Her eyes are glassy with unshed tears as she shakes her head slowly. “I was scared about what he was going to do, but that was only a fraction of my fear. I was scared that I wouldn’t get the chance to tell you I love you.”
I blink at her, part of me unable to process her words. I throw my head back and howl, the sound reverberating through the town. She loves me.
I scoop her up and turn, not caring about what they’re doing to the piece of shit who thought he could come into our town and hurt one of our own. I start running, needing to get to the woods. Needing to get to the clearing even if I have no idea why.
I’m sure there are things Dakota needs to still do at the shop, but it’ll have to wait. I know everyone will keep an eye on the shop and won’t let anything happen to it. I shouldn’t have pushed them away for all these years, but I won’t do it anymore.
We’re a family, fucked up as it may be. We’re in this together.
With my mate at my side, I can do anything.
Dakota wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face in my chest. There is still some fear coming from her that I can feel in our bond, but with every step it dims slightly. By the time I make it to the clearing, it’s dusk and she isn’t feeling any of the fear her asshole of an ex inflicted upon her.
It’s a full moon tonight and I can already feel the pull of it, the way it calls to me. When I look down at the way my mate’s skin glows, I know I’m not the only one who feels it.
“So beautiful,” I growl as I lay her down.
I know I should be careful, but the need in me to claim her again, to show her and everyone else who she really belongs to, is riding me too hard. I use my claws and slice through the fabric keeping me from seeing her beautiful body. I throw the fabric away from her, hating the sour scent of that asshole on her.
She gasps and I watch as her ice blue eyes melt with heat and need. I shred my own clothes and then I’m covering my body with hers, needing to feel her skin against mine. Needing to know she’s right here with me. I also need to replace his scent with mine as best I can.
“I was scared I wasn’t going to get to you in time,” I admit softly.
Her hands glide along my arms as she wraps her legs around my hips, her wet pussy gliding against my straining length. We both moan at the sensation, raw desire begging to pull us under.
“You were right on time,” there’s steel in her voice, as if she’s daring me to tell her differently. I grind my hips against hers and she whimpers, “Jace, need you.”
“I’m yours,” I grit out through my teeth.
I kiss her hard, needing to taste her mouth, needing to make her feel only good things. She kisses me back, giving herself over to me. The way she submits underneath me satisfies the feral part of me.
“I’m yours,” she murmurs against my lips, “take me.”
I growl as I pull my hips back and fill her with my cock in one hard thrust. She gasps when I hit her cervix, but it’s not in pain. I can feel it, feel how much she needs this, wants this, how much pleasure it gives her.
My movements are punishing and primal. I never want her to doubt me, even though I can feel through our bond that she doesn’t. She has faith in me. She loves me.
It takes my breath away.
I kiss along her jaw and down the column of her neck as she arches for me, exposing herself to me, trusting me with her vulnerability. Her pussy squeezes my length, begging me for more. I’m more than happy to give it.
“You gonna milk my cock, little mate?”
Dakota’s hips move to meet my thrusts. The hair on my body stands on end, the feeling of being whole and being buried in my mate almost too much for me to take. She’s so much more than I imagined before I became what I am and after.
“Need your knot,” she pants as she buries her face against my shoulder and bites down.
It’s not hard enough to break the skin, but I feel the chains on my control break. My eyesight changes slightly and my muscles seem to grow just a little bit more, the beast in me no longer the other, but part of me, a part I can no longer ignore.
I was able to save Dakota today because of what I’ve become. I can no longer deny the truth of who I am, what I was made into, and what it means for my future. If I weren’t a monster, would I have recognized Dakota for what she is? My soulmate, my other half?
If I didn’t feel trapped and hadn’t isolated myself, if she didn’t need to run, would our paths have crossed? I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. Everything, the good and the bad, brought me to this moment.
The moment I claim my mate again knowing full well what it means and having her love sing through the bond as it wraps around my heart.
I thrust into her brutally, but she takes it and whimpers for more. I don’t stop, I can’t stop.
“Gonna fill you with so much of my cum that it’ll be running down your thighs for days,” I growl.