Page 129 of Wolf Cursed
Kai sighed. “The hexerei have been trying to find our weak points for a long time. Ten years ago, there was a pretty bad skirmish on the border of our lands and ever since then, the pack has made it a rule to take no prisoners. None of it was your fault.”
He was right. I knew I’d walked into a war that had existed before me. But I still felt badly for the way it had turned out for that guy. He hadn’t done anything except be what he was.
I had to change the subject before I let the guilt tear me apart.
“Kai…my wolf—she called you her mate.”
His eyes filled with intensity. “As did mine.”
“Does that mean… Do you think the curse is broken?” I asked, hopeful.
He shook his head. “Recognizing a mate doesn’t mean you’ve become so. You still have to complete the bond, and even then, there’s a mental connection that happens when you’ve recognized your one true mate that hasn’t shown up for us. I was hoping last night would trigger it, but…”
“But it didn’t,” I finished, shoulders sagging.
“It’s not the end of the world,” he assured me. “Most mates don’t feel that connection until after they’ve completed the mating bond anyway.”
“Well, how do you complete the bond? Maybe we could do that and see what happens.”
His expression changed, and the way he looked at me had my entire body tingling. “The bond is completed through physical mating,” he said in a voice that seemed to rake over my skin. “Joining our bodies,” he added, leaning in closer.
My heart pounded as his words registered.
“Well, I think it’s worth a try,” I said, nearly panting with my need for him. “Don’t you?”
His eyelids lowered, and he looked at me with an expression of pure desire. “I’ve wanted nothing else since the moment I laid eyes on you, Ash Lawson.”
My mouth went dry.
Did I want him? Hell yeah. Did I also melt a little when he called me by my rightful last name?
Damn straight.
I reached for him, pulling him down on top of me.
“Me too,” I whispered. “Kai, make me yours.”
“Ash, you need to be sure about this. It would be forever. Wolves mate for life.”
“I’ve never been more sure,” I told him.
He looked at me like he still wasn’t convinced.
“Kai, listen to me. My mother left a long time ago, and my dad might as well have. He checked out mentally, emotionally, in all the ways that mattered. He never told me the truth, and he wasn’t there for me when I needed him. You’ve been there for me more times than I know what to do with, and I know you’d never let anything happen to me. You’re my family now. I don’t even want anyone else.”
His lips twitched. “Not anyone? Not even Oscar?”
I punched him lightly. “Not the same, jackass.”
He grinned, and the desire in his gaze made me shudder with the intensity of it as he leaned in close again.
“It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: you’re it for me, Ashes. Always. Forever. Til death.”
“Til death,” I echoed.
He made a sound like a growl and crushed his mouth to mine. His hands were on me then. Fast, firm. Demanding. His tongue prodded my lips apart and delved into my mouth, teasing my own tongue in a way that made my core ache for more. His fingers roamed over the shirt he’d given me, sliding it up and running his rough palm over my hips and up to cup my breast.
When his fingers rolled my nipple, I arched into him.
