Page 21 of His Mate

And then, with one final, powerful thrust, his knot swelled, locking us together, and I felt his release shoot through me, hot and thick, filling me to the brim.

My inner walls clenched around him tightly, milking him, and I couldn’t stop the scream that flew from my throat, my body convulsing as a final orgasm tore through me, ripping me to shreds. I knew I would never be the same again.

And then, without warning, he leaned in, his mouth brushing against my shoulder, the warmth of his breath sending a shiver racing down my spine.

I opened my mouth to protest, to demand he explain himself, but the words died in my throat as his teeth grazed my skin, sharp and dangerous, and my entire body went rigid.

“W-what are you doing?” I whispered, my voice so hoarse that it was barely audible, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he pressed harder, his canines sinking deep into the flesh of my shoulder.

The pain flared, hot and sudden, and I felt something crack open inside me, something raw and aching, and before I knew it, I was trembling, my breath hitching as he held me there, his teeth locked into my skin. It wasn’t like the spanking or even the fucking; this was something deeper, something more intimate, as though he were trying to claim a piece of me, to mark me in a way that went beyond just the physical.

This was raw. Primal. Instinctual.

He growled low in his throat, the vibration of it reverberating through me, and I felt my knees weaken, my body unconsciously leaning into him, as if it recognized something familiar, something that called to the deepest parts of me. It didn’t make sense—none of this made sense—but I couldn’t fight it. I couldn’t deny the way his bite seemed to anchor me, to connect me to him in a way that was both terrifying and strangely comforting.

It was like the two of us had been tethered as one.

When he finally pulled back, I let out a shaky breath, my skin tingling, my heart hammering against my ribs. He lingered close, his lips brushing against the mark he’d left, and I felt his breath hitch, as if the act had cost him something, as if it had bound him to me just as much as it had bound me to him.

“You’re mine,” he murmured, his voice low, rough, but the words hung in the air, heavy with a weight that settled deep in my bones. His breath tickled the tiny hairs on the backs of my ears, sending shivers down my spine. His knot began to deflate, and he slowly pulled free of me.

Carefully, he turned me around to face him. His eyes locked on mine, that molten gold flickering with something raw, something almost tender, and for a split second, I believed thatmaybe—just maybe—this wasn’t going to be as terrifying as I thought.

As he hovered above me, his face was inches from mine, every detail etched with an intensity that seemed to sear itself into my memory. He was beautiful in a raw, untamed way, with sharp features that made my breath catch in the back of my throat.

His cheekbones were high and defined, casting shadows in the dim light, and a faint scar traced its way through his left eyebrow, barely noticeable but adding a hint of ruggedness to his otherwise perfect features.

His eyes, though—those were what captured me. They glowed an eerie amber, flickering with the remnants of the beast within him, yet there was something achingly human buried deep within their depths. The pupils, still slightly elongated and lupine, shifted and pulsed with a light that made it seem as though they could see straight through me, stripping away every barrier, every defense I tried to put up. It was as if he could peer into the very core of my being, unearthing all the fear, defiance, and vulnerability I fought so hard to hide.

It was unnerving and comforting all in the same breath.

His lips were parted slightly, his breaths coming out in ragged, uneven bursts. The stubble along his jaw was dark, peppered with hints of gray, and as he clenched his teeth, the muscles in his neck stood out in taut lines, betraying the effort it took for him to hold himself back.

There was a wildness in him, a barely contained ferocity that threatened to consume him, but as he looked at me, I could see something else—a softness to his gaze that made my heart pulse with feeling.

And then, chaos erupted.

A piercingthwipcut through the air, and I barely registered the sound before he jerked violently, his entire body going rigid. His eyes widened in shock, confusion flashing across his features, and he stumbled back, one hand flying to his neck where a thin metal dart tipped with a red feather protruded. I blinked, my mind struggling to catch up with what I was seeing, and before I could open my mouth to ask what was happening, he crumpled to his knees.

“No!” I shouted, reaching out to catch him as he slumped forward, his weight collapsing into me. His breathing had gone shallow, uneven, his body twitching as whatever drug was in that dart flooded his veins.

“What’s happening?” I gasped, my hands shaking as I tried to keep him upright even as I was failing.

His eyes, now hazy and unfocused, met mine one last time, and I saw fear there, genuine fear, before they slid shut, his body going limp.

“Stay with me,” I whispered, my voice desperate, but he was already gone, already falling into unconsciousness, and I was left holding his dead weight, struggling to keep him from slipping out of my grasp.

Then the door slammed against the wall with a deafening crash, and a group of men flooded the room, their movements swift and efficient. I tried to pull him closer, to shield him somehow, but they were on us in an instant, wrenching him out of my arms, dragging him away from me with a strength that left me staggering back against the wall.

“Stop! What are you doing?” I screamed, trying to push past them, trying to reach him, but one of the men grabbed my shoulders, shoving me back with such force that I slammed into the padded wall, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs.

They didn’t answer me. They didn’t even look at me. It was as if I wasn’t there. They swarmed around him, their movements precise and unyielding, securing his wrists and ankles with thick metal restraints, as if he were some kind of wild animal that needed to be caged.

“Wait!” I pleaded, my voice hoarse, broken.

But they weren’t listening. It took several of them to hoist him up, and I watched, helpless, as they carried him toward the door, my heart pounding, every instinct screaming at me to do something, to stop them, to fight them off and save the man that just came in and bred me.

I didn’t understand it.

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