Bear with Me (#2, Completed)

25. Bound

CALLUM

I lay in bed watching her sleep. The way her chest moved up and down while she rested next to me had me mesmerized- she was alive, she was safe, and she was mine.

Her heartbeat picked up and a sudden rush of affection surged through me. I saw her smile in her slumber, which made me smile in turn. With our mate bond solidified now, I knew that it was us that she was dreaming about.

We spent the whole night mating, claiming every inch of each other's bodies and pretty much marking the whole damn guest house. There was no way I could still leave it as a cabin for visitors by now, nor did I want to. It was the place where my Flame became my forever, so I was perfectly happy to turn it into our private getaway place where we would go to enjoy our time together, away from the sleuth and the Alpha-Luna madness.

Flame stirred in her sleep and the bed sheet rolled off her naked body, exposing the spot that I marked during our mating. Drawn to touch it, my fingertips traced the four bumpy lines on her thigh, eliciting a dreamy moan from my redhead- that was how strong the effect the mate touch was on the mark. Soon the lines were just going to resemble a dark henna tattoo, but everyone in the shifter world was going to know that she was my marked mate and my Luna. And the fact that this was now going to be the new spot to make her cry with pleasure was an added bonus.

As if her mark was calling mine, I ran my hand along my lower back and over the scratches she left there. Even if she was human, the mating instinct had evidently kicked in that possessive way that it did for all shifters when they wanted to stake their claim on their soulmate, and that was exactly what she did. The pure ecstasy that ran through me when her nails dug into my flesh was one that I was not going to forget.

Memories from our night of passion replayed in my mind. It was so much more than lust that the claiming brought forward. Ever since I was a little boy, I had heard many stories about what finding your mate and completing the bond was like, but nothing could have prepared me for the fusion of emotions, of souls, as we became two parts of the same core, bound for eternity. The moment we marked and claimed each other, the mate bond came to life, turning into a new, unbeatable force that swirled around us before it enveloped us.

Gently, I stepped out of bed and went over to the living room. The smell of new furniture lingered in the air, although I only just noticed it, given that my attention was otherwise occupied until now. But I was happy to find that the phone line had finally been installed because there was something that I needed to have done. An unenthusiastic response greeted me after I dialled Jack's number- my Beta was many things, but a morning person was not one of them. Especially when Mara, his mate, spoiled him with a treatment fit for a king, breakfast in bed and all. Still, the favour I had to ask him was rather personal, even if mundane, so I didn't want to entrust it to anyone else.

Once I was done, I returned to the bedroom, admiring my gorgeous other half as she slowly woke up.

"You know it's creepy to be staring at someone while they are sleeping?" She mumbled sleepily.

Feigning a pretend shock, I played along. "It is?"

"Uh-huh. Especially when they are naked."

A genuine laugh escaped my throat. I adored the fact that she could be sweet and vulnerable and yet feisty and banterous when she wanted to. "Well, that's okay then because you are very much covered by the sheets."

"I am? Hmmm, maybe you should have another look." Her voice was full of mischief while she pulled the sheet off with one swift gesture and threw it on the floor, leaving her magnificent body fully exposed for my appreciation.