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I moved against him, and the connection between us deepened with every motion. His control wavered as pleasure built, and I felt it when he tried to hold back.

“Not yet,” he breathed. “I want you first.”

He shifted his weight, one arm supporting him while his hand explored me with slow certainty. Every touch pushed me closer to the edge, breaking down what little restraint I had left.

Then his mouth found my neck.

A sharp breath caught in my throat as he lingered near Lucien’s mark. For a split second, I thought he might challenge it.

Instead, he kissed it.

His tongue traced the mark, his lips sealing around it as if claiming the space in a different way. The sensation hit me hard too hard and my body arched into him as pleasure crashed through me.

He didn’t stop. His hand worked me higher and higher until I completely lost control of myself.

When it finally passed, I realized he had pulled back, watching me with a faint, knowing smile.

“If Lucien felt that,” he said quietly, “he felt everything.”

A spark of defiance flared in me.

“Then let’s see what he feels next,” I replied.

I pulled Luca down again, wrapping my legs around him so he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to.

His breath caught in anticipation.

I guided his head to my shoulder first but changed my mind.

This wasn’t Lucien’s mark. This was mine.

My wolf surged forward inside me, loud and certain, drowning out everything else.

Claim him.

The words echoed through me until I couldn’t tell where I ended and she began.

My teeth shifted, sharper, unfamiliar, and I sank them into his neck.

The moment I did, something snapped into place between us.

Pure satisfaction rushed through me. My wolf finally had what she wanted.

Luca reacted instantly, his body tightening as he lost control in my arms, pleasure and connection spilling through him all at once.

I held him there until I was sure, then released him and cleaned the mark with a slow breath.

For a second, doubt crept in.

What if nothing changed?

What if only Lucien could be bound to me like this?

But Luca moved before that fear could grow.

He pushed himself up slightly, eyes widening as he reached toward his face.

“There’s a mark,” he whispered. “Another one… exactly the same.”

He helped me sit so I could see it clearly in the mirror.

And there it was another glowing rune, sitting beside the first like it had always belonged there.

I turned my attention back to him instead, really seeing him now. Strong, built, dangerous in every way but completely mine at this moment.

Then I noticed something else.

The same symbol was on his face too.

When his fingers brushed it, something inside me shifted. Not just emotion connection. I felt what he felt.

Confusion. Awe. A hint of worry.

“Why are you tense?” I asked immediately.

“I’m not,” he said too quickly.

Then he laughed, shaking his head as his eyes met mine in the mirror.

“I don’t think I can hide anything from you anymore.”

He turned, grabbing my hands gently.

“I know someone who might understand these marks,” he added. “They’re all identical. That can’t be meaningless.”

“Luca,” I warned, my voice dropping.

He wasn’t looking at me properly. I could feel his hesitation growing again.

“You’re supposed to bite me back,” I reminded him.

“I didn’t want to repeat Lucien’s mistake,” he said quietly.

“We already talked about this.”

“In the heat of the moment ”

“Luca.” My voice sharpened. “Don’t make me beg.”

That stopped him.

His gaze darkened instantly.

“You would?” he murmured, climbing over me again as he pushed me gently back into the bed.

“Luca… please,” I breathed out, barely holding myself together. “I want you to mark me.”

The moment the words left my mouth, something warm and bright snapped through the bond between us. His grip tightened at my waist, like he’d been waiting for exactly that permission.

“Then you’d better brace yourself,” he murmured, voice rough with need. “You’ll need something to hold onto when I do it.”

I frowned slightly, trying to understand what he meant until his hand slid between us.

A sharp gasp escaped me.

His fingers moved inside me without warning, and a low sound rolled from his chest as he felt how ready I was.

“I’m going to mark you,” he said darkly, “right when I fill you.”

The words alone sent a shiver through me.

My body reacted instantly, pulling me back toward that edge he always brought me to so easily. I grabbed him instinctively, breath shaking.

He was already hard again, like my body alone wasn’t enough to calm him.

Luca guided himself back between my legs, pressing against me once more.

“I’m going to fill you so deeply,” he growled, “you’ll still be leaking me tomorrow.”

Heat pooled inside me at his promise.

“Yes… Luca… please,” I managed to say, voice breaking. “I need you.”

He pushed into me again, filling every empty space, and the connection between us flared so strongly it felt like it swallowed everything else.

“I’m going to mark you properly,” he said against my skin. “So no one ever forgets who you belong to.”

“Yes,” I moaned. “Take me. I’m yours.”

Somewhere beyond us, through the shared pack link, I felt Lucien. Not anger acceptance. Even anticipation. He could feel everything Luca and I were sharing, and instead of resisting, he was waiting… watching… ready for what came next.

So was I.

“I’m ready,” I whispered. “Luca… now.”

He shifted me back slightly, forcing my body to arch for him. My breath caught as I met his gaze, those golden eyes darker than ever.

Then I saw it.

His fangs dropped.

Before I could think, he struck.

Pain and pleasure collided the moment his bite sank into my breast, sharp and overwhelming, stealing my breath in a scream.

My body reacted instantly, tightening around him as everything inside me shattered into pleasure.

Even as I trembled, he pulled back just enough to speak.

“Lucien can have your neck,” he said slowly. “This… this is mine.”

Then he licked over the wound.

The sensation made my whole body jerk, pleasure spiraling again as the new mark pulsed under his tongue. I couldn’t stop moving against him and couldn't stop reacting.

The bond between us exploded outward.

Not just ours but the pack link too.

Joy, recognition, connection.

Lucien felt it all. He felt me, felt Luca, and instead of pulling away, he accepted it even celebrated it with us.

That was all it took.

My release hit harder than before, dragging Luca right with me.

His hips stuttered, and he growled low, “Mine,” before he spilled into me again, trembling with the force of it.

For a moment, neither of us could breathe properly.

Luca collapsed back, chest rising and falling heavily as he came down from it. I stayed close, watching the way his expression softened, like all his tension had finally broken.

I shifted first, pushing him gently until he rolled onto his back.

Then I moved on top of him, still connected, still close.

Looking down at him, I let the truth settle between us.

“You’re mine,” I said softly. “And I’m yours. I love you, Luca.”

I kissed him before he could respond, then let my fingers trace the fresh mark he’d left on me, feeling his body react beneath mine.

“And now,” I added quietly, “everyone will know what you mean to me.”

But even as I said it, I felt something small lingering inside him. A doubt he hadn’t let go of yet.

So I placed my hand over his chest.

“Even if we all share marks,” I continued, understanding him more than he probably realized, “you won’t lose your place with me.”

I leaned in closer.

“Feel it,” I whispered. “Can’t you feel what I feel?”

I poured everything I had into the bond of love, certainty, warmth, truth.

And when I saw the way his expression changed… I knew he finally felt it too.

“I love you… Selena. I never thought I would feel this way… I never even understood it before now.”

He lay beneath me, voice weak but full of emotion.

I bent down and kissed him again, holding him close. “In the end, everything still found its place,” I whispered.

Then something strange happened.

“Lucien already knows,” Luca’s voice suddenly appeared in my mind.

I froze.

My eyes widened as I pulled back slightly. “Wait… we’re speaking inside each other’s minds? But we’re not shifted.”