Page 13 of Savage Fate

After several moments, he finally pulled out and drew away, studying my face. The pain and guilt throbbing through him had my heart tightening.

“We can’t do this,” he whispered.

My humorless laugh cracked in the middle, my voice hoarse from all the screaming I’d just done. “It’s a little late for that, Maverick.”

He bolted up, pacing on his feet, blood staining his neck. “The spell took over, and I just tried to kill you. Again.”

“But I stopped you.” I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest. Now that Fane wasn’t covering me, the cold air hit my slick body, making me shiver. “You act like I’m some weak little girl who can’t hold her own. Did you forget you turned meandI came from a head alpha? I’m also a trained raven.”

His eyes narrowed as he stopped and finally turned to me. “None of that will help if I’m already close enough to pin you down.” The snap of his fingers reverberated through the dark forest like a bone breaking. “That’s all it would take for me to tear your throat out or simply break your neck.”

A chill slid down my back, but it had nothing to do with the threat of him killing me. I wanted his warmth back.

“You can fight this spell. You didn’t stop having sex when the spell had taken over. I think it’s safe to say this mate bond might be stronger than that enchantment.”

Fane jammed his fingers through his hair and groaned. “We can’t assume it’ll always win out.” Sensing my needs through the bond, he lowered to my side and wrapped his arm around me, tucking me into him.

He smelled like lust and sex. And me.

“How can I make you understand that I’m fucking worried I will kill you? And I don’t want that. I don’t want to lose?—”

The rest of his sentence cut off, but his meaning was clear. He didn’t want to lose me, and it wasn’t only because of the mate bond.

“You shouldn’t be around me until the witches can attempt to break this enchantment,” he said.

“Again, it’s a little late for that. You know what happens when we’re separated for a long period of time.”

According to Fane, it could be weeks, months, or even years before the bond was relaxed enough to allow us to go days apart without side effects.

Could Fane leave for weeks until the witches were ready again to perform the spell? Sure, but it would be hell on us.

My hand rested on the sun tattoo below my ribs. I couldn’t deal with those side effects too.

Fane sighed, his head bowing. “We’ll just have to be careful. We really shouldn’t?—”

“If the next words out of your mouth arehave sex, I will toss your ass on the ground and show you exactly how strong I am.”

His jaw clenched while vibrations rumbled in his chest. “Yeah, maybe that’s not such a good option either. I nearly lost my mind these last few days.”

“For all we know, it made your killing urges worse since you were so on edge.”

Fane used his thumb to wipe away the blood around my mouth. “We’ll have to be extra careful.”

We were the last two creatures ever careful about anything, least of all each other.

The sunalready brightened the sky when Fane and I walked out of the woods near Alpha Camus’s house. We’d been messing around for longer than I’d thought.

Losing track of time was a recurring theme with us. At least most of the pack was still asleep, so they didn’t witness us traipsing through the picturesque suburban streets sporting dirt smudges, wild, tangled hair, and scratches.

Anyone with half a brain could tell what we’d been doing, and any shifter who got within a few feet of us would smell it.

I’d never get used to everyone knowing my intimate business.

Fane’s gaze burned into me, and when I turned to him, lust mixed with possessive rage washed over me.

“Why the hell did you leave the house in those minuscule pajama shorts and a hoodie? You could have at least thrown on some pants.”

“I’d planned to return to the house well before sunrise, Maverick, but you decided to hunt me down. This is your fault.” I motioned to his bare torso just begging to be licked. “You’re the one out here with a pair of gray sweatpants and nothing else. At least I have shoes.”

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