Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
In this moment, my world shifts beneath my skin.
And part of me welcomes it.
Because running back to a world without them now?
I don’t know how to do that anymore.
30
NIXON
For every wolf, the knowledge that there will be a mate in their future is a part of life. One of my earliest memories is of my father telling us about the deep, abiding connection between him and my mother. That connection seemed holy for a long time, until I was older and could see the tiny flaws in their relationship. They never considered parting. That isn’t how the mate bond works, but there was always a lingering sense of resentment at my mother’s lack of choice. I wanted real love, and to be a choice for my mate, rather than a fated inevitability.
Now, here we are, walking Scarlet into our bedroom, and I’m still not sure how she feels. She’s attracted to us, sure. No woman comes as hard as she does if her mind isn’t connected to the men she’s with. Attraction is important, but it isn’t enough.
She sits on the edge of the bed, skin still dewy from the shower, hair tumbling in damp waves over her shoulders. She’s the picture of raw beauty, bared and vulnerable, yet holding herself like a warrior who doesn’t quite trust the battlefield.
Her knuckles are white against the mattress.
I crouch before her, bringing my face close to hers. I lift my hand and cup her cheek. She closes her eyes at the contact, leaning into it like she needs it more than air.
“We don’t want to force you,” I say, trying to leash the wild edge clawing its way into my throat. “But we can’t leave you unclaimed, not with the danger that’s coming. If you want to stay… this is the only way.”
She trembles. Her eyes open, and she looks at each of us like we might hold the answer she can’t find inside herself.
“What do you think, Scarlet?” Reed asks. “About everything we’ve told you. About us… this life… what we’re asking of you?”
“I…” Her voice cracks. Tears well in her eyes, and my heart lurches in my chest. Goddess, I can’t claim her like this.
Reed kneels in front of her, brushing his fingers along her thigh. She doesn’t pull away. We flank her, surrounding her, but not boxing her in.
“We’re not here to take,” Reed says. “This isn’t about marking territory or sealing fate. It’s about choosing you because you’ve already changed us. You’ve crawled under our skin, Scarlet. You’ve settled into the empty spaces we didn’t even know we had.”
“You’re what we want,” I add, my hand still on her face. “What we need. But you have to want us, too. All of us.”
She swallows hard. Her fingers tremble as she reaches for Reed’s. “I don’t know how it happened,” she murmurs, “but I feel you all. Here.” She touches her chest. “And here.” Her temple.
I lean closer. “Do you want us to claim you?”
Her frustration sparks like a match. “How am I supposed to know? Your world isn’t mine.”
“It can be,” Finn says quietly. “Our world exists within yours. The claim isn’t an ending. It’s a beginning. A new skin you grow into.”
“And danger,” she says, eyes flashing.
“Danger exists everywhere,” I say. “But at least with us, you’ll never face it alone.”
“You’re asking me to commit to you… like marriage?”
“More than marriage,” I say proudly. “This is a lifelong bond. You will never want to leave us... never have reason to be dissatisfied. We will give you everything you need. You will become part of us as we will become a part of you.”
My wolf paces inside me. The moment is close. Scarlet’s scent is thick with uncertainty… but it’s laced with want, too.
Finn steps closer. “We wanted to wait for you to come to us. To ask. But we can’t wait any longer. Our wolves are tearing us apart. Every second we don’t claim you is another where we’re craving what we can’t survive without.”
Her legs shake a little, and not from the cold.
I lift her chin, so she looks up at me. “If you say no, we’ll take you back to your car. We’ll let you drive away. But if you want us, then lie back. Give yourself to us, and we will take you… completely.”
My wolf growls at the mental image of her leaving, fury making my fingertips ache as my claws strain.
There’s silence. Her hands relax and she looks at each of us like she’s searching for proof that we mean what we say.
Then slowly she lets go of the bed and leans back first onto her elbows, pausing for a second, her body trembling, and then she reclines fully. I exhale in a rush. With her hair spread around her and her pale white skin reflecting the full moon, she looks like an altar sacrifice.