beneath the weight of my words. “I didn’t help my case.”
My lips twitch slightly at his understatement. “No, you didn’t.”
“I guess your wolf didn’t either. It’s a fuck ton for you to process.”
He’s not wrong. “Yeah, I was angry and confused at her, plus dealing with her extreme reaction to every perceived threat. Meanwhile, she’s also pushing me every second of the day to claim you. Even right now, she’s right here, flooding me with her intensity and her...needs.” A blush heats my cheeks, and the marks on my shoulders seem to flush too, as if me admitting to the constant physical draw toward him has made the claiming marks perk up with want.
Across from me, Tyran’s eyes flash with hunger, his wolf rising up to the surface. But he takes a deep breath, suppressing whatever shot of desire I just caused. “I’m not saying this to rush or sway you in any way,” Tyran begins. “But some of that will settle, she will settle, if you decide to finish the claiming.”
My wolf shoves up against me so hard that my arms prickle with her fur.
Claim him, she persists, her whine making my chest grow tight.
“Right now, your wolf is even more volatile because you haven’t bitten me back,” Tyran explains. “I think she might have wanted us to become mates right away that night because she senses that you both need it. Your rabid nature needs an anchor, and she marked me as what you both need.”
I nod slowly, thinking through his words before peering at him from under my lashes. “But will you?” I counter. “Anchor us? Be what we need instead of pulling shit like you did tonight? Can I trust you, Tyran?”
As if my words stoke a small spark of hope, he slides forward on the couch until he’s close enough to take my hand in both of his, stilling it between his touch. I hadn’t even realized I was fidgeting, my nervousness creeping into my movements.
He looks me right in the eye. He doesn’t flinch away, doesn’t waver like so many others have when they see the indisputable evidence of my unhinged and fractured soul. I realize that Tyran has never looked at me with a grimace or hesitation, despite the violent presence and constant threat apparent in my gaze. And right now, he’s stripped off his own alpha mask to let me see the honesty of the male beneath. “I swear to you, Vicious. I’ll be the monster your savage side needs. The safe place all of you deserves. I’ll be the male that grounds you always. I will be worthy of your claim, and you can trust me implicitly. Just give me another chance to prove it.”
I didn’t realize until right now just how much I needed to hear that from him. My wolf whines again, her desperate noises making my eyes prickle. Tyran’s touch is a balm that soothes my hurts, and his words quiet the raging, rabid pain inside of me.
Mate, my wolf says. Claim. Trust.
I let out a shaky breath. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Mustering up my courage, stepping out on a fragile limb, I scoot forward until my knees press against his thigh. He looks down at the contact and then back to my face, swallowing hard as I lean in closer. His entire body goes tense, as if he’s physically holding himself back from moving or touching me. He’s letting me choose, letting me come to him.
I don’t stop until our faces are just inches away, until we’re sharing air, the heat of our breaths mingling against parted lips. My claiming bites are pulsing against my skin, spreading heat and need everywhere. My nose is consumed with his perfect scent, the earthen amber and woodsy cedar a path I always hope will lead me home.
“Don’t mess this up, Tyran Bauer.”
“I won’t,” he vows, his tone low but sincere, eyes dipping to watch my lips as they move.
“Good. Because right now, what I need, what my wolf needs, is for you to ground us. Because I don’t want to spiral anymore. Show me what it will be like to be your true mate,” I whisper, watching his throat bob. “And Alpha?”
His eyes drag back up to mine, voice gone rough. “Yeah?”
“Earn it.”
I fuse my lips against his a second later, stealing the surprised breath he sucks in. I kiss him like I’m diving straight into the deep end, trusting that even though I can’t see the bottom, he’ll be