Bound By Moonlight to My Mates (by Sofange Daye) novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The hallway outside Damon’s apartment still smells like spilled beer and cigarettes from the club below. The floor is sticky under my bare feet and I try not to think about what I might be stepping in as I run after Jake. Damon’s shirt hangs loose on me, the hem brushes against my thighs, but I don’t care who sees. The only thing I care about is making this right.

“Jake!” My voice echoes down the corridor. “Wait!”

He doesn’t. Long gone is my happy golden retriever who is willing to stand quietly by my side. His wolf, the creature he so lovingly described as feral, is in charge now. His long strides eat up the hall as he tries to get away from me.

Se now.

Just the sight makes me feel sick. His shoulders are stiff under his leather jacket and his hands are fisted at his sides. A tremor runs pulses at his neck, and his head jerks like he’s fighting something under his skin.

“Jake, please!” I break into a run.

He stops so suddenly, I almost run into his back. He turns, slow and deliberate. His eyes aren’t warm like I remember. They are a blaze with that of his wolf, and I step back from him. Out of all of my mates, I think I might fear him the most. At first I thought his quiet was just that, quiet. Now, I am sure I was mistaken. I believe he remains quiet to keep his wolf at bay.

He looks me up and down. “You shouldn’t be out here, he growls. “Especially dressed like that.”

“I don’t care about what I’m wearing,” I snap, breathless. “The only thing I care about is what’s happening to you… all of you.”

His nostrils flare. “Then talk fast.”

I blanch at his harsh words. This isn’t the Jake I know, but I won’t let him bully me to going back inside. I would rather face him and his crazy wolf, than face what I did last night.

My heart hammers loudly, and I swallow back my hesitation. “Theo told me about the sickness. How it started centuries It is spreading, faster than it did then. It has started with my mother, and will keep doing so…. Unless….”

Jake’s eyes soften for a moment. His fists unclench, and he reaches up to cup my cheek. “Unless?”

I lean into his hands. “It will keep spreading unless I’m anchored.”

“Anchored.” He says the word like it is dirty.

“Yes. Claimed. Marked.” My voice trembles but I hold his gaze. “But, I fear one mark isn’t enough.”

His eyes flash angrily. “You are saying I won’t be enough?”

ago.

This time I step back. His wolf is so close to the surface, that I fear he will lose control at any moment. “You’re already on the edge, Jake. I can see it.”

His jaw ticks with frustration. “I am fine.”

I swallow hard as step closer to him. “It’s okay. I just want you to come back to me. My sweet serial killer.”

He grabs me by the shoulder, and shakes me gently. “You think I haven’t been fighting myself every second not to claim you? It is all Storm can think about. He is driving me mad.”

“I don’t want you to fight it,” I whisper. “I want you to take it. Take me. Before it’s too late.”

His eyes darken fully, his wolf has fully taken control. In swift movement, his hand comes up, wrapping around the back of my neck. He pulls me closer and bares his teeth against my neck. My breath catches, I didn’t he would do it right this

moment.

“Charlotte…” His voice drops, reminding me of the night we met. “You don’t understand what it will mean to be bound to a wolf like Storm. You think it is the sickness making him crazy, making me crazy. But that is just low he is.”

“I understand perfectly.” I tilt my chin. My pulse thrums against my skin. “If this is what it takes to keep you from turning, then do it.”

A growl rumbles from deep in his chest, and I shiver under his touch. His grip tightens, thumb pressing against my pulse. For a heartbeat he hesitates, jaw trembling against my skin.

Then his teeth scrap against my skin, teasing, and then he opens further.

And then pain blinds me as his fangs pierce my skin. I gasp, clutching at his shoulders. His bite is a brand, searing, claiming. Power arcs between us, and Tala howls inside my mind.

It’s over as suddenly as it began. He rips himself away from me, fangs slick with my blood. His eyes flicker back to normal for a heartbeat. “There. It is done.”

He turns away from me, and my hands out reach to stop him.

“Jake,” My voice shakes. “Wait.”

But he’s already striding down the hall. He rolls his head to the side and wipes my blood from his lips as he disappears down the stairwell.

I stagger against the wall, palm pressed to the fresh mark on my neck. It throbs with heat and something else, too many things. We are connected, and Tala is sated, humming happily in my head. But there is something else hidden beneath the connection. A hunger for the others.

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