Page 39 of The Coyote's Veterinarian Omega

Punishment for being so overzealous as to bite him in the first place.

“What are you waiting for?” Wyatt’s words were loud in the quiet of the night. I was acutely aware of every breath he drew, the rush of his blood.

I swallowed, but I couldn’t think of an excuse that didn’t sound pathetic. After all, I was the one who’d suggested it. And he’d saidyes.

Was I really gonna back down now? It was cowardice, plain and simple, and I didn’t like the thought of that one bit.

I wasn’t a coward, and I didn’t want Wyatt to think that. I’d bite him now, damn the consequences. If we broke up later, then I’d bear my punishment without complaint.

“Just giving you a chance to back out,” I said with a grin, to which Wyatt scoffed.

When he didn’t say anything more, I lowered my mouth to hisneck, inhaling deeply. I was really gonna do this.

As a shifter, you didn’t get a chance to practice mating marks—it was a one and done thing. So I’d never bitten anyone else. I’d hooked up with people, sure, but I’d never been compelled to sink my teeth into their neck like some kinda vampire.

I had no idea what I was doing. We saw plenty of representations of it in the media—movies, books, you name it—but doing it was another experience entirely.

I mouthed Wyatt’s neck a couple of times, letting my teeth rake over the skin.

“Cam …” His hands tangled in my hair.

“Gimme a minute,” I murmured, felt him shudder. “I’ve … never done this before, yeah?”

“Neither have I,” Wyatt replied, like that was supposed to be comforting or something.

In a weird way, it was. We were both new to this, fumbling our way through it. With that thought in mind, I opened wide and sank my teeth into him.

Or tried to, anyway. I didn’t break skin immediately, and Wyatt grunted at the pressure. I stared at the wall behind him, realizing with horror I was either going to have to bite him multiple times or turn up the pressure.

Which I could do, easily. I was part coyote, after all. Human jaws were a lot stronger than most people realized, but the crushing power of a predator’s jaw …

“Ow,” Wyatt whimpered as my teeth finally punctured him. I still didn’t taste blood. Dammit, how did the movies make this look so easy?

Special effects, I reminded myself as I pushed deeper, ignoring Wyatt wincing under me. I was pretty sure it needed to be deep. After all, it needed to scar, and the movies always showed blood …

Finally, there was a coppery tang across my tongue. Surprised,I pulled back with a yelp. Wyatt clamped a hand over his neck, wincing again. I stared at him. “Shit. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He might have been trying to smile. “Did it work?”

“I have no idea,” I blurted. I instantly regretted it; his face fell. “Uh. Maybe?”

To tell the truth, I didn’t feel any different. Everything felt exactly the same as it had before, except now Wyatt was bleeding. I licked my lips and swallowed.

I would have sucked as a vampire, no pun intended. I scratched at my neck. “Uh. Sorry.”

Wyatt sighed. “Don’t be,” he murmured. “Is there a way to know if it worked?”

I considered for a moment, then said, “I think we’re supposed to … feel it?”

“How?”

“Uh. I don’t … really know.” It wasn’t something that was talked about. School didn’t go over it, not even in a class that was half shifter kids, and Dad had never talked about it with us. I’d have to ask Cal, but I didn’t think Dad and Mom had bonded.

Wyatt sighed. “Never mind,” he murmured. He touched a hand to my cheek. “Let’s try to get some sleep.”

Without thinking about it, I let him guide me down to the pillow. “You wanna sleep?” I asked. I was buzzing—first the wolf, now trying to bond. Even just being here in bed beside Wyatt had me wound.

“Yeah,” the dark-haired vet replied. “It was a long day, and I couldn’t sleep before you got here. I was just tossing and turning. Now though …”