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  “I want you, Eve.” His voice had that inhuman edge. “I need to be in you.”

  “Yes.” She wanted the same.

  Braden looped his arm around her waist, and in a swift motion, he had her pinned to the ground. She reached out to brace herself, startled when her hand smacked against a blanket, and not dirt and rocks. He spread her thighs wide as he guided his rigid cock against her opening. She felt the tightening of renewed excitement when he rubbed the engorged head between the folds of her pussy in teasing movements. She rocked her hips to him, wanting him, all of him, inside her.

  “Please, Braden.” She wasn’t a prize or something to be owned, but in this moment, she wanted to be possessed by Braden Jackson.

  “My control’s no good,” he muttered.

  Eve drew him to her and kissed his mouth, now wide, but still full, with the early stages of transformation. “I don’t care.” She could feel the first of her own change, especially in her heightened sense of awareness. The way Braden breathed, the way his muscles rippled, and the way he smelled—earth and musk—drove her insane with passion.

  “I don’t want to hurt you.” He rubbed his face, scruffy with stubble, against her cheek.

  “You won’t.” Eve brushed his hair back from his face.

  He stared at her with a look she didn’t understand, and in an eerily calm voice he said, “Yes, I will.”

  He drove his hips forward, thrusting his length deep into Eve in one sharp movement. She cried out at the swiftness—at the pain—as he drove his cock until he completely sheathed himself inside her.

  He held still, his eyes blazing with fragile constraint, while he waited for her to adjust. Eve bit her lower lip—blood blossoming in her mouth—as he stretched her wide, filling her with a satisfying ache of pleasure. She’d never felt complete, but in Braden’s arms, joined to him so intimately, she was finally whole. Braden was a piece of Eve. A part of her she hadn’t realized she’d been missing until now.

  She curved her back, rolling her hips to rub herself against his groin, turning the pain into bliss. When she was human, she would not have been able to take Braden, not as he was now, but as a lycanosapien, the power in him—in his movements—only added to the ecstasy. His hard chest against her breasts turned her nipples into tightly drawn buds of pure excitement. She grasped at him, writhing and wiggling, craving more.

  “Eve,” Braden said, warning in his voice.

  “You’re not hurting me,” she said—a reassurance. “I want you, Braden. I want all of you.”

  A growl tore from his throat as he lifted her from the ground, withdrew his abundant length until only the head remained inside her before he thrust again.

  Eve cried out. Every hard inch of Braden driving into her body felt like a victory.

  He began pistoning in smooth, quick strokes— pleasure once again blooming in Eve. Every stab of his dominating thrusts brought her closer and closer to climax. She moaned, arching her back until the top of her head was the only part of her touching the ground. Her canines dropped into her mouth, and her fingers stretched into claws she raked across Braden’s arms and back. The need to mark him overwhelmed her almost as much as the lust. A covetous snarl tore from her lips. She dug her nails into his back, the fresh smell of blood adding to the wild desire.

  She felt Braden’s claws scrape against her ass as their bodies slapped together, punctuating each driving thrust. Eve felt him grow even larger inside her and she screamed with both the pain and the pure pleasure as his girth threatened to rip her apart. She felt herself changing, adjusting to take his larger size. She gyrated her hips wanting more, taking more.

  It wasn’t enough.

  “Now.” Braden practically barked the word. He grabbed Eve behind the neck and pressed her face against his chest. “Bite me. Claim me with bite and blood.”

  The human part of Eve’s brain couldn’t register what Braden was asking, but her wolf side, the side made of raw, natural instinct knew exactly what had to be done. She opened her mouth impossibly wide and sunk her fangs deep into his flesh. The rush of hot blood filled her mouth as Braden’s howl reverberated around them. She sucked and licked, drinking Braden into her body. He was the socket, and with her teeth buried in his muscle, she felt plugged in to him. Where he began, she began, and where he ended, so did Eve.

  Her pussy pulsed and throbbed with aching need to climax. It wouldn’t take long, not now. She released her hold on his chest, the blood dripping to her chin as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  “Harder,” she managed. “Faster.”

  His eyes flared with an amber glow as he grabbed her hips and did as she commanded. Her body tightened as the stirring of orgasm felt like a string pulling from her neck down to her groin, bending her back to take even more of Braden.

  “You’re mine,” Braden rumbled.

  “Yes,” Eve panted.

  “Say it,” Braden demanded.

  “I’m yours, Braden. All yours.” Burning agony ripped through her body when he sunk his fangs into her upper breast. She cried out, screaming, as she climaxed at the same time. He sucked and licked her wounded flesh. The smell of her own blood… his blood… Her senses so overloaded she couldn’t think, only feel. She clasped him hard to her chest, shaking with tremors as he roared against her breast. He dined on her blood as wave after wave of raptured ecstasy poured through Eve, plunging her deeper into a chasm of frenzied passion.

  Braden drove her through one climax straight into another until she thought her lungs would explode along with her body. Finally, he unclamped his teeth from her breast, crying out her name, “Eve!” as his lower body jerked, thrusting his cock deep once, then again, as he filled her with his seed.

  When the last of the orgasms ebbed, Braden clutched Eve to his chest. Where their wounds touched, amazingly the skin began to knit and heal until they were scarred marks of claim.

  She had him all now. His saliva, his blood, his semen, and his mark. She’d taken him into her body, heart, and soul. In her life, she hadn’t been sure of much, but in this, in mating with Braden, she had no doubts.

  Eve tilted her head to Braden when she heard his soft murmur… Only you, only you…

  “Only you,” she said, smoothing back his sweat-drenched hair. He repeated the words, his face turning back to human, but Eve noticed he hadn’t opened his mouth. How could she hear him?

  We are one now, Eve. We share a bond of bite and blood that only death can break. You’re my mate.

  Eve’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

  IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND, LOVE

  Braden laughed. He stroked her face. He couldn’t believe his incredible luck. Eve had chosen him. He didn’t know that he wanted a mate until she came along. Hell, he’d thought he was happy. The thought made him scoff. He’d never known happiness until now, of that he was certain. Eve waited for him to answer.

  He focused his mind. You only need to think something to me, and I’ll hear you.

  Eve smiled. This could get embarrassing. I plan to think a lot about how much I want your big penis inside me all the time.

  He shook his head and grinned. Even her thoughts held a lovely southern drawl. First, I can’t believe you said “big penis.” Braden nuzzled Eve’s neck, sending a delicious shiver down her back. Second, I’m actually okay with having my penis inside you all the time. Although, it might get a little awkward when I introduce you to my parents, and my second graders may have some questions.

  “Braden!” Eve said aloud, and smacked him in the arm.

  “I’m just following your lead, baby.” He flashed a wicked grin. “I’d do anything to keep you happy.”

  “And you’re doing a damn fine job of it.” She kissed him hard.

  His spent cock twitched with new life. He wanted to make love to Eve again, only slowly and carefully, taking his time as he savored every orgasm he could wring from her luscious body.

  An enraged roar at the mouth of the cave froze Braden in place
. Eve and Braden’s gaze snapped toward the noise. Tom Ellis stood in the cave mouth. He clenched his fists in fury.

  “You can’t have her!” His muscles bunched and bulged as he stalked toward them.

  Braden and Eve scrambled apart, and Braden put himself in front of her. Whatever Tom had planned, Braden wasn’t about to let him get to Eve.

  “Tom,” Eve said, fear heavy in her voice. “Stop. Just stop.”

  “I love you, Eve. Don’t you know that?” His eyes watered with grief and anger and unshed tears.

  “I can’t love you like that.”

  Tom pointed a shaking clawed finger at Braden. “Because of him!” His six-four frame blocked the exit. Braden wanted to shift, it would only take seconds, but the space was so small, he worried Eve would get hurt if a fight broke out. He had to figure out how to talk Tom down, or at the very least, get them out of the cave before all hell broke loose.

  Eve’s voice invaded his mind. Braden, I’m scared. I’ve never seen him like this before.

  I need to get us out of the cave. It’s too dangerous to have a confrontation in here. What he didn’t say was that it was too dangerous for her. Braden didn’t care about his own safety.

  “Answer me, damn it!” Tom moved closer.

  Braden put his hand out to keep Eve behind him

  “I’m sorry, Tom, but I’m in love with Braden,” she replied.

  “No. No, no, no. I didn’t go through all this, do all this, only to lose you to a goddamn school teacher.”

  “You’re too late, Ellis,” Braden snarled. “We are mated. Bound by bite and blood.”

  “She would already be mine if it wasn’t for you.”

  Eve gasped. “No. I don’t want you that way, Tom. I never did.” Tears streamed down Eve’s face.

  Tom’s muscles rippled as his bones clicked, snapped, and lengthened and his face transformed into half-beast. His voice grew low and guttural. “I’ve sacrificed too much to get you here. To be with you.”

  Eve shook her head. “You’re a kind man, Tom. I can’t tell you how much your support has meant to me, but I can’t be who you want me to be. I can’t love you.”

  Tom laughed, low and menacing. “You don’t even know what how much I love you. What I’ve done to have you. You think I’m going to let one more hurdle get in my way? Once I kill Braden, you’ll see. He’s weak. You need someone strong to take care of you, Eve. You need someone who can protect you from harm. I think I’ve proven over the past six months how easy it is for someone to get close to you. You need me. You will always need me.”

  “Oh God.” Eve’s hand flew to her mouth in disbelief. Every message from her stalker had been signed with the line: You will always need me.

  What? I don’t understand, Eve. What’s he talking about?

  Images flooded Braden’s mind, the phone calls, texts, emails, the notes, the dead animals… What had been done to Eve, what the stalker had taken from her—it’s no wonder she’d reacted so badly when Braden had first tried to claim her as his mate.

  Eve shook her head with a lingering expression of disbelief as anger and denial fought to dominate her emotions. Things got so bad I lost my job, my car, my home… It’s why Tom invited me to the cull. Or so I thought. “Please tell me you didn’t do these things, Tom. Please tell me you aren’t the asshole who ruined my life!” she screamed.

  “Ruined your life,” he scoffed. “I saved your life! You need me, Eve. You need me to take care of you. Without me… Without me, you’d be nothing.”

  Braden growled, baring his teeth—a warning. Eve had faced unimaginable horror at the hands of Tom Ellis, and first gen or not, Braden would make him pay.

  “You’re nothing,” said Eve. “Braden is everything.”

  His head whipped toward Eve—his gaze knife-like in its penetration. “I’d rather see you dead than with him. I’ll see you both dead.” Tom charged Braden.

  Braden shoved Eve away as the powerful lycan, already transformed to anthro-form, plowed him against the wet flowstone. He clung to Tom as fists pummeled his ribs. He needed to stall—needed to make sure his mate—his life—could get to safety before he and Tom began their fight to the death.

  Run, Eve. Run now.

  THE WORLD FELL AWAY

  Eve stumbled forward landing on her palms when Braden pushed her out of the way. Finding out Tom had orchestrated her stalking, a deception meant to make her weak and vulnerable, left Eve numb with shock. Tom had been her friend, her confidant, and she’d played right into his hands. As a human, she’d never doubted him, not once. Her naiveté had never allowed her to believe his intentions, the intentions of a police officer, were anything but honorable. She realized now, her lycan half had never trusted Tom. The more she’d let her wolf out, the less comfortable she’d become around him.

  Braden’s voice in her head snapped her out of her daze. Run, Eve. Run now.

  She turned in time to see Tom digging his claws into Braden’s stomach. The fresh smell of her lover’s blood overwhelmed all other scents for Eve. Tom had taken everything from her—at least from her human existence—but she’d be damned if she let him take Braden.

  Tom punched and clawed at Braden with his left hand while his right continued to dig into Braden’s side. Braden transformed, matching Tom’s height and width. He clamped his teeth into Tom’s shoulder, and the gray beast let out a howl. The scent of blood and rage overpowered Eve’s senses.

  Eve! I need you to be safe. I need you to live. Run! Braden wasn’t a killer, not like Tom. Eve knew his chances against the first generation lycanosapien were not good. Tom wanted to kill Eve so no one else could have her, but Braden would sacrifice himself to protect her.

  Braden’s powerful maw tugged and ripped at Tom’s shoulder, while Tom’s fingers continued to dig into his stomach—claws buried inches deep in Braden’s gut. Braden punched at Tom as he shook his head like a raging pit bull. Tom’s howls of pain reduced to a whimper. Braden was winning! He ripped his head away taking a chunk of Tom’s flesh in the process.

  Still, even in his weakened state, Tom continued his vicious dig into Braden’s stomach. When Braden’s intestines spilled out, Eve screamed. Braden had his teeth on Tom’s throat now, but Tom had his entire fist inside Braden. Neither man would survive.

  “No,” Eve shouted. Desperation without hesitation sent her charging at the two grappling men. Bones snicked and shifted, lengthening and reshaping as fur sprouted across her skin. She launched herself at Tom’s back, but this time when he lashed out, she ducked his blow.

  She’d lost her parents, the farm, her job, her home, and her human life. She would not lose Braden too.

  Tom’s bloody hand reached back trying to pull her off him. Success! her mind cried out. If he was trying to grab her then he was no longer eviscerating her mate. Eve punched blindly at Tom’s head. She yanked sideways, using her whole body as a counterweight, rolling Tom away from Braden who fell to the cave floor—his stomach a mess of gore and guts and blood.

  Tom ended up on top of Eve. White, hot pain exploded in Eve’s jaw when Tom smashed her face with his bloody fist. Blood, along with Tom’s heated breath, covered her lips and cheeks.

  “I can smell you, Eve.” He chuffed. “I can smell your fear, your rage. Your sex. You are covered in that filthy bastard’s fucking scent. I hope he is worth it. I hope fucking your mutt made you goddamn happy, because it’s your last act.” He took a deep breath, tasting the air around her, and sharply drew his head back. “You’re pregnant. The scent of your hormones is weak, but it’s there. A true mating. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you both.” He lifted his head, his fierce maw opening with deadly intent.

  Eve shifted back to human, hoping she could reason with Tom—reason with the human she’d thought of as her friend. “Don’t do this. You don’t want to do this, Tom.”

  He snapped his teeth—his saliva spattering her skin. “I hate you. I hate what you’ve done to me. I am going to enjoy every ounce of your death, t
he death of the life beginning inside, and the death of your lover.” He bared his teeth, his jaw widening for attack.

  Eve turned her head, squeezing her eyes shut, readying herself for his death strike. A pained shriek pierced the cavern. Eve snapped her eyes open in time to see Tom’s eyes rolling back as he collapsed on top her. Standing over Tom’s body, Braden stood with a lifeless heart in his hand. He threw the organ against the wall and kicked Tom off Eve before he dropped down next to her.

  His clawed fingers touched her hair, her face, her arms, and her stomach. He settled both his hands there, his half-beast looking lost and confused. His form shifted back to human and he crumpled beside Eve.

  “Braden!” she cried out. He’d managed to push his intestines back into his abdomen, but the gash where Tom’s fist had entered still bled. He’d lost so much blood. So much. Eve held her hand on his belly, stemming the flow. Tom had to have torn an artery in Braden. “Don’t you die. Don’t you dare die on me.”

  Braden didn’t respond. His eyes closed as his heart beat began to slow. Hot runnels of tears streamed Eve’s cheeks. She was Braden’s. He was hers. Only death could part them. Only death. No!

  Instinctually, she tore the skin on her wrists, biting into the artery. She pressed her wound to Braden’s praying for a miracle. If he died, she would die. She didn’t want a life without him.

  She forced her thoughts to his. When I met you, from the moment we touched, the world fell away. You are the one Braden Jackson. You are who my mamma promised would come and rock my world. Please don’t die. You are the man of my life.

  When he didn’t respond again, a sob wracked Eve’s body. She lay her head on Braden’s chest, listening as his faint heartbeat stuttered to a stop. She kept her wrist pressed to his wound, fearing she was too late—praying she was wrong.

  We’re having a baby. The thought penetrated her grief. It wasn’t hers.

  “Braden?” She lifted her head from his chest and stared at his face. Had she put the thought there herself? Her minds way of denying the truth. She heard a muffled thump-thump. His heart? Her heart? Then again, thump-thump, thump-thump. The steady rhythm picked up as the wound in Braden’s stomach began to knit together, the blood flow completely stanched.