His claim on me was absolute—my mate. And somehow, I felt safer here with him than I ever had. He couldn't use the power of the dark bond over me like my alphas could, but I couldn't stop listening to what he told me.
It was easier, in the darkness and the sound of his voice, to ignore the scents in the room—the eyes I knew were locked on us. I felt a rare spike of gratitude for my terrible eyesight—even when I accidentally glanced over at them, I couldn’t make out much.
But I was being claimed before a whole crowd of alphas.
Telling them who I belonged to—and for the first time in my life, I had somewhere I truly belonged.
SomeoneI belonged to—and he wanted me.
There was adrenaline in my veins as that truth finally settled in.
“You're so beautiful, little firefly,” he told me.
I couldn’t help the flutter in my heart at that name.
His fingers dug into my waist, lifting me. “I want you looking at me, Crescent.”
I felt the tip of his cock touch my entrance. For a moment, my mind flashed back to the only other time I'd felt that—as Luke Anderson had pressed it to my lips in my room. I shivered, remembering the darkness there too—the blindfold, and my eyes squeezed shut in terror.
I didn't want that here—not with him.
He was mine.
My perfect mate.
I opened my eyes at last, and the bright lights of the cage burned for a moment. Then I was looking into those beautiful crimson eyes.
His smile looked almost as if it caught him by surprise. “You're so perfect,” he breathed, pressing his tip further in. I bit my lip, a low moan slipping out before I could stop it.
My nerves were alight with the contact, though—not panicked or afraid, because he wasn't.
This was his. He'd got rid of the alpha who'd said that horrible thing. They wanted what he could give—what both of us could give.
A low, hot pain caused my breath to catch in my chest as he entered me, even slowly—he just felt so big, stretching me out.
He paused, eyes holding mine as he drew back. I shook my head, a whine of desperation slipping out. The pain was nothing compared to how much I needed him.
I reached up, cupping his neck, my eyes wide. “Sin!”
He leaned down and caught me off guard, his lips crushing mine as he pressed in all the way. My whine had nothing to do with the pain, as he gave my body something I'd needed for too long.
Something I didn’t want from anyone but this pack.
He drew out, slowly enough that I let out another desperate moan. “More.” The world wasn't making sense. I could barely remember where I was.
All I knew was that my mate wasn't fucking me properly.
I think I saw him fully lose it as I begged that of him, the last sane glittering lights dying in crimson eyes.
Next thing I knew, he’d caught my breast in his teeth and bit down, a low growl in his throat.
I felt a bond light between us. Omegas could bite each other—it wasn’t permanent like an alpha’s bite, but it created a strong emotional connection.
This was like nothing I could have ever imagined, and I truly, completely, couldn’t see, or feel, or even remember anyone else in the world but him.
SIN
The moment I bit her, she changed. The last dregs of nerves vanished as her nails dug into my skin, eyes wide and unafraid as they held mine, beautiful glittering orbs of gold.