The groan of pure masculine satisfaction rumbled from deep inside him as he took her and she melted in his arms. Thrust for thrust, Rayven matched his advance until they danced in a friction of slick flesh and flex of muscles. Her fingernails dug into his chest, drawing blood. She gasped as the beads dotted his skin, but when she tried to pull away, he covered her hand with his.

“Mark me all you want.” His voice ripped out raw, his canines extending and flashing in the fire’s glow. He pulled her down to him and increased his deliciously tormenting pace.

She released a full-throated moan and bent to trace across the already disappearing wounds. He grunted and moved a hand into her hair, fisting it to keep her close.

Biting back a sob, she licked over his flesh. She’d known only fleeting joy in her life. Tonight would be one of the memories she’d keep forever. An emotional treasure and burst of pain all rolled into one. The man she craved and could never keep past these precious moments.

Arousal cramped her with a writhing spasm of sweet ecstasy, and she nuzzled his chest, her canines scraping skin. Ritual beat to claim him rushed through her veins, forcing her closer, urging her to finish and claim him. No. She couldn’t do this. But the insistent sizzle along her nerves shouted yes she could. What was happening to her?

“Rayven.”

At the shock of his gruff voice, she broke from the mating ritual she only knew from instinct. A ritual she’d forbidden herself to consider and one she couldn’t complete with an enforcer of another clan—a man who’d given his oath to another alpha. She pulled back, desperately realizing how close she’d come to initiating their mating. If he didn’t hate her before, he would after she left her mark. “Don’t. Don’t give me words you don’t mean. We can give it this one night, and in the morning, I’m not going to blame you. But please, keep only honesty between us.”

“If you won’t accept my words, then take me.” His thick-muscled thighs spread her legs farther apart, and his thrusts stoked pleasure in places she’d never experienced before. He palmed the back of her head, bringing her down to him again. “As you want.”

How could she resist this?

Another lick, at his throat this time and she was so close, with a stronger hunger beating at her. The thundering rhythm of his pulse and irresistible growling rumble of his beast begged to her to taste him.

“I need—” She met his thrusts, one arm curled over his shoulder clutching him to her. Oh, she needed. Deep inside, she felt fur brush beneath her skin, the desire of her bear’s insistence and her own longing building as one. She ran her tongue along his neck, following with kisses on the flesh that called to her and his pulse that beat just out of her reach.

As close as she could get to his skin, it wasn’t enough. The coil of pleasure building between her thighs wasn’t enough. Mouth open against his neck, she nipped. At first careful nips, but her canines grew into monstrous things with a mind of their own.

“I—” She appeased the kernel of impulse urging her to bite by licking again, now tasting the salty, woodsy male flavor of him at the hollow of his throat. It still wasn’t enough. “Want you.”

Still, as her desperation built, he slid his fingers into her folds and stroked her, taking her to the brink. “Then do it.”

He couldn’t mean that. He’d be a part of her forever. Which she wanted more than anything, but he couldn’t want that as well.

Then he moved his mouth over her uninjured shoulder and clamped her skin between his teeth. Not hard enough to pierce her skin but enough to send her climax to the brink. Before she’d spiraled into her release, his palm at her nape urged her toward him again. “Take what you need of me, Rayven.”

With his words, the tether holding her at bay snapped. Her fangs sank deep into his neck. A second burst of pleasure bubbled through her, wild and ablaze with emotions she barely dared name. Lust—uncontrollable. Pleasure—ah yes. Love—her one and only. Bonded mate—she was his forever. As he cried out her name and she withdrew her fangs, a foreign sensation flooded inside her, a connection that punched in her solar plexus like a tidal wave. The tremulous but distinct roar of her bear followed, keening with approval.

Weightless in Breslin’s arms, Rayven relaxed. A shiver rippled across her skin at the tender care she and her animal enjoyed in his easy embrace. Could he break her heart if she kept quiet about how deeply she’d fallen for him? It hardly mattered. Her silence wouldn’t stop her from yearning. Risking her newfound happiness, she looked up into his eyes.

Gold sparked in the molten-steel gaze meeting hers, man and beast, both there for her to see. As much as her heart rejoiced at the sight, she couldn’t stop the sick realization that both had refused finalizing their mating bond with her.

* * *

Breslin stiffened, his canines elongating even as his climax heightened and swept with blistering pleasure through his body. Claimed, but not mated. Bound, but not enough to know her thoughts and feel her emotions. With extreme care, he rolled with her onto his side.

Not ready for it to end, he glanced at her. Bright gold glistened beneath Rayven’s lashes as she withdrew her teeth from him, the sign of her beast. His own roared inside him, pleased her bear had revealed herself and both had claimed him.

Hell, he wanted this. But the struggle to hold back—to refuse himself and her the pleasure of sinking his fangs into her flesh and making her his, nearly sapped his will. So strong was the compulsion to claim his mate, he let loose a strangled cry at separating his body from hers. He bowed his head, burying his face against her neck, keeping his razor-sharp teeth from scraping across her pale, creamy flesh.

But oh, how he wanted her. His cat snarled at the lost opportunity. But he couldn’t claim her.

Not now.

Perhaps not ever, unless he managed a miracle.

He cradled her in his arms, aware of her searching his face and of the sadness radiating from her in a steady wave. He couldn’t allow that.

“No regrets, love. Never between us.” He licked at his own blood on her lips and delved for another searing kiss. He didn’t expect her to forget what she’d done. Nor did he expect her to forgive him for not finishing their mating bond. But he’d be damned if they parted without her knowing he wanted her beyond reason. He was hard and ready again as he tucked her against him and covered them with the blanket, but man and beast were done with pleasure for the night.

In those pleasure-filled moments, he’d memorized her glow, though the shine in her eyes nearly choked him with regret. She might never say the words. Still, with her feelings laid bare, she was easy to read. His throat tightened and his pulse stuttered as stark truth washed over him. In an instant, his years of plotting and revenge had shattered, laid waste by a newer, more powerful threat—the heart beating beside him.

The rhythm of her pulse matched his. Yet her heart should never be tied to a soul as dark as his own. His fated mate faced a conspiracy to destroy her within her own clan and the ultimate wrath from alphas who would stop at nothing to send a message to the lesser beings they ruled. Some decent alphas existed. But too many feared the possibility of death by their progeny. Rayven would be their example—even though she was innocent. And if they sensed his mark on her, sensed she had an alliance with Black’s clan, they’d exact vengeance without pretense of a tribunal.

He stroked his hand over her silky hair, following the curve of her back to her waist as he tried to still his mind to the possibilities. Unfortunately, her fate rested on too many unpredictable events.

One thing, he promised himself. If she fell, he would perish with her. The blinders he’d forced into place since he met her no longer worked, and he refused to hide behind them. When he looked into her bright eyes, he didn’t see her father or the past—only an incredible woman determined to save and protect those she loved. For some unbelievable reason, she counted him among her charges. And she’d branded him with that love. In the handful of days since he’d first laid eyes on her, he no longer cared what was right or wrong or just. His entire purpose now revolved around saving her, ensuring her survival. For he needed her to live whole and free in this world with a desperation that nearly robbed him of breath.

Some might call his epiphany a blessing. But he was truly cursed.

Unless he could find proof to clear her by tracking down a witness and convincing an unwitting alpha council of her innocence, destiny planned to bring him to his knees by destroying him in a way that his family’s death hadn’t.

He nuzzled her neck as her eyelids drifted shut, his fingers bunching in her cloud of black curls until her breathing became steady and shallow. Still, he held her, unable to let go, equally unable to stop monitoring the fine thread that wove from his body to hers. A flow pulsed in that thread. Faint and one way, but firm enough to reassure him of his connection to her.

He didn’t need to close their bond to feel her distress at his refusal to claim her. Deep in his heart, he knew he couldn’t commit such a betrayal with her. She deserved to be healthy, free of the tribunal, and confident in him as a mate.

She deserved choices. Perhaps she deserved a better man. If nothing else, he intended to make certain she survived to have that option.

“Continue to be strong, Rayven,” he whispered. “And I promise to move heaven and hell to get you free.”

He could have sworn she sighed, but her eyes never opened.

Carefully, he wrapped her again in blankets. Once she lay peaceful before the fire, he stood and stared at her for long, painful minutes. The weight and tightness in his chest warned him a lifetime couldn’t dislodge the bond he’d forged with this woman. In her, he saw a rare mix of courage and passion embodying all the good qualities of her bloodline.

No wonder her father had been such a monster. His daughter had inherited all the decency, humanity, and beauty of their legacy.

Breslin tucked the blanket closer around her shoulders. “When tomorrow comes, fight, sweetheart. Because I promise to keep fighting too.” With a sigh, he rose and headed for the kitchen.

Phone again in hand, he stared out the window and keyed in a number before heading onto the porch and pulling the door closed. “Grizz.”

A half growl, half bark answered. “Where have you been? Deacon’s had Brindy doing satellite searches for hours.”

“I’m back. But I need a favor.” Silence met his request. Not surprising given he’d never asked a favor from anyone. “It’s important.”

“Yeah, I’m here. You injured?” The volume of the growls increased. “She hurt you?”

“No.” He held the phone away and shook his head. Had they all lost their minds? “I need you to come to my cabin.”

“Okay. I can bring her in.”

“No. Let her sleep until morning. Rayven will come out when she’s ready.”

“Since when do we pander to prisoners?”

A rumble built in Breslin’s chest before he could control it. “This is my mission. If you can’t handle my request, I’ll call someone else to escort her to Deacon who can follow my orders.”

Grizz inhaled sharply. “Sure you aren’t a little compromised?” As if he could see Breslin prepared to hang up, he rushed on, his voice dropping several octaves, laced with a forced humor. “Fine. Don’t get all twisted in a knot. I’ll come up there and wait for her ladyship to wake from her beauty sleep. But what if she doesn’t come out? Or runs?”

“She won’t run. Wait until she comes out. No matter how long it takes. If anything happens, it’s on my head.”

“Speaking of which, how long before you intend to meet with Deacon?”

“I’m headed out in a few minutes.”

“Good. The alphas are showing up in seventy-two hours. That’s three days for those of us who haven’t been traipsing around the country and dining in the mountain air. We also expect Alarico and Sheridan to arrive earlier. Seems there was a general outcry about you being sent to fetch the Karndottir heir.”

Breslin pinched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut. Brindy or Callum? Which one deserved death for mentioning his food requests? Callum. Definitely, Callum. Idiotic, honorable bobcat probably thought he was safeguarding Rayven if everyone knew Breslin’s business.

“Oh, and we’ve been fielding calls for you from some guy by the name of Quinn. Ring any bells?”

“He leave a number?”

“No. Said he’d call back. But he’s not one of ours. The number’s international.”

“Ask Shanae if she’d get me a new phone. I’m leaving mine here. Make sure whoever takes Quinn’s next call gives him my new number.”

“Ask Shanae? Since when do you ask anyone anything? What happened to you and where is the real Breslin Taggart?”

“Since Shanae is Deacon’s assistant and the mother of the junior in training she requested I mentor.” Yeah, Trevor. Hell, he’d almost forgotten about the boy in the chaos of the last few days. He was going to have to reorganize his thoughts about how to handle the boy with a little more patience with less leftover bitterness about life. Maybe climbing trees wasn’t a bad idea, especially for a young wolf with dangerous enemies.

“Politically correct and thoughtful,” Grizz continued in a smug tone. “I knew sending you to Karndottir territory was a bad idea.”

“Ten minutes and I’m headed out for Deacon.”

“Right.”

Breslin went back inside and tucked the phone beside Rayven on the mattress. In spite of his better judgment, he brushed a few loose curls away from her face and leaned close to inhale her scent, rubbing his cheek against hers. Before he could change his mind and kiss her, he turned away and finished his tasks.

Finally done, he stepped out onto the porch in the crisp moonlight. His cougar whined inside him. It wanted its mate. “I know, boy. But we can take better care of her my way.”

He leapt from the porch, springing off the gravel at the bottom of the steps on large paws. Freedom for his beast into the wildness of the night.

Yet the farther he ran from Rayven, the closer he felt to death.