Chapter 29 Untamed
❀ Maeve ❀
My lower half was damp with sweat and uncomfortably hot, my mouth dry like it was stuffed with cotton.
I felt my nose twitch at the scent of steak like a distant spectator, my body existing in a different plane than I was.
The market. Baskets. Mother.
She’d be pissed if I overslept again and made her late for her deliveries.
I tried to wake up, but my body refused to obey.
That scent of fatty beef and tarts assailed my senses again, making my mouth water.
I’d never smelled anything so heavenly.
I surged my consciousness with relentless force, slamming back into my body so hard I winced.
Jolting awake, I rested on my elbows, looking around. I wasn’t home. I was in Bastian’s chambers. In his bed.
What had happened?
My body felt sprung with excess energy, my very being thrumming with power. I glanced too fast to the side and an ache split my head.
“Ah!” I pressed my hands over my ears to stop the ringing.
Then the spinning stopped abruptly. I licked my chapped lips.
When I opened my eyes once more, colors bloomed. I experienced vision as I never had before, sounds bombarding my suddenly sensitive ears. Somehow, I shut it all off.
Then everything started to flow back.
Blackbridge, going to bring my mother, the empty house, Nikolai… Claimed!
I gasped, my eyes darting to the settee opposite the bed.
Bastian.
Hair tied up high on his head, he sat leisurely, with a large mug of mead in his hand.
Still as a statue, his gaze never wavered from me. I felt like prey being observed.
To his side, a large, wide table boasted an array of breakfast options, the source of those maddening, delicious scents.
Fangs split my gums.
“Owww.” I cried, cupping my jaw.
Wait, fangs?
The rest of last night registered.
Catching Bastian with Elara, lunging for the kill, claiming Bastian.
I awakened my wolf!
My eyes widened. I leapt from the bed, not caring that I wore only a flimsy cream dress that stopped halfway down my thighs.
“Exciting, isn’t it?” Bastian drawled.
He swirled the mead and took a measured sip, watching me over the rim.
“Gods, I feel so… strong…” I stretched.
My heart swelled with joy but still I tampered it. Could this be a dream? Spying my fingers out in front of my face, I flexed them, and… claws!
My nails went thicker and slightly curved, the ends sharper than a rose thorn. Dark with snaking veins across my cuticles.
“Woah…”
My stomach gave an answering growl. Suddenly, I was maddened with hunger. I rushed to the table beside Bastian, stuffing my mouth with juicy steak before I even knew I’d moved.
Eating like an animal, I growled and swallowed large chunks of food… moaning around my fingers as I licked the sauce off them.
Bastian watched me, amused and entertained, but also calm and collected. Tension hummed around him.
“Take this, you’ll need it to recover faster,” he said.
I snatched the bowl from him without checking the contents.
The first slush touched my tongue.
“Mmmmh!” Heaven.
After finishing the entire thing, I set the bowl down and wiped my lips, emotions overcoming me.
That was the best bloodmeal I’d ever had in my life.
Thoughts of mother arose again. Tears welling, I turned to report everything that happened to Bastian—and froze.
Why had he given me bloodmeal?
Did he know I’d been drained by a vampire? Did he know I’d been claimed?
My hands rose to pat my wild hair, they covered both sides of my neck. And after my transformation, I’d no doubt healed. I felt no pain at all.
Bastian was watching me with a glint in his eyes.
“W-Why?” I cleared my throat, trying again. “Why give me bloodmeal?”
“You expended a lot of energy awakening your wolf, and claiming me. Then you passed out throughout the night, looking sickly as hell.”
I swallowed. That wasn’t the only reason I’d passed out. Blood loss, and lots of it.
I’d left this fortress and gotten claimed by a crimson vampire, only to return and claim the Lycan Prince.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but, wasn’t this how wars began?
I shivered. If Bastian ever found out, he’d kill me.
Forcing myself, I met his gaze. The man was smiling.
I rose from my knees, my dress soiled with food stains. The table was empty, every single meal consumed. And still, I felt… ravenous.
“Who knew,” Bastian mused, “You actually had it in you.”
“You’re not mad?” I peered at his face, studying his reactions. Trying to figure out how much he knew.
He tilted his head. “Why would I be?”
“I claimed you first.” For an Alpha male, he would be slighted, feeling disrespected that his female claimed him first.
He rose, his almost seven feet of height making my heart pound. My fists clenched.
I’d transformed now, I had my wolf. I’d be bullied no longer. I tilted my head to meet his gaze.
He grinned, showing a hint of fang, and my legs all but puddled.
I held my ground as he neared, his big palm rising to collar my neck. His thumb brushed my chin, my lips.
I was so conflicted. I could hear this male's heart beating in his chest, could feel the bond sizzling between us.
Already I was compelled to uncover my neck, to offer it to him to claim. To complete the bond searing through my veins.
I’d make sure to offer the unmarked side.
But I could feel something darker underneath his calm demeanor. Something dangerous and not so easily suppressed.
“Not less than two days ago, I repelled you. But now that I have my wolf, you feed me and finally treat me like a mate deserves to be treated.”
“Do you deserve my affections and care, Mate?” He challenged, gaze darkening.
Heat radiated from him, tempting me to lean in.
“I do. Even before my wolf, I knew my worth. And deep down, you knew it too. Now, however, I can defend myself, and you can’t bully me anymore.”
Power felt reckless. Power felt so good.
He scoffed, that sexy grin still in place. “That so?”
His grip on my neck tightened.
I snaked my palm over his arm, muscles and tattoos flexing under my fingers. I let my claws curl, digging them into his flesh.
His eyes slitted and darkened even more as he tried to scare me. He squeezed even harder, starting to cut off my air flow.
In response, I sent my claws deeper.
Blood welled.
Dizzy with arousal, my lids felt heavy.
Just as affected, his tongue darted to lick his lip. I almost keened.
My wolf purred. Needing him. Needing to complete the bond.
He twisted my head slowly, turning my gaze to a door. His lips tickled my ear.
“Behind that door, is a personal space for you. I’ve had it outfitted with the finest dresses and trinkets befitting your status.” He purred. “Wash, dress, and join me in the breakfast hall. The Alpha requests our presence.”
I fought to clear the haze of lust. “I just ate…”
“You’ll need more nourishment than you’re used to. Your transformation has just begun.”
He stepped back.
My gaze strayed low.
Hard as steel.
Why did I feel like I’d prefer another sort of… nourishment?
Wetting my lips, I took in his handsome features greedily.
“Aren’t you going to claim your mate, Prince Bastian? Surely I am deserving of it now.”
His eyes flashed, menacing. “Maybe.”
What did that mean?
He grabbed the mug of mead on his way out, turning to sear me with one last glance.
And in my soiled nightdress, my hair a rat’s nest, I felt more desirable than ever.
Dangerous in my own skin.
Powerful. Alive.
More weapon than woman. And for the first time, I realized how hungry I was.
For my males, for Power.
Untamed.