"Mate."
Elara once again heard Lucian say the word that made her squirm beneath his touch. The single syllable rolled off his tongue like a command and a plea at once, heavy with meaning that wrapped itself around her very being.
Her chest tightened, her lips parted in a shaky breath, and she felt as if her heart had skipped a beat only to pound twice as hard a moment later.
Lucian's gaze burned into her. There was something raw and unrecognizable in his eyes, something far deeper than she had ever seen before.
He felt unmoored from the man he once was, no longer the cold, relentless Lucian who had despised her with all his might. That hatred had evaporated as though it had never existed, replaced with a hunger so consuming it frightened even him.
All he could think of was the fire building inside him, a primal, ancient force that tugged at his soul. It urged him to waste no more time, to claim the girl fate had marked as his. The same girl he had once cursed now pulled every thread of his sanity apart, until only instinct remained.
Lucian's hand shot up, cupping Elara's face in a firm grip as if anchoring himself to her. His thumb brushed across her cheekbone, slow yet trembling, betraying the storm raging inside him.
His other hand slid down to her waist, fingers splaying possessively, tracing over the curves of her body as though memorizing every contour. Each touch was desperate, almost frantic, as though she were the only tether keeping him from breaking apart.
He drew her closer, until not even air seemed to exist between them. His nose brushed against hers, and he could feel the delicate tremor of her breath mingling with his.
Her chest rose and fell in shallow bursts, each exhale warm against his lips. Elara's fingers curled slightly at her sides, her body quivering as though she were balancing on the edge of surrender and resistance.
Lucian's eyes locked on hers, and in them he found the same wildfire that consumed him. Desire - raw, unrestrained burned there, a mirror to his own. It left no room for doubt, no time for hesitation.
Without another thought, he crushed his lips against hers. The kiss was not gentle. It was fierce, urgent, biting as though his life depended on the taste of her.
His teeth grazed her lower lip before pulling her deeper into the fire, and Elara, though startled for a heartbeat, melted against him. Her lips parted with a shudder, answering his need with her own.
The world around them seemed to vanish. The walls, the floor, even the air they breathed ceased to matter. There was only this moment, only the spell binding them together. Her hands finally lifted, trembling before they found his shoulders, clutching him with a strength born of desperation.
Lucian pulled her impossibly closer, molding her body into his as he devoured her mouth with unyielding hunger. Neither of them thought of breathing; air felt irrelevant when each kiss left them alive in ways they had never been before. Their hearts thundered in unison, their souls whispering in a language older than time.
Elara's knees weakened, and Lucian's arm tightened around her waist to steady her. His chest rumbled with a low growl, primal and possessive, vibrating against her body. Every fiber of him screamed to claim, to take, to never let her go.
It felt more than a kiss as if it was a spell, an enchantment woven into their very blood, which pulled them deeper, urging them to lose themselves in one another again and again. The more their lips moved together, the more the hunger grew, a hunger neither of them could hope to satisfy.
Lucian's desire had reached a breaking point, so much that it physically pained him to wait even a second longer. Every fiber of his being screamed to claim her, to sink his teeth into her delicate neck so deeply that the world itself would know she belonged to him.
Their lips parted at last, breathless and trembling. The kiss had left them both utterly disheveled—hair tangled, lips swollen, hearts pounding wildly against each other's chests. It wasn't enough.
Nothing about this fire between them would ever be enough. Elara's hands clung to the rough fabric of his shirt as if letting go would mean falling into an abyss. Lucian's grip was iron against her waist, holding her pressed so firmly against him that she could feel the dangerous heat rolling from his body.
Elara's thoughts swirled in chaos. All this time she had believed he hated her, despised her for being wolfless, for being less. Yet here he was, kissing her with a hunger that mirrored her own, a want so raw it stripped away every doubt she'd carried. The bond had won, it was stronger than resentment, stronger than pride.
Her breath hitched when Lucian leaned back just enough to meet her eyes. Those storm-gray orbs glowed faintly, almost inhuman, a sign of his wolf clawing to the surface. His chest rose sharply, lips pulling back as his fangs elongated. She felt her stomach twist with both fear and anticipation.
"Elara…" His voice was guttural, strained, like a man on the verge of losing control.
Before she could even answer, Lucian dragged her closer, eliciting a broken gasp from her throat. A ripple of pleasure coursed through her as his hot breath fanned against her neck. His control shattered, he buried his face into the crook of her neck, his lips brushing against the sensitive skin before his fangs pierced deep.
The world seemed to explode.
White-hot pleasure tore through Lucian as though he had been starving his entire life and only now tasted sustenance. His body shuddered, chest rising and falling in erratic waves as the intoxicating essence of their bond seeped into him. A low, guttural growl rumbled from his chest, primal and unrestrained.
Elara's knees buckled beneath her, but Lucian's arm was firm around her waist, holding her upright as though she were the only anchor he had in this storm. The pain of the bite was there, sharp and cutting, but it was drowned beneath the overwhelming ecstasy flooding her senses. She could only moan, trembling against him, surrendering wholly to the bond.
Finally.
The word echoed in her chest as tears stung her eyes. Finally, she was no longer alone. Finally, she was not an outcast. With Lucian's mark, she had a mate—a mate who had chosen her, who desired her not for what she lacked but for who she was. For the first time in her life, she felt whole.
But the bliss was fleeting.
Lucian's fangs retracted, pulling free from her neck, and the sudden loss was agony. A hollow, tearing emptiness spread through her chest.
The mark of an Alpha demanded strength, strength Elara had never possessed. It was as if fire was searing across her neck and shoulder, carving into her fragile body. Her breath came in sharp, shallow gasps, her fingers clawing desperately at his arms as the pain overwhelmed her.
Her cry was silenced by the warmth of his tongue against her skin. Lucian licked the wound with slow, deliberate strokes, his wolf instinctively soothing, sealing, comforting.
The fire dulled into a trembling ache, replaced by waves of heady pleasure that rolled through her, leaving her shaking, breathless, and aching for more. Her body quivered, torn between pain and unbearable desire.
"Elara…" His voice was a rasp now, weak, broken.
Her lashes fluttered, and before she could respond, the unthinkable happened.
Lucian's grip slackened. His strong arms, which only a moment ago had been her cage, her anchor, her entire world, slipped away. His body collapsed against hers for a fleeting second before he staggered back. Then, with a heavy, lifeless thud, he hit the ground.
"Lucian!" Her heart stopped, terror swallowing the remnants of her pleasure as she dropped to her knees beside him, her hands trembling over his still body.