Page 35 of The Reaper's Vow
“For both of us?” she presses, searching me as if trying to catch even the smallest crack of deception.
“Yes.” I press my forehead to hers, unable to keep even that distance between us. “It would be like starting a fire in your veins that nothing can put out.”
She draws a shuddering breath, her scent sharp in the air—an electric mix of panic and desire. “But it would buy me time. Time to understand what all this means. I can live with the pain. Can you?”
Can I live with the torment? To brand her as mine and endure the constant, burning hunger—the ache that will tear at me every second until we finish it?
I pull back just enough to study her face, searching for cruelty, for any sign she means this as punishment. But all I find is determination threaded through with trembling uncertainty. She’s terrified and still reaching for a fragile middle ground in a world that doesn’t allow one.
“You’re asking me to bind us, knowing I’ll live in unrelenting agony until the full moon. Knowing every instinct I have will be screaming to finish what we started.”
“I’m asking you to give me a choice. Something no one else in this world seems willing to do.”
My wolf howls, pacing beneath my skin, feral and restless. The thought is torment, but the idea of losing her completely is worse.
I shut my eyes, wrestling every instinct clawing inside me. When I open them again, her face is so close I can feel the tremor of her breath, hope and desperation entwined in every line of her expression.
“You have no idea what you’re asking of me,” I growl. Even as I say it, I know I’ll give her what she wants. Because the thought of her becoming prey for every other alpha in the territory is a nightmare I won’t allow.
“Fine.” The word scrapes out of me, metallic on my tongue. “But you need to understand what you’re asking. The second our bond is sealed, every instinct in me will drive to finish it. Thought won’t matter. I’ll be ruled by hunger.”
Relief rolls off her in waves, a subtle tremor of it brushing against my senses. “I understand.”
“No, you don’t.” My fingers slide under her chin, forcing her gaze up to mine. “Youthinkyou do, but you have no idea what you’re about to unleash. The bond will twist inside you, too. Your wolf will press against your skin, demanding what comes next. Every time I’m near, you’ll ache for me.”
Her breath hitches, but she doesn’t retreat. “I can handle it.”
I laugh, a sound as rough and jagged as broken glass. “Can you? Because right now, you can barely stand being this close to me without your scent spiking with want. After the bond is forged, that craving won’t just grow—it’ll devour you.”
“I said I can handle it.” There's steel in her voice now, the same stubborn determination that drew my wolf to her in the first place.
I study her face, searching for any crack in her resolve. Finding none, I release her chin and step back, running my hands through my hair in frustration.
“When?”
“Now. Before I change my mind.”
My wolf surges forward with a howl of triumph that vibrates through every cell in my body. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but her scent fills my lungs and makes my head swim.
“Are you sure?” I manage to ask, though my wolf snarls at the delay. My claws have fully emerged now.
She tilts her head, exposing the smooth column of her throat in an offering. “Yes. Just...be gentle.”
I can't promise that, but I nod anyway, cupping her face between my palms as I lean closer.
“It will hurt,” I warn, “but only for a moment.”
Her pulse leaps at her throat, a rapid flutter that draws me in like a beacon. I lower my head, nose skimming along the delicate skin there, breathing her scent in straight from the source. She trembles beneath me, a soft gasp breaking free from her parted lips.
“Damien...” My name falls from her mouth, breathless and desperate, snapping the final thread of my restraint.
“Now, kitten,” I growl against her skin. “Hold onto me.”
My fangs drop fully, razor-sharp canines aching with purpose. I grip her shoulders, anchoring us both as I angle my bite at the perfect spot.
She fists the fabric of my shirt, knuckles white with tension as she braces. Her fear lingers sharp in the air, but beneath it something hotter unfurls—arousal blooming like a flower straining toward sunlight. Her wolf pushes forward, flickering close to the surface, shimmering through her like fire threatening to catch.
“Together,” I whisper, and sink my teeth into her flesh.
