“Is that normal?” she asked.
“Yes. When a lycan claims their mate, they inject a serum into them that marks them as theirs. The wounds will take longer than normal to heal too.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Does it bother you?”
“No.” And it didn’t. “But it’s… really strange. I mean, I’mglowing.”
“The glow will fade once you’re away from the moonlight. But beneath the moon, my mark will be evident on you.”
She liked that idea. The bite was ethereal but also beautiful.
“Do you wish I hadn’t claimed you? I should have asked first, but I….”
His words trailed off. She knew it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to admit he lost control.
“I’m glad you did,” she assured him.
She just hopedhedidn’t come to regret it.
Lexi pushed her morose ruminations aside and rested her palm against his cheek. “I love you.”
He bent to kiss his mark. “I love you too.”
His warm breath against the bite caused her toes to curl. Then he pulled away, kissed her cheek, and stepped back. When he turned away, she glimpsed his ribs through his skin. She’d never seen them before.
“Cole?” When he looked back to her, his eyes shone with love, and a small smile curved his lips. “How bad were the trials?”
The emotion instantly left his face, and a callousness settled over his eyes. When he turned away, she grasped his arm.
“Talk to me,” she whispered.
“I cannot reveal much about them. The survivors are the only ones who know what the trials entail, and it is our secret to keep.”
“You mean your burden to bear.”
He didn’t reply.
“Maybe so, but you can still tell me something,” she said. “You look good, but you’ve lost weight, and I can tell the trials have changed you.”
He pulled his arm away, retrieved his pants, pulled them on, and buttoned them before looking at her with the emotion of a shark.
“They were difficult, but I survived, and I came out stronger because of it.”
“I can tell,” she murmured as she studied him. “I can feel the increase of your power from here, but how bad was it?”
“They are not something easily survived.”
She suspected that was probably a huge understatement as she pulled on her shirt. “You look well.”
“I look this way because I survived. The shadows healed me before I left the trials behind. I never would have let you see me otherwise.”
Lexi bit her lip at this revelation. She had no doubt he’d been as eager to see her as she was him, but if he would have kept her away, then he must have lookedreallybad.
What happened in there?
No matter how badly she craved the answer, she would never get it. Walking over, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. Beneath her ear, she listened to the solid, reassuring beat of his heart as his arms enveloped her.
