Chapter 251 - His Mate or His Girlfriend

Melanie’s hand was reaching for Brad's cheek right as he moved back, moving to look down and reaching for the hem of her long dress. Melanie's hand grazed his cheek lightly but Brad kept looking down, his eyes trained on her legs as he his hand wrapped around her ankle and began to creep up her bare leg, her dress riding up and exposing her skin to him. His hands were cool against her bare skin, lightly inching higher and higher with purpose. Melanie held back a sob. It didn’t take a genius to realize what he had in mind. Her hand suspended in mid-air fell helplessly to her side. But then she jerked in surprise as she felt his hand enclose over a cool metal band encasing her leg right below the knee. It was at that moment that she noticed he also had a key in his hand that he used to unlock the band and throw it to the side furiously.

He looked up at her, his eyes void of any blackness.

“She was using that to suppress your magic, I had to get it off,” he explained gruffly.

"You're not under her influence anymore!" Melanie burst out in relief, wrapping her arms around him.

“The minute you touched me, you broke the spell,” he admitted.

Melanie choked back a sob and a light twinge of discomfort shot through her abdomen making her cringe.

Brad’s eyes widened in concern.

"I'm fine, just... overwhelmed," Melanie explained.

Brad gathered Melanie in his arms, holding her head against his erratically beating heart. Melanie sighed in relief, breathing in his scent, enjoying the feel of his muscles as her head rested against his chest.

“I’m so sorry,” Brad whispered fiercely. “I was so angry at you Mel for leaving me to go after Aria. I was supposed to stay angry at you but after Sybl put me under her spell….” He shuddered. "No one should have to see what you saw."

Pulling back he checked her body. “Are you O.K.?” his hands gently touched her arms, her chest, her legs and her stomach, trying to assure himself she wasn’t injured. “I’m sorry….I couldn’t stop myself with Cassidy.”

“It’s not your fault,” Melanie spoke breathlessly, fighting the pain in her body. Why was she still cramping? As far as she knew, the mate’s betrayal shouldn’t be affecting her anymore. “It’s mine,” Melanie heaved a resigned sigh and looked at Brad with wide eyes. She cupped his face and looked at him earnestly. “I’m so sorry I never let you mark me. If I had, I would have been able to help break the spell before now. Now we’re both trapped here because of my stupidity.”

Brad shook his head vehemently.

“I could hear everything she said. I know what her plan is. We have get out of here, she’s about to summon Asmodeus in Texas,” Brad spoke urgently. He gulped. “She plans to offer me as a sacrifice if you don’t agree to join her. Her army has been seriously depleted. They didn’t expect us to attack and they didn’t expect us to have so many allies when we did. She needs Asmodeus now more than ever. But we can still stop her-“ Brad suddenly stopped as he noticed the grey pallor of Melanie’s face. “What’s wrong?” he asked sharply, giving her a once over again trying to check for injuries.

“I… I don’t feel so good,” Melanie said faintly as the room spun around her. “I… don’t know why but….” She triled off, shaking her head to try and get her bearings.

Brad cursed. “I need to get you to the doctor. I think you overexerted your magic and your energy. You’re pregnant too.”

Melanie locked her arms around Brad’s neck her eyes beseeching again.

“Brad, I’ll do anything you want me too but I need you to do one last thing before we leave here,” Melanie pleaded.

“What?” Brad asked catiously as Melanie inched herself into his lap.

She tilted her head to the side, exposing the crook of her neck.

“Mark me,” she pleaded.

Brad’s eyebrows drew together sharply. A marking was supposed to be special. It wasn’t supposed to be done in the middle of a war. It’s why most mates marked each other on the day of their mating ceremony. It was supposed to be a special occasion, the merging of two souls into one. The cementing of their mate bond shouldn't take place like this.

“Now?” Brad asked perplexed, motioning to the surroundings and trying to keep his eyes averted from Cassidy’s dead body. “Here?”

“Please, it’s the only way I’ll know you’re safe and Sybl can’t cast anymore spells on you. She doesn’t know we’re mates, it’s why she left you alone here with me. It’s our trump card in this war. Otherwise, she might try to use you against me again,” Melanie explained, a bit of color coming back into her cheeks as she spoke.

“This is not how I wanted to have a marking with you,” Brad said stonily, his lips in a thin line.

“It isn’t what I wanted either,” Melanie explained softly. “But we have no choice. And this way we can mind-link each other, I’ll know where you are. You’ll know where I am. There’s a war going on outside and we’re stronger together.”

She leaned her forehead against his, breathing in deeply and hoping he understood that it was time. She was done hiding their relationship.

Brad was still for a good minute, contemplating Melanie’s words. And then his fingers lightly danced across her shoulders, pulling her hair to one side.

“I love you,” Brad spoke against her cheek.

“I love you too Brad,” Melanie replied in a shaky voice as he placed open-mouthed kisses against her clavicle before moving up the column of her neck. “I’ve loved you since we were little,” Melanie breathed as she felt Brad’s lips rest over the spot right above the crook of her neck. His tongue laved the area, canines grazing it ever so gently to find the softest spot to puncture skin. His wolf venom, warm and tingling, dripped down on the area, softening it up so it wouldn’t hurt too much when he marked her. “I love you so so much,” Melanie hummed, closing her eyes as she gave in to the euphoria of her mate’s touch. She was straddling his waist, his one arm around her waist while his other one was around her shoulders to hold her steady. Sparks danced across her skin from head to toe. “I just never-ahhhhh,” Melanie closed her eyes as her lips elicited a gasp of surprise when Brad finally broke skin.

Her blood warmed her body as his wolf’s venom seeped into her blood stream. She felt like she was floating in air, or laying on a bed of clouds. Her skin tingled and she gripped him tighter. This is where she belonged, this is was right. His arms were her home and Melanie knew that she could no longer deny him anything ever again.

She felt the hurt lingering in his heart from all the times she’d denied him this exact experience. And now they were forced into it because of their circumstances, with a dead high school class fellow laying not even two feet away from them. But she also sensed his satisfaction over finally laying claim to her and completing their bond. They were mates in every way now, she’d bear his mark proudly on her neck. Their merged scents would proclaim to other wolves that they belonged to each other. Male wolves marked their mates, but during the marking, a female wolves hormones released a specific scent over her mate. It was so other she-wolves knew that he was mated. Female wolves didn't mark their mates using their teeth, they marked them using their scent. As Melanie's scent engulfed Brad and two distinctive scents merged into one, Brad felt his wolf purring in satisfaction. Finally, she was his.

Brad’s tongue laved his bite, healing it with his wolf venom before pulling back to look at her. The hand on her shoudlers gently trailed down to rest over her stomach. His other arm remained angled around her waist.

“Mine,” Brad purred, his eyes glowing yellow.

Melanie looked at him, wondering if it was just her or was there an extra sparkle to the room. Everything seemed, sharper, clearer…..beautiful.

“Yours,” Melanie sighed, leaning in to kiss him softly.

There was a sudden jerk in her lower abodemn making Melanie jump.

“What was that?” Brad asked worriedly. He put his hand over Melanie’s stomach and she felt the jerking sensation again.

"I think….I think that’s our baby moving,” Melanie said tentatively with a smile. “He’s responding to you.”

Brad’s eyes lit up and he looked down at Melanie’s stomach in awe. The baby kicked again, harder than last time making Melanie jump. Brad's eyes narrowed as he looked up at her.

“It’s not hurting you is it?” he asked suspiciously.

Melanie shook her head. “I’m fine,” she replied seriously.

They looked at each other, enjoying this beautiful moment together despite the ugly backdrop of a war.

“Let’s get out of here,” Brad grunted finally, moving to get up.

But a discreet knock at the door made both of them freeze. Brad got up, baring his fangs, ready to fight whoever was on the other side. Melanie looked around them room, quickly taking stock of her surroundings. The spell had been cast off of Brad. His eyes were no longer black and it would be a sure indicator that he was no longer under Sybl's influence. If they fought, they'd be dead within minutes considering they were enconsced deep in the enemy's lair.

How were they going to survive this?

A/N: Next update is Friday :) Sequel is already out:The Reluctant Alphas Reluctant Luna, it's Dylan and Alyssa's story :)