DEVIL'S MATE

CHAPTER 3&4

Raven’s body still throbbed from Lucien’s touch.

Wrapped in one of his oversized shirts, Raven sat on the porch swing as the moon crept overhead, her mark still pulsing with heat. The connection between her and Lucien was maddening—pulling, magnetic, impossible to ignore. Yet her soul screamed something else. Something older. Colder.

A breeze swept over the trees, thick with the scent of blood and roses. Raven froze.

She wasn't alone.

"You wear his mark," a smooth voice drawled. "But that doesn’t mean he owns you."

She stood, defensive. "Who’s there?"

A tall figure emerged from the shadows—pale skin, obsidian hair cascading to his shoulders, and eyes like garnets lit from within. He was heartbreak and temptation incarnate.

"Dante Virel," he said, bowing with theatrical grace. "Vampire prince. And your other mate."

Raven's knees nearly buckled. "What the actual hell is happening?"

Dante stepped closer, his aura electric. "You're more than you’ve been told, Raven. Part wolf. Part... something darker. I felt the shift the moment Lucien marked you."

He reached out, fingers barely brushing her cheek. She shivered.

"You’re not just his. You’re mine too.

Before she could move, Dante's lips descended on hers—cooler than Lucien’s, yet just as consuming. Where Lucien was wildfire, Dante was a slow, seductive poison. Her mind spun.

He pulled back. "We’re bound now. Whether you want it or not."

She slapped him.

His grin only widened. "I like the fight in you. It’ll make surrender even sweeter."

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Lucien’s roar shook the trees. The ground trembled beneath Raven’s bare feet as he stormed into the clearing where Dante had stood just moments ago.

“Where is he?” Lucien’s voice was thick with rage.

“Gone,” Raven said, crossing her arms. “But he says he’s my mate too. Care to explain?”

Lucien’s jaw ticked. “He’s lying.”

“Is he?” she challenged. “Because this mark isn’t the only thing burning. I feel him too.”

Lucien grabbed her shoulders, but his touch was trembling. “Vampires don’t get mates. They choose who to feed from. He’s manipulating you.”

She stepped back. “He kissed me, Lucien. And my body responded.”

The snarl he unleashed was feral. “I’ll kill him.”

“You don’t own me,” she said coldly.

Lucien’s eyes flashed gold. “No. But I claim you.”

He surged forward, lips crushing hers in a brutal kiss that made her moan into his mouth.

It was punishing. Needy. Tangled in rage and lust.

Lucien growled and pushed her onto the table. She gasped as his mouth trailed fire down her neck. Her legs opened, inviting him closer.

He shredded her panties with one clawed finger and thrust two fingers into her slick heat. She cried out.

“I’ll remind you who made you moan first,” he growled.

Her hands dug into his hair as he knelt, devouring her like a man starved. Her release came fast and violent, and she trembled in his grip.

As she lay panting, Lucien kissed her inner thigh and looked up.

“We’re not done. Not until I erase every trace of him.”

Raven moaned as he lifted her again

“Say you’re mine,” he growled against her breast.

“Make me,” she gasped.

And he did.

Every thrust was a vow. Every bite, a promise.

But even in Lucien’s arms, part of her mind wandered to a vampire with blood-red eyes and a kiss like nightfall.