Chapter 23

Mikalina

Everything in me screamed to go back to him, that this was supposed to happen, that I was supposed to be his. It was that voice that had me pushing away everything I'd always known about what was in the world, what life was made up of, and going to him, confronting this head on.

But he told me to run in a voice that was no longer his, distorted and deep, more of a growl than anything else.

So that"s what I did. I ran.

I stumbled over fallen logs, branches whipping at my arms and face. I was no longer on the path, now stumbling forward, the darkness thick, but the glow from the moon high above was almost this calming balm.

I felt no pain as those leaves and branches swatted at me like hungry hands trying to stop me.

"So my female wants to run?" Ren's voice was low, deep, distorted as it moved around me. God, it sounded like he was in my head, like his words wrapped themselves around me, taunting me… teasing me.

I shook and moaned, chills racing over my body. I wanted him, yet I couldn"t stop running.

He loves the chase. He needs this. I need this.

I knew the human side of him was gone, pure instinct riding him now. The feel of that silvery glow from the moon washed over me, and I moaned anew, as if that light bathed me in pure pleasure. Oh God. What's happening?

His wolf was right behind me. I sensed him, felt him chasing me.

And so I ran faster, tripping over my own feet, no longer running from the unknown, but running because I knew my mate was after me and would claim me.

And I wanted him to catch me.

I was too aroused, my legs feeling weak, my feet sinking into the ground as if quicksand tried to pull me down, slow me for him.

The roar that sounded behind me had my heart racing in… anticipation for him reaching me.

"Run, my female. Run. But know I'll chase you, mate. I'll chase you until the end of the world. Know I love it, yearn for the catch." He growled erotically, and I could practically feel his warm breath on the back of my neck.

I heard hard rustling behind me, twigs snapping, trees being decimated in his wake, because of his wrath.

And I knew the moment he reached out and snagged me around the waist, pulling us down, taking the force so I wasn't crushed by his massive weight.

Before I could even make a sound or suck in a breath, his mouth was on mine, his hands working at my clothing, tearing it off.

"Tell me you accept me, you submit to me," he growled and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and arched my back, which made him become even more frenzied. "Tell me you"ll always be mine, that you crave me as much as I do you." His voice was so serrated. "Tell me you yearn for my mark."

I gasped and opened my mouth wider, accepting his brutal kiss.

"Yes," I moaned, arching up against him again, letting him tear the clothes from my body. He kissed me with a violent passion I never knew I needed, with a passion that burned me from the inside out.

He stroked his tongue over my lips, forcing me to take it into my mouth, fucking me there like I needed him to do between my thighs. I could hear him snarling, growling, the vibrations doing wicked things to my pussy, making me yearn in a way I never imagined.

I was vaguely aware of our clothing in tatters around our bodies, the glow from the moon washing over us so elicit, so erotic, that I threw my arms above my head and fully stretched out under him.

He flexed and released his fingers on my hips, his claws digging into my flesh but not enough to hurt me. I knew that this encounter, this mating as he called it, would be so heated I wouldn't even be able to comprehend the magnitude of it.

I wouldn't know fully how permanent it was until it was said and done.

I knew without him having to say the words against my sensitive lips that he wanted me to surrender fully—totally—to him.

And God help me, but I wanted that too.

The fire running through my veins could not be ignored, couldn"t be extinguished, and right now, I didn"t want it any other way.

When Ren broke the kiss and started moving his lips down my face, as if he savored the flavor and feel of me, I closed my eyes and moaned. His tongue lashed out along my throat, over my collarbones, and settled right above one of the mounds of my heaving breasts.

"So sweet, my female," he growled.

I breathed out heavily and tried to absorb every single sensation moving through me, even if it seemed impossible. Never had I felt so exposed in the best of ways. Ren made me wet and so ready to take him into my body that I ached.

I felt like I was losing control, just like he was.

He pulled me closer to him, and I felt all of his hardness. He was so very masculine, so big and strong, and I felt tiny in comparison. Everything about him heightened my arousal.

"Mine," he growled as he sucked one of my nipples into his mouth, tugging at the peak with his teeth. A shiver worked its way through me, and I grabbed his head and tangled my fingers in his short, now disheveled dark strands.

He pulled back, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply, his eyes now fully blue as he stared at me. With his mouth parted, I clearly saw the very sharp, very long twin canines that descended from his mouth and pricked at the bottom of his lip. I imagined what it would feel like to have those fangs embedded in my neck as he bit me and held me in place as he fully took me.

A shiver of pure lust shot through me, and I knew he smelled it, because he growled and gripped my waist right before flipping me over and positioning me on my hands and knees.

I moaned and thrust my ass back, this wanton side of me so unusual, but it felt so right. I felt how hard he was, his cock the biggest I could have ever imagined. And of course I thought about how in the hell he'd fit inside me. Even if I wasn't a virgin, that length and girth would be painful.

And I've never anticipated anything more.

And then he was kissing and licking all the way down my back; the growls that came from him had me rubbing my ass on his cock. I felt his fangs on my skin, and a shiver raced over me. His claws dug into my skin, not hard enough to break my flesh, but enough to let me know he wasn't fully human right now.

"Mine," he growled in that very animal-like, distorted voice, and I felt his warm breath along my ass. Another shiver violently raced up my spine.

He was rock-hard, so big and thick that wetness coated my inner thighs as my body prepared itself for his dick. Ren smoothed his hands over the cheeks of my ass, pawing them in his big hands before spreading them and groaning loudly.

"Perfection."

"Ren," I moaned his name now, lost and frenzied in my arousal. And when he had his mouth right between my thighs, licking and sucking at my primed pussy, I cried out and ground myself against his lips and tongue.

Yeah, I was so ready for Ren's claiming.