Page 66 of Collar Me Crazy
"Then it will break through completely." Sonya met each person's eyes, seeing her own fear reflected there. "But if we don't try, it breaks through anyway. This is our only shot."
Shadow creatures began pouring through the smaller tears around the square, drawn by the concentrated supernatural energy of eight potential mates in one location. The Void was done waiting, done playing with them.
"Defensive positions!" Callum roared, his lion authority cutting through the chaos. "Protect the center at all costs!"
The seven couples moved with practiced precision, forming a tight circle around Sonya and Ryker. Silver fire blazed from Cora's hands while Callum's roar shattered advancing shadows. Emmett and Katniss worked in perfect synchronization, his wolf strength guiding her enhanced reflexes. Each couple contributed their unique abilities to a barrier of love and magic that held the darkness at bay.
But barely.
"We need to start now," Freya called, her green magic flickering under the assault. "I can't hold the nature barriers much longer!"
Ryker's hands were already on Sonya's clothes, his movements urgent but careful as he stripped away the barriers between them. She helped him, her fingers shaking with adrenaline and anticipation as she revealed skin that would soon bear his permanent mark.
"Trust me," she whispered as they sank to their knees in the midst of the protective circle.
"With everything," he replied, his lips finding hers in a kiss that tasted of love and desperation and the promise of forever.
Around them, the battle raged. Shadow creatures threw themselves against the barrier while the Void's presence pressed down like a physical weight. But in the center of the storm, Sonya and Ryker found the eye of calm they needed.
39
RYKER
The world narrowed to just her as the battle raged around them. Sonya's skin was warm silk beneath his hands, her brown eyes dark with desire despite the chaos. Ryker had never needed anything more than this moment, this claiming, this chance to finally make her his in every way that mattered.
"Are you ready?" he whispered against her lips, his body poised above hers.
"I've been ready since the moment I first saw you," she replied, her hands pulling him closer.
Around them, the defensive circle held, but he could hear the strain in their friends' voices as they fought back wave after wave of shadow creatures. The Void pressed harder, sensing what was about to happen, desperate to stop the ritual that would banish it forever.
But nothing could stop this. Not fear, not prophecy, not ancient entities that fed on despair. Love was older than hunger, stronger than darkness, more enduring than any force the universe could conjure.
Ryker kissed her like a starving man, his lips fierce against hers, his hands rough with urgency as he cupped her face. The world outside the sanctuary walls roared with chaos—the Void pressing harder, shadows clawing at the wards—but in here, there was only her, only them.
He pulled her beneath him, bodies aligning with the inevitability of destiny. Her curls spread across the floor like a dark halo, her warm brown eyes shining with both fear and certainty. She reached for him, palms pressed against the hard planes of his chest, fingers sliding up to tangle in the messy auburn hair that glowed like molten copper in the firelight.
“Ryker,” she whispered, her voice trembling with equal parts need and resolve. “We don’t have time?—”
“We’ll make time,” he cut in, voice hoarse. “Even if the world is burning down around us. I’m not facing that darkness without claiming you first.”
Her breath caught, and her thighs opened instinctively, welcoming him. She was already wet, slick with readiness, her body knowing his as surely as her visions had foretold. He groaned as his cock brushed against her folds, the heat of her pussy drawing him like a lodestone.
“God, Sonya,” he rasped, forehead pressed to hers. “I could die in this moment and still feel like I’ve lived.”
“You’re not dying,” she said fiercely, pulling him closer. “You’re mine, Ryker. Forever. Now claim me.”
He slid a hand down her body, fingers skimming the soft curve of her hip, the spot where the claiming mark would seal them for eternity. His wolf prowled beneath his skin, demanding, insistent, ready to tear through every last wall between them.
“Not yet,” he growled, even as his cock nudged at her entrance. “I need to feel you first. All of you.”
He pushed into her with reverent care, the thick head stretching her pussy around him. She gasped, nails digging into his shoulders as inch by inch, he filled her, the slow, relentless slide a perfect mixture of pleasure and exquisite ache.
“Ryker,” she cried, her body arching as he bottomed out, buried to the hilt inside her. “You’re… so deep. So full.”
He groaned, jaw tight as he fought for control. “You’re so tight, Sonya. Fuck—you feel like you were made for me. Every inch of you, perfect.”
She clenched around him, and his restraint shattered. He drew back and thrust again, harder, their joined bodies slamming together with primal rhythm. The ground responded beneath them, the ancient stones of the sanctuary humming in response to the power they generated.
