Cassandra digs her nails into Darius's shoulder, her instincts sparking like lightning the moment he breaches her barrier. Her first reaction, one drilled into her by years of training and surviving, is to fight, to push him off, to regain control.
But she doesn't.
Because he's kissing her like she's the only thing tethering him to the earth.
Fierce. Deep. Consuming.
Her mind short-circuits. Her body, traitorous and craving, melts into his.
The overwhelming pleasure surges through her like wildfire, burning away every shred of hesitation. Her legs wrap around his waist on instinct, her hips rolling up to meet his in a rhythm that's less about control and more about surrender.
The connection is primal, older than both of them, older than magic.
Her moan is swallowed by his mouth as she rocks against him, her body a live wire. She feels everything, every inch of him...inside her, and the stretch of him nearly undoes her.
Darius growls low against her lips, a warning that rumbles through his chest and vibrates against hers.
He's barely holding on.
"Cassandra," he grits out, voice ragged, "you're playing with fire."
Her lips curl in a defiant smirk, breathless and flushed. "Then burn with me."
That's all it takes.
His restraint snaps, his control unravelling thread by thread as he slides out of her heat, only to drive back in...harder, deeper, desperate. A rhythm builds between them: wild and fast, then slow and deliberate, every movement sending shockwaves of pleasure through them both.
The cabin fills with the sound of skin against skin, of gasps and groans and whispered names.
Outside, the forest falls still, like the earth itself is holding its breath.
Inside, magic crackles through the air like static. Their bond...the sacred, elusive link between true mates, tightens with each thrust, each shared breath. Threads of energy lace between them, glowing faintly, as if the Moon herself is weaving them together.
Darius kisses down her jaw, along the column of her throat, his lips trailing heat over flushed skin. He finds the place where her scent is strongest, where her pulse pounds just beneath the surface.
Right where he's meant to mark her.
He sucks gently, drawing another gasp from her lips, then grazes his teeth over the sensitive skin.
"Mine," he whispers against her flesh.
And then he bites.
Not to harm.
To claim.
To bind.
The mark sears into her skin with a flash of warmth, sending a jolt of pure pleasure through her. She cries out, arching beneath him, as her climax crashes through her like a storm, pulling her under, pulling him with her.
But she's not done.
Even as her body trembles with release, her wolf rises within her, fierce and instinctual and she lifts her head, baring her teeth, searching for his throat.
She finds the space just above his collarbone, leans forward, and sinks her teeth into him.
The moment her fangs pierce his skin, Darius howls.
The sound is raw, wild, free, a sound that echoes off the trees and into the night.
His body jerks, and with a final, devastating thrust, he falls apart inside her. Wave after wave of pleasure slams into him as his release pours into her...hot and thick and endless.
Their bodies stay locked, unmoving, pulsing with aftershocks. His cock swells inside her, locking them together, a biological bond sealing their spiritual one.
They lie tangled in each other, trembling, breathless.
He groans softly as her core continues to contract around him, milking every drop from him. His forehead rests against her shoulder, and his teeth gently withdraw from her mark. He licks the bite with slow, reverent strokes, soothing it, sealing it.
Cassandra does the same to him, her tongue warm against his skin. They both moan, not from pain...but from the echo of connection. The act of healing deepens the bond, the sensation threaded with something deeper than nerves.
Then...stillness.
A silence that hums with completion.
They stay like that for several moments...locked together, wrapped in each other.
Finally, Darius lifts his head. His hair is damp, tousled. His eyes, once wild, are now soft, glassy with emotion. He brushes her damp hair back from her face, cradling her like she's breakable. Like she matters more than anything.
"You're mine," he says quietly.
But it isn't a possessive claim.
It's reverence.
A vow.
A truth spoken with awe.
"You're mine too," she whispers.
Emotion thickens between them, impossible to ignore. A warmth that isn't just from sex or bonding or magic, but from something real.
Love.
He presses his lips to hers. "I love you."
His words are whispered with so much raw, open vulnerability that it steals her breath more than any thrust ever could.
Cassandra cups his face, tears slipping from her lashes, but she's smiling through them. "I love you too."
The bond completes in that moment...fully, fiercely, beautifully. A flood of emotions rushes between them, shared through the invisible tether that now binds their souls.
She feels him.
Not just his love...but his pain, his fears, his hopes.
And he feels hers.
Darius chokes on the flood of feeling. He's never known anything this consuming. After the mate he lost, he thought he'd never feel this. Never deserve this.
But now, with Cassandra...he doesn't just feel whole.
He feels reborn.
He wraps his arms around her, pulling her tight against him as tears sting the corners of his eyes. He doesn't speak. He doesn't need to. Every beat of his heart says what his mouth can't.
Still joined at the hips, he shifts with care, gently rolling to lie on his back, bringing her with him. Cassandra rests against his chest, her body heavy with satisfaction, her cheek pressed to his heart.
His arms wrap around her securely, one hand stroking her dark hair, the other trailing lazy circles along her bare spine.
"Comfortable?" he asks, voice rough but teasing.
"I'd say smug is the better word," she murmurs sleepily. "But yeah. You'll do."
He snorts a laugh. "You always keep me humble."
She grins against his chest. "Someone has to."
Silence stretches between them again, comfortable, sacred. The kind that needs no filling.
The mark on her neck throbs faintly, not from pain, but from the bond pulsing in time with her heartbeat. The same rhythm she now shares with him.
Her eyes flutter closed, lulled by the steady rise and fall of his chest.
"I could get used to this," she mumbles.
Darius kisses the top of her head. "You better. You're not going anywhere."
He watches her as her breathing slows, her face softening into sleep.
And for the first time in a long, long while...he lets himself close his eyes too.
Wrapped around each other.
Two wolves.
One bond.
One future.