The Marked Mate of the Lycan King.

blanket wrapped around a burning coal. I lay in the massive bed, the silk sheets tangl

t now, hours later, the sweat was gone, replaced by a deep, terrifying heat th

Mate

nod in the court, the price for staying under his roof. The bond, suppressed for so

raw, aching hollow inside me, screaming for completion, screaming for

pulling me like a drowning person toward a distant shore. I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to force the primal compulsion down. The shame was immense. I

n weapon. This is th

ed slowly. I pushed myself out of bed, stumbling on the thick rug. My bare feet barely m

the corridor, guarded by two of Rhys's newest, sternest guards. But the fever di

the heat. I reached the main door of my suite. I didn't knock. I didn

ntion, their eyes wide wit

gaze was fixed on the massive

step, the door I was staring

stepped in

ers, his powerful torso bare. He looked like carved granite, illuminated

s jaw was clenched so hard I could hear the subtle grinding of his teeth in the

fightin

us. The distance between us-thirty feet of carpet and marb

usly rough. He didn't move toward me. He didn't move at all. "Look at

remor beneath them, the sound of a man

alone, Your Majesty," I managed, my voice a dry, rattling whisper. "This is

st the doorframe, visibly clenched.

ontract by leaving your chambers. You are se

izing truth surface. "You are in pain. I can smell it, Demetrius. The bond is

me. The single step made the heat bet

and desire. "What does your omega duty demand of you? To stan

scent-that blessed, cool scent, was al

ding my submission to the biological need. "It is a simple transaction. Step across the threshold. Surren

e your body, and I will give yo

e. My body screamed, Yes!

bruised by years of reje

toward him, closing the gap slightly. Now we were standing in th

urge to fall into his arms. "You want me to admit that without you, I a

comfort, King. I will not surrender my soul for this lease you have given me. My body may burn, but my mind is s

his heart. "You are just as tormented as I am. You sweat and clench and burn. You are h

he quiet hall. The guards shifted nervo

ury, but beneath it, I saw a flicker of raw, defeated pain. He hate

ded. It was no longer a gentle heat; it was an inferno. I cried out

eized my shoulders with brutal force, his

rowl of absolute Alpha dominance. He used his full pow

cease, but it was suffocated, instantly crushed beneath his overwhelming will. I gas

son. He took two steps back, regaining his distance a

flat, and absolute. "Do not challenge the natural order again.

and slammed his door shut, the heavy wood

hysical pain of his second, violent rejection. The heat had subsided to a dull, aching throb, but th

y face, not from the fever, but from the realization of the cruelty of my fate.

the thin linen. If he plans to discard me, he must

to expose Rhys, not just for my survival, but for the sake of the