Every time his eyes bled to gold, I felt the wolf behind them—stripping me bare, promising a pleasure that felt like a threat.

My foot hit the first step of the porch, and the air between us vanished.

Vaelor watched me with a starving intensity.

I wanted everything he had. I needed it like breath.

He hauled me up the stairs, the bedroom door hitting the wall with a hollow crack. The sight of the wide bed made my lungs seize. He laid me back, his hands moving with an agonizing, taunting slowness as he peeled away the scrap of my clothes.

When the last of the lace hit the floor, I shivered. He stood there for a moment, simply mapping my body with his stare.

I pushed my thighs apart, exposing myself to the heat of his gaze. A low growl vibrated in the room. Vaelor moved like a predator closing in on a kill. He leaned down, his mouth finding the purple bruise on my stomach before trailing bites and stings down the sensitive skin of my inner thigh.

My back arched. My whimpers echoed in the quiet room. His tongue was seasoned, devastating—I didn't want to think about how he'd learned to move like that. He let out a dark grunt of approval, tasting me until I was a live wire, seconds from snapping.

When he looked up, his teeth were partially bared in a sharp, lupine grin. The friction of his gaze alone was enough; a guttural moan broke from my throat as a sharp, sudden climax crested through me.

The wolf was ready to claim me. The man followed as he sank his weight over mine. The sheer size of him pressed against my heat, making the ache for him unbearable. His mouth crashed against mine, his fangs grazing my tongue—sharp, warning, perfect. I was trapped in the wild rhythm of his pupils.

He worked his way to my breasts, his tongue a torture that left me frustrated and clawing at his hips. I needed the burn to stop. I needed him inside. Vaelor felt the urgency. He ground himself against me, teasing the entrance before driving home—hard, deep, unrelenting. I gasped at the stretch of him, feeling every throb of his pulse buried in my core.

He froze. His breath hitched, body turning to corded muscle. I stared up at him, panting. His eyes were dark with lust, but there was a new, terrifyingly soft glow there. Recognition. He knew. I was his mate. His woman.

His movements turned slow, deliberate. I closed my eyes, drowning in the sensation. Then the rhythm broke. The sound of skin hitting skin filled the room, punctuated by his raw, ragged groans.

"Open your eyes," Vaelor commanded.

I obeyed instantly. He looked down at me, a possessive smirk tugging at his lips. "I want to watch you break when I make you mine."

I wrapped my legs around his waist, meeting him stroke for stroke. A growl ripped from his chest. I felt the heat climbing my spine, the prickle at the base of my neck. He pinned my wrists against the mattress, his hand sliding down to the swollen center of me. He drove into me harder, the bed frame groaning under the assault. My screams were frantic now. He nipped at my breast, his fangs scraping my skin as my body began to shatter. I clawed at his shoulders, nails sinking deep, as the spasms took over.

"Mine," he roared against my mouth, his thrusts deepening, bottoming out. "Finally. Completely. Mine."

He didn't let me rest. He gripped my hips, flipping me onto my stomach in one fluid motion without breaking the connection.

I tried to push up onto my knees, but his hand flattened against my back, forcing me down. I was arched, exposed, entirely at his mercy.

He hammered into me, his teeth marking the line of my spine up to my neck. Another wave was building.

He bit and licked the curve between my shoulder and throat. He felt larger, thicker, stretching me to the limit.

Then, the sharp sting of teeth. I felt my skin tear as he bit down, and the pain-pleasure spike sent me over the edge.

I screamed into the pillow, my body seizing in violent, beautiful convulsions as I felt him come—a hot, heavy flood inside me.

He lingered there, licking the wound on my neck. His voice was a low, sensual vibration against my ear.

"Now you're claimed." Vaelor's chest heaved against my back. "The wolf and the man both know you."

He rolled us to our sides, pulling me into a crushing embrace. He peppered my face with small, frantic kisses. "My mate. Forever."

"Forever," I whispered. My heart was a frantic bird in my chest. I traced the line of his jaw. "You really don't care? That I'm human?"

Vaelor went quiet, his eyes searching mine. "I won't lie to you. I gave up on finding my mate a long time ago." He brushed a strand of hair from my face. "I always pictured a wolf."

"I know." I bit my lip. "Alina told me why you hesitated."

"Then you understand why I stayed away." His thumb traced my lower lip. "I needed to be certain."

"I get it." I kissed him, a soft, reassuring press of lips. "I didn't want to want you either. That's why I was such a bitch."

He chuckled, pulling me tighter against his chest. "I should still give her hell."

"Why?" I felt his hands wandering again, lower this time.

"Because if she'd told me our secret was out five years ago..." He looked at me with a predatory hunger. "I would have had you in this bed half a decade ago."

"Five years," I breathed.

"We have lost time to make up for." He flipped me onto my back again, his eyes promising a long night. "Five years without my mate in this bed... that's a sin, don't you think?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't.

He moved back between my thighs, taking me with a passion that made everything before feel like a shadow.

I'd never known what it meant to be loved until Vaelor. I never thought I'd fall for a monster.

But as he moved inside me, I knew I couldn't survive a single day without my wolf. Without my Alpha.