“You want to mark me?” Kaif asks, surprised.
“Yes, because to accept Kyan, I must accept you, and I do accept you, Kaif. I don’t hate you for what you did, and I certainly don’t believe you are the monster all your other mates thought you were. So yes, I want to mark you, but then, I want you to mark me too,” I tell him.
I feel with every fiber within me that this is exactly what I need to do… Every word I spoke, I mean to the fullest extent. And deep down, even more, I hope he sees how truthful I am. I open myself to him like I have never opened myself to anyone before. Not even Jonah. This is the side only Kaif gets.
If the first part doesn’t shock him, the last part does, because he pulls his face back to stare at me. His eyes go to the wound he caused the last time he marked me, my skin destroyed and scarred, yet it is his mark, and I love it anyway. But since the rejection, one thing I have noticed is that it constantly itches, and now, I think I know why. It all makes sense now.
Deciding not to give him a chance to fight me on it, Kora shoves forward at blinding speed, and I grip the back of his neck and yank his head to the side before sinking my teeth into his neck.
Electricity zaps through me. A power surge so strong it makes my entire body heat up like it is being recharged, like a high-frequency buzz. My hair stands on end like static. Kaif clutches me to him, his arms wrap around me firmly, and I feel at home.
The darkest parts of him are bleeding into me, along with his power, and when I feel the bond slam into me, it is heartbreaking, gut wrenching. I can literally feel his soul healing, only now realizing how broken he truly is inside, living with ghosts of his past, the demons that have haunted him for centuries. It is like all the bad parts leave and bleed out of him. And when the last remnants leave, everything shatters and the power surge is so strong everything starts exploding around us. Kaif moves as the windows burst, shielding me with his body. Car alarms blare loudly, and the entire building starts shaking. I gasp at the power that flows into me and my teeth pull from his neck.
The room is in total darkness again, and Kaif stares down at me, wiping my lips that are stained with his blood and fur. He looks around, and I can feel the cold draft coming from the burst windows. The curtains are flapping in the breeze, and alarms and sirens can be heard outside. Yet, on the inside, I feel the complete opposite of the icy exterior surrounding us.
“Would you blame me if I said I am a little hesitant to mark you after that?” he chuckles, looking around the room then looking back at me. He licks my cheek and I offer him my neck, tugging the neck of my shirt to the side, granting him access. I offer myself to him completely. His tongue rolls over the spot, and I relax, giving myself over to his mercy. I want this! Kaif needs this!
“Hopefully we don’t bring the place down around us,” he murmurs softly.
“You didn’t last time,” I tell him.
“No, I just nearly killed you, which isn’t much better,” Kaif says and his voice drops lower. Yet, I know what he means, everything is always done in the wrong order, he claimed when he needed to be claimed himself.
“Well, let’s bring the building down, shall we?” I laugh.
“Kyan would kill me,” he chuckles. I stroke his face, winking at him.
“Good thing you’re indestructible then,” I tell him, offering him my neck again. He hesitates for a second, but I am ready. I close my eyes, and I sense him leaning in. He sinks his teeth into my neck, over Jonah’s and Kyan’s marks. The moment he does, I gasp, and my eyes shoot open!
His teeth slice through my flesh and go straight into bone, though I am given something else, instead of nearly dying or a power surge. I am given a glimpse of who Kaif was before he was made a Lycan. Given a glimpse of his humanity before it was stripped away from him.
Kyan is the reincarnation of his true self, strong and a dominant protector. Power oozes from him. Even then, he was a gentle giant of a man before becoming a savage beast. I am given a glimpse of when he was just a man, and a warlock.
No power is given. Instead, he gives me something far better. He gives me, himself. His entire life flashes before my eyes. Every thought, every memory, everything that makes him, he gives to me, and no one’s soul is as beautifully dark as his. He truly is magnificent, but one thing remains even after his humanity is long gone. He protected those he loved, even if it meant killing pieces of himself to do it.
Tears prick my eyes at the relief as he lets go of the hurt and anguish he carried for all those years. Eventually, he pulls his teeth from my neck.
“Thank you,” Kaif whispers. Before I have a chance to say anything, he shifts and Kyan is suddenly hovering above me. Kyan looks around, startled, and I can feel Kaif just as clearly as I can feel Kyan and Jonah.
“You broke him,” Kyan murmurs, feeling sad for Kaif.
I shake my head, and Kyan looks down at me with so many emotions in those beautiful blood-red eyes. “No, I set him free,” I tell him gently, cupping his jaw. I can feel the wholeness settling through Kaif and I can tell what Kaif is feeling is foreign to Kyan.
Kyan’s eyes go to my neck, where Kaif has marked me. He brushes his fingers over the mark and it tingles. “You set him free,” he whispers.
I nod my head before glancing around nervously before my eyes go back to Kyan’s. I cringe at the state of the place. “I will admit though, I did break something,” I say pouting, giving him doe eyes and I’m sure he can see guilt on my face, damn I hope he buys into it.
He cocks a brow. Kyan peers around the room and his devastation, his eyebrows raise and he bristles. “I broke your casino, and I am pretty sure the entire main street,” I admit. His eyes go to the shattered windows and the cracks in the ceiling.
“You definitely did that,” he says, shocked. I chuckle before pressing my lips into a line. “You think this is funny?” Kyan chuckles, looking back at me, a playfulness written over his handsome face.
“Just a little,” I tell him, giggling again.
“I should punish you, the cleanup will be horrendous,” he laughs.
“You could try, but I am pretty sure I can overpower you now?” I shoot back at him.
“Is that right?” he says in a low, seductive tone, leaning down.
“I can think of a few other ways to punish you,” he growls, his lips touching mine as he speaks.
He kisses me deeply, with so much passion and hunger, his emotions bleed into me through the bond. I wrap my legs around his waist, tugging him flush against me. Goddess, I want him!
“Punish away then, Sir,” I say seductively against his lips, before licking the seam of his lips.
“Sir?” He cocks a brow, a devilish smile playing on his face.
“I ain’t calling you daddy,” I laugh.
“Ah, I guess sir, it is then,” Kyan growls against my lips, before his tongue delves between them.