Desire Unchained

He had to best her, as well.

His raw, erotic growl swept through her like a muscle-deep caress, warming her, preparing her for him. Right now she was little more than a raging mass of hormones, and deep inside her womb contracted and her sex clenched. Still, when he reached for her, she slashed him with her claws.

In an instant, he was on her. She snarled, snapping at him with her teeth, but he locked his jaws on her scruff and held her in place. With one last burst of power, she threw herself sideways, dislodging him momentarily as they crashed into the side of the cage.

Her victory was short-lived, and in a blur of fur and fangs, he had her where he wanted her once again, and in one smooth, powerful stroke, he filled her.

Ecstasy exploded through her body, far more than a sexual high. Seminus bond or no, this was her true mate.

Shade’s howl joined hers, a celebration in the night.





Shade woke, naked, battered, and exhausted, spooning with Runa, who stirred as he stretched. Wincing at the twinge of sore muscles and aching joints, he stroked her arm. His eyes were still closed, mainly because he planned to go back to sleep for a week.

The last three nights and days had been the most exhausting of his life. Not that he was complaining. He and Runa had mated constantly in both their warg forms and true forms, taking breaks during the day only to eat. Someone, probably Tayla or Eidolon, had left them meat the first night—he didn’t recall them coming in to take away the males he’d fought and to lock the cage door so he and Runa wouldn’t escape, but he was pretty glad he didn’t remember. No doubt they’d gotten an eyeful of werewolf mating habits.

E would never let him live this one down.

Beneath his hand, Runa’s silky skin heated. Not just heated, but seared his palm. He struggled to open his eyes. His vision was blurry, and having Runa’s mane of hair in his face didn’t help. Groaning, he shoved himself up on one elbow.

“Mmm.” Runa yawned. “What are you doing?”

“I’m—” He froze. His breath lodged like a plug in his throat. Her left arm … holy hell.

Runa shot him a concerned look over her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her arm. “You’re marked. You’ve got my mate-mark.”

“Seriously?” As she squirmed into a sit, her grin hit him right in the heart. “Oh, wow. It’s real, isn’t it?” Her hand came down on his, and she twined their fingers together as she traced the patterns on her skin. “We’re bonded.”

“Yeah.” Intense emotion made him sound as if he’d swallowed a truckload of crushed glass. “You’re mine now.”

Her hand stilled, and her gaze locked on his. “I always was. You just couldn’t see it.”

“I’m so sorry—”

She pressed her fingers to his lips. “You couldn’t see it because your life was on the line.”

He kissed her hand, as lovingly as he could, letting his lips linger. “You deserved so much better than what I gave you.”

“Yes,” she said smartly, “I did. But, like you, I couldn’t see it.” She reached up and skimmed the pads of her fingers over his personal mark at the top of his dermoire. “An unseeing eye.”

“I always wondered why that was my symbol. E has a set of scales, but he was born to Justice demons, so that made sense. Wraith’s got an hourglass … we always joke that it’s because he’s impatient and never on time. But mine … mine never made sense.”

“It’s open now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your mark. It’s an open eye now. No longer unseeing.”

Shade’s eyes stung. “Eidolon’s scales were unbalanced until he bonded with Tayla.” He swallowed, trying not to do something wussy like cry. “He didn’t discover the change for days.”

“So he’s balanced now … and you’re no longer blind.”

“Never again.”

She rolled over, hooked her leg over his, and drew him in. After the last three nights, he hadn’t thought he could get turned on again—not for weeks, at least—but having her naked, heated body rubbing against his triggered sensations he couldn’t deny.

The ringing of a cell phone interrupted his inappropriate thoughts.

“I’m not answering,” he murmured.

“You need to. It’s your brother’s tone.”

Shade tucked Runa beneath him and let voicemail pick it up. Eidolon was going to have to wait.





Eidolon’s voicemail message turned out to be urgent, so Shade and Runa showered, scarfed down breakfast—he made her pancakes, because nothing tasted better than carbs after three nights of raw meat—and sped to UG on his Harley. They found Eidolon in his office, scowling at a stack of paperwork on his desk.