Page 32 of Wolf of the Storm
Every instinct I have howls at me to thrust hard and deep, to take what's mine, to pin her down and claim her properly. The wolf snarls and claws, demanding I move faster, harder, now.
I don't.
I ease forward another inch, feeling her body stretch around me, adjust to the intrusion. Her breath hitches. Her hands fly to my shoulders, nails biting into muscle.
"Breathe," I grit out, though I'm not sure if I'm talking to her or myself. "Just breathe, sweetheart."
She does, and I feel her body relax fractionally. I press deeper. Slowly. Carefully. Giving her time to accept me even though it's killing me, even though sweat is beading on my forehead from the effort of holding back.
Finally—finally—I'm fully seated inside her. Buried to the hilt. Home.
"Fuck," I choke out, because nothing in my life has ever felt like this. The way she grips me, hot and perfect and impossiblytight. The way her pulse pounds against my chest where we're pressed together. The way she fits me like she was made for this, made for me. "Eliza, you feel...”
"Move," she demands, her nails dragging down my back. "Please move."
I do. Slow at first, controlled, but she meets me thrust for thrust with a fearlessness that shouldn't surprise me. This is who she is—quick-minded and brave and utterly unafraid. She takes everything I give her and demands more, rolling her hips, arching her back, driving me toward the edge of control with every touch, every sound.
Through the bond, I feel her building toward something, feel the edges of her pleasure even though it's filtered, incomplete.
"Mine," I growl against her throat, and the shiver that runs through her body nearly undoes me. "Say it. Say you're mine."
"Yours," she gasps, and the word reverberates through me. "I'm yours, Declan."
Through the partial bond, sensation floods into me that isn't my own. Heat that pools low in her belly. The flutter of nerves mixing with want. Trust so absolute it makes my chest ache—she's giving herself over to this, to me, to whatever comes next. And underneath it all, something that feels like recognition, like coming home, something I'm not ready to name because once I do, there's no taking it back.
My hips snap forward harder than I intend. Then again. The careful control I've been maintaining fractures, then breaks. I can't help it—can't slow down, can't gentle the rhythm. My body moves on instinct, finding a pace that's fast and deep and consuming.
Her legs lock around my waist, ankles hooking at the small of my back. She uses the leverage to pull me deeper with every thrust, meeting me stroke for stroke. Her heels dig into my ass, urging me on even as broken sounds spill from her throat.
The bed frame hits the wall with each thrust—a rhythmic bang that would be embarrassing if I could think past the tight, wet heat of her wrapped around me. Her nails score down my back again, leaving burning trails that will scar before they heal.
"That's it, sweetheart," I breathe, feeling her tighten around me. "Let go. I've got you."
"Declan...” My name breaks on a moan. She's climbing toward the edge. I adjust my angle slightly, and her eyes fly open. "There, oh god, right there...”
I keep the angle, the pace, driving us both higher. My fangs extend without my permission, and I know what's coming, know what the wolf is going to demand. "When you come," I rasp, "I'm going to bite. The claiming mark. My DNA will enter your bloodstream and begin changing you. It's going to hurt for just a second, and then...”
"Do it," she gasps, her hands fisting in the sheets. "I want it, I want—oh god...”
She shatters, and the sensation crashes through the incomplete bond. At the exact moment of her climax, I lower my mouth to the space just to the right of the hollow of her throat and bite down. My fangs pierce skin, and I taste her blood, the magic in it, the humanity, the absolutely perfect essence of my mate.
The bond snaps into place like a rubber band pulled too tight and finally released.
Everything floods through at once—her pleasure amplified tenfold, her acceptance, her overwhelming trust in me, her fear transmuted into exhilaration. I feel her, truly feel her now with a clarity that wasn't there before, and the intensity of it sends me over the edge. My own climax tears through me with a force that feels like it's going to tear me apart and remake me into something new.
When I finally release the bite, licking the wound to help close it, the claiming mark is there—a perfect scar that will never fade, marking her as mine to anyone with eyes to see. The bond thrums between us, alive and electric and complete now. Her wonder bleeds through, her awe, her absolute lack of regret.
"Holy shit," she breathes, her fingers coming up to trace the mark at her throat. "I can feel you. In my head. In my chest. It's so much stronger now. Is this...” She looks up at me with wide eyes. "Is this what you've been feeling?"
"No." I press my forehead to hers, trying to catch my breath. "It's complete now. Before, I could sense your emotions, feel your presence. Now I can sense when you're in danger, always know where you are. The bond works both ways—you'll feel me too." I cup her face gently. "And the change has started. My DNA is rewriting yours. You'll start feeling it soon—heightened senses, increased strength. The first shift usually happens within a few weeks."
"I already do." Her voice is filled with wonder. Through the bond, I feel her testing it, feeling the edges of my emotions—possessive satisfaction, fierce protectiveness, something deeper that I'm not ready to name. "This is incredible. And the change—when will I know it's starting? What will it feel like?"
"Eliza." I cup her face, running my thumb over her kiss-swollen lower lip. "We just completed a mystical mate bond. You're officially claimed."
She grins, unrepentant, and through the bond I feel her amusement mixed with genuine curiosity. "You knew who I was when you decided I was your mate. Did you expect anything different? I'm about to turn into a wolf—I'd like to know what to expect."
No, I think, pulling her up for a slow, thorough kiss. I expected exactly this. Incisive, fearless, perfect. "The changes start differently for everyone," I murmur against her lips. "Somefeel it within hours—heightened senses, increased strength. For others it takes days. The first shift usually comes within two to three weeks, once your body has fully integrated the new DNA. It won't be easy, but I'll be with you through all of it."
