He pulls back just slightly, his forehead pressing against mine. “I should have known.” His voice is hoarse. “I should have seen it the moment I laid eyes on you. I should never have let you go, and I will spend the rest of my life paying for that.”
A deep growl rumbles in his chest, vibrating against me. I close my eyes briefly, letting the weight of his words settle over me.
Then I inhale. It’s time to tell him. I’m ready.
“There’s something you need to know.”
He tenses. “What is it?”
I exhale slowly, shifting slightly so I can meet his gaze fully. “The seal. The only way to break it…” I trail off, biting my lip.
His grip on me tightens. “Tell me.” I know he’s been waiting for this moment. I can feel it in the way his heart jumps that he’s been thinking about it. My wolf has been needing to meet his, to feel his fur against her face, to feel his weight on her, to feel him knot her. His wolf flashes in his eyes, and mine whines in need.
I swallow. “Only a Mate’s mark can break the seal and set my wolf free.”
A flash of realization crosses his face, followed by a dark, primalneed that sends a shiver down my spine. That sends the memory of how he just fucked me flooding my senses again.
His hand slides down my body, fingers tracing the faint glow of the seal that still lingers on my shoulder, keeping my wolf trapped in a prison that she never deserved.
His jaw clenches. “I should have done this a long time ago.”
I nod, barely able to breathe past the anticipation thrumming in my veins. “We didn’t know. Magnus told me as we entered the estate gates,” I tell him.
He shifts above me, his lips brushing the spot where the seal rests. I wrap my arms around him, eager to feel his teeth sink into me, eager to feel the rush of pleasure that will flood me.
“Are you sure?” His voice is barely more than a growl. His wolf is eager too. They’ve been waiting for this for years.
I tangle my fingers in his hair, tilting my head to the side, offering myself to him completely. We are the most vulnerable with each other in this moment. And after this, nothing can separate us, ever again.
“Yes.”
That’s all he needs.
His canines elongate, and in one swift movement, he bites down.
Pain and pleasure explode through me in equal measure. A gasp rips from my throat, my back arching as the seal burns, the magic crackling and unraveling beneath his claim.
Then—
I feel it.
The bond.
It slams into me with the force of a thousand storms, wrapping around my soul, threading through every inch of me until I am his.
Until he is mine.
Kieran growls against my skin, his arms locking around me as if he’ll never let go.
I barely register the way my own canines ache, my instincts screaming for me to mark him back.
I move without thinking, flipping us so I straddle him, my chest rising and falling as the connection between us solidifies.
His lips are parted, his pupils blown wide as he stares at me withsomething raw, something utterly feral. My wolf surges in a way that she hasn’t before. My teeth elongate, my fangs aching to feel his flesh tear, eager to feel his blood fill my mouth.
And then I bite.
My teeth sink into his shoulder, my body trembling as my mark sears into his flesh, binding us together in a way that nothing—no one—can break.