The Captain Claim

Five

CALLUM

My wolf went completely insane.

Every instinct I had was screaming at me to close the distance, to touch her, to take what she was offering. The bond was singing now, electric and demanding.

But I couldn't.

Not like this.

"Lila. You don't mean that."

"Don't I?"

"You're drunk."

"Not that drunk. Not drunk enough to forget what I'm saying."

I gripped the edge of the bar, knuckles going white. My control was hanging by a thread. "This is a bad idea."

"Probably."

"You'll regret it in the morning."

"Maybe. But right now? Right now, I don't care about morning."

The thread snapped.

Not completely. But enough.

Enough that when she leaned in closer, when she looked at me like I was the answer to something, I couldn't bring myself to pull away.

My wolf was howling in triumph.

Yes. Finally. Claim her. She's ours.

"You're playing with fire," I managed.

"Good. I told you I wanted to burn."

I put my hand on her knee. Just to ground myself. Just to feel her warmth through the denim.

It was a mistake.

The bond flared so bright I nearly gasped.

"Last chance," I said, voice rough. "Walk away now, and we forget this conversation happened."

She put her hand over mine. "I'm not walking anywhere."

I leaned in. Close enough to smell her shampoo, something floral and sweet. Close enough to see the gold flecks in her eyes.

"You're going to be trouble, aren't you?"

"Absolutely."

Take her, my wolf demanded. She wants this. We want this. Stop fighting.

"Callum," she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Stop being noble. Just for tonight."

I surrendered.

Not completely. But enough.

"Just for tonight," I agreed.

Then I kissed her.

The bond exploded.

It felt like lightning running through my veins, like every nerve ending in my body suddenly came alive. My wolf was roaring, triumphant and possessive and absolutely wild with the reality of her mouth on mine.

She tasted like whiskey and something sweeter underneath. Her hands found my hair, tugging slightly, and I had to fight the urge to deepen the kiss right there in the middle of the bar.

When we broke apart, I was breathing hard.

"We should get out of here," I said.

"Your place or mine?"

The last place to go would be her house. But mine was not an option either. My mother would ask questions I wasn't ready to answer. Questions like why I was bringing home a girl who smelled like whiskey and why my wolf was practically vibrating with barely contained energy.

"Mine's closer," I lied.

The family loft was across town, but it was private. No one would bother us there.

"Then what are we waiting for?" She slid off her stool and grabbed my hand.

The touch sent another jolt through me.

I pulled her outside to where my bike was parked. She looked at it, then at me, and something like excitement flickered across her face.

"Ever been on one of these?" I asked.

"No."

"Hold on tight."

I helped her onto the back, and when her arms wrapped around my waist, my wolf purred.

Ours, it whispered. Finally ours.

The ride to the loft took twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of feeling her pressed against my back, her grip tightening whenever I took a turn too fast.

By the time we pulled up to the building, my control was shot.

I led her upstairs, unlocked the door, and we stepped into the dark loft. The space was open and modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Moonlight streamed through the glass, painting everything silver.

I turned to face her.

Now what?

I'd kissed girls before. More than I could count. But this was different. This mattered in a way nothing else ever had.

Because she was my mate.

And I had no idea how to tell her.

‘Hey, by the way, I'm a werewolf, and we're bound for life now. Surprise.’

Yeah. That would go over well.

My wolf didn't care about any of that. It just wanted me to claim her, to make the bond permanent and undeniable.

But I couldn't scare her.

I was still trying to figure out what to say when she closed the distance between us.

Her hands found my chest, sliding up to my shoulders. Then she stood on her toes and kissed me.

My wolf went utterly mad.

Claim her. Claim her. CLAIM HER.

I kissed her back, harder this time, backing her up until she hit the window. The glass was cool against her back, and she gasped into my mouth.

This was happening.

This was really happening.

Ours, my wolf kept chanting. Mark her. Make her ours forever.

I broke the kiss long enough to look at her. Her pupils were blown wide, her lips swollen, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Lila," I said, and my voice came out rougher than I intended. "There's something you should know."

"Later," she whispered. "Tell me later."

Then she pulled me back down and kissed me again, and every rational thought I had scattered like smoke.

I should have insisted. I should have been the responsible one. But her touch burned through my shirt and straight into my bloodstream, and suddenly I couldn't remember why talking was so important..

I poured everything into that kiss. All the restraint I'd been holding onto, all the hunger I'd been suppressing. She moaned into my mouth and the sound went straight to my c**k. Her body pressed against mine and fit perfectly, like she'd been designed specifically for me.

My hands found her hips and yanked her closer. She gasped and I took advantage, deepening the kiss, my tongue exploring every inch of her mouth. I wanted to memorize her taste, the way she responded to me, the little sounds she made when I sucked on her bottom lip.

My wolf howled its approval. Claim her. Make her ours. She belongs to us.

I broke the kiss before I lost what little control I had left. My breath came in ragged gasps. Lila looked up at me with eyes dark with desire, her lips swollen from my kisses, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Lila." I could barely get her name out. "I want you. More than I've ever wanted anything."

She smiled, slow and seductive. "Wow. Okay. I want you too, Callum. So stop talking and show me."

But she did not understand what I was saying.

For better or worse, Lila was mine now.

Because she was my mate. My destiny. And now that I had found her, I would never let her go.