Page 110 of Savage Claim

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.”

---