Chapter 22
Alaric
Avoice inside me told me to stop. It said the forces urging me to complete the bond with the witch had less to do with fate and more to do with my father’s twisted plans.
But I ignored it.
I’d done everything in my power to stay away from Raven. I’d treated her with contempt, gaslit her, and generally behaved like a complete ass whenever our paths crossed. But despite all that, she still wanted me.
I buried my nose in her neck and huffed up her scent like a feral beast. Everything about her inflamed my senses. Her smell, her goddess-damned taste that made me harder than fae-forged steel, and her power.
The power my father craved.
Dad’s words rang in my head. “Siren magic never fails.”
Fuck. Was this why we couldn’t keep our hands off each other? I stared down at Raven, finally noticing how dilated her pupils were. This was no ordinary passionate moment. Yes, she desired me, but was she fully in control of herself?
Somehow, I suspected not.
As much as I so desperately wanted her, I refused to take advantage.
I tried to pull away, but she reached for my sweats to free my aching cock, and the minute her small hand gripped my shaft, I lost what little sanity remained.
Instinct took over, banishing any last doubts I had. She guided me to her opening, and we both cried out when I sank into her wet heat. It was almost too much.
Raven’s sharp teeth pierced my neck, spilling blood, which she licked up with relish.
“You taste good, my mate,” she growled, sounding even more wild than me.
“You bit me!” I roared, torn between rage at the way she’d marked my flesh and satisfaction that I’d probably end up with a permanent scar.
Once again, that fucking irritating voice of reason, determined to ruin the moment, reminded me that such behavior ranked high on the unhinged scale. Again, I ignored it.
“And I’ll bite you again if you don’t fuck me like I need, mate!” she hissed, her pupils now so dilated they almost eclipsed her violet irises. This was siren magic at play, but I no longer cared.
Before I could reply, her back arched, and a pained cry echoed around the room.
“Please,” she sobbed, tears leaking down her cheeks. “Please, it hurts so bad!”
I kissed her tears away and thrust deeper, giving her what she wanted.
“Fuck, you feel so good.” Too good.
The harder I rutted into her, the more she screamed, and when she came for a second time, the feel of her body squeezing around me pushed me over the edge.
The tether in my chest snapped into place, bonding me to my soulmate. My magic burst into life, more out of control than ever before, obliterating the cuffs on my wrists.
There was nothing I could do to prevent chaotic bolts of lightning from searing the walls and filling the air with sparks of electricity. Magic and cum poured from me in an endless stream.
Fire and shadows filled the room as we clung together, connected by magic and a now-permanent bond.
I rolled to the side, pulling her with me, not giving a fuck about the magical mayhem raging around us. Raven’s witch fire couldn’t hurt me, and as my soul-bonded mate, she was immune to my lightning.
She lay in my arms, breathless, her skin slowly cooling. Whatever foul magic my father had used to provoke our bonding seemed to have run its course, but I kept quiet, not wanting to tarnish this special moment between us.
My eyes closed as exhaustion threatened to pull me under, but a shocked gasp derailed any thoughts of sleep.
“Oh my goddess,” Raven whispered. The amulet between her breasts had shattered, leaving nothing but a tarnished chain and a few fragments of blood-red stone behind. Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks. “My mother gave this to me, and now it’s broken!”
“I’m sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
Then I felt my skin burn. I looked down to see a mark had formed on my upper pectoral—a small gray lightning bolt.
“You have a mate mark like the others.”
I hadn’t noticed. Kai had many tattoos; Zane too. It was impossible to tell if Maverick had any bond marks because, like most bear shifters, he had a lot of body hair. And I hadn’t been around when the vampire got naked.
Raven smiled. “My mark looks good on you!” Then she winced when she saw the bloody teethmarks on my neck.
“Oh my goddess, I can’t believe I bit you!”
I rubbed the spot while simultaneously grinning to myself that my skin was now adorned with two marks, unlike the rest of those motherfuckers.
Raven shuddered in my arms, and I realized she was cold. Dammit, I’d already failed the first test: caring for one’s soul-bonded mate.
I reached for Raven’s discarded robe and saw I’d torn it. She had no other clothes while all I had was my sweats. Intending to rip the cheap cotton sheet off the bed and wrap her in it, I sat up, but the door burst open to reveal my father and Brianna.
He clapped his hands with glee. “Well done, son! You finally did something useful for a change.”