The Unintended Claim

Avery

The deep, guttural word rumbled against my trembling lips right as he claimed my mouth.

I should have fought him off. I should have pushed his massive chest away, screamed for help, and pulled away in fear. Instead, inexplicably, my hands moved to his broad shoulders, my fingers digging into his hard, defined muscles. I pulled his massive frame closer, pressing my chest flush against his. I was desperate for his intense, searing touch to erase Reece’s cold dismissal. I needed this consuming heat to burn away the sheer, crushing misery of the entire night.

His kiss wasn't a tentative request. It was a raw, overwhelming claiming of my body. He angled my head, his dominant hand threading deep into my hair. His tongue swept past my parted lips, tasting me with a starving hunger, and I eagerly opened up for him. I tasted the wild, untamed essence of his raw power. It offered undeniable, physical proof that someone truly, deeply wanted me.

A brief flash of rational reality momentarily surfaced in my mind. The warning bells screamed that I did not even know this man's name. They reminded me he was a stranger I had just found bleeding in the dirt. I willfully ignored those warnings, shoving the rational thoughts into the darkest corner of my mind.

"Wait," I gasped out as his mouth broke the kiss and trailed down my jawline. "I don't—"

He ignored my weak protest. He growled against my flushed skin, his sharp teeth lightly scraping my throat, sending a shiver of pure electricity down my spine. His large hands found the hem of my shirt. I arched my back, eagerly helping him strip the fabric away. The cool forest air brushed my bare skin for only a fraction of a second before his burning heat replaced it. He traced my collarbone with his mouth, trailing hot, wet kisses down to the hollow of my throat. He pushed my bra down, exposing my bare breasts to the night air. His calloused hands cupped my soft flesh, his thumbs rolling over my hard nipples, making my breath hitch in my chest.

When the last piece of my clothing hit the damp moss, his hand slid down my stomach and went between my thighs. His long, thick fingers parted my wet folds, exploring my slick heat.

"So wet," he growled against my skin, his voice a rough vibration that shook my core. "So perfect."

That single word sent a massive shockwave through my chest. *Perfect.* Not worthless. Not a pathetic joke. Not a target for ridicule. The raw vibration of his deep voice shivered away every lingering, toxic feeling of worthlessness that had haunted me for years. I whimpered, bucking my bare hips into his touch without conscious thought, chasing the validation I had been starving for all evening.

He shifted his weight. His heavy, muscular body pressed me down into the soft moss. He settled deliberately between my thighs, and I felt the thick, hard length of his cock pressing directly against my slick opening. A sharp spike of genuine panic finally cut through the intoxicating haze clouding my mind.

"I've never done this before," I gasped against his mouth, the words coming out broken and fragile.

Instantly, the fierce, predatory intensity in his ice-blue eyes shifted. The dangerous gleam softened into profound tenderness. His large, warm hand came up to gently cup my face. His thumb brushed over my cheek, soothing my sudden spike of fear.

"Let me in," he breathed, a rough, desperate plea echoing in the quiet clearing.

The raw, vulnerable desperation in his deep tone melted my mounting fears. He wasn't forcing me. He wasn't taking from me. He was asking for my surrender. I took a shaky breath, relaxing my tense muscles, and surrendered my body to him.

He pushed his hips forward. The broad head of his cock breached my opening, stretching my tight entrance. The initial, sharp burn of penetration made me tense instinctively. He let out a low noise—part growl, part groan—his massive frame shaking above me as he held himself back, giving my body time to adjust to his thick size. He pushed deeper, slow and deliberate, until his hard cock was seated to the hilt inside my tight cunt.

The sharp burn quickly and miraculously dissolved. He began to move, pulling back and thrusting forward in careful, rhythmic strokes. The friction sent strange sparks shooting through my nerves. The stretch transformed into a shattering, unexpected pleasure that consumed my senses.

"Oh," I moaned softly, my fingers digging into the firm flesh of his back.

He groaned in response, quickening his pace. His cock drove deep into my wet core, hitting a sensitive spot that made stars burst behind my closed eyelids. I lifted my hips, meeting his heavy thrusts on pure instinct. My wet pussy clamped tightly around his hard shaft. Through this deep physical intimacy, he made me feel like I profoundly mattered. I felt a heavy, unspoken ancient connection weaving between our souls with every powerful thrust of his hips.

His hand moved down between our bodies, his thumb finding my swollen clitoris. He rubbed the sensitive bundle of nerves with devastating precision. I sobbed out loud. Not from pain, but from the pure ecstasy racing up my spine. The pleasure was so intense it bordered on agony.

"Please," I cried out, my nails leaving crescent marks on his broad shoulders. I did not know what I was asking for; I just knew I needed more.

"Let me in," he growled, his voice wrecked with sheer need. "All of you."

He drove his cock deep inside me, bottoming out. The pleasure peaked. An intense orgasm tore through my body like lightning. My inner muscles spasmed rhythmically around his hard cock, milking him. He snarled fiercely, his chest rumbling against mine. His sharp teeth heavily grazed the sensitive skin of my neck.

"Mine," he declared, his dominant voice vibrating directly against my throat.

Overwhelmed by the intense climax, I sobbed out, "Yours." In that exact, intense moment, I desperately meant it. I wanted to be his.

Without warning, his sharp canines sank deeply into the flesh of my throat.

The sharp, piercing pain of the bite struck me, but it was instantaneously swallowed by a massive, all-consuming wave of intense pleasure. Hot semen pumped out of his cock, flooding my deep core in heavy pulses. The permanent mate bond snapped into place. It locked into the very marrow of my bones, a deep, heavy resonance echoing through my entire body and tethering my soul to his. I rode out the final, glorious shockwaves of my orgasm, gasping for air.

He pulled me flush against his broad chest, burying his face in my hair. Wrapped securely in his powerful, muscular arms, I slowly slipped away into a heavy, dark sleep. I felt safe. I felt deeply wanted. I was his.

Dawn broke through the forest canopy, casting a pale, unforgiving light over the clearing. I woke to the gentle, heavy weight of his muscular arm draped heavily over my bare waist.

I lay perfectly still. His broad chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm against my naked back. His warm breath ghosted over the nape of my neck. I could still feel the lingering soreness between my thighs, the sticky wetness of his seed slowly leaking out of me onto the crushed moss below.

The deep bite on my throat fiercely throbbed with a dull, constant ache.

The terrifying, crashing reality of what had just transpired washed over me like a bucket of ice water. I had let a nameless, incredibly dangerous stranger mark me. For a few fleeting moments in the dark, his touch had felt like salvation. I had been so desperate to feel wanted that I threw away all rational thought and common sense.

In the harsh, unforgiving clarity of the morning light, the man sleeping peacefully beside me suddenly morphed into the source of a cold, paralyzing panic.

Every single werewolf at the Academy would instantly smell his powerful mark on my skin. I was permanently bound to him. A mating bite was a physical, undeniable claim under pack law. Everyone would know I belonged to this stranger.

I turned my head a fraction, studying his flawless, sleeping face. He was gorgeous, yet undeniably lethal.

Through the newly formed mate bond, I felt the steady hum of his emotions—contentment, possessiveness, satisfaction. But my own chest felt incredibly hollow. What would happen when he opened those ice-blue eyes? Would he look at me exactly the way Reece had? Would he look at me, smell the lack of magic in my blood, and realize with horror that he had accidentally and permanently bound himself to a worthless, wolfless nobody?

I knew with undeniable certainty that I could not survive that level of rejection. The thought of seeing disgust twist his beautiful features made my stomach churn with severe nausea.

I had to leave. Now. Before he woke up.

I carefully shifted my weight, trying to silently slip my naked body out from his warm embrace. As soon as I put an inch of distance between our bodies, an agonizing, painful physical protest flared deep in my chest. The newly formed mate bond demanded proximity. It clawed at my insides, begging me to stay by his side. I bit my lower lip to stifle a whimper, fiercely fighting against the pain. I slid out from under his heavy arm, ignoring the way my heart screamed in protest.

My chest physically cracked with an intense ache as his sleeping hand blindly reached out for the empty space I just left. His brow furrowed in sleep. I ignored the tearing pain in my heart, keeping my eyes averted from his prone form. I blindly gathered my scattered clothing from the damp forest floor, clutching the fabric to my bare chest with trembling fingers.

I turned and ran desperately from the clearing, my bare feet hitting the cold earth as I fled back to the Academy.

I did not stop running until I reached the cold, sterile safety of my dormitory. I locked the bathroom door behind me, stripped away my dirt-stained clothes, and stepped into the shower. I turned the handle until the water ran scalding hot. I grabbed a rough sponge and scrubbed my skin until it turned a painful, angry red.

I tried to wash him away. But the scalding hot water stubbornly refused to scrub his clinging, intoxicating scent of cedar and mint from my skin. It was everywhere. On my neck, between my thighs, deeply embedded in my pores.

I stepped out of the shower, shivering in the cool bathroom air. I stood naked before the steamed mirror, wiping away the condensation with a trembling hand.

I stared at my permanently marked reflection.

A bruised, exhausted girl stared back at me. Right there, on the sensitive curve of my throat, sat the dark, crescent-shaped bruise of his mating bite. The skin was broken, his powerful scent permanently fused with my own. The heavy, crushing weight of what my pathetic desperation to feel wanted had ultimately cost me finally settled heavily onto my shoulders. I had traded my entire future, my safety, and my anonymity for one single night of validation.

I felt defeated.

I walked out of the bathroom and crawled into my small, empty bed. I pulled the heavy blanket up, dragging it tightly over my head to hide from the daylight. Curled into a tight ball, I clutched the sheets and let myself cry without restraint. The tears soaked into my pillow as the heavy throb in my neck served as a constant, mocking reminder of my irreversible mistake.