35. Tate

THIRTY-FIVE

TATE

My anger rose as I watched Harley leave the room. It wasn't directed at her. It was at myself, it was at Emily, it was at the hunters and Luis. Everything was fucked up, and I couldn't get my head to stop spinning to make a good plan. I stood and paced the room, trying to expend some extra energy.

Blayne shook his head in exasperation. "Tate, dude, you have to admit Harley has a point. We're going into battle with these hunters, and you are definitely not at peak performance. You see that, don't you?"

I heard him and bit down on my tongue to keep my mouth shut. I didn't want to spout some retort at him without thinking. I needed time to think, but shit kept happening that prevented that.

"You realize that if you get killed because you're too busy worrying about this curse, you'll leave Harley and your unborn son totally unprotected," Steff said.

I spun on him and snarled, releasing a deep throaty growl. Instead of flinching back, Steff merely raised his eyebrows, looking more irritated than afraid.

Blayne scoffed. "Again, you're making our point for us."

The snarl on my face slipped away. They were right. I wasn't at my best. It wasn't even that I was angry. I was terrified. I was trapped in my own skin, ready to tear free. I wasn't scared of the hunters. I was scared at the thought of losing Harley or losing the baby. I couldn't imagine the pain I'd feel if I took the girls' mother from them. This fear was all that was stopping me. There'd never been a human that turned into a shifter. There was nothing to go off of. No case study, no legend, no text books. Nothing. We were going in blind. I had no way of knowing if I should jump off the cliff or walk away.

Upstairs, I heard murmuring. Miles was talking. Without a word to Steff or Blayne, I walked up the stairs and rounded the corner. I'd assumed that Miles was talking in his sleep. Instead, I found him awake, speaking with Harley. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, away from the bloody portion.

Freezing where I was, without them seeing me, I listened to what they were saying.

"I like the paint job too, by the way," she said, gesturing to the blood stains all over the bed.

Miles smiled, even though he was still obviously in pain. "Yeah, sorry about that. I told them to put me in the bathtub, but they wouldn't listen."

"It's fine. Tate already said he'd buy me a new mattress. Between you and me, I'm going to work him over and get one of those really expensive, top-of-the line, heated and cooled ultra-lux beds."

Miles chuckled, then winced. "Take him for all he's worth. I do his taxes for him, I know how much he's got." The smile fell from his face. "Harley, I'm very thankful for you."

"For what?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

"You've made Tate happy. You can't understand how grateful I am for that. He's my best friend, but I really can't remember him ever being truly happy. You and your girls have broken through that armor he's built around himself. He's actually living a life. He's not just slugging his way through it anymore. He's a great guy, the most loyal friend I could ever imagine. He deserves happiness. He deserves peace, and you gave him that. Thank you."

My eyes burned, and I put a hand to my mouth, holding back a sob. I'd never heard Miles talk about me like that. I never knew he was so worried about me. Sometimes I forgot that other people were watching. My friends were invested in me as much as I was in them.

Miles added, "I know he's not been himself lately. I'm still worried about him."

Harley took his hand. "I'm doing all I can to help ease his mind. The problem is, Tate is a stubborn bastard."

Miles laughed then, actually laughed. It was cut off by a wince and hiss of pain. He dragged in a breath. "You aren't wrong. But I think if anyone can ease his mind, you can." Miles's eyes fluttered closed. As he slipped off to sleep, he murmured, "I can't lose him. I can't lose my brother."

My chest was aching as I watched Harley lay Miles's hand gently back on the bed. This was the hardest decision I'd ever had to make. It was like my whole life was culminating in what I was about to choose. Harley turned and saw me standing in the shadow of the doorway. She stood and walked toward me with a determined look on her face.

She pressed up against me in the hallway. "I'm not going to let you put us in danger, Tate. I know everything will be fine. This is the way things were meant to be. I want your bite. Claim me."

My dragon nearly forced a shift after hearing that. It was going crazy with need and lust. My cock was already getting hard hearing her say those words. I knew what would happen if my instincts overcame me. And that terrified me.

"You need to stop talking," I whispered.

She looked me in the eyes. "I accept you as my mate."

Those words almost snapped me out of reality. I went into a fugue state and didn't even remember taking her hand and leading her back to my house. There was a vague memory of Steff and Blayne saying something as we left. The walk across the street happened in a blink. One minute, we were stepping out the front door of Harley's house, and the next, I was slamming the door of my bedroom. The dragon, the animal inside me, was taking control.

The house felt almost alien to me. I'd spent so little time there it had begun to no longer feel like my home. My home was with Harley and the girls, but for this, we needed privacy. My decision had been made the moment she said she accepted me as her mate. It was time.

Harley sat on the bed as I stood above her. She ran her hands across my stomach and chest. Blood pounded in my ears, and I could actually see the veins in her neck. They pulsed, calling to me. Screaming for my venom. For the part of me that would claim her—change her forever. The fear was still there, and I tensed, trying to hold off for a few more minutes. My vision narrowed, and all I could see or hear was my mate. There was only Harley. Nothing else.

She seemed to see me struggling for control. She looked up at me and whispered, "Don't fight it, Tate. I want this. Claim me. Make me yours."

My eyes shifted, the gold glow reflecting off Harley's face. A knowing smile spread across her face, and I started tearing her clothes off. It was manic, almost out of control. She tugged and tore at my clothes. The neck of my shirt ripped as she yanked it off my head, and buttons popped off her shirt as I yanked it open, revealing her breasts.

Scooping her up and moving her farther up the bed, I settled atop her and kissed her hard. Our tongues twisted and fought playfully as my hand moved gently across her belly. After drifting across the tuft of hair between her legs, I slipped a finger inside her, making her moan. Her nails dug into my back as I latched my lips onto her neck. I sucked at the soft flesh there, moving my finger in and out of her.

My cock was throbbing, almost aching, it was so hard. Harley's hand brushed between us and took me in her hand. I breathed out a heavy sigh as her fingers stroked me, making my dick pulse harder. I didn't know it was possible to be that hard, to want someone that much. I looked into her eyes and saw the need there, saw that deep down, beyond everything else, she wanted me. Me. All these years after my family turned their back on me, someone actually wanted me.

Needing her more than ever, I pulled my hand away and nestled myself between her legs. I took my cock and grazed the head against her clit, moving back and forth. Harley arched her back, lifting her hips.

She gazed into my eyes with so much love and murmured, "Now. Make love to me, Tate."

Groaning, I slid into her, her warmth enveloping her. Her breasts pressed against my chest and my hips began to move. Harley slipped her hands up into my hair, and her eyes rolled back in her head as I began thrusting faster and harder. My lips grazed across her jaw and neck, the dragon screaming at me to do what we both wanted.

"Do it, Tate," she gasped, barely in control. "Take me. Claim me!"

The dragon roared, and my own voice echoed its cry. I clamped my teeth onto her neck, my fangs already out. I sucked in a mouthful of her blood and injected her with my venom. I could almost feel that part of me coursing through her body. The connection was already forming, and I'd never felt anything like it. I came, grunting and burying myself deep inside her as my body shuddered. Harley screamed my name and slammed her hips into me over and over, fucking me even as I was locked in motionless pleasure. Moments later, her own body vibrated and shook beneath me, a wordless moan erupting from her throat. We collapsed against each other, heaving and panting, overcome by what had just happened.

Not sure if I'd done it right, we lay there, holding each other, waiting for… something. I'd never done this before. Even if there hadn't been a curse, I wouldn't have really known what would happen. My body knew how to claim someone—it was instinct. Just like a man or woman knew how to have sex even if they'd never seen it or been taught. Other than that, I didn't know what might happen.

I laughed. "I feel so much better. The feral feeling, it's gone."

Harley caressed my face and nodded, a faint smile growing on her face. I pulled her close to me, the bond between us growing with every second, unbelievably powerful. I put my hand to her chest, feeling her pulse.

I pressed my face to hers. "Our hearts are beating in sync."

"I feel different," she whispered.

Nodding, I said, "It's the mating bond. I kind of thought you'd have shifted by now. The wound on your neck is already closed up and vanished. It definitely worked." It was true, but there was a faint scar where my teeth had torn her skin. A scar that would permanently mark her. Just enough for me to see, to know that she was mine forever. My dragon purred with satisfaction.

Before we could drift off to sleep, a heavy fist pounded at my bedroom door. The explosive sound snatched our bliss and peace away. There would be only one reason for someone to come over here and interrupt this. Something had happened.

Before I could ask who it was, Steff screamed through the door, "Tate! The hunters are here. They're in Harley's backyard."