His Mate. His Claim. His Mistake

Marked

**Theo**

Nothing else existed.

Only the girl on my bed and the ancient pull tearing through my soul.

I moved over her carefully. My mouth found hers in a deep, searching kiss. She tasted like honey, rain, and something wild underneath. A soft, startled sound escaped her as her hips lifted to press up into me.

She was burning in my arms, her skin fever-hot with the full force of her heat. Her scent filled the room in thick, dizzying waves.

For a moment she turned her face away, confusion flickering through her glassy eyes as another wave hit. She looked as though she were fighting her own body.

“Hey,” I murmured against her cheek. “I’ve got you.”

Her heavy eyes lifted to mine. The look in them nearly undid my control.

I kissed her again, slower this time. She moaned into my mouth, her thighs parting without hesitation. I settled between them. Every Lycan instinct screamed to claim her immediately, while the man in me held back with everything I had left.

I pushed the dark emerald dress up past her knees and pressed against her so she could feel how hard I was. She gasped, her hips jerking once, grinding against me on pure instinct. Wetness soaked through her lace and into my trousers.

My claws lengthened before I realized it. The fabric of her bodice tore with a soft rip. The dress fell open, her breasts spilling free, flushed and perfect.

I stared down at her for a long second.

“Beautiful,” I said, voice rough.

I lowered my head and took one n****e into my mouth, sucking gently at first, then firmer as she arched off the mattress with a broken sound. I gave the other the same attention until she trembled beneath me, fingers twisting tight into the sheets.

I peeled the rest of the dress away, pausing when I reached her injured ankle. The skin was still red and swollen. My Lycan growled, but I only lifted her foot and pressed soft kisses along the tender skin.

She released a small, needy moan.

I hooked my thumbs into the waistband of her drenched lace and dragged it down her legs. She was pink, swollen, and glistening.

I settled between her thighs and pressed a slow, open-mouthed kiss directly over her c**t. She cried out instantly. I licked her in one long stroke from entrance to c**t, tasting salt, honey, and molten heat.

Her fingers tightened in my hair. I groaned against her skin and kept going—circling, sucking, then pushing my tongue inside her in slow thrusts. Her thighs stiffened. Her breathing turned into hard sobs.

“I’ve got you,” I murmured. “Let go.”

She shattered with a broken cry, thighs clamping around my head as fresh slick flooded my tongue. I licked her through every pulse until her cries softened into shaky whimpers.

When I lifted my head, her eyes were wide and stunned. She had never felt anything like that before.

The heat gave her no rest. She was already restless again.

“Theo,” she whispered, voice small and wrecked.

She reached for me, hands tugging at my shirt. I helped her strip it away, then shoved my trousers down. My length sprang free, heavy and flushed dark.

Her eyes widened. Innocence flashed through the haze. She exhaled sharply at my size, then reached out cautiously. Her small hand wrapped around me, barely able to close her fingers. She stroked once, thumb swirling through the bead of moisture at the tip.

I drew in a sharp breath.

“It’s hot,” she whispered. Her thighs rubbed together, seeking relief.

I guided her onto her back and settled between her thighs, the head of my c**k resting against her entrance.

“Lilith. Look at me.”

Her dark eyes met mine, glassy and unsure.

“Breathe for me.”

I pressed forward slowly. The head breached her with a wet sound. She was impossibly tight. Her mouth fell open on a sharp gasp, tears slipping down her cheeks.

I froze.

“Talk to me. Does it hurt too much?”

She nodded once, but her eyes had already darkened again with need. Her hips gave a tiny, instinctive rock that forced another inch inside.

“Don’t stop,” she breathed. “Please… I need…”

I eased deeper, inch by careful inch, watching her face the entire time. When I finally sank to the hilt, her body clenched around me like a vise.

I stayed still, kissing her temple, her cheek, the corner of her mouth, waiting for her to adjust.

Gradually her walls relaxed. Then another wave of heat hit her hard. A soft, desperate sound left her throat as her hips began to move in small, searching rolls.

I started to move with her—slow and deep. She cried out at the first full stroke, then again when I angled slightly. Her hands clutched my shoulders.

I kept the pace controlled even as my beast growled for more.

Her body grew hungrier, meeting my thrusts, lifting to chase the friction. Soft, frantic pleas spilled from her lips.

I shifted us so she was on top. She sank down with a shocked gasp, taking me deeper. For a moment she sat there trembling, adjusting, while I held her waist.

“That’s it,” I murmured. “I’ve got you.”

She began to move, driving down with feverish hunger. Her walls clenched and released in rhythmic pulses. Tears spilled down her flushed cheeks.

She came again with a quiet, broken cry. I held her through it, pressing soft kisses to her shoulder and the side of her throat.

When her movements slowed from exhaustion, I laid her back down.

“Theo… please…”

“What do you need?”

She shook her head as if she lacked the words, hips rolling harder against me.

“Harder,” she whispered.

I gave her what she asked for—carefully at first, then deeper as her body welcomed it. She cried out, fingers digging into my back as the last of my restraint began to fray.

---

**Lilith**

“Theo… harder.”

It did not sound like me. The words belonged to whatever restless thing had taken over my body. Every careful thrust only made the hunger worse.

Then he pulled out.

The loss was sharp. A broken sound tore from my throat. My body clenched around empty air.

“Theo—”

His hands gripped my waist and flipped me. I landed on my hands and knees, palms pressing into the soft furs, knees spreading on pure instinct.

When he pushed back inside from behind, the stretch was overwhelming. Thick. Deep. Every stroke dragged against places that made my vision blur. Only broken sounds spilled out of me.

He turned me again, capturing my mouth in a deep kiss. His thumb found the sensitive center between my legs and circled, sending sharp sparks through my blood. I sobbed his name into his mouth as my body locked tight around him and the wave crashed—hot, messy, completely beyond my control.

He did not give me long to recover. He was back inside me almost immediately, deeper, chasing the next peak before the first had even faded. I lost track of how many times my body seized around him. His scent thickened, heavy with power, and my wolf made a soft, submissive sound.

His canines grazed the place where my neck met my shoulder.

“Theo?” I gasped, half question, half plea.

He made a low sound. When I opened my eyes, his were glowing faintly gold.

He carried me to the edge of the bed and turned me once more, chest down, hips raised. Then he was inside me again, deep and steady.

“Look,” he whispered against my ear. “Open your eyes.”

I forced them open. The large mirror across the room showed us clearly.

I barely recognized the girl staring back. Eyes half-closed and wet, mouth open, hair wild and stuck to damp skin. Marks blooming across her throat and shoulders. Body moving with every thrust in a way that looked completely shameless.

A soft, shocked sound left me.

He slowed just enough, one hand sliding up to rest lightly against my throat, holding without squeezing. His other arm stayed strong around my waist.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, breath ragged. “And you’re all mine.”

Tears slipped down my cheeks.

“All yours,” I whispered back. “All yours, Theo.”

He turned me one last time, laying me beneath him. His thrusts grew deeper, slower, more deliberate. When his release finally hit, a deep groan tore from his chest. He buried himself to the hilt, flooding me with thick heat.

The pleasure that followed was blinding. My body locked around him as our releases tangled together.

Then came the mark.

His canines sank sharply into the junction of my neck and shoulder.

I cried out at the sharp sting. Pain flared bright for a fraction of a second, then melted into a warm, golden rush that flooded every part of me. The bond snapped fully into place.

Theo’s presence poured into my mind—steady, solid, permanent. His heartbeat settled directly beside my own.

*All mine.*

My body gave one last weak shudder. Exhaustion crashed over me.

As the world tilted and darkness pulled me under, I felt his arms tighten around me.

Safe.

For nineteen years, safety had meant locked doors and staying small.

Tonight, in the arms of the Lycan everyone had warned me to fear, I had never felt safer.