8. Mine for the Taking

SOUNDTRACK: Eternal Flame by Atom Music Audio, with Randall Jermaine and Alexa Ray.

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~ CASIMIR ~

This was my third vow-forged bond, and it never got easier, feeling my soul entwined with another like that. Each one had made my skin feel too tight, as if I wanted to claw out of it.

But this one… Jesse… dear god.

The moment the pack leaders acknowledged her as my mate and the bond was forged, I was ripped out of myself. Left flailing.

I fought as I’d fight a hurricane, leaning in and forcing my body to weather the pummeling blows that seemed to come from every direction at once.

Mate.

Wife.

Mother.

Soul.

Twisting, turning me, flipping my heart on its head like a babe in the ocean tide as I fought, wrestling for control of my own fate.

Because that was the source of my power—dominance always won. The more I owned, the more strength I gained.

That must be the difference this time—she’d come to the vow willingly, choosing it without compulsion from me. And so it struck as true and deep as a fated bond.

But the moment I got my head above those waves, it only plunged me back under the surface of her.

Gold, warm light that wanted to suck me in. A lush forest of a heart, bursting with life. Where cold and shadows existed, they retreated in the face of a blazing sun.

She fought, too. Ignorant and unprepared, the arctic desert of my soul threatened to suck her down.

I felt her fumble, felt her almost fall into the dank pit of my dead heart.

It was instinct to catch her, to keep her on her feet, to grip her and call for her…

As if she scrabbled at the edge, being pulled over into the unending dark of me, and I clasped her wrist, leaning with all my weight to bring her up and out of it, pleading with her to hear me and to fight.

And she did.

Fucking hell, did she fight.

Her eyes clamped on mine and her heart grasped mine and she fought the suck of that death hole.

And yet, for a moment it seemed we would lose.

I growled through my teeth, gripping her arms, demanding that she not let go, that she crawl up and out of the darkness within me that threatened to consume her already. But I wasn’t certain I wouldn’t lose her until Rake clamped a hand to her shoulder and leaned in, like the hand of God Himself, reaching for her, showing her the way through the forging of the bond—until I was almost tossed aside.

“…You are one. Two hearts made one. Before God, and wolf. Before male and female. Before time… you are one. What God brings together, let no creation tear apart.”

Then, finally, she saw me, heard me, and I felt the braid of our souls snap tight.

The three of us made a triangle, and the wolf within me snarled a warning to Rake—he touched my mate!—but a smile threatened on Jesse’s face, her beautiful lips tipping up at the corners as she shook her head and blinked rapidly.

“Jesse?” I muttered. “Are you well?”

She nodded. “Yes. Yes… I just… this… inside me…”

“The bond.” The humans never understood it, never expected it.

“I can feel it.” Her voice was hushed, awed.

“Good,” I said, surprised by the jolt of relief that rocked through me. “Good.”

I took hold of my power, though it wanted to slip through my hands suddenly, and Rake must have felt the rage growing in me at his hold on my mate, because he let go of her like he’d been burned.

I kept my eyes on hers, but held her more lightly, testing to see if she’d lose her feet. But she didn’t. She’d almost lost her soul, but she stood her ground.

Fucking brilliant.

“It is vowed, and it is witnessed.” Rake sounded like he was declaring the victory of the Devil, my wolf snarled. “Let every man, every wolf see and acknowledge, the King and his Queen. Casimir Augustus Klane takes Jesse Hudson as his mate. What God brings together, let no earthly hand separate.”

The witnesses repeated the line, and then I could breathe.

“Your Highnesses,” Rake ground out, his eyes blazing with a righteous anger that made me want to snap my teeth. “As God’s hand here, I declare you vowed. Mated. And married. Sire… you may kiss your bride.”

Jesse’s eyes widened as I took her chin in one hand, pinching her chin gently between my thumb and forefinger.

She seemed still unsteady on her feet, but her eyes had focused and she was breathing again.

“God is not here,” I warned her. “But we are.”

Then I kissed her and almost lost my own soul.

I’d meant to take her. To own her. To brand her. Remind her and everyone else in the room that she was mine.

And yet… that first taste… like honey on my tongue.

Heedless of witnesses or any need beyond my own, I pulled her in and devoured the velvet joy of her mouth.

And, as if she felt the pull just as strongly as I did, she clung to my shirt, her fingers clawed and fisted as she leaned into my chest.

My body responded to her touch with such force, I was at risk of tearing that butterfly-fart of a dress off her with my bare hands and revealing her to all these male eyes.

Not fucking happening.

And so I pulled away, startled and off balance, my chest heaving to find her staring back at me looking as shocked as I felt.

Mine.

The thought was as undeniable as it was invasive.

And utterly counter-productive.

With every ounce of the power and strength I’d earned, I clawed back control, slamming the door on my heart and cutting her off from feeling anything more than my presence.

I blinked once, twice, breathing carefully, testing the strength of my own defense before stepping back, away from her.

And yet, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

We remained locked together that way, even as I doused myself in cold, hard control.

I sucked in a breath to speak, to demand submission from the other males. And I would have it, whether they wished it or not.

“Leave us,” I hissed. Rake stepped back immediately as I unleashed my power on all of the others at once… except her.

And when each of them yelped and retreated like reprimanded puppies, I swept her into my arms and carried her out, towards my chambers.

The bond had taken hold and my need could burn down the world.