Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Fane wanted me to run. But there was no doubt in my mind that he would chase me. Whether that ended in him trying to kill me or giving me that delicious pleasure-pain I craved so deeply wasn’t clear.
I spun on my heels and darted through the forest, my blood boiling and flesh on fire. He had very little control, and I should be terrified. And yet, I was so enthralled, so damn addicted, all I could think about was him catching me and ravaging my body any way he wanted.
“I know my little rebel so well.” His seductive voice sounded behind me.
Barely a minute passed before his formidable presence closed in.
His arm came around my waist, and he tackled me to the ground, caging me in so he took the brunt of the hit. My heart treated my ribs like a battering ram, threatening to pulverize each one into dust.
Fane’s scent penetrated my lungs, and the forest spun as the swell of desire pulsating through the bond hit me in the gut. A moan burst out of my mouth from that alone.
Still, I wouldn’t make it easy for him.
I kicked him off and scrambled out from beneath him only to have his hard fingers coil around my ankle.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He dragged me back, my talons sprouting and digging into the soil in vain. When he flipped me onto my back and lowered his head toward mine, in his eyes reflected my own slitted pupils.
The Infernal Sol wasn’t responsible for my demonic features. That was all Fane’s bite.
He loomed over me like a threatening tidal wave about to crash down. “Such a pretty little beast.” The rough tips of his fingers skimmed over my lips. “And you’re all mine to ruin.”
My jaw snapped, and I bit his finger, blood dropping over my tongue. “I’m capable of doing my own damage.”
His feral smile and the growl building in his chest had flames licking at my body. “We’ll see who submits first.”
Fane fell on me, his mouth sealing to mine and destroying any sense I had left. At least he wanted to unravel me more than he wanted to kill me.
For now, anyway.
His hips forced my legs to part, the tip of his heavy length settling right against my entrance. I wanted him inside of me more than I wanted my next breath.
His low chuckle told me he knew how close I was to begging.
Bastard.
“Stop teasing me, Maverick.” I rubbed against him, spreading my arousal.
As the scent of it exploded in the air, Fane’s nostrils flared, his jaw clenched, and a luminescent sheen coated his irises. “If any other man ever gets to see you like this, smells this, I will rip his throat out.”
“You act like I’m some huge flirt.” My talons skimmed down his spine until my palms planted on each of his ass cheeks. “I’ve made it perfectly clear that you’re the only beast I want.”
“And it better fucking stay that way, fiera mika.”
Without warning, Fane thrusted forward, burying himself into me in one swift go.
A mixture of relief and pain to finally have him sheathed inside of me swelled, and then the pleasure followed as he moved over me.
“Fane.” His name fell from my lips, and my head tilted back, the stars blurring above while he brutally took me on the forest floor. Twigs and pine needles dug into my back, but the sting only added to the storm of bliss building inside.
“You’ve been such a bad girl tonight, Teague.” His teeth dragged along my neck, leaving a line of fire in their wake. “Sneaking out of the house, disobeying me, making me chase you.”
My legs spread farther, letting him go deeper. “You better punish me, then.” A broken groan slipped out when he licked the mark on my neck.
Our hips collided at a frantic tempo, and our heavy, erratic breaths filled the forest. Desire wrapped around us, pumping through my veins and simmering off my flesh like steam on a hot blacktop in the summer.
I surrendered to every punishing thrust, every bruising kiss, and before long, I’d submit to anything Fane wanted.
Did he know that?
“I’m beginning to think you enjoy my punishments a little too much.” His teeth sharpened as his fingers curled around my throat. “I might have to get creative.”
“I’m always up to try new and inventive things.” I slowly licked my lips, taunting him. “But I can’t promise I won’t like it.”
Fane applied just enough pressure on my throat to slightly constrict my breathing and make stars dance on the edges of my vision. “Don’t make threats you can’t back up.”
“Just talking about a new form of torment has me shaking but not in fear.” My back arched away from the earth as a ball of pleasure formed low in my belly.
Fane plunged into me at a savage pace, and the erratic sound of our bodies slapping together erupted through the forest. My lids fluttered closed as he ruined me over and over again. Anyone in the vicinity could hear us. Hell, shifters would be able to pick up on the scent of sex a hundred yards away. It soaked the area now.
A threatening growl suddenly curled from Fane’s mouth, and my lids popped open to find that glazed look in his eyes, the same one he’d had when he tried to kill me the morning after we claimed each other.
Oh shit.
Just like Fane feared, the spell had a hold of him again, and I felt the change in his movements. He still drove into me at a maddening pace, but it was no longer only about the sexual lust throbbing through him.
He was feeling bloodlust.
And it was my blood he wanted to spill and drink up.
I grabbed his face, letting him continue to slam in and out of me because if I tried to fight it, he’d focus on the longing to kill me. At least the bond distracted him.
“Come back to me, Fane.”
Instead of choking me like he did before, his fingers left my throat and dragged down my chest, the threat of his talons pebbling my flesh. “Kill you.”
My legs wrapped around his waist, and a broken moan burst free at the new angle. Damn . I was going to come while he killed me.
“Don’t you want to finish this? Doesn’t this feel good?”
“Killing you would be better.” The tips of his talons pressed into my ribs. He’d puncture my torso with a bit more pressure.
“Don’t do this, Fane!” My fingers tangled in the hair at the back of his head, pulling the strands. “Fight it. You’re stronger than this.” I pleaded with him like he did for me when I struggled for control with the Infernal Sol.
“I don’t want to fight it.” The moonlight flashed on his sharp teeth as his lips curled back, poised to rip my throat out.
“You’re better than this spell.” I yanked on his hair until his neck was bared above. “You will fight it, Fane.”
My voice in his head gave him pause, and the distraction was enough. I jerked him toward me and sank my teeth into his throat again, fully biting him this time.
I didn’t mark him there when I claimed him, but my intent was clear, and he’d feel all the lust and desire swirling within me.
His feral howl exploded through the forest, and pleasure tore through me, slamming into him. A searing fire ignited in my veins, and I shattered beneath him as his blood pooled in my mouth.
“Tate. Fuck!” Fane grabbed the reins of control from the spell and gave a dozen more vicious thrusts before finally spilling inside of me.
The forest slowly stopped spinning as I floated back down after that mind-blowing orgasm. I unlatched my teeth from Fane’s throat, swallowing his briny blood. It coated my tongue and my mouth. I probably looked like a vampire, but I couldn’t care less, not with Fane breathing heavily into the crook of my neck, still inside of me.
After several moments, he finally pulled out and drew away, studying my face. The pain and guilt throbbing through him had my heart tightening.
“We can’t do this,” he whispered.
My humorless laugh cracked in the middle, my voice hoarse from all the screaming I’d just done. “It’s a little late for that, Maverick.”
He bolted up, pacing on his feet, blood staining his neck. “The spell took over, and I just tried to kill you. Again.”
“But I stopped you.” I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest. Now that Fane wasn’t covering me, the cold air hit my slick body, making me shiver. “You act like I’m some weak little girl who can’t hold her own. Did you forget you turned me and I came from a head alpha? I’m also a trained raven.”
His eyes narrowed as he stopped and finally turned to me. “None of that will help if I’m already close enough to pin you down.” The snap of his fingers reverberated through the dark forest like a bone breaking. “That’s all it would take for me to tear your throat out or simply break your neck.”
A chill slid down my back, but it had nothing to do with the threat of him killing me. I wanted his warmth back.
“You can fight this spell. You didn’t stop having sex when the spell had taken over. I think it’s safe to say this mate bond might be stronger than that enchantment.”
Fane jammed his fingers through his hair and groaned. “We can’t assume it’ll always win out.” Sensing my needs through the bond, he lowered to my side and wrapped his arm around me, tucking me into him.
He smelled like lust and sex. And me.
“How can I make you understand that I’m fucking worried I will kill you? And I don’t want that. I don’t want to lose?—”
The rest of his sentence cut off, but his meaning was clear. He didn’t want to lose me, and it wasn’t only because of the mate bond.
“You shouldn’t be around me until the witches can attempt to break this enchantment,” he said.
“Again, it’s a little late for that. You know what happens when we’re separated for a long period of time.”
According to Fane, it could be weeks, months, or even years before the bond was relaxed enough to allow us to go days apart without side effects.
Could Fane leave for weeks until the witches were ready again to perform the spell? Sure, but it would be hell on us.
My hand rested on the sun tattoo below my ribs. I couldn’t deal with those side effects too.
Fane sighed, his head bowing. “We’ll just have to be careful. We really shouldn’t?—”
“If the next words out of your mouth are have sex , I will toss your ass on the ground and show you exactly how strong I am.”
His jaw clenched while vibrations rumbled in his chest. “Yeah, maybe that’s not such a good option either. I nearly lost my mind these last few days.”
“For all we know, it made your killing urges worse since you were so on edge.”
Fane used his thumb to wipe away the blood around my mouth. “We’ll have to be extra careful.”
We were the last two creatures ever careful about anything, least of all each other.
The sun already brightened the sky when Fane and I walked out of the woods near Alpha Camus’s house. We’d been messing around for longer than I’d thought.
Losing track of time was a recurring theme with us. At least most of the pack was still asleep, so they didn’t witness us traipsing through the picturesque suburban streets sporting dirt smudges, wild, tangled hair, and scratches.
Anyone with half a brain could tell what we’d been doing, and any shifter who got within a few feet of us would smell it.
I’d never get used to everyone knowing my intimate business.
Fane’s gaze burned into me, and when I turned to him, lust mixed with possessive rage washed over me.
“Why the hell did you leave the house in those minuscule pajama shorts and a hoodie? You could have at least thrown on some pants.”
“I’d planned to return to the house well before sunrise, Maverick, but you decided to hunt me down. This is your fault.” I motioned to his bare torso just begging to be licked. “You’re the one out here with a pair of gray sweatpants and nothing else. At least I have shoes.”
My attention fell to the bulge between his legs.
Those damn gray sweatpants should be illegal in public.
His crooked grin poured tingles down my spine. “So you like my sweatpants?”
Damn it. I hadn’t meant to say that in his mind.
An ear-piercing screech interrupted our banter, and a figure emerged from a pristine yard several houses down the road, raven locks flying behind her.
“You two shouldn’t be allowed here!”
Fane groaned as Marissa stormed toward us, her matching hot-pink sweatpants and jacket so bright I could barely look at her.
“Especially you, Tate.” She jabbed her finger in my direction. “My mate left, and my mother took off because of you.”
I slowed my steps, Fane doing the same, and crossed my arms. “Your mother left because she chose Barric and his hateful, disgusting Collective Hunt. And Dorian left because he’d had enough of your selfish bullshit.”
A female shifter with strawberry blond hair jogged after her. “I don’t think you want to provoke Tate.” Mina and I weren’t friends, but we’d grown to respect each other. She also knew how vicious and terrifying I could be.
But that was when I’d had the Infernal Sol. Could I beat Marissa without it?
“Don’t do this, Marissa.” Fane couldn’t even muster any anger. He was simply over her dramatic bullshit at this point. “You’re already skating on thin ice with your father. You were banished from this pack, so you shouldn’t be here.”
She scoffed as Mina pulled her to a stop with several feet still between us. “Barric banished me, and he’s gone off the rails. I don’t think anyone will care that I’m here.”
“I care,” I muttered loudly enough for her to catch.
Her lips curled back into a snarl, her harsh jade eyes glowing as her wolf stalked closer. “You don’t matter, you half-breed, bitten bitch who can’t even shift. You don’t deserve to be called a shifter. You’re lucky Fane and the Anders have such low standards.”
The wolf in me rushed forward as fury spilled through my veins. Clearly, Marissa hadn’t gotten the memo that I could, in fact, shift.
That wasn’t what pissed me off, though. Her insulting Fane and the Anders did.
“Teague, don’t do it.” Fane’s voice in my head did nothing to stop my animal instincts from taking over.
I rushed forward, kicked my boots off, and yanked the hoodie over my head at the last second before smoothly shifting into my black-and-red wolf. My paws hit the pavement as I released a vicious roar and lunged at Marissa.