h Karl and Claudia sighed in relief before falling into each other’s arms and initiating a long, sensual kiss. Everyone cheered and applauded again.
“Man, I was never a fan of these ceremonies,” Matt told Ethan while rubbing his arms as if he had been cold for the past few minutes and now he was just warming up. “There’s this… this… I don’t know what to call it. Weirdness? Every time an Elder opens his or her mouth, it’s like the Earth stands still. It freaks me out.”
“At least it proves there’s still some magic left in our faction,” Ethan shrugged.
“I can do without magic, thank you very much.”
When Karl and Claudia finally broke their kiss, everyone stepped closer to congratulate them. Unintentionally, they made a line, and Claudia found herself hugging every member of the Dark Wolves one by one. Some of these tall, strong men held her so tightly that she lost her breath a couple of times. Once it was over, no one left, however. Usually, this would be the end of the mating ritual, but now that the werewolves had the possibility to turn their brides into hybrids, a new act had to be added to the traditional ceremony.
Karl squeezed Claudia’s hand. “Are you ready?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Do it.”
He stepped closer to her and brushed her hair to the side, revealing the dark skin of her long neck and the tiny ear he loved so much to lick and bite. He closed his eyes and inhaled softly, relishing in the scent of his mate. It was intoxicating, addictive. He could stay like that, with his nose buried in her hair and neck, for hours on end. He wouldn’t need food, water, sleep. He only needed her. It wasn’t necessary to bite her neck, but they had decided it would be more romantic this way, after they had made some very bad vampire jokes, of course.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too.”
Karl let his wolf take over for a few seconds. His teeth elongated and sharpened, and he sank them into her skin, carefully, tenderly. She yelped and shuddered, and he held her closer to his chest. He felt the venom pour down his incisors, and he stayed like that for a long moment to make sure it entered her blood stream. When he pulled away, her neck was soaked in blood. His instinct was to lick it off her, but he clenched his jaw and commanded his wolf to stay down. The beast’s time was over. Matt handed him a towel, and he pressed it to Claudia’s neck to stop the bleeding.
“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m okay.”
She was trembling a bit, and it wasn’t because of the pain in her neck. It was because Matt was holding a phial filled with a transparent liquid. The cure for the wolf venom. It had been easy for them to get it. Naturally, the women who wanted to be turned into hybrids had to fill out a ton of forms to request a dose. For now, only the cure for the wolf venom was available, and the Council had decided the only ones who would be allowed to take it were the shifter-brides who married wolf-shifters and decided on their own that they wanted to be turned. A thorough investigation had to be conducted to make sure the decision hadn’t been made in haste. But Karl Blackmane was the main adviser of the wolf councilor, and that had its perks.
Matt held out the phial for her, and she took it with a trembling hand. The antidote could be either ingested or injected. The result was the same. She pulled the cap off and sniffed it tentatively.
“What does it smell of?” asked Karl. He was just as nervous as she was.
“Of long life and incredible physical strength,” she laughed.
Everyone laughed at her joke. They knew things would go perfectly because the cure had been tested, but it still wasn’t easy. Claudia counted to five, then drank the liquid in one single gulp. When she handed the empty phial back to Matt, she felt the same, and the wound on her neck was still bleeding.
“Councilor Harington said the first signs will take some time to show,” said Karl.
Arthur Haringon was the councilor of the human faction and the one who had discovered the cure.
“It’s okay,” she said. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”
“Yes, we do.”
He pulled her into his arms again and held her there for long minutes. At some point, people started getting bored of their little display and switched their attention to the delicious food waiting for them on the table. It was time to celebrate for real.
***
Karl removed the bandage on Claudia’s neck and traced the fading scar with the tips of his fingers.
“It’s almost healed,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
She shrugged. “The same. It doesn’t hurt anymore, though.”
They were sitting in the middle of the bed, facing each other. The mating ritual was over and many of the Dark Wolves had retreated to their homes. Only Matt, Ethan, and Terry were still on the roof, determined to drink the last drop of booze. Karl and Claudia had excused themselves long ago, eager for some privacy. It was almost morning, they had been talking for hours, but they were far from tired.
Karl leaned in and kissed her lips tenderly, then moved down to kiss her jaw and neck. They were both naked, very horny, but also determined to take things slowly this time. Claudia sighed and tilted her head back to give him better access. She ran her hands up and down his arms as he descended to take a nipple between his lips. She now knew all his scars by heart, she had kissed each of them, and had carefully traced and massaged all his hard, massive muscles. When he bit down on her nipple, her hands found his thick cock and started rubbing it lightly. Karl grunted and pushed her on her back, but she immediately protested.
“No, it’s my turn on top.”
Well, he couldn’t argue with that. He grinned up at her, then changed their position so she would lie on top of him. She sat up between his legs and started running her hands all over his chest, abs, and thighs, drinking in the sight of him. Oh, he had a perfect body! All hard and well sculpted… His long, thick cock was resting on his belly, a drop of translucent liquid shining on the tip. Her pussy throbbed at the thought of that big piece of meat stretching her, thrusting in and out until she screamed his name and came. But no, she wanted to take things slowly. She wanted to enjoy every second and every inch of his body.