Page 60 of Bitten, Marked, Obsessed

I’m on my feet in seconds. “Where?”

“Unpatrolled territory. East rim. No one else’ll be out there.”

“You sure?”

“I’mnotsure,” he says. “But she is. And that’s good enough for me.”

We don’t speak as we move through the tunnels and then up through one of the abandoned side exits of the Hollow. The night air hits me like a slap—cool, sharp, smelling faintly of rust, fog, and something that makes my skin hum.

Her.

We reach the edge of the forgotten woods that haven’t been developed yet—somewhere where the trees are thicker, wilder. No markings. No sigils. No eyes. And there she is.

Leaning against a broken fence post like she’s been there for hours, like the wind hasn’t even touched her.

She lifts her head when she sees me, and it’s like my ribs forget how to hold my heart.

“Hey,” she says.

Just that. Simple. Quiet. And somehow, I feel like falling apart.

Elias hangs back.

“I’ll, uh… I’ll leave you two to it,” he mutters. “The less I know, the better.”

“Thanks,” I say without looking back.

She steps toward me, fidgeting with the strings of her hoodie. “I didn’t mean to just show up. I know it’s stupid, but?—”

“It’s not stupid.”

Her eyes meet mine. “I didn’t know where you’d be. I just… followed something. A feeling. It was like thispull. It wouldn’t let me do anything else until I got here.”

I nod slowly.

“I know,” I say.

“Why?” she asks, voice small now. “Whatisthis?”

I take a breath. Step closer.

“Kendall…” My voice cracks a little, but I keep going. “There’s something I haven’t explained. Something I should’ve told you days ago, but I didn’t because I didn’t know how you’d take it.”

Her lips part. “What?”

“This bond—what you’re feeling? What I’m feeling?” I shake my head. “It’s not just chemistry. It’s not just attraction or adrenaline. It’s…ancient. And real. And it doesn’t go away.”

She stares.

“In shifter culture,” I continue, “we’re raised hearing about it. Taught to recognize it. It’s rare as hell, but when it happens… it’s binding.”

“The pull,” she whispers.

“Yeah. That’s how it starts. This instinct. This drive. Like something inside you searching for something outside of you—and when it finds it? Game over.”

She takes a step back. “You said it once. At the cabin. Something about being fated. And before… You said I’d ruin you if you let me.”

I nod. “Because fated mates? They don’t get a choice. And that scared the shit out of me.”

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