Page 36 of Moon Guardian
Blood dripped from his neck where I had… bit him.
With my teeth, like a fucking animal.
I didn’t understand the mixture of emotions running through me.
Sorrow and grief lashed through my soul, punishing me for wanting this shifter.
Charlie.
My family.
They suffered and died, bleeding while I lusted after this wolf. His blood tasted like life on my tongue. His scent of pine and embers made my thoughts foggy and I wrapped my arms around my frail body as I began to tremble.
I’m a monster.
But I wanted him. I wanted him more than I wanted to breathe.
Somehow, I had mated him through the power that coursed through me. Marking him had begun a courtship that would end in something primal and addictive.
My body clenched at the thought, wanting those fantasies to come to fruition.
I was beginning to understand what had happened to me. Althea was right. The storms had changed me, primed me to be a vessel for the Moon Goddess and now, she wanted me to mate the alphas of all five packs.
And unite them.
The others hadn’t been ready for me. They had only been the beginning, the means by which I had completed the bonding with her magic and her heart.
Kane was where this ended. He was the wolf who would die for me if I asked it of him. He would worship me, protect me, and give me everything I desired.
His powerful gaze stayed locked on me as the wolves filtered out of the room, their snarls receding as Kane openly bled onto the floor.
He shrugged off his suit now stained with a crimson red streak. His muscles flexed under my scrutiny, his teeth sharp and the gold band around his irises stark with fresh magic.
Because I had marked him.
I had given him the blessing of the Goddess.
“You are hurting,” he observed as he took a step toward me.
I backed away, stopping when the heat of the fire at my back made me sweat. “Yes,” I said shakily.
He paused, then bowed his head. “Let me ease your pain, Kaitsja. I beg of you.” His gaze found mine again, striking and filled with an echo of my sorrow. “I feel everything that you do now that you have begun our courtship. I won’t mate you. I sense you aren’t ready for that, but I can take some of this grief from your soul.”
Sinking to my knees, I cursed myself for being so weak. I couldn’t stop shaking. I couldn’t stop myself from falling apart.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I didn’t care at that moment what he did to me. I just wanted it to all go away. “Do it,” I said, not sure what I was asking for.
He hesitated, then I felt his looming presence over me. His touch ran down my arms and I flinched, but he was delicate, lifting my shirt over my head.
I won’t mate you.
I believed his promise, even when his lips found my neck. He nipped, making me gasp until he licked the small sting.
The pain had a sensual effect, followed by his care afterward.
A wolf’s comfort, I realized.
“More,” I said when he paused.
