Page 85 of Depraved
23
ELENA
As soon asmy teeth sink into his skin, I feel magic rush over me. But unlike when Jonah bit me and mate bond magic soared light and airy, when it felt like I was flying with my feet dragging through the moonlit tips of the clouds—this bond with Black is different. Instead of flying, I’m plunging into a dark sea of torment, surrounded by stormy waves of agony so high they rival buildings and threaten to smash me. I’m about to panic when moonlight bursts across the sky, casting silver threads over the waves, the connection of the goddess to the water calming and soothing it … until the waves gentle around me and dance with the sparkling reflections of the goddess and her stars.
Black’s arms wrap around me, his claws digging into my fur as he holds my wolf in place at his neck. Though he’s ten times the size of me right now, I don’t feel a single ounce of fear. Instead, that moonlight paints the waves of the water until they settle, turning from churning bits of disbelief into acceptance, and the sea becomes a tranquil lake. I float for a moment, drinking in the peace, the calm settled sureness.
When my teeth retreat, so does the lake and all of the feelings they contained. With a start, I realize … I just felt what Black felt.
Unconsciously, I shift back to human, my bones heating and reshaping because I can’t hug him close in my wolf form. I can’t try to squeeze away that deep pool of misery he was drowning in. My poor, poor alpha.
I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his furry cheek. His muzzle. His forehead.
His body heats beneath me, and he shifts back to human as well, his arms tightly encircling me the entire time. As soon as he’s shifted, we sink down to the ground, and I end up on his lap. We sit on the floor of the supply closet in the shaft of light cast by the basement rec room. My legs intertwine with his—we’re wrapped up together, ignoring the burn of the silver chains he had Matthew bind him with. He pulls me close so that he can put his cheek against my heart.
And then…my alpha cries.
My huge, dark, murderous alpha. My arrogant pack leader. The man who can carry thousands of shifters on his back … breaks.
I clutch Black, petting the curls on the back of his stupid, dense alpha head as he cries for what we almost lost—what he was willing to give away.
I know exactly why he did it. My alpha hasn’t ever believed I’d choose him. I haven’t given him much reason to think I would. Originally, I hated him. But somewhere in between all the yelling and fucking … I realized what a good heart is actually buried beneath all that muscle. A heart that’s been lonely far too long.
But never again.
I marked him, and he’s mine. “You’re never getting away,” I whisper.
That just makes him pull me closer.
Within a few minutes, my chest is soaked from his tears, but I can’t help the fact that every single one of them sends a surge of joy through me because it means that we’re two stubborn souls who’re meant to be but who needed a gentle beta to push them together. I hope every goddamned one of these tears is that sadness I felt during our bonding leaching out of Black.
“I’m sorry.” Black’s words are barely recognizable as they spill from his lips. I lean down to plant a kiss on his dark curls.
“Oh, you don’t even know the meaning of sorry, Black Maddox,” I growl at him, because we don’t use flowery words with one another. I wouldn’t even begin to know what to say if we didn’t have antagonism.
But it works. My words make his huge fingers clench against my hips possessively. “But I’m going to teach you. I’m going to make you watch Jonah give me so many orgasms that you’ll nearly die of jealousy before I let you touch me.”
A growl erupts from his throat. “Elena,” he warns.
But I don’t stop. Because Black and I always fuck away the bad feelings. It’s kind of our thing. And the idea of making him watch until he stamps the ground and comes at me like a racehorse … it makes heat flare between my thighs.
“There’s a rehearsal dinner,” he reminds me.
I ignore him. “I never wanted to go to that stupid thing anyway. I don’t need a ring. I’ve got bite marks. Those are good enough.” Even knowing he set it up for me and Jonah doesn’t make a damn bit of difference.
But this? I do want this. Very much so. I move my legs against his, getting a tiny bit of friction. It’s not nearly enough to account for the fire that spirals up my spine, licking at my senses, making my nipples hard. “You know what else I’m going to do? I’m going to walk through this house naked for anyone to see--”
“Like hell, you will!” Black’s head comes off my chest and swipes his face clean before he turns to face me, his expression livid.
“You’ll have to always be on your guard so that your elites don’t get a peek,” I tease, pinching my nipples, certain that the sight of me playing with myself will make all thoughts about the rehearsal bullcrap fade from his brain. But I don’t get them down.
Black reaches for me then, unable to stop himself. His massive hands clamp around my wrists, and the silver from his chains makes my skin sizzle. A hiss escapes through my teeth, but I hardly even notice the burn beyond that because fever overtakes me. My skin heats up, and my nipples tighten. I writhe, lifting my hips, trying to grind against Black even though this position is all wrong for that.
Black inhales deeply and then freezes, staring down at me. His pupils dilate as he looms over me, still pinning me down. “Are you … going into heat?”
“Mmm … yeah, I think so,” I moan as just the feel of his hands against my wrists makes me shiver in pleasure. Did the mate mark bring on my heat? Maybe … but another wave of lust slides over me, and inside, my wolf howls wildly. I can’t think through all of that, so I give in to the pleasure pulsing through my veins. “More. Touch me more.”
A clearing throat behind him makes Black freeze.
