Chapter 28
Sai
“What have I done?” I whisper, my voice cracking with horror.
I try to pull back even though my knot is still firmly lodged inside him.
The movement yanks a sharp whine from Mavi’s throat, but the sound only makes the panic surge higher.
My hands shake where they grip his hips.
My breathing turns fast and shallow, the same way it does right before a freeze takes me.
“I hurt you,” I say. The words come out tight even through the panic. “I wasn’t supposed to do that. I wasn’t supposed to claim you like that. Doll, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
My knot keeps us locked together, but I still try to pull away. Every small movement sends another whine slipping out of him, and each one cuts me deeper.
Mavi reaches up and cups my face with both hands. “Sai, I’m okay. Baby, look at me. I’m okay.”
The panic is already taking over. My eyes feel wide and glassy. I keep muttering under my breath, repeating the same anxious loop. “I hurt my Doll. I did something I wasn’t supposed to. I wasn’t supposed to bite you. I wasn’t supposed to claim you without asking. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
His whines of displeasure only make it worse. Every time he makes a sound I flinch like he slapped me.
Mavi takes a deep breath and screams my full name. “SAI HOLLIS!”
I freeze completely. My body goes still above him, eyes locked on his. I look down at him, really look, at my ruined Omega covered in cum and slick and sweat, at the fresh bite on his ear, at the blood on his fingers.
He keeps his voice soft. “I’m not mad, baby. Just surprised. We already know we’re each other’s, but this is permanent and I… I didn’t know if we were ready.”
I stare at him, chest still heaving. He strokes his thumbs over my cheeks, catching tears I didn’t even know were shed. “Hey. Breathe with me. In… and out. That’s it. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. You didn’t hurt me, Sai. You claimed me. There’s a difference.”
I stay frozen for another long second. Then something cracks. My shoulders sag and I drop my forehead to his. He wraps his arms around me and holds me close, kissing the top of my head, my temple, and then the bridge of my nose.
“I can feel you,” I whisper, my voice scraped raw from the panic. “Everything. I can feel you inside my chest, Doll. It’s so loud and so clear and I… I didn’t mean to… I just… I needed you so bad.”
He kisses me softly, letting his lips linger. “I didn’t think my heat would put you into a rut, but I think you broke the worst of it.” A small chuckle slips out of him. “They usually last days. This one feels like it’s already fading.”
He keeps kissing my face, every inch he can reach, until the tension finally bleeds out of my body.
I sag against him completely, breathing him in like he is the only thing keeping me grounded.
There’s a trickle through the bond that I test, wonder spilling through my chest. “You love me?” I ask quietly.
“You... I can feel it, Mavi. Doll, you... really?”
He grins against my mouth. “Is it too soon?”
I shake my head as I move to kiss the shell of his bitten ear, tending to the new bite. “No, I love you too. Maybe since the first time I saw you through the screen. My pretty doll. All mine. I just wish you could mark me.”
He grins wider and playfully bites into my shoulder, teeth sinking in just enough to leave a faint mark. I shiver under him.
“But it won’t stay,” I say, voice small.
“Then I’ll bite you every day if that’s what it takes.” He kisses the spot he just marked. “Even without the bite, you’re still mine.”
I hum, and start licking and sucking gently at his ear before pulling back just enough to look at him, eyes still anxious. “You’re really not mad?”
He shakes his head and cups my face again. “If the roles were switched, I would have claimed you already.”
I let out a shaky breath and roll us onto my back so that Mavi’s more comfortable, my body finally relaxing into the bond. He holds me close, kissing my temple, my cheek, the corner of my mouth, letting the quiet settle around us while the world outside stays far away.
For the first time since this all started, everything feels exactly right.