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The Devil Dog’s words fill my mind like an animalistic, primal chant.

Bite him. Mark what’s ours. Take him.

Yes. I want that. “Please, Vesper. Claim me. Bite me.” I tilt my neck further, silently pleading.

Vesper goes completely still. “Don’t say that again. You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

I can’t explain it, but beneath all the dark dominance, I hear the raw need in his voice. The hollow loneliness that echoes the void inside my own chest. In the back of my mind, the Devil Dog whimpers softly, nudging at my consciousness in a desperate plea. I shake my head, dazed by the weak bond in my mind’s eye. It has to be the shadows or some lingering supernatural tether, but the emotion pulsing between us has to be real. I want this demon. I want him to mark me, to hold me, to make me his entirely. Remembering how much he craves my submission, I yield to the pull and give him exactly what he needs.

I beg.

“Please,” I whisper, my voice trembling with absolute surrender. “Claim me, Vesper. Make me yours.”

His hand begins stroking my cock again, tantalizingly slow. Even the way he edges me is painfully perfect. A twisted part of me wishes Gregory could see the way this demon makes me fall apart, but a deeper, fiercely possessive voice knows that what we’re about to do is sacred. This bite, this mark, is meant for us and us alone.

“I’m a monster, Bellamy,” Vesper whispers, his dark voice teasing the shell of my ear. “Are you absolutely sure you want to bind yourself to someone like me? I’m possessive. Unforgivably so. The exact second I saw you at those crossroads, I knew I wanted you. The Devil Dog felt it too; it recognized instantly that you belonged to us. But if I do this, if I mark you right here, your soul locks to mine forever. Exactly like a true mate.”

I shiver. “Are you trying to push me away, or are you trying to convince me?”

Vesper’s chest vibrates with a low, feral growl as he presses firmly into my back, the hard press of his cock leaving no doubt how much he wants this. Gripping my chin between his thumb and forefinger, Vesper tilts my head until I’m drowning in his glowing red gaze.

“Don’t misunderstand me, Bell. I will fucking worship you,” he growls softly against my lips. “I just need you to understand the consequences of forever. You might not love me, not yet, but I’ll make sure you’re begging for me every single night until the end of time.”

Forever. The word echoes in my mind like a filthy, forbidden vow. After so many years of carrying this bone-deep loneliness, after so many useless men who never gave a shit about me, this toxic hunger is what I’ve secretly craved. That brutal, all-consuming love that normal people warn us against. That suffocating obsession where I make him my world, and he destroys everything else to make me his.

Vesper’s lips drag a heated trail across the sensitive spot of my neck, his tongue lapping, mouth sucking brutally over the exact spot where his mark belongs. His control snaps at the same time I lose my mind. His hips thrust against my ass with a frantic, punishing rhythm, while his clawed hand squeezes my cock in a grip so tight it makes my head swim. I’m so fucking tempted to reach back, hook my fingers into his waistband, and yank his pants down to his knees. I want him inside me. I want his cock, his teeth, his shadows. I want every single part of him to take me until there’s nothing left.

Movement catches my eye as Jake creeps up beside Gregory, both of them staring blankly into the wall of writhing shadows that hides us from their sight. They can’t see us, but my heart slams against my chest anyway. They’re still right there. Seeing Gregory look so pathetically manic and lost feels like a twisted, fucked-up offering Vesper and the Devil Dog have laid at my feet.

“What should I do with them, Bellamy?” Vesper murmurs, his lips brushing against my jawline as he continues his torturous rhythm on my cock. “Should I let them hear us while I drive you over the edge? Let them watch while you fall apart in my hands?” Vesper’s voice drops to a gravelly purr, his breath scorching against my neck. “Or maybe I should end this little game right now and tear Gregory’s throat out. I can slice his chest open with my claws, carve his heart out, and lay it on a silver platter for you. Just to prove there’s nobody I won’t slaughter to keep you by my side.”

The dark, taboo filth of the threat and the wickedness of discussing my ex’s murder while being edged unravel whatever control I have left.

“No,” I sob, my voice breaking completely, surrendering to this murderous demon. “Not yet. I want you to take your time with him. Drive him crazy. Make him go insane first. Then make it painful.” The more I speak, the faster Vesper’s strokes become, his heavy panting turning every bit as desperate as my own. “Don’t stop. Yes, faster. Make me yours. Fucking do it, Vesper. Mark me, right here, while they’re watching!”

The sharp claws of his free hand graze over my sensitive chest, his fingers spread wide enough to tease both nipples at once. “Anything to prove to you that no one touches what’s mine.”

Gregory and Jake begin to turn away, but I don’t even care anymore. The instant Vesper’s words leave his lips, my world fractures into a thousand blinding splinters of shadow and light. My entire body goes taut, my back arching violently as I push up on my toes, grinding back against the hard cock trapped in his pants.

The angle is perfect, but to hold myself steady, my hand reaches up blindly until my fingers curl around something solid. It’s Vesper’s horn. The moment I grip it, Vesper unleashes a dark, savage growl that vibrates through both of our bodies. His fingers curl tighter around the head of my cock, pumping and twisting me through my orgasm.

I fucking shatter, white ropes of cum painting the iron gate in front of me.

A ragged scream rips from my throat, swallowed by the wind and the pulse of the shadow magic. My body bows against Vesper as wave after wave of intense pleasure pulses through my body.

And right as I reach the peak of my climax, Vesper attacks.

He yanks my head sharply to the side, exposing the delicate skin of my neck.

Razor-sharp fangs sink deep into my flesh.

Pain and pleasure collide and swirl. I gasp, my fingers clawing frantically at the iron gate as dark magic and shadow tendrils rip from his body and pour into mine. The magic binding our souls together floods my bloodstream. It burns like molten fire as an excruciating pleasure surges through my veins. The agonizing heat settles deep inside me, branding my soul with his permanent, undeniable mark.

Past the iron gate, just mere feet away, Gregory pauses. He suddenly stops walking, turning his flashlight toward the gate, frowning into the fog as if he heard the trembling moans falling from my lips.

“Did you hear that?” Gregory calls out to Jake.

On the other side of the iron bars, Vesper holds me pinned against his chest, our breathing heavy and ragged, his fangs still buried deep in my neck as he tastes my release. He raises his free hand, pressing a long, blue finger against his own lips, staring straight through the shadows at the men hunting us.