Chapter 19 The Claiming Biting Thing
The Claiming Biting Thing
I was sitting on the sofa beside Cole, chatting about movies, when Thorne walked out of the bedroom, looking like he’d been run through a wood chipper.
Cole smirked, raising his eyebrow as he looked at me. I took a sip of water and smiled demurely. Thorne was loud, and there was no way Cole didn’t know exactly what had gone down between us.
Thorne strode toward me, looking like he meant to toss me over his shoulder and drag me back to the bedroom, when the front door banged open.
Sawyer stormed into the room. His face was flushed, and I tensed. This was maximum Sawyer anger, and it startled me just as much as the first time I’d seen it. Bright green eyes glowing, Sawyer rounded on Thorne.
“Guess what I saw in town!”
Thorne stood, his brow pinching. He took a slow step toward me, not taking his eyes off Sawyer. “What?”
“Your ugly face, but even worse, and with a whole crew of minions. They were outside our apartment building.”
“Hunter!” I whispered, clutching my middle. Panic restricted my ribcage, making me feel sick.
“Why did you go back there?” Cole demanded, rising to his feet too.
Sawyer’s nose scrunched as he scowled. “I just drove past. They didn’t see me. And besides, he doesn’t know me.”
Thorne pressed his index and middle finger into the bridge of his nose. “It won’t take him long to track us here if he’s that motivated.”
Sawyer stepped closer, anger blazing over his features. “I’ve been thinking, and what I don’t understand is why he is threatening Autumn. If he’s an alpha, he has to play by the rules. Don't you guys have elders or something?”
Shoulders dropping, Thorne explained, “She’s my fated mate, so that makes her a part of our pack. She’s under his leadership too, unfortunately.”
Throwing his arm out, Sawyer gestured violently. “You haven’t claimed her. She hasn’t accepted the bond. She could leave you. We could leave right now!”
“Hey, we talked about this,” I said, finally intervening. Crossing to Sawyer, I took his hand and squeezed it between both of mine. “It’s safer here right now.”
“It won’t be for long,” he muttered. “This is bullshit. Fucking werewolves. We should just go.”
“You’d be an idiot to go back home right now,” Cole snapped, causing Sawyer’s lip to curl.
The tension ratcheted higher between them, and my stomach clenched. Heat sparked in the air, and I wasn’t sure if my men were about to brawl or kiss.
Thorne’s jaw ticked. He ran his tongue over his teeth, thinking. “You’re right, I haven’t claimed her. And you aren’t a part of our pack. So if you claim her and I don’t, then she has grounds to say she isn’t a part of our pack.”
“Claim me?” I muttered, but Thorne continued like he hadn’t heard me.
“Hunter won’t give a shit about that, but if he took her, it would be easier to make a case in front of the elders.”
“Guys, I’m not sure what that means,” I said, my hold tightening on Sawyer’s fingers. “Please explain it to me like I’m an idiot.”
Sawyer studied Thorne for a few long seconds. “It means I could claim you, and if they took you, we can make a case that you don’t belong to Thorne. They’d have to let you leave.”
“Again, what the fuck is claiming?” My voice rose, irritation sparking under my skin. I was sick of them assuming I knew the same things they did. How much more werewolf shit did I not know about?
Sawyer looked down at me, heat flaring in his gaze. “Marking you. Biting you. Bonding.”
“Oh,” I said, my mouth hanging open.
Thorne nodded. “You and I already have a mate bond without a claiming bite. But if Sawyer marks you, and you bite him too, then we could make a case that you aren’t my mate but only his.”
“Even though we’ve fucked?” I questioned.
Thorne nodded.
“Good thing you didn’t bite me,” I said, giving a weak smile. Cole laughed derisively, but Thorne glared at him.
Beside me, Sawyer pressed his lips into a thin line. His hand twisted in mine, threading our fingers together.
“Would you let me do that? Mark you and form a mate bond? You’d be able to sense me the way you can with Thorne. Maybe not as strong, but it would still be a permanent connection.”
My pulse pounded in my breastbone. Pressing my hand to my sternum, I tried to calm myself. Did I want Sawyer to bite me, claiming me as his mate in this primal way? It might not mean much to humans, but it was obviously a very big deal to them.
Clearing my throat, I said, “I mean, we’re pretty committed. So I guess, why not?”
Sawyer blanched, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “That’s not the response a guy wants to hear when he basically proposes.”
“Well, you didn’t get me a ring, did you?” I said, raising my eyebrows, waiting for him to balk.
“Do you want a ring?” he asked, completely serious.
I gaped at him.“No, I’m kidding. Mostly.”
Shaking my head, I tried to focus on the matter at hand. “But yes, let’s do the marking-claiming-biting thing.”
“Do you need time to think about it and be sure?” Thorne asked.
“No. It’s Sawyer. I’m sure,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “If my feelings haven’t changed in the last decade, they won’t now.”
Shaking his head, Cole stomped away. His dissension stung, but I trusted Sawyer, and if it helped at all, I was willing to take this step with him.
“Okay, we’d better get fucking,” I said with a cheesy grin. My attempt to lighten the mood failed.
Sawyer’s eyes widened. “What about pregnancy? You didn’t use a condom back at our apartment.”
“Don’t worry about that,” I said, pressing my palm to his chest.
“What do you mean? I know you’re not on birth control.”
Scowling, I cleared my throat. “I can’t get pregnant. I don’t get a period. I went to an OB a few years ago, and she said that I’ve got to be infertile since I don’t… So, yeah, no babies for me.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Sawyer asked, hooking his fingers under my chin and lifting my face.
“It’s not the kind of thing you tell your male best friend,” I said sheepishly.
Thorne coughed. “You’re not infertile. You’re just part-werewolf. Now that you have a mate, you’ll eventually go into heat. That’s when you can get pregnant.”
Whipping around, I stared at him, my mouth hanging open.
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you sure? She’s only half werewolf, right?” Sawyer asked, his thumb stroking over my throat absently.
“If she doesn’t get human periods, then definitely.”
“Is someone going to explain? What’s heat?” My voice was a dry whisper. I couldn’t process the idea that I could get pregnant eventually. I’d believed otherwise for so long.
Sawyer answered my question. “It’s a breeding cycle. You’ll need to have sex a lot, and it’ll make me crazy, and Thorne too.”
“Need to? What do you mean, crazy?”
“It’s your natural cycle, and it’ll be okay,” Thorne said gently. “We will take care of you.”
My exhale hissed through my teeth. My forehead dropped to Sawyer’s shoulder, and I gently smacked my head against him a few times.
“This is too much. We barely started dating. Now you’re going to fucking bite me, and then apparently I’m going to have some sort of psycho-werewolf period at some point?”
“Not exactly. It’s estrus when you’re ovulating.”
Twisting, I scowled at Thorne. He was just trying to explain, but adding more information wasn’t helping with the overload.
“Look, I can’t fucking deal with one more thing. I can’t get pregnant right now, right?”
Sawyer nodded.
“Fine. We can talk about the heat thing later. One problem at a time. Let’s get the bond bite thing handled.” My voice shook, betraying my nerves.
“You don’t need to doubt us,” Sawyer whispered. “You’re the love of my life. You still would be, even if we were never more than friends.”
Warmth blossomed in my chest, and I glanced up, in awe of the raw honesty in his emerald eyes.
“I love you too,” I said, pushing onto my tip toes and pressing my mouth to his.
Sawyer was tentative. His lips were soft and warm against mine, but he didn’t demand more. The knowledge that we were about to do something irreversible hung over our heads.
Breaking the kiss, Sawyer tipped his head back, his eyes rolling to meet Thorne’s. “Maybe this would be easier if you weren’t standing there like a disappointed chaperone.”
“I can’t participate, it might mess up your bond,” Thorne said.
“That’s not what I meant. Give us some privacy. I think we can manage without you,” Sawyer growled, tugging me toward the master bedroom.
Looking over my shoulder, I gave Thorne an apologetic smile, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel too sorry. I was finally going to get to fuck Sawyer, something I’d dreamed of for years but never thought would happen. Despite our dire circumstances, I wanted to clap with glee.
As we stepped into the bedroom, I kicked the door shut behind us, ignoring the tug in my chest to go back to Thorne.
“Finally,” Sawyer said, gripping my waist and walking me backward until my calves hit the edge of the bed. “I’m tired of sharing you with him.”
“I’m sorry,” I started to say, but Sawyer cut me off.
“I’m not mad. He’s your fated mate. You can’t help that bond. But I’m going to do everything I can to make you so happy that you forget about him.”
My smile widened. “Then you’d better fuck me, because it’s all I’ve been thinking about.”
Sawyer hesitated. Tugging him closer, I kissed his cheek and then his jaw, coaxing him to relax. He stayed stiff, and my stomach clenched.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said, so quietly I had to tilt my head to hear him. His skin flushed deeply. “I haven’t done this with anyone yet.”
“Done what?”
“Sex, Autumn,” he said, dropping his forehead to his hand.
“What about your girlfriends?” I said, frowning.
He shrugged. “They weren’t you. The last one was using me to make her best friend jealous. The one before needed dates to company events. It was never real.”
“You’re kidding. You literally ate me out a few days ago.” I couldn’t fathom what he was trying to say. “And it was very, very good.”