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“I will kill him.” Draven ground out and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I will rip his bones from his flesh and feed him his own blood to keep him alive just long enough that he will beg me to sever his head from his body.”
There was a part of her that knew she shouldn’t be okay with what he’d just proposed, but there was a large part of her that wanted to witness his devotion to her through the blood of her enemies.
Blood.
Her senses came alive as her panic diminished. The cabin was full of sounds and smells she’d never noticed, the crackling of the fire, the damp corners where the earth’s moisture seeped through, the wind rustling the thatched roof. But above all of that was the steady thumping that made her gums ache, and her stomach clench.
“Draven, I’m…I think I’m.” Flora winced, and let out a soft gasp when tiny fangs ripped through her gums.
Draven tilted his head to the side, exposing his pulsing vein. “Use me.”
She should be appalled by the thought, but she was ravenous. Flora crawled up his torso and hovered over the vein. She licked her lips and then let her tongue trail over the spot where she longed to bite, barely restraining herself. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” Draven reassured her. “Quick bite, then release the pressure and allow the blood to flow into your mouth.”
She licked her lips again. “And my venom?”
“Think happy thoughts. That’s all there is to it.”
Flora chuckled against his throat, scraping her fangs along his pulse. Happy thoughts were the last thing she had in that moment. They were tainted with the King and his conniving deeds.
Draven trailed his hand up the exposed skin of her back. “Think of me. Of us. Don’t let him take what we are about to share.” He scraped his own fangs over her shoulder. “Bite me. Use me. Let me nourish your body.”
That was all the encouragement she needed. Using her tiny fangs, Flora pierced his skin. The moment his blood hit her tongue, she was thrust into a deep well of emotions. It was like coming home. He tasted of pine and sun and all the things that made Draven who he was. It was heady and intoxicating and she couldn’t get enough of it.
A sinful moan fell from her lips as she took another deep pull from him and dug her nails into his back, needing to get closer to him. She ground her hips into his lap, his growing length creating a delicious friction along her core. If it weren’t for the thick furs wrapped around her, he’d be sliding into her wet heat.
“Fuck, Bubbles,” Draven groaned, meeting her needy thrusts with his own. “When I said happy thoughts, this isn’t what I meant.”
She moaned against him, knowing he loved every second of lustful venom coursing through his veins, despite his halfhearted protest. Flora hadn’t meant for lust to fill her thoughts, but the moment his essence hit her lips and she tasted him, there was nothing else she could consider except the need for her mate. It was as if he was at the very core of her. More than just a meal. He was her other half. Her reason for living. And she wanted to show him just how much she needed him.
After she’d taken her fill, Flora licked the wounds at his neck, sealing them with the venom that pooled on her tongue. “I need,” she whimpered.
“Tell me, what do you need?” Draven’s rough timbre scraped over her sensitive skin. She wasn’t sure if it was a perk of being a vampire or his mate, but she could feel every delicious emotion in his words.
“You. Us. A reminder that even though I am a vampire now, even though the King and Rieka took from me what was not theirs to take, that we’re still mates. We are still forever.”
A wicked smile tugged at Draven’s full lips. “Oh you are more than a vampire, little Luna.”
Flora looked up at him, her brow furrowed.
Draven cupped her cheek and ran the pad of his thumb over her lips, wiping the remnants of his blood from them. “You are mine, my fledgling, my mate, but also my Luna in every sense of the word.” He trailed his fingers down her chin, tingles blossoming in their wake until he reached the mystery scar between her breasts. “Mine.”
Tears pricked the backs of her eyes as she examined the scar, remembering his description of how a wolf was made. “I’m like you?”
There was hope in her voice that had no business being there. Still, she held onto it for dear life as she waited for his answer.
Draven nodded. “You are a hybrid but you are not like me. You are more than I’ll ever be, Flora. You were made to be my mate and now you are a hybrid, blessed by the Goddess and gifted a wolf of my blood. But more than that, you are going to be the Luna who leads our people with compassion, strength, and a little bit of vengeance. You are everything I’ve ever hoped for. Everything I need.”
She was a hybrid. But more than that she was his. Her wolf was his.
The moment she acknowledged her new reality something sparked deep within her core. A presence she hadn’t noticed in the whirlwind of her waking up. Careful, quiet at first, barely a flutter in her chest, it padded forward.
Flora’s mouth dropped open and she brought her hand to rest on top of Draven’s on her chest. “I feel her. She’s—I have a wolf. Holy shit.” She let out an exasperated breath.
Her wolf circled in her chest, captivating Flora with her grace. She was timid but there was no denying her strength. Her presence filled a part of Flora she hadn’t known was missing. Though her confidence had grown over time, there was always a lingering doubt she wouldn’t be able to succeed. Her wolf filled that void and replaced it with instincts that fueled her resilience. While she may physically look the same as the person she was before her transition, mentally and emotionally she’d transformed right alongside her body.
A single tear trailed down her face—for the first time ever, she felt whole.
