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Fenris raised a brow. “What’s wrong?” he said, looking me up and down. “Did I hurt you?”
“Oh no,” I said, quick to reassure him. “I, ah…” I trailed off and reached up to rub at the sore spot on my shoulder. I knew my cheeks were getting redder, and I couldn’t keep eye contact with him. I cleared my throat. “I really liked that. That’s all.”
“Mmm.” I could hear his skepticism. “That’s all?”
I sighed, shoulders sagging a little as I looked back at him. I knew he’d caught me in the lie. “Fine,” I said. “I…when you bit me…”
He certainly wasn’t the first partner who’d used their teeth on me, but those moments had beenfinefor me. Not bad, but not particularly amazing, either. They certainly hadn’t made me orgasm so hard, I’d nearly blacked out.
Just the thought of the sex we’d had made me feel warm all over, and I squirmed again, pressing my thighs together.You donothave time for a second round, and certainly not on someone else’s bed!Guest room or not, I didn’t want to make a habit of fooling around in Fenris’s allies’ houses.
“When I bit you…” Fenris prompted, moving a little closer. He bumped his knee against mine.
“I dunno. I just…I loved it. I wanted you to bite me harder. I wanted you to bite my neck. I wanted to biteyourneck.” I had never been much of a marker myself and assumed it was just a thought brought on by the heat of the moment. But even now, sitting in a crowded little bedroom, just saying it out loud made my pussy clench again.
I grit my teeth, and Fenris looked at me, his pupils blown out.
“What?” I whispered, worried I might have just said something wrong. “Fenris, what is it?”
Chapter6
Fenris
Keziah’s Cabin
Snowmass, Colorado
I blinked slowly, as if that would somehow set my head on straight after my fated mate had shared that…that…
Get a hold of yourself, Fenris!
My wolf stirred and rumbled, straining against our careful control. All he could imagine was the feel of Celeste’s teeth against our skin, how it would feel to bite her back and return the mark. It was almost enough to send him over the edge. If we were any closer to the full moon, I didn’t think I’d be able to keep him under control at all.
I cleared my throat and forced myself to focus. As much as Iwantedto do that, as wild as it drove me that Celeste was thinking about it herself, I hadn’t done it for a reason. At full strength, the Lunar Lord’s bite could kill a human. And that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take, especially not with Celeste.
She apparently began to interpret my silence as disgust. Her cheeks grew pinker and pinker as she avoided eye contact. “Forget it,” she practically whispered.
I fought down an animal urge to growl, not wanting to upset her any further. “That is a perfectly normal urge for any wolf shifter,” I said, reaching over to take her hand in mine. “That is how they mark one another as mates. Humans wear rings; wolf shifters have permanent bite scars.” Celeste didn’t say anything, but she glanced up at me, her expression curious if not guarded. “The urge is often stronger in fated mates,” I explained gently. “And I’m sure all the recent events, coupled with your wolf’s sudden awakening, have only heightened the instinct even more. Wolves are known to be possessive.”
“Does anything happen once a wolf bonds?” she said quietly, finally looking back at me. “Or is it more a ceremonial thing, like with humans?”
“Much more than that,” I said confidently. “Bonded mates are able to sense one another’s emotions. They can even bear one another’s pain if they opt to. However, a pair of fated mates have a bond like no other. They can even communicate telepathically. I can’t tell you much more than that, as I have never bonded. I have no firsthand experience.”
Celeste nodded slowly. She studied her hands before she finally glanced up at me, as if working up the courage to ask what was really on her mind. “Then why haven’t you bitten me?” she said, her voice soft. “Is it because you don’t trust me? Because I shifted?”
The hurt coloring her voice made my chest ache. I almost choked on the breath I took next, my throat had closed so tight.I’m doing this to her. My paranoia, my struggle to share any details—
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “That isn’t why. I—Iama bit thrown off by the fact that you were a wolf shifter all along and I had no idea, but I’ll look into that later. That isn’t the problem.”
“Then what is?” Celeste demanded, barely giving me a moment to speak.
“Because my bite would likely kill you,” I said simply. “I’m not like other wolf shifters. It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”
She blinked, sitting up a bit straighter. “Kill me? How?”
“Because the Lunar Lord has abilities beyond other shifters,” I answered. “My bite can turn humans into wolf shifters—if it doesn’t kill them first. It can kill a siren. It’s deadly to vampires as well. The only time a Lunar Lord can safely claim his mate with complete certainty that he won’t accidentally cause their death is during the solar eclipse, when their power wanes.”
Celeste was quiet for a moment as she digested this information. “So, just to get this straight—wolf shifters normally bite one another to claim their mates, and that’s fine. But youcan’tbite your mate unless it’s during the solar eclipse—which lasts less than ten minutes, I might add—because otherwise you might kill them due to your power.”
