Page 37 of Claim Me
Chapter 25
Rafe
A new feeling coursed through my body as we walked farther into the woods. I couldn’t put my finger on it but I felt as if for once in my life I was feeling something like contentment. Or… Maybe not the first time in my life, I could remember the joys of my past but maybe it was the first time I had felt this way in the last few years. Since I had to put my father down. Darkness had wrapped itself around my heart and didn’t let go until that day I saw Jade. She was the light at the end of the dark tunnel I had been fighting for years. She was the thing I had been waiting for. She was my redemption and I knew that was a high pedestal to put her on but it was the truth.
Jade’s face held curiosity and something else. I could have pinpointed it with a deep inhale of breath but didn’t want to embarrass her. We were still so new in this trust department. I didn’t want to screw it up with my wolf getting in the way. He had a way of messing everything up.
We came to a stop and I yanked her into my chest. Her pupils dilated as she tensed against me before she relaxed. A growl vibrated up my chest and she shivered in response. I trailed my finger down the edge of her jaw and her lips parted in a pant. She leaned into my touch and it took everything inside of me not to press her up against a tree again and forget about everything we had set out to do. My fingers tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and I took a reluctant step back. I didn’t take my eyes off of her as I parted the brush behind us.
Once the curtain of foliage was pulled back, the sound of the waterfall was deafening. The slapping of the water against the rocks was calming in its own way. I hadn’t come back here since that time my wolf had brought me. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene behind me. A blonde eyebrow inched up her forehead as she pulled her hand from mine. I let the curtain fall back behind us. It was our own oasis. I wondered who else knew about this place. Probably the Guardians that did patrols but I doubted many others knew. It didn’t seem like the place that people just randomly stumbled upon. My wolf had brought me here for a reason and I was too stubborn to ask him about it. All I could do was appreciate him for finding it.
Jade wasted no time before she walked into the edge of the water. The pebbles on the bank were smooth from the waterfall hitting them and stirring them up in the little pool. They were a varying of different colors that I hadn’t noticed before. I had been too preoccupied with getting back to the pack and finding out where this little paradise had been my entire life.
“How did you know this was here?” Her eyes searched the trees surrounding us like she could see something I couldn’t.
I shrugged. “My wolf brought me here a while ago when we were both restless and worried about you. I knew I would bring you here when I got you back.”
Her eyes avoided looking at me this time but her cheeks stained pink. It was enough of a response to rev me forward. I ran my fingers down her back. Her head rolled back and her hair brushed over my fingers. I caught a few of the silky strands between my fingers. I couldn’t help myself and tugged gently. A purr escaped her lips but she didn’t turn toward me. She stayed painfully still as I wrapped her hair around my wrist.
“You probably won’t believe me but this isn’t why I brought you here.”
She still didn’t turn around. “Oh?”
I brushed her hair away from her back and over her shoulder. “Yes, it’s rather important.” I planted a kiss where her neck met her shoulder. She still didn’t move and I wondered if I overstepped until her scent overwhelmed me. I didn’t overstep at all. She was pleased far more than I expected. “I think you need to shift outside of the full moon. I know it’s been a little while for you.”
“Are you worried I’m a threat to the pack?”
She stiffened as I chuckled. “Definitely not. I think you need to do it for you. As far as I know, you have only shifted a few times outside of the pack. It’s important for you and your wolf to get that bonding time together without the constant chatter of other wolves around you, especially once you pledge.”
“And how would I do that?” Her voice was breathy.
“Shift alone or pledge?” I took a step away from her so we could both think clearly.
“Pledge,”
I walked away from her and watched the water splash into the pool. A thick mist surrounded the top of the water. I slid my boots off before I walked into the water. The ice-cold water lapped over the tops of my feet but I hardly felt it with the way Jade was watching me. Her chest rose and fell quickly with each breath she took. She kicked off her hiking boots next and stood next to me in the water. Her nose was slightly red and that was the only indication I had that she was actually cold. With our wolves, we ran a lot hotter than other supernatural races. We didn’t feel the elements like others did.
“Well, once I claim you that’s all that will matter. If you don’t want me to claim you then you will simply bare your neck to me and slash your wrist over the Alpha gauntlet. Your wolf will let you bleed for a little bit inside of it then you’re done.”
“And if you claim me? What’s that like?”
My breath hitched in my chest. I hadn’t expected her to ask me that. Usually it was the mothers that told their daughters about the claiming, but there was something intoxicating about explaining it to her. I took a step closer, no longer worried about the way our bodies reacted to each other. She watched me eagerly as I touched the place I had pressed a kiss to. “I would bite you right here, you’ll wear my claim marks for everyone to see. They will also be able to scent me on you even if we don’t touch for a few days.” My canines poked through my lip to show her, maybe to scare her so this conversation would halt and I would stop feeling like I was. Instead of being afraid, she looked eager.
“Could I claim you?”
My brows pulled together. In the few conversations I had with my father, he never mentioned a woman claiming her mate in return. “I haven’t heard of that done before but I don’t see why not.” My father had been a stickler by the rules. He probably wouldn’t have let my mother put a scar on him to show the world. But there was something about the thought of bearing her scar to the rest of the pack.
The water splashed against my ankles as she took a step back from me. I was glad for the space but also disappointed.
“When should I attempt that change?” She ducked her head in a very un-Jade-like fashion.
I hummed as I thought about it. The full moon was a few days away. “You can do it today, you should regain enough strength to be able to shift with the pack when the full moon rolls around.”
My mate looked at the waterfall with longing before she walked away from me and sat down to put her boots back on even though the edges of her leggings were soaked. “Where should I change at?”
“There’s a place at the top of the property where I imagined building a cabin one day. It’s close to the mountainside. It’s a higher elevation than what your wolf is used to but it’ll be a good teamwork practice for the both of you.”
