Chapter Forty-Four - Mason

Excitement flooded Jessica. I watched her eyes swirl from blue to golden, and my wolf paced circles inside me.

Seeing I’d thought Jessica to be a human, I never expected to wear a mark. But my wolf was in rare form today.

Everything my wolf and I ever wanted sat between us.

Jessica inhaled my scent, running her nose up and down my neck. “I never thought I would understand the need to bite someone else. I enjoyed it when you did it, but the thought of blood grossed me out. It doesn’t now.”

I smiled, feeling adrenaline course me. “Yeah, it’s not as bad as you think.”

Jessica blinked, stepped away, and grabbed my wrist. “Lay down.” I lifted a brow at her, doing as she asked and laying down on our bed. “Take off your clothes.”

I laughed, dragging my T-shirt off my body and then my jeans. I’d never felt like such a piece of meat in my entire life. “I think I like this side of you…”

Jessica began to pull off her clothes until she was in her underwear. Sliding on top of me, she leaned down and kissed me. Having her in charge turned me on more than I ever thought possible.

She rolled her hips against mine with only thin fabric separating us. I tried to sit up, but she pushed me down and pressed her mouth against mine.

I curved my palm over the globe of her bottom and rolled my hips into her. The noises coming out of her mouth blanketed my skin like satin.

She tore away from me; the look on her face was more animal than wolf when she pressed her teeth against my neck.

I maneuvered my underwear down and pulled hers to the side. She began to pant, her wolf pushing for dominance, but Jessica shoved her down.

“Are you ready?” she whispered against my skin, causing goosebumps.

“Yes,” I said, my voice gravelly and deep.

Seconds passed when Jessica sank her teeth into my skin, and I pushed inside of her.

Liquid fire scorched my skin and insides. My wolf howled in acceptance and excitement. Jessica’s mark burned my skin for several seconds before ecstasy soothed the ache.

She pulled back, our hips connected, and blood dripped down her mouth. I watched as her gaze moved from my eyes to my neck.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she lifted herself and lowered on my length. “You’re marked,” she said through heavy breaths.

Swinging her toward the bed, I rolled in between her legs and slid to the hilt. She arched her back and pushed her head against the bed. “I’m marked,” I repeated. “Now everyone will know you’re mine.”

She smiled, her hair splayed around her head like a halo. “Now, you can pound this excitement out of me. My wolf is salivating.”

I bent down and kissed her softly. “You’re perfect,” I whispered against her skin.

She dug her fingertips into my shoulders and wrapped her legs around my waist. “Ditto.”

We spent the next hour in ten different positions. When I finally pried Jessica off me, I stared at my mark in the mirror.

Jessica stood beside me, her brows furrowed with a confused look on her face. It mimicked my own. “It’s red,” she said, running her fingers against her own mark. “Are they meant to be different colors?”

I wasn’t sure. This was the first wolf bond that I’d seen in real life. I imagined they would both be blue like hers, but obviously, I was wrong.

“I don’t know,” I said, shrugging.

The mark was beautiful. The red-colored moon had a howling wolf beneath it. Maybe Jacob or Stan would know more about it.

Jessica’s frown hit my chest before I noticed it in the mirror. She was nervous that something was wrong with her.

I turned to her and lifted her chin toward my mouth. “Shower with me. We can look at this later.”

“Something feels wrong, doesn’t it?” she asked. “I mean,” she laughed, “it feels right. I needed that. My wolf finally feels tired enough to rest. But my mark isn’t right. I feel it.”

I curled my arm around her waist to keep her from worrying about it. “We’ll look later. Come on. A warm shower sounds good.”

She didn’t fight me as I turned on the warm shower, and we stepped inside. Thirty minutes after our hot shower, we dressed and debated going downstairs.

Jessica kept coming up with reasons why she didn’t need to go. She needed to check her email and dry her hair, even though she had braided it.

Finally, I grabbed her chin in my hand and made her look at me. “Jessica,” I said calmly. “We need to go downstairs. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. You’re my mate.”

She closed her eyes; a frustrated look traveled over her features before she nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

I interlaced our fingers and led her down the stairs. Thankfully, only Jacob stood in the kitchen. He looked tired, his palms resting against the counter as he looked outside.

He heard us coming and looked over his shoulder. “Stan went into town to grab groceries. I appreciate you both attempting to stay quiet up there, but you need some practice.”

Jessica squeezed my hand before clearing her throat. “We’ll work on it.”

Seeing the disappointment, Jacob looked over at her face, then dragged his gaze toward mine. He stopped. His gaze settled on my neck for several long seconds.

Jessica shifted beside me, rubbing the back of her neck as Jacob looked up at me. “You’re marked.”

I nodded.

Jessica cleared her throat. “Is that wrong? I was supposed to mark him. He’s my mate.”

Jacob turned to face us fully. “Did it hurt?”

“No more than a usual mark,” I said.

Jacob stepped over and examined my neck. “It’s red.”

“It is.”

Jessica sighed. “What does that mean?”

Jacob looked down at her. “I have no idea. These are the first marks I’ve ever seen in real life, Jess.”

“So, it could be normal?” she asked.

Jacob furrowed his brow. “Maybe.”

Jessica watched as he walked toward the fridge and grabbed some water. “Maybe? That’s all you have for me?”

Jacob chugged his water and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I don’t know. I’ll look into it.”

Jessica shifted and folded her arms over her chest. “Could you look into it now?”

Jacob gave her a look.

I turned to face her and placed my palms on her shoulders. “Calm down. I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt. So maybe it’s normal. If it’s not, we’ll figure it out.”

She gave me a sheepish look. “I’m tired of figuring things out. I need to know some answers.”

“Patience is not on your side,” I said. “Do you want some tea?”

She sat down at the table and nodded. I poured us both a cup. Liam jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen. “Is Stan back with the groceries? I’m ready for lunch.”

“We just had breakfast,” Jessica said, sipping her tea.

Liam rolled his eyes and jabbed his finger over his shoulder at Jessica. When he met my eyes, I watched his entire face turn white.

I blinked at him, realizing he was looking at my neck. “What are you looking at?” I asked.

He pointed at my neck. “You were marked?”

“Yes.”

Liam swallowed. “By what?”

Jessica laughed. “Seriously? Do you think I let another wolf mark him? I marked him.”

I watched as his brain attempted to work out something.

“What is it?” I asked. “Why are you staring?”

Liam scratched the back of his neck. “I…your neck. Wolves leave a blue mark.”

My heart hammered against my chest as Liam found the courage to speak.

“Then what gives a red mark?” Jessica asked, her voice soft.

Liam blinked. “Lycans.”