Chapter 4 Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Cassian’s POV

The word tore out of me like a thunderclap. “Mate.”

It came unplanned. It wasn’t polite. It was raw and hungry, the kind of growl that came straight from the beast who had been pacing inside my chest since the moment I dragged her broken body out of the forest last night.

June’s eyes flew wide, those soft hazel pools I already wanted to drown in. Her lips parted on a shaky breath, and the scent of her, that wild honey and storm-rain, slammed into me so hard my knees almost buckled. Goddess, she smelled like home and sin wrapped together in one trembling package.

I could feel her wolf, Elara, pressing against the surface, brushing against mine like silk against steel. My own wolf, Kael, roared so loud inside my skull I had to clench my jaw to keep from shifting right there in the hallway.

“You… you’re mine?” she whispered, her voice cracking.

Mine. The word lit every part of me on fire. I stepped closer until her back hit the wall. My hands rose on either side of her head, caging her without touching her yet. I needed her to feel the heat rolling off me, I needed her to understand that the second she ran again, I would chase her.

“I knew the moment I caught your scent under all that blood and fear,” I said, my voice low and rough. “Those rogues were dead the instant they looked at you. But I waited… I waited because you were already dying from that half-broken bond.”

Her chest rose and fell fast, brushing the front of my shirt. Every tiny contact between us sent sparks straight to my groin. I was already hard, I was aching, the front of my pants strained from standing this close to her. She had no idea what she did to me—how her little gasp made me want to drop to my knees and worship every inch of her.

“I saw the scars,” I continued, tracing the edge of her jaw with one finger.

“Not just the ones on your body. The ones he carved into your heart. Adrian. That pathetic excuse for an alpha.” My lip curled. “He’ll pay. I'll make him pay slowly. I’ll make sure he feels every tear you cry.”

June shivered, but not from fear. Her pupils widened, dark with the same heat I felt. “Cassian…”

Hearing my name on her tongue was pure torture. I leaned in until my forehead rested against hers. Our breaths mingled, hot and sweet. “Say it again,” I growled. “Say my name like you’re already begging.”

“Cassian,” she breathed, and the sound went straight to my cock.

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I slid one hand down to her waist, my fingers splaying wide over the curve of her hip, pulling her flush against me. She was soft where I was hard. Her breasts pressed into my chest, her nipples tight little peaks I could feel through the thin fabric of the shirt I borrowed her. My thumb stroked the small of her back in slow, possessive circles, and she arched into me like a cat that was in heat.

Kael was losing his mind. ‘Take her. Mark her. Make her forget every other male who ever hurt her.’

I wanted to, gods, I really wanted to pin her to this wall and sink my teeth into that sweet neck until the whole world knew she belonged to the Shadow Alpha. But she was still fragile. She was still healing. Still carrying the poison of another man’s rejection in her veins.

So I did the next best thing. I dipped my head and dragged my lips along the shell of her ear, letting my hot breath fan over her skin. “You’re safe here, little wolf. No one touches what’s mine. Not even Adrian or your snake of a sister. Not even the moon herself if she tries to take you from me.”

A tiny moan escaped her and the sound nearly undid me. My free hand cupped her face, tilting it up so I could see those eyes again. They were glassy now, her lashes wet and lips swollen from how hard she was biting them. I brushed my thumb over her lower lip, pulling it free, and watched her tongue dart out to taste the spot I had touched.

Fuck.

I was two seconds from kissing her senseless when she whispered, “I… I was leaving. I thought this place would kill me too.”

“You weren’t leaving,” I corrected, my voice like steel. My fingers tightened on her hip, sliding lower until I gripped the back of her thigh and lifted her leg just enough to press my hardness against her core. The friction made us both groan. “You were running because you’re scared. But I feel it too—this pull. It’s burning me alive, June. Every heartbeat of yours calls to mine.”

She rocked against me instinctively, chasing the pressure, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from thrusting right there in the hallway like some uncontrolled pup. Heat pooled between us, slick and undeniable. I could smell her arousal, sweet and heady, coating the air until I was drunk on it.

“Tell me you feel it,” I demanded, nipping at her earlobe. “Tell me your wolf isn’t screaming for me the way mine is screaming for you.”

“Elara… she’s never been this loud,” June admitted, her voice trembling with need. Her hands finally rose, fisting my shirt, pulling me closer. “She wants you. I… I want you. But I’m broken, Cassian. My wolf was gone. My mate bond is still tearing me apart inside.”

“You’re not broken,” I swore, sliding my hand up under the hem of her shirt to caress the warm skin of her belly. My palm flattened over the place where her old bond still throbbed like a bruise. “You’re mine to heal. Mine to protect. Mine to ruin in the best possible ways.”

I kissed her then. It wasn't soft nor gentle. I claimed her mouth like I had been starving for centuries. She melted instantly, opening for me with a whimper that vibrated straight down to my soul. Our tongues tangled, hot and desperate. She tasted like tears and hope and something wild I wanted to devour forever. My hips rolled against hers in a slow, filthy rhythm, showing her exactly how I planned to take her when she was ready—deep, relentless, until she forgot her own name.

When we finally broke apart, gasping, her lips were red and glistening. A thin string of saliva connected us for one filthy second before it snapped. Her cheeks were flushed, her chest heaving, and she looked at me like I was the only star left in her sky.

“I don’t know how to do this,” she confessed softly, her forehead still pressed to mine. “I don’t know how to trust anyone again.”

“Then let me teach you,” I murmured, brushing my nose along hers in a wolfish nuzzle. “Starting right now. You’re staying in my bed tonight. You're not staying as a guest but as my mate. I’ll hold you while the bond finishes breaking. I’ll kiss every scar. And when you’re strong enough…” My voice dropped to a growl that made her shiver. “I’ll bury myself so deep inside you that Adrian’s name never crosses your mind again.”

Her breath hitched, thighs clenching around my waist where I still held her. “Do you promise?”

“I swear on my wolf, I swear on my pack and on every drop of blood I’ll spill for you.” I pressed one last searing kiss to her swollen lips, then gently lowered her leg, though I kept her tucked against my side. “Come on, little wolf. Let’s get you fed, bathed, and wrapped in my arms where you belong.”

As I guided her back toward the bedroom, her small hand slipped into mine. The simple touch sent a bolt of pure lightning through my veins and Kael howled in triumph.

For the first time in years, I f

elt something other than cold rage.

I felt alive. I felt hers.