Page 126 of When Ashes Fall

I didn’t have the energy to resist him. I felt too deflated. He was one more eternal in my life who didn’t give a shit about me. I was his mate, but he saw me more as his property… just like my mother.

The comparisons between them weren’t fair; she was far worse than he could ever be, but his regard for me as an individual was the same as hers. It was devastating.

Bracing my arms beneath me, I pushed myself up to sit beside him on the bed. When I did, he brushed back my hair and used the towel to gently clean the punctures.

“They’ll heal fast,” he said.

“I know.” I kept my head bowed as I stared at the floor. “I remember from last time.”

“Briar.” When I didn’t look at him, he grasped my chin and turned it toward him. “It was instinct.”

“I don’t believe you, and it doesn’t matter; you got what you wanted.”

Knox

Her words cut deeper than I’d anticipated as her gaze returned to the floor. When fresh blood welled from the punctures in her neck and shoulder, I pressed the towel against them.

She had every reason to doubt me; I wasn’t sure I believed me, but I hated the melancholy in her eyes. I had the beast under control… until I didn’t.

I didn’t recall biting her, but I’d never forget the rush of rightness I felt once my teeth pierced her flesh. She was mine, and every eternal would know she belonged to a shifter. They’d know to keep their hands off her, or I’d tear those hands from them.

But had I let the beast take control on purpose because we both wanted to brand her, or had it broken free?

It was silent within me, content to sleep now that I’d left my mark on her again. But I knew the answer without it telling me.

I’d claimed her because I wanted to. I’d kept the beast restrained while with her last time, and mostly restrained this time, but I let it mark her because it was what I craved too.

She’d told me no, and I’d promised her time and hadn’t given it to her. I should feel guilty about it; I didn’t. She was mine.

You truly are a selfish prick.

And I’d never deny it.

From now on, I would work to earn her trust and repair our relationship, but branding her again had brought me a sense of calm I hadn’t experienced in years. I wouldn’t change any of it. I knew Briar hadn’t betrayed me, and I’d claimed her as my mate again; those were two things I’d spent years believing would never happen.

It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

My father had told me that once. I hadn’t understood it at the time, but I did now. Things would be better, and I’d be more controlled now that this had happened. The rest would come with time.

I wiped away the blood a few more times before the bleeding ceased. The four red punctures of my new mark stood out starkly against her fair skin. The color would fade as they healed, but the scars would always remain.

My fingers grazed the old scars before coming to a stop beside the new ones. She winced, and when her head bowed, her hair fell forward to shield her beautiful features.

She turned her head away, refusing to look at me. Despite the angry set of her shoulders, sadness radiated from her as well.

I fucked up.

She’ll get over it. It’s Briar; somehow, despite everything her mother and I have done to her, she still possesses a kind soul. She’ll forgive me. She has to.

“I should return to my room,” she said.

When she started to rise from the bed, I grasped her wrist. “No.”

“Knox—”

“Stay with me.”

“You want me to stay with you when you wouldn’t stay with me?”