Chapter 18 Claiming
Lana's POV
I woke before dawn, still tangled against Kian, his arm heavy across my waist. The first pale light of morning was just beginning to touch the windows of his tower chamber. My mind was clearer than it had been in days, and as I lay there listening to his steady breathing, I knew with absolute certainty what I needed to do.
I was ready to complete the bond.
Carefully, so as not to wake him, I shifted slightly. Kian stirred, his arm tightening around me instinctively even in sleep, his wolf unwilling to let me move far. I smiled at the possessiveness of it and settled back against him for a moment longer, gathering my courage.
Through the bond that connected us; still incomplete, still fragile; I could feel his contentment, his satisfaction that I was safe and here beside him. I could feel how deeply he'd needed me to survive yesterday, how close he'd come to losing control when he thought I might not make it through the battle.
But I had made it through. We both had.
I slipped carefully out of bed, trying not to disturb him further. The cool air of the tower chamber raised goosebumps on my skin, but I didn't feel the need to dress immediately. Instead, I moved to the window and looked out over the territory as the sun began its ascent over the horizon, painting the sky in shades of gold and crimson.
The castle was beginning to stir below. I could hear servants moving through the corridors, could sense warriors beginning their morning routines. The world was waking up, carrying on despite yesterday's violence and fear. Life continued, as it always did.
"You're thinking very loudly," Kian's voice came from behind me, rough with sleep. "I can feel it through the bond."
I turned to find him sitting up in bed, the dark silk sheets pooled around his waist. His silver eyes were still heavy with sleep, but there was an intensity in them that made my breath catch. His bare chest bore the marks of yesterday's battle; bruises and a few shallow cuts that his superior healing had already begun to close; but they only made him look more powerful, more real.
"I couldn't sleep anymore," I said honestly. "My mind was too clear."
He watched me for a long moment, and I could feel him reading me, understanding without words what I was feeling. Slowly, he rose from the bed, gloriously unconcerned with his own nudity, and crossed the distance between us. His hands settled on my shoulders, warm and solid and absolutely certain.
"What are you thinking?" he asked, though I suspected he already knew.
"That I'm ready," I said, meeting his eyes without hesitation. "To complete the bond. To be yours. Not because of obligation or because the bond is compelling me to do this; because I choose this. I choose you. Even knowing what you are, what you've done, what you're capable of. All of it."
For a moment, he didn't move. I could feel the rawness of his emotion; surprise and hope and desperate, overwhelming need all tangled together. Then I watched as his control reasserted itself, his silver eyes brightening until they practically glowed with power. His entire body seemed to shimmer with barely-contained energy, the wolf just beneath his skin straining to break free.
"You're certain?" His voice was rough, layered with both man and beast. "Lana, once we do this, there's no going back. The bond will be permanent. Absolute. You'll be tied to me for the rest of our lives."
"I know," I said, and I could feel the absolute truth of that knowledge flowing through me. "And I'm certain. I've never been more certain of anything."
He kissed me then, and it was nothing like the tentative kisses we'd shared before. This was a claiming kiss, a promise and a threat all at once. He kissed me like it was the last kiss either of us would ever have- desperate and fierce and absolutely all-consuming. His hands slid down my back, pulling me closer, closer, until there was no space between our bodies. I could feel his heartbeat against mine, could feel his power responding to my proximity, could feel the moment he truly accepted that I was choosing this, choosing him, choosing a bond that would tie us together for the rest of our lives.
He broke the kiss just long enough to lift me effortlessly, carrying me back to his bed. The silk sheets were cool against my skin as he laid me down with surprising gentleness given the intensity radiating off him. His eyes traced over every inch of me, and I could feel his hunger through the bond, not just sexual, though that was certainly present, but something deeper. A need to merge completely with me, to become so entwined that we were effectively one being.
"If you want to stop, at any point, you tell me," he said, his voice steady despite the visible effort it took him to maintain control. "I need you to know that you have complete agency here. Complete control."
"I don't want to stop," I said, and reached up to kiss him again. "I want all of you, Kian. Hold nothing back."
He positioned himself between my thighs, his body framing mine. For a moment, he simply looked at me, his silver eyes burning with emotion so intense it almost hurt to meet his gaze. Then he lowered his head and found the junction between my neck and shoulder-the place where the mate bond manifested.
His teeth were gentle at first, almost reverential as he kissed the skin there. I tilted my head back, offering myself completely, and felt him inhale deeply, taking in my scent, my essence. Then his fangs extended, and he bit down.
The pain was sharp and immediate, a flash of white-hot sensation, but it transformed almost instantly into something far more intense. Connection. Claiming.