Hacked By The Wolf

chapter 4

Do it, she said, voice steady despite the earthquake inside her.

Mark me.

Roman’s eyes flared wide. A tremor ran through him.

Then his control snapped.

He crushed her against his blood-slick chest, mouth crashing down on hers in a kiss that tasted of copper and storm and desperate need. His fangs grazed her lower lip sharp, deliberate.

Zara gasped into his mouth.

And in the instant before his teeth sank into her neck, the world narrowed to nothing but him.

His hand tightened at her throat, tilting her head to expose the frantic beat of her pulse. Warm rain lashed their bodies through the broken doors, soaking her hoodie, running in rivulets down his bare skin. Thunder rolled overhead like approval from ancient gods.

Roman pulled back just enough to meet her eyes one last time. Gold burned into dark brown, wild and tender all at once.

You are mine, he whispered against her lips. And I am yours.

Then he struck.

Fangs pierced skin in a white-hot bloom of pain that melted instantly into liquid fire. Zara cried out, fingers digging into his shoulders as pleasure exploded through every nerve. It was too much too deep, too vast like being remade from the inside out.

His essence flooded her veins, warm and electric, threading silver light through her blood. She felt him everywhere his strength, his loneliness, the centuries of weight he carried alone. Memories not her own flickered behind her eyes: moonlit forests, pack runs under star drunk skies, the hollow ache of losing family to the disease ravaging his kind.

And beneath it all, a love so fierce it terrified her.

Roman growled against her neck, arms banding around her like steel. He drank not blood but bond, sealing the ancient ritual with each pull of his mouth. The pain faded to throbbing heat, then to a pleasure so intense her knees buckled.

He held her up easily, one arm under her thighs, lifting her against him as if she weighed nothing. Zara wrapped her legs around his waist instinctively, anchoring herself as waves of sensation crashed over her. The city disappeared. The blood on the floor, the dead body, the danger all of it vanished.

There was only Roman.

His tongue soothed the bite, lapping gently at the wounds that already tingled with healing. A mark bloomed beneath his mouth two perfect punctures circled by bruising that would fade into a permanent crescent moon scar. His mark. Proof to every wolf in the world that she belonged to the Vale alpha.

Zara’s head fell back, rain cooling her flushed skin. She felt the bond snap into place like a lock turning irrevocable, eternal. A golden thread wove between their souls, humming with shared heartbeat, shared breath.

Roman lifted his head slowly. Blood hers stained his lips. His eyes had shifted back to storm gray, but the gold ring remained, brighter than before.

Mate, he breathed, the word reverent.

The power that followed stole her breath.

Strength poured into her limbs, sharp and exhilarating. Her senses exploded—rain smelled like ozone and petrichor, the city’s heartbeat thrummed below, and Roman’s scent wrapped around her like home. She could hear his pulse, feel the healing wounds on his side knitting closed faster now that the bond fueled them both.

Zara stared at him in wonder, fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw.

I feel you, she whispered. Inside me.

Always, he promised. Forever.

He kissed her again, slower this time, savoring. Hands slid under her soaked hoodie, palms skating over wet skin. She arched into him, suddenly starving for more for all of him. The danger, the violence, the impossibility of it all only sharpened the need.

Roman walked her backward until her spine met the one intact glass wall. Cool surface against her back, burning male against her front. His mouth trailed fire down her throat, lingering over the fresh mark that throbbed in time with her heartbeat.

Mine, he growled against the bite, and the possessive sound sent shivers racing through her.

Zara tugged at his hair, pulling him up for another kiss.

And you’re mine, she said fiercely.

Something wild and joyous flashed across his face. He lifted her higher, hands gripping her thighs, pressing the hard length of him against her core through soaked denim. She moaned into his mouth, hips rolling instinctively.

The bond amplified everything every touch, every breath, every slide of skin. Pleasure built fast and overwhelming, a storm gathering between them.

Roman’s control frayed again. He ripped her hoodie open with one sharp tug, buttons scattering like hail. Cool air hit her skin, then his hot mouth followed, tracing collarbone, breast, teasing until she was trembling.

Zara’s fingers clawed down his back, nails scoring healed muscle. She needed closer. Needed him inside the bond in every way.

Please, she gasped.

He understood. Always would now.

One hand left her thigh to tear at her jeans. Fabric gave way under claws that extended just enough. She should have been terrified. Instead she burned.

Roman paused, forehead pressed to hers, breathing ragged.

Tell me again, he demanded, voice rough with restraint. Tell me you want this.

Zara met his eyes saw the wolf and the man both waiting, both pleading.

I want you, she said clearly. All of you. Now.

The growl that tore from him was pure triumph.

He surged into her in one deep thrust, filling her completely. Zara cried out, head banging back against the glass as the bond flared white-hot. Pleasure bordered on pain, then crossed over into something transcendent.

They moved together frantically at first rain lashing their joined bodies, thunder masking her moans, lightning illuminating sweat-slick skin. The city watched far below, oblivious to the alpha claiming his mate against the sky.

Then the pace slowed, deepened. Roman’s hands cradled her like something sacred. Each thrust was a vow, each kiss a promise.

I love you, he whispered against her mark, words torn from somewhere ancient and raw. Have always loved you. Will love you beyond my last breath.

Tears mixed with rain on Zara’s cheeks. She felt the truth of it in the bond centuries of waiting, of hoping, now fulfilled in her arms.

I love you too, she answered, voice breaking. Illogical, impossible, and absolutely true.

The c****x hit them together a supernova through the bond that whited out thought. Zara screamed his name into the storm. Roman roared hers against her throat, fangs grazing the mark again as he spilled deep inside her.

They stayed locked together, trembling, while the rain gentled to a whisper.

Slowly, Roman lowered her legs to the floor but didn’t let go. Couldn’t. His forehead rested against hers, both of them breathing hard.

The bond hummed between them golden, unbreakable, alive.

Zara felt different. Stronger. Sharper. And beneath her skin, something new stirred wild and waiting.

Roman sensed it too. His eyes widened.

Your wolf, he breathed in wonder. She’s waking.

Zara looked down at her hands. For a heartbeat, claws extended sleek, silver black. Then retracted.

She laughed shaky, disbelieving joy.

Outside, the storm began to clear. First stars pierced the clouds.

But in the distance, howls rose many voices, angry and organized.

Roman’s arms tightened around her.

They felt the mark take hold across the city. Every wolf now knew the Vale alpha had claimed his Luna.

And war had just been declared.