Chapter Thirty-Seven

Serena woke up in the infirmary, a warm lump settled in the bed beside her, pressing her firmly into the rail. She blinked at Gabe’s long body sharing the bed with her, taking up more than half of the large hospital bed. He was wearing a blue hospital gown, and he was panting hard, his rib cage heaving. His body burned through their hospital gowns as if on fire.

“Gabe?” Her voice was raspy.

Maria came up to the bedside and gently shushed her. “He’s finally asleep. He’s been awake for hours. He won’t leave you.” She handed Serena a cup with a straw. “Here, have some water.”

Serena drank greedily, the cool liquid easing the desert of her throat. She gazed at Gabe. His skin was flushed, and his body throbbed with tension. “They didn’t lock him up.”

“He’s too far gone for that.” Maria’s smile seemed a little wistful. “If they’d taken him away he would have clawed through every wall in the building to get to you. How do you feel?”

“Like a train hit me.” She thought for a moment, taking inventory. Chest, stomach, legs—it all ached. But on the plus side she was alive and sitting up. “Better than I expected.”

“That’s the drugs. Nothing broken, just lots of major bruises. You got lucky, chica.”

Gabe stirred, lifting his head and opening his eyes. He looked at Maria and growled.

Maria made a tsk sound. “She’s awake. I’m leaving. No need to take that tone.” She shook her head at him. “You be good or I’ll be back sooner than you might like.” And she went out, closing the door.

“Gabe, you’re so hot. What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“It’s the fever. It’s taking over.” His eyes burned at her. “You said you’d be my mate. I don’t have long before the wolf takes over, and if that happens, there’s no way we can mate. I’ll be too far gone. Did you mean it?”

“I meant it.” She stroked the side of his face, and he groaned, his body trembling against hers. “But before we do, I need you to understand who I am. My wolf is every bit as big a part of me as yours is to you. Can you respect that?”

“Honey, I respect it. I honor it. I can feel my wolf responding to yours. It knows your wolf is real. And so do I.”

Gabe wasn’t perfect. He was stubborn and as macho as they came. But he was a big enough man to admit when he was wrong. And she couldn’t ask any more than that of an alpha wolf. She pressed her face to his neck, pulling in his scent as if she’d never get enough. He smelled of antiseptic and hospital, but underneath, he was her mate.

His chest heaved with the air he was taking in. “Serena, I can’t wait anymore. I know you’re injured. I’ll be as careful as possible, but we need to do the Bite now.”

“I don’t care about the pain. That’s what the drugs are for.” She grinned at him. Then the grin faded away as she saw the need in his eyes and desire kicked in. “Kiss me, Gabe Wulfric. Give me the Bite. Make me your mate.”

He gently touched her lips with his. Electricity jumped between them. She pressed her mouth to his, but he held back.

Frustration ran through her. She wanted more. Needed more.

“You’re being too careful,” she whispered into the kiss.

He groaned. “You asked for it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to him. Pain flared. His mouth ground down on hers. She kissed him harder and the pain receded, her world filling with everything Gabe.

The heat from his fever washed over her, catching her on fire.

Suddenly, she couldn’t get enough of him, his mouth, his teeth, his lips. She wanted him to taste and lick every bit of her. To devour her like she’d never been devoured before. This was her mate and every part of her knew it from the wolf inside to the dreamwalker outside. No doubts.

She ran her hands all over him, knowing he felt the same way she did. Knowing that from this day forward, they would be mates. They were pressed together in the narrow bed, but it didn’t matter. She wanted to be even closer. She rubbed against him, growling at last barriers between them. He tore his gown off and threw it onto the floor.

She reached for the ties on the back of her neck. “Help me. I want to be skin to skin.” Together they took her gown off over her head. As the air touched her fever-hot skin, she shivered.

Without the layers of fabric between them his body was burned against hers. A responding heat-flash ignited inside her.

She kissed him and this kiss went wild. His mouth, her mouth; it was all a blur of tongues tangling together sending rushes of pure feeling through her body. She couldn’t tell who was shaking harder, her or Gabe. But it didn’t matter. They were in sync.

He sank his jaws into her neck in a wide shallow bite, licking her skin between his teeth. It rushed straight to her center, and she lifted her hips and pushed against him.

“I want you on top of me,” she panted, rolling flat, and pulling him with her.

He released her neck and moved with her. Cradling her head between his forearms, he settled his cock against her pussy.

She shuddered, urgent need rushing through her body.

“Gabe.” It was barely a word. More a gasp of desperation.

A massive quake rolled through his body rippling against her from tip to toe. “I’m so sorry. This is going to be fast.” His words were almost indecipherable, his voice was filled with so much growl.

His need and her need rocked through her. Her wolf rose to the surface, the animal’s insistent compulsion to be close ripping through her. She gripped Gabe’s arms and lifted her hips to his, trying to find his cock with her pussy. Wanting him inside.

“Good. Do it. Now.” She growled and bit him on the neck.

He growled back and pushed into her, hard. It was too soon, too much, but it was exactly what she wanted. She pushed back, taking and giving until the tightness eased into pleasure. His movements drove her to press closer to him, the fever washing through her.

“Oh, God. Serena.” His wolf was in his eyes, and his teeth grazed her neck.

Anticipation quivered through her, and her eyes slammed shut. His teeth sank in, right over her jugular. Pain. Pleasure. It all shot through her in a maelstrom of colors that danced across her closed eyelids and rocked her into an orgasm. This was it. This was the Bite.

 

Gabe’s teeth were locked onto Serena’s neck, the blood from her throat pulsing in his mouth. He couldn’t tell where he ended and his wolf began as he shuddered his orgasm into his mate. All he knew was she was theirs. Forever.

She clung to him, and he never wanted to let go. But sanity slowly kicked in. The swirl of colors from the Bite slowly receded, and he opened his jaws and released her.

It was as if he were seeing her anew. Each detail of her face at this moment would be something he would never forget. The sweep of her hair stark on the white pillow. The pale skin of her delicately closed eyelids edged by jet-black lashes. The flush on her cheeks and the still-rapid breath coming between her lips.

And the drops of blood edging the marks of his claim.

A howl rose in his throat. He couldn’t keep it back, didn’t want to keep it back. It poured out in a joyous belling, echoing off the painted cement blocks of the walls. He howled it to the world—Serena Lowell was his mate.

No one else would ever do this to her. Not that piece of shit who’d died up on that mountain. Not Sam, his own twin. No one.

Her eyes fluttered open. The look in her eyes was dark and mysterious and full of wonder. “Oh, Gabe.”

It was all she needed to say. He understood. He moved off her and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her.

“I should do something about this.” Her fingers touched her throat, and she started to move away.

His arms tightened around her. He couldn’t let her go. “Not yet. Please.” He craned is neck up. “It’s already coagulating. Give it a minute and we’ll get you cleaned up. But I need a second.”

He needed more than a second. He needed the rest of her life. But the urge to tend to his mate was strong and after a little bit he forced himself to ease up. “Okay. You stay here.” He went to stand, but his legs gave out, and he had to hang onto the grab bar on the side of the bed for stability.

“Are you okay?”

“A little shaky.” The fever still rushed within him, quieter, but still there. It would take a day or so to ease. He handed Serena some gauze from the prep table and looked harder at his mate. “Are you okay?”

“It’s pulsing under my skin. It’s like heat and pressure.” She dabbed at her neck and let out a breath. “I didn’t know it would be like this.”

“Your virus has been dormant since adolescence. Now you’ve got my variant inside you. It’ll take a few days for your antibodies to adjust.” He knew it shouldn’t please him, but it did. He was as puffed up as if he’d won a marathon and a wide grin spread across his face.

“I see that. You macho wolf. You feel like you’ve spread your claim all over me.”

“Who? Me?” He tried, but his grin got bigger.

“Jerk.” Serena threw one of her pillows at him, but the smile on her face was just as wide.

He caught the missile and laughed, tossing it back on the bed. “You’re mine. Mine.” All at once his wolf pushed to get out. His smile faded away, and he stalked back to the bed, the rest of his words almost a growl. “And once that virus has done its job, you’ll smell like you’re mine from the inside out.”

“And you’re mine. My mate.” The laughter faded from Serena’s face, replaced by such an intense look of love that it shot straight to his gut.

He climbed back onto the bed and snuggled under the covers, pressing his body to the fever-hot skin of his mate.

Her head rested on the crook of his arm. “We have a lot of challenges ahead,” she said. “Sam, for one.” She laced her fingers into his.

“We’ll face them together.”

She tightened her grip on his hand. “Together.”

Serena’s breath slowed. His body took its cue from hers and finally gave into his exhaustion. Sleep began to sneak up over him. The pack. His twin. His job. Even where they would live were all things they’d have to figure out. But no matter what, they were fever bound together forever.

Mated. For life.