The fae was being sated while the lycan was growing increasingly out of control. He fought it even as the lycan howled to claim its mate. The moons weren’t helping; he shouldn’t have stayed in this room with her.
He should pull away, but he couldn’t let her go. His mind spun as his thoughts became more chaotic.
Claim her. Claim her. Claim her.
He tried to reassert control over the wolf for fear it would injure her, but his fangs lengthened as his body swelled. The shadows retreated when the lycan shoved aside the dark fae to take control. When he met Lexi’s eyes in the mirror again, he barely recognized himself.
He’d expected to see terror or revulsion staring back at him from her, but instead, he saw only love and desire. Between the shadows and the lycan, she should be petrified, but she wasn’t.
She accepted him completely, and she would not run from him, no matter what happened.
That realization caused the last of his restraint to shatter. He wasn’t in control; the beast was.
When he sank his fangs into her shoulder, she jerked beneath him as he claimed her in every way possible. The throbbing in his fangs intensified as they filled with the serum a lycan used to mark their mate.
And then, it released. As the serum filled her, she cried out as she came. He thrust into her again and emitted a sound that was completely animalistic as he found his release.
Warmth spread from Cole’s bite to fill her veins and pulse through the rest of her body. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation; not even the bite felt bad. In fact, it felt good as the heat entwined around her heart before slipping into her stomach.
He’s claimed me.
She’d heard that lycans bit their mates when they claimed them, but he’d also released something into her.
His eyes still burned with silver fire in the mirror, and he didn’t release his bite on her. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his as he started to move inside her again. He’d already fucked her harder than he ever had before, but she suspected he was just getting started.
The lycan was unleashed, and it was an insatiable beast.
Chapter Forty-Four
Lexi had never been more exhausted in her life. She didn’t think she would ever move again, and it was more than being tired as every one of her muscles was limp and useless. She wasn’t sure she had bones anymore.
But her brain would not shut off. Cole had claimed her as his mate. Ever since he told her what she was to him, Lexi had known it was only a matter of time before it happened, and she’d wanted it, but she should have told him about Orin first.
Now, he could not take the claiming bite back, and he had no idea of this giant secret she harbored from him. Would he see it as a big betrayal?
There was a good possibility he would, and she couldn’t blame him if he did. She would be pissed if their roles were reversed, but she hadn’t expected him to claim her tonight. She’d assumed there would be a warning before it happened.
She should have known that one day, he wouldn’t be able to control himself. If he decided to have nothing to do with her when he learned the truth, he would regret this claim.
She opened her mouth to tell him everything before closing it again. His father’s memorial service was tomorrow, and his coronation was the following day. It was already too late to change anything, and he had enough to deal with over the next two days.
Unburdening herself now would only ease her guilt, but it would do nothing to make anything better for him. It would only make it worse as there was nothing he could do about Orin until the memorial and coronation were over.
She would tell him after the coronation and deal with the consequences then. Until then, she would do her best to be here for him.
Cole ran his fingers through her hair before caressing the edge of his bite. “Does it hurt?”
“No,” she said.
“I’m sorry I was so rough with you.”
Lifting her head, she propped it on her hand and smiled at him. “It’s not anything I couldn’t handle, and did you hear me complaining?”
He quirked an eyebrow as he let her hair fall from his fingers and settle against her back.
“Besides,” she said as she kissed his nose, “I liked it.”
His blue eyes flashed with silver. After everything he’d done to her, she hadn’t considered it possible for him to feel desire again so soon; she was wrong.
“Is that so?” he murmured as he ran a finger over her bottom lip.
She didn’t respond as her pulse quickened. She hadn’t believed it possible for her to feel desire again so soon either, but he was proving her wrong.
However, she couldn’t stifle a yawn as the moons dipped lower in the sky.
“You’re exhausted,” he said.
“I am,” she admitted.
He settled his hand on the small of her back and turned onto his back. Planting his feet, he rose in a fluid motion she would have considered impossible. She marveled at his strength and grace as he lowered her to the ground.
She shivered when he stepped away. Wrapping her arms around herself, she couldn’t suppress a yawn as he retrieved her clothes and handed them to her.
Taking her jeans, she pulled them on and shoved her ruined underwear into her pocket before slipping on her bra. She was about to pull on her shirt, but she paused when she glimpsed her reflection in the mirror.
Her hands froze and her mouth parted as she gazed at his bite mark on her shoulder. Only two of his fang marks were visible, but she assumed the two on her back were doing the same thing as the ones on her front.
And that thing was glowing a brilliant silver that matched the color of the moons.
“Oh,” she whispered as her fingers brushed the bite.
Cole came to stand behind her. His hands slid around to clasp her fingers as they settled on the edge of the bite.
“Is that normal?” she asked.
“Yes. When a lycan claims their mate, they inject a serum into them that marks them as theirs. The wounds will take longer than normal to heal too.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Does it bother you?”
“No.” And it didn’t. “But it’s… really strange. I mean, I’m glowing.”
“The glow will fade once you’re away from the moonlight. But beneath the moon, my mark will be evident on you.”
She liked that idea. The bite was ethereal but also beautiful.
“Do you wish I hadn’t claimed you? I should have asked first, but I….”
His words trailed off. She knew it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to admit he lost control.
“I’m glad you did,” she assured him.
She just hoped he didn’t come to regret it.
Lexi pushed her morose ruminations aside and rested her palm against his cheek. “I love you.”
He bent to kiss his mark. “I love you too.”
His warm breath against the bite caused her toes to curl. Then he pulled away, kissed her cheek, and stepped back. When he turned away, she glimpsed his ribs through his skin. She’d never seen them before.
“Cole?” When he looked back to her, his eyes shone with love, and a small smile curved his lips. “How bad were the trials?”
The emotion instantly left his face, and a callousness settled over his eyes. When he turned away, she grasped his arm.