Page 33 of Mated in Darkness

“Then do it. We don’t have a lot of time.”

Riaz stood up and pulled off his pants, and I didn’t bother to look. He needed to shift, to be in wolf form for this.

I didn’t, though, not for this part.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Tears slid down my cheeks as I bit at his neck, marking him as mine. My wolf howled in sorrowed triumph, anguished joy.

Because this was our mate, I was marking him as mine.

This mark would fade, though, and the wound would heal, but what it meant would be forever. It would be lasting.

The first part of the mating bond snapped into place, no longer a potential, but half of a whole.

Soon we would have to complete the mating bond by having sex, by marking each other in the ways of wolves and shifters, but for now, this was the first step, the first step into a forever with a man I didn’t know.

He had fought with bravery and tried to protect me without getting in my way.

He had done so much, but it wasn’t enough.

I hadn’t been enough for him.

I looked up as Riaz came forward, having shifted into a wolf. He couldn’t shift as quickly as Connor could, but he was dominant enough that he had done it fast. And had probably forced him to change into his wolf far faster than he normally would in order to protect Jason.

I would thank him for that later.

But for now, I couldn’t.

I couldn’t do anything.

Dean pulled me back, holding me, and I snarled and snapped at him, angry for taking me away from my mate.

“Stop it. I can do this.”

“You don’t need to see this,” he whispered, and I pulled away from him, but Brendan was there, holding me back.

“No. You know this is going to be too much for you to see.”

“I won’t leave him alone. Not with everything that’s happening.”

So we stood there, as the men held me back, taking my beatings as I thrashed and I bit and my wolf pushed at me, sending me nearly over the edge, closer than I have ever been in my life as I struggled against their restraints.

Because Riaz was hurting my mate.

Riaz’s claws dug into his flesh, his fangs puncturing Jason’s body. Jason was out of it, would feel no pain, wouldn’t be part of this.

I was grateful for that, because the drugs to knock somebody out negated part of the magic, not so the changing wouldn’t work, but intensified the pain.

So the fact that Jason was been near death had been a blessing because he wouldn’t feel this, not like others.

I felt it.

Every mark, every bite, every rending of flesh.

I felt it on my own body.

My wolf snarled and growled and howled. She didn’t want this for her mate, didn’t want this to happen.

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