Page 23 of His Claim
I stared at it for a long moment, my jaw tight. Then I shook my head.
No. Not anymore.
I wrapped the towel around myself, tucking the edge tight against my chest, and straightened. My bare feet padded softly against the floor as I opened the bathroom door.
Without looking back, I walked out into his quarters.
He was waiting for me.
The moment I stepped out of the bathroom, towel clutched tight around me, his gaze lifted from the shadows of the room and locked onto mine. He didn’t move, didn’t say a word. He just stood there like a mountain of heat and muscle, steady and unshakable, as if he’d been waiting for me for a long time.
The air seemed to vibrate between us, humming. My pulse beat fast in my throat.
For once, I didn’t back away. I didn’t put my walls up.
I walked toward him.
Every step felt heavy, like I was carrying all the pieces of who I’d been—the girl in hiding, the girl who had screamed for Lia to run, the girl in the cells, the girl who’d clawed her way out of a rage she couldn’t control. Now here I was, clean for the first time in forever, bare but for a towel, walking toward the wolf who had claimed me as his.
When I stopped in front of him, my voice came out quiet, filled with uncertainty. “What does it mean, Varek? To belong to each other? For me to be your mate?”
His jaw flexed, his eyes searching my face. For a long moment, he didn’t answer, and I thought maybe he wouldn’t. But then his voice came, deep and even.
“It means you’ll never stand alone again,” he told me. “It means when you fight, I fight. When you bleed, I bleed. When you laugh, when you smile, when you cry…” His lips curved faintly. “That’ll all be mine too.”
My chest tightened. I wanted to argue, to push back against the inevitability of it. But instead, my hand moved before I could stop it.
I reached for him.
His breath caught, for just a fraction of a second, as my fingers hovered uncertainly at his chest. Then he moved, catching my hand in his. His palm was warm, callused, holding mine like it belonged there. He tugged me forward, closing the last inch between us, and I didn’t resist.
His lips brushed mine, soft at first, almost hesitant, like he was giving me one last chance to turn away. My breath hitched, and I leaned in, closing the gap.
The kiss was gentle. Sweet. Just his lips on mine, grounding me in a way that scared me more than his claws or his teeth ever could. When he pulled back, he leaned down to rest his forehead against mine, his eyes burning into me.
“Tonight,” he murmured, his voice rough but steady, “I’m going to show you what it truly means to belong to me.”
A shiver rolled through me, heat kindling low in my belly.
His hand stayed wrapped around mine, thumb brushing slowly across my knuckles, as if he didn’t want to let go. He studied me, eyes burning brightly, and when he finally spoke, his voice was soft.
“You’re beautiful.”
Heat rushed into my cheeks, and I shook my head automatically. “I’m not. Not like this.” I tugged at the towel clutched around me, acutely aware of my damp hair clinging to my neck, the red scrapes and blue bruises still littering my skin from the fight. “I’m a mess.”
He caught my chin gently, tilting my face up toward his. “No.” His thumb traced the line of my cheek tenderly. “You’re not amess. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than you right here, standing before me in nothing more than a towel, courage etched all over your face.”
My throat closed, the words sticking there. He leaned in, his eyes moving over my face like he was memorizing me.
“These eyes,” he whispered. “Emerald green, sparkling like gemstones. They see straight through me, even when I wish they didn’t.”
His fingers slid lower, brushing my jaw, lingering against my lips. “This mouth. Brave enough to curse me, bold enough to speak truth when others would cower. I’d be a fool not to adore it.”
I swallowed hard, my chest rising and falling faster beneath the towel, and still he went on. “Your hands, callused but strong. Your legs, scarred but even stronger. Every inch of you is a miracle, Mariah. Do you understand that? You’ve survived what should have broken you, what breaks almost every other woman. You’re here. And somehow…” He exhaled like the thought staggered him. “You’re still untouched by them. Mostly unharmed. I can’t explain how lucky I feel to have found you this way.”
My eyes stung, tears threatening, but I blinked hard against them. No one had ever spoken about me or to me like this, not as a someone more than just a body, not as breeding stock. Asme.
“You don’t have to say things like that,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “You don’t have to pretend.”
