This Christmas, I’ll Claim You Again

Chapter#04

ZEV

The storm clawed at my fur as I circled the cabin. My paws sank deep into the drifts as I took silent predator steps. The shift came easily after claiming her.

Flashbacks hit like fangs in the dark. I remembered the pack's betrayal as if it were yesterday, not centuries ago.

I still remember the alpha, my own blood brother, standing over me in the crimson-stained clearing. "You're a curse on us all, Zev," he'd snarled, "Exiling you is mercy."

The pack had circled, teeth bared, forcing me to fight through them. I tore throats, snapped bones, and left a trail of steaming entrails in the snow. But they outnumbered me. A silver-tipped arrow pierced my side, burning like acid. I howled, shifting mid-leap, human hands clutching the wound as blood poured between my fingers.

I shook my massive head, growling low. That was then. Now, Anastasia was inside, marked by my bite and my seed… again.

The howls had faded.

I wanted her again… wanted to pin her down and f**k her until she begged.

A crack of branches snapped my focus. It was her.

I scented her before I saw her. She was sneaking out the back. Her coat was bundled tight, boots crunching softly as she pushed through the drifts toward the tree line.

Running away after I marked her? She was stupid, yet brave.

The beast surged, urging me to chase her. I didn’t want to stop her. I knew it would end like every time before, if I kept her with me. I just had to make sure she reached humans safely.

I circled wide, watching her stumble. Her breath puffed white. She glanced back at the cabin and then continued running again.

But she didn't make it far. A rogue lunged from the dark. It hit her like a freight train, slamming her into the snow. She screamed as its talons raked her thigh. Blood welled instantly, spilling down her thighs.

Rage exploded through me. No one touches what's mine.

I was on the rogue in a blur. My jaws clamped its shoulder, and my teeth sank through fur and muscle to bone. It yelped, twisting, but I shook it like a rag doll. My claws ripped into its belly. Guts spilled steaming onto the snow.

It slashed at my muzzle, drawing blood, but I didn't feel it. I pinned it down as my fangs found its throat. One savage rip, and it was done. Crimson arced across the white drifts, splattering my fur.

She lay gasping with her hand clamped over her thigh and blood seeping between her fingers. Her eyes locked on me, wide with horror.

I shifted back mid-stride and knelt naked beside her in the snow. Cold bit my skin, but the beast's heat burned it away. "Foolish girl," I snarled, scooping her up. Her blood smeared my chest, mingling with the rogue's. She gasped as I pressed my hand over her wound, applying pressure. The gash was deep but not fatal.

"Put me down," she rasped, shoving weakly at my shoulders. Her nails dug in, leaving red trails. "I was leaving. You... you let me go."

"Like hell." I crushed her against me. My c**k hardened instantly, pressing against her hip. "You’re not in a good position. If you run, you die. And I can’t let that happen."

She trembled, but her eyes flashed defiance. "You're the one who chained yourself up. Said you'd kill me."

"I might." I buried my face in her neck, inhaling deeply. The bite mark I'd left pulsed under my lips. "But the beast wants to keep you and f**k you raw." My voice dropped to a growl. My hand slid from her wound to grip her ass, pulling her tighter. "But the man... the man wants you to go far away and never return. Only after you’ve healed properly."

Her breath hitched. I felt her n*****s harden through her coat, pressing against my chest. I licked the salt from her skin, fangs grazing. "I dream of chaining you to my bed, spreading you wide, burying my c**k so deep you forget your name."

My fingers dipped lower, finding the slick heat beneath. She was wet, f**k, so wet, even as blood trickled down her leg.

"Stop," she whispered, but her hips rocked into my touch. Her hands fisted in my hair, pulling hard. "I'm bleeding out here, and you're... you're hard as rock."

"Because of you." I thrust two fingers inside her without warning, curling deep. She cried out as her walls clenched around me. I pumped slowly as my thumb circled her c**t. "Tell me you don't want this. Tell me the bond isn't making you ache for my c**k right now."

She moaned. Her head fell back, exposing her throat. "I hate you," she gasped, but her legs wrapped around my waist, grinding down. "Hate how you make me feel... like I need it. Like I need you."

The confession ripped through me. She was breaking for me, just as I'd break for her. I withdrew my fingers, slick with her arousal, and smeared them across her lips. "Taste yourself. Taste what I do to you."

Her tongue darted out as her eyes locked on the miner. "You’re a monster," she breathed, but she licked clean, sucking my fingers into her mouth.

I groaned. My c**k throbbed painfully. The snow chilled my knees, but her heat was fire. I laid her back in the drift, careful of her wound, and exposing her bare p***y.

"Let me heal you," My voice was rough. My saliva could knit her flesh and ease pain because she was my mate and now marked by me.

She nodded, biting her lip. "Do it."

I lowered my head, and my tongue lapped the blood from her thigh. Metallic tang exploded on my taste buds, mixed with her essence. She whimpered as I licked the wound clean, and the skin knitted slowly under my mouth. My hands gripped her hips, holding her still as I moved higher, and soon my tongue delved between her folds.

"Oh God," she keened as her fingers tangled in my fur-damp hair. "Zev... please..."

I devoured her like a starving beast. My tongue thrust deep inside her. My teeth nipped her c**t. She bucked, flooding my mouth with her sweetness. The bond amplified it all. Her pleasure echoed in my veins. She wanted to run, but craved the chain.

"Come for me," I commanded against her flesh, fingers joining my tongue, stretching her. "Scream my name, my lady."

She shattered with a wail, body convulsing and thighs clamping my head. I drank her down, growling in satisfaction.

But as she panted, coming down, my eyes caught something on the rogue's corpse. Moonlight gleamed on its underbelly, revealing a hidden tattoo. It had ancient symbols and twisted runes that tugged at buried memories.

I froze, pulling back. "What the fuck..."

She sat up, wincing, following my gaze. “What happened?”

“These marks…” I started, but then stopped as I moved my hand above them, examining them. “Nyra is here.”

“Nyra? Who’s Nyra?”

More howls rose in the distance. These were pack calls.

I scooped her up again. "We need to move. Now."

She hugged me weakly, resting her head against my chest. “I want to stay here… with you.” Her voice was soft; it sounded almost like a plea. “Please don’t let me go.”

I knew I wouldn't. I couldn’t.

After waiting for thousands of years, the hexwolf was reborn. I’d make her break the curse just like she cursed me with it that night. And I’d finally have the chance to save my mate and keep her with me forever this time.