Chapter 38

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

Fane's nostrils flared, barely holding onto any control as I made him aware of my intentions. He didn't get to claim me without giving me the same opportunity.

"Do it." He yanked me onto him, gripping my hips and shoving me down on his hard length until he was fully sheathed inside. I moaned as desire coated every square inch of me. My nerve endings were raw and exposed, crackling with each touch between us. Having him inside of me, us physically and mentally connected, ignited my blood.

As our hips clashed, the smacking of our flesh and our heavy, erratic breaths filling the yard, I leaned forward and sank my teeth into his chest, right over his heart.

I'd bitten him in this spot many times before.

Now it was different. We were different.

Fane's roar shook the heavens, and the flapping of wings echoed as he sent wildlife fleeing from the trees.

My beautiful beast.

Mine .

He spilled inside of me as my bite dug deeper. "Tate, fuck!"

Our hearts tapped out the same erratic beat. The exact same.

There was no going back. We were tied together. Forever.

We were mates.

Something inside of me shattered. The amulet's hand gripping mine fell away, and the shadows receded. The dark me floated far beneath the surface, satiated by the beast.

I was me again. The real me.

The mate bond settling in place had broken the Infernal Sol's hold, forcing it down to a slumbering state. For now.

"Fane."

"You're back." His arms wrapped around me. "I brought you back."

My teeth withdrew from him, blood spilling out while more leaked from my neck. "You always bring me back." But this time, he had to claim me.

Memories suddenly rushed forward, horrific flashes speeding through my mind like snippets of nightmares. My insides churned as I recalled sucking a royal demon's life out. All of it. And I'd almost drained that witch's soul. If Fane hadn't stepped in and killed her, I would have.

The Anders had witnessed all of this. They'd seen me kill and inflict torture. It didn't matter that the demons and witch deserved it for harming Dylan. I'd completely given into the Infernal Sol and became something terrifying. Sinister. Evil . The madness had leaked out of me all over little Dylan. Even Wrath, a powerful high demon, had felt it. None of them could get close except Fane.

The Infernal Sol made whole villages go mental. And I was capable of doing that.

A sob slipped out, and Fane's arms tightened. "The things I did… "

"They know it wasn't you," he murmured. "And they know you did it to save Dylan. He would have died without you."

I shook my head. "How can they ever look at me again?"

The Anders told me I was family, but how could they want this cancerous thing to infect their lives? I would only ruin them. Look what had already happened.

The scent of blood and death still perfumed the air, and I angled my head to the side on Fane's chest. My stomach heaved at the carnage scattering the area. I'd done a lot of that. And then danced in celebration.

"I have to get this thing out of me, Fane."

"We'll get it out." His lips brushed the top of my head. "I promise."

Hot water cascaded over me, washing off the crimson and black blood and turning the bottom of the shower murky. The remnants of battle drained off Fane, too, as he stood under the spray with me.

He'd refused to let me shower alone. He knew I'd turn the water scolding hot and scrub my skin until it bled. My fingers itched to drag across my flesh. His gaze drilled into me as I ran the loofah over my body. There was nothing sexual in it. He was worried. He hadn't taken his eyes off me since he hauled me from the backyard after we'd claimed each other.

We were mates.

Fane Maverick was my mate.

The thought of it sent hot tingles down my spine, and the wolf within wriggled with happiness. That part of me had been very active since Fane made his claim, pushing the amulet's influence even farther away .

But Fane only did it to save me.

"I'm sorry," I muttered and hung the loofah back on the hook suctioned to the white tiles. "I know you didn't want this."

Fane shoved his hand through his hair, slicking the wet strands back. He was so beautiful it hurt sometimes. Those sharp angles, scars, and piercing eyes contrasted his full, soft lips. "What's done is done. Wrath was right. It was the only way to bring you back."

"But now you're forever bound to me."

He shrugged. "We were already bound."

"It's not the same." Our connection had already been strong, but now it was a physical force pushing us together. I felt every breath he took and every beat of his heart. My skin hummed in his presence. "And now you're stuck with your brother's killer."

The tiny tendons in his jaw feathered as he closed the distance between us, backing me up against the cold tile wall. His hands planted beside my head, trapping me. "I've been fucking obsessed with you since the beginning."

My heart crashed against my ribs. "What do you mean?"

"Even when I was hunting you down to kill you, I was inexplicably drawn to you. You fascinated me, and my addiction grew every moment we were near each other." He brushed wet hair off my forehead as his tongue toyed with his lip ring. "Maybe this was just inevitable."

Were we simply destined to be together? Had the universe decided to cultivate this bond between us, never even giving either of us a choice in the matter as if we were fated mates?

I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth, nibbling on it as I tried to control my thoughts. I didn't want to blurt anything that would make him resurrect his impenetrable walls.

Now that we were mates, I wasn't sure how well those walls would keep me out .

His gaze dropped to the long cuts slashing my side, running through the horizontal scars from his brother. He ran his fingers over them, his eyebrows dipping. "There's no point in agonizing over my decision to claim you. It's done. You're mine ."

The fire in his eyes and the possessive growl to his words stole the air right out of my lungs. Things would never be perfect between us, and we wouldn't suddenly become the world's best couple. And even though Fane had come to terms with his choice, tomorrow, after the endorphins had worn off, could be a totally different story. It wouldn't be the first time he'd been hot and then cold a few hours later.

A tingle suddenly rippled through my neck tattoo, traveling across my shoulder and down my arm. Fane drew back and lifted my arm as black designs formed over my flesh all the way to my hand. A gasp slipped out as the shapes became solid, matching the ones on Fane's body except for the few delicate, lacy swirls on my hand.

"What the hell?" I muttered, exploring the new tattoos.

"That's not all." Fane pointed to the place I'd bitten, right over his heart, where the same swirling lacework now twisted between the jagged slashes inking his chest.

I smoothed my fingers over it. "Is this from the mate bond?"

Fane shrugged. "Anything's possible with us. We aren't exactly normal." His thumb dragged over my throat, making me shiver. "A shifter bite doesn't usually form a tattoo in the first place."

Nothing about us had ever been normal.

I traced the new symbols on Fane, his heart beating against my touch as the atmosphere in the shower thickened. "It's a little different than the rest of them."

"Because it came from you." He lifted my hand to examine the symbols. "We both left our marks on each other. "

"I guess we did." My voice came out low and breathless, and my legs began to tremble as he ran his thumb over the tattoos.

Fane's mismatched eyes smoldered into mine, spreading goose bumps over my heated body. He then drew my arm around his neck and did the same with my other one, his hands sliding down my sides as he pulled me closer. "I literally can't stop touching you. And when I'm not, it's all I think about."

A shiver coiled over my body as my breaths quickened. "A side effect of the mate bond?"

His answer came in the form of a low, throaty growl that traveled all the way to the depths of my core, setting my blood on fire. And then he was kissing me, his tongue sliding against mine, his taste as familiar and addicting as ever.

This was different than most kisses we'd shared. It wasn't soft—that wasn't us—but the passion intensified, nearly consuming me within seconds. His touch burned all the way to my soul.

Fane grew hard against me, his hips rocking into mine and shooting sparks between my legs. Desire flooded my bloodstream like someone had injected me with drugs. I needed him now. Again. Always.

The demon shifter shut the water off and towed me out of the shower. Water dripped from us as we stumbled out of the bathroom and fell into bed, slipping around as our wet bodies clashed. Neither of us said a word as he spread my legs and lined the tip of his length to my entrance.

I was ready for him. Drenched, actually, swimming in need.

As Fane plunged into me, our mirrored groans echoed in the room. Flames licked over every square inch of my body as we collided. Each thrust rattled the bed frame and brought us closer together .

"No other male will every fucking touch you." His hot, ragged whisper blew down my neck, and the possessiveness in his tone made me tremble. "Say it."

"No one else, Fane." My legs widened so he could go deeper, moaning as he slammed in and out hard enough to crack my bones if I were human. "I swear."

His tongue licked my throat over my tattoo, shooting a bolt of desire right to my center. "Just know that if some other man touches what's mine, I will literally lose my shit. I will kill him, no matter who he is. I won't be able to control myself."

This was Fane's way of saying he'd kill even Ruin or Hawk for attempting to lure me to their beds.

"The same goes for you." My fingers tangled in his hair as I tugged his head back. "No other female will ever lay a finger on you, or I'll bite that damn digit off."

His unhinged laugh had my pulse rising. "As if any other woman is on my radar." He pounded into me, slamming the headboard into the wall. It was a good thing we were alone in the house because everyone would have heard us. "You're all I think about, fiera mika. Every single damn thought I have is centered around you in some way. I'm utterly fucked."

I yanked him back to me, our lips sealing together as he continued to brutally tear me apart in the best ways imaginable.

The night drifted in a blur, and we finally passed out just as the sky began to lighten outside the windows framed in silk drapes. His warm form curved against mine, and I felt more content, safer than ever.

That fact alone should have tipped me off that shit was about to hit the fan.

When I floated back to consciousness after the sex-induced coma later in the morning and turned my head, sharp points pushed into my neck. My lids snapped open to find Fane looming above me, a feral snarl twisting his lips.

And the vicious stings in my throat were his talons digging into my flesh, hot blood leaking out.

There was no recognition behind his eyes. Kaspin's spell had complete hold of him. And he was going to kill me.