Page 168 of Untamed

She shrugs again. “Heat sounds like a pain,” she remarks matter-of-factly. “How would I have survived in the wild if I had heat?” A worried expression crosses her face. “Are you too young for a pup, Mactiir? I want our child.”

I just blink down at her. “I’m glad you’re happy, Qitsuk. I’m fucking thrilled. I want to be a Pa, Bliss. I just… it surprises me.” I gently stroke her belly. “You surprised me,” I tell the tiny life inside her. A smile stretches across my face. “Damn.”

My Luna smiles at me. “You will be a good father, Mactiir. You are a good male. I never thought a male like you existed. You stole me,” she scolds as I watch her like a lovesick puppy. A pup, holy fuck.

“And my heart started to beat for you, too.”

My knees start shaking with the tidal wave of relief. I lock them tight. Fuck it, grow some balls, male. I ask her, “you love me, Bliss?”

“Yes.” She speaks simply, direct. No lies, no questioning. She just agreed. Then, she makes it ten times better.

“You are my heartbeat. I love you, Mactiir.”

I exhale, my eyes sliding closed. Gathering her close, I inhale her perfect scent. My world.

“I think I want to try again,” she whispers against my shoulder.

“What, Bliss?” I murmur. She’s already pregnant. Not that I mind practicing for the next and the next. I stifle my laughter. Goddess, help me if they are all like their mother.

“The biting. The Mark. Pup’s Mark is gone, now. I want to bite you, Mactiir.”

My dick goes hard as a rock. Odd that I can even get it up after last night. A sharp whine explodes from my gut. Completely embarrassing. “Yeah, Qitsuk? You want to try?” My muscles start to shake. I mentally slap myself. Hold it together. My thumb traces her smooth skin over what held an angry wound just a few days ago. In all the shit of yesterday, I didn’t notice that Sarj’s Mark healed.

“Yes. Do I just bite you?” she asks me innocently.

“Do you feel your venom, kitten?” I husk out. I pull away to look at her. I won’t force this again. I’ll let my female take her time.

She runs her tongue over her teeth. “It tastes sharp,” she tells me.

“Yeah? OK, then. Let’s ah, let’s try, kitten.” I cup the back of her head and gently guide her mouth to the right spot. “Right there, my Bliss.”

Her teeth sink in. It stings. I hold my breath again, only to let it out slowly when I feel nothing. No tightening in my heartstrings, no completion of souls. “It’s alright, Bliss,” I say. I fight back the sorrow I feel pounding my insides to dust. “We can try again later.”

She pulls away and frowns, looking disappointed. Reaching up, she runs her thumb over my wound. “I don’t understand. I thought I could taste it, Mactiir?” She looks at me, confused.

“Don’t worry about it,” I rush out. “It’s alright, kitten.”

She shakes her head stubbornly. “No. No, it’s not. You want this, Mactiir. I want you to be happy. The Moon said I have to Mark you. Why can’t I do it right?”

“It’s not you,” I blurt out, desperate to chase away the hurt in her gaze. “It’s probably me, kitten. I’m the fucked-up one, yeah?”

She hiccups a soft sob that breaks my heart right in two. Then, like a ray of sunlight bursting through the sky on a cloudy day, her eyes light up. “Mactiir!” she says eagerly. “Shift into my Ogre!”

I freeze. “You want me to do what now?”

“Shift,” she pokes my shoulder.

“Ah, Willa,” I set her down and step backward.

“Mactiir,” she follows me. “Shift so I can bite you!”

“I may hurt you,” I rasp out. “You’re carrying my pup, and I have less control, and he obsessed with you, my Bliss. The monster may-”

“You would never,” she interrupts. “You are myheartbeat.”

I am her heartbeat.

The monster rises, frothing with hunger for his mate. Her hands press to my chest, feeling the ripple of muscle and sinew under skin already darkening and hardening. No fear for a monster who slays entire packs. One last thought ripples through before the monster arrives. My skin in this form is tough leather; how will she Mark me now?

---