CLAIMED IN THE ALPHA'S HEAT

CHAPTER THREE - THE BITE OF DESTINY

ELENA’S POV

His breath against my skin makes me snap my eyes back open.

I can't believe this is really happening to me.

What are the chances of running away from one nightmare straight into the arms of another—the Alpha in heat.

Is he really going to mate with me?

His hand slides up my bare skin, cupping my trembling jaw and holding me in place.

For a man who stares at me like I am prey, his touch is surprisingly gentle.

His thumb brushes against my lower lip, sending a trail of heat down my skin.

I can't breathe.

“Alpha wait…” I choke out, the plea barely a whisper. “Please, you’re not yourself—”

Something flickers in his dark eyes, a mix between pain and undiluted hunger.

Then his mouth claims mine in a kiss

He kisses exactly how I would have imagined the Alpha to.

All consuming. Overwhelming. Desperate.

All at once.

I feel like I am being eaten alive.

My mind screams in protest, but my body… my body arches into him, a traitorous flame igniting in my blood.

I shouldn’t feel this.

I try to push against the solid wall of his chest, but my strength is gone, melted by a warmth spreading from where our lips meet.

A low, possessive rumble vibrates from his chest into mine. “Mine,” he growls against my mouth, the word less a sound and more a primal truth that resonates within my bones.

“f**k…” he groans, pressing his hard, feverish body against mine. His arm locks around my waist, hauling me up until my legs instinctively wrap around him.

What are you doing, Elena? My mind is shouting, but my body doesn't seem to care.

Suddenly, he breaks the kiss, leaving me breathless, arching my head towards his as if to urge him to continue.

His eyes trail down my exposed skin, from my breasts up to my neck, before stopping on my lips again.

If I am going to stop this, now is the time.

“Alpha Landon,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.

His eyes snap to mine. The darkness in them feels final, but for a moment, I see a man drowning. I see the struggle. The heat isn’t just his desire; it is a prison, and I have stumbled into his cell.

My protest dies in my throat.

He takes my silence as surrender, lowering his head to kiss a trail from my chin down to my neck.

“You have to stop—” I say, but I don't sound like I mean it. My hands, which should be shoving him away, are fisted in his thick, black hair, holding him to me.

My mind dissolves into mush as his teeth graze the tender skin of my throat.

I freeze, realizing what he is about to do.

He wouldn't.

He can't possibly be this careless because of his heat.

He would never mark me.

But his teeth on my skin indicate otherwise, digging deeper between the point of pleasure and pain.

I close my eyes for a second.

This is it. The point of no return. Every warning, every story about the sacred, unbreakable mate bond screams in my head. I am an Omega. He is an Alpha. This bond will chain me to this pack, to him, forever. My freedom, hard-won tonight, will evaporate.

I…I can’t let that happen.

“No, don’t—” my eyes flash open, trying to shove him off desperately. , fueled by a final surge of panic. “Don’t mark me! I have to leave!”

But I am too late.

His teeth break into my skin. I cry out immediately, feeling sharp pain spread through my body—but it doesn’t end there. It seems to transform into white-hot energy, and I can feel bound to him, like a golden thread snapping into place.

I cry out, my fingers digging into his back.

Suddenly, I am more aware of his scent, of his touch, everything.

His body jerks against mine. The oppressive black of his eyes shatters, fades into a glorious, bright gold. His gaze feels like the sun on my skin, burning me up with his sight.

I can feel him inside me, like our minds are connected.

“Elena…” His voice is raw, ragged with wonder and residual need. His hands frame my face, his thumbs stroking my cheeks with a reverence that steals my breath. He looks at the mark on my neck, then back into my eyes. “You're mine.”

His eyes are filled with awe.

And in that awe, my last shred of fear dissolves. The bond isn’t a chain, it’s a promise tying us together.

“You claimed me,” I breathe, the truth of it settling into my soul.

Something final and fierce settles in his expression. “And you claimed me,” he says, his eyes dropping to my mark. “I can feel it.”

I reach up for his chest with shaky hands, wanting to touch his own mark then seems to snap loose.

He grabs my face with both hands and kisses me again, slower this time and deeper, like he is trying to taste my soul.

My hands latch on to his hair, holding him closer to me. I have never wanted anything for myself but at this moment all I want is him.

We fall to the bed, his heavy body pining me beneath as he continues to kiss me.

“I need you,” he groans, kissing down my neck.

My breath hitches as his mouth latches to my breast, sucking with an intensity that makes me dizzy.

My hands are buried in his long hair, holding him close to me.I have never allowed myself to want anything. But tonight, I want this. I want him. The world outside this cottage, the pack, the Betas—it all fades to gray.

He breaks away long enough to undo his pants, before he is back on me again.

I feel his hard bulge press between my legs as his hands push my legs open gently.

“Do you want this?” his voice is shaking from restraint.

My mind drifts to my ripped dress on the floor, the mark on my neck, the feeling of his lips on my skin.

We have come too far to stop now.

I want him.

“I don’t want you to stop,” I whisper, biting my lower lip.

“Good,” his eyes darken in desire as he lowers himself to me again.

The rest of the night unfolds in heat and shadows—his hands learning me with reverent hunger, his mouth exploring every inch of skin ignited by the bond, my body arching instinctively into his.

Every touch feels amplified, every kiss electric.

By the time dawn slips through the cottage window, I am curled against him, breathless, marked and completely changed.

Bound to him.

Claimed by him.

And as I feel his arm tighten around me in sleep, one last, clear thought rises before exhaustion pulls me under:

The runaway Omega is gone.

What wakes in her place will change everything.