must be discussed." It was said conversationally, but his expression was daring argument. "To begin, you will tell me where you have been for the last eight days."
Her voice seemed to catch, worn from screaming at her sister Omegas so that this very scenario might be prevented. "I was offered shelter after I collapsed in the street, by a man who was kind to me, who listened, and who tried to help."
The heat of his massive palms kneaded deeply into her lower back, pressing her closer. "Who was this man?"
Claire shook her head, frowning and bracing herself to receive punishment for the words she was about to speak. "I won't let you kill him because he was noble."
There was the slightest of squints above a warning smirk. Shepherd's voice crooned, oddly complacent, and a total lie. "Perhaps I wish to reward the Beta whose stench saturated your clothing. After all, he tended to my runaway, foolish mate."
"No. You wish to know how to reach Senator Kantor so you might string him up from the Citadel." Claire knew the Omegas he'd captured would spill every word she had told them in their fear. They might have lost themselves in despair and starvation, but Claire had been made stronger by being fed as Shepherd's pet, and she would not give the Alpha information to help hunt down anyone who might resist his occupation.
Threading large fingers into her hair, Shepherd began to comb out the tangles. "Do you know where he is?"
"I do not. He came to me. But even if I had learned his location, I would not tell you."
"Do you think that your loyalty to those men will save them?"
She straightened her spine and fought to keep sadness from weakening her voice. "They were the only ones who offered to actually help, who wanted nothing in return, respected me as a person—not an object... I will not say a word that might help you hurt them." After a sniff, she raised her chin, all defiance and haughty determination. "You may have the Omegas under your control, you may have me back in this room, but you will never claim my integrity or honor."
A finger traced the line of her jaw, his silver eyes almost soft as they searched her face. "You are still so defiant."
"I am still Claire."
Unexpectedly the purr rumbled, soaking into her, soothing her rankled belligerence. When Shepherd spoke it was indulgent. "You are... wayward and foolishly noble... I find it is not disappointing."
Why was he looking at her gently? Why was he saying nice things? Narrowing her eyes, suspicious even as the purr made it all better, Claire tensed.
Shepherd's thumb brushed her lips. "Did you miss me, little one?"
The dark fan of her lashes lowered, Claire was unwilling to answer. She had missed him. Missed his smell and the purr, missed the calm he cultivated with precision. But her desire for such things were only the result of the bond. She had not missed the constant feeling of being trapped—watching day by day as more pieces of herself were peeled away.