Page 84 of Found Objects

“There has to be this.”

“You need to submit to another.”

“Yes,” I barely got out.

“And the other person has to be strong enough to demand it from you.”

I needed to make him understand. “But not just…physically.”

“You need to feel the strength from inside, the power. Only that lets you surrender your body, your heart, and your soul.”

Of course he understood.

“I’m an alpha.”

“You are,” I said, trying to even out my breathing, even as I shivered.

“I have dominion over you,” he whispered, leaning close, his lips brushing against my ear. “Because you’re mine.”

Everything was suddenly hot, the air between us, his gaze, his skin as he touched me.

“You need to be held down and marked,” he made clear. “But most importantly, you need to be claimed.”

There was no way to hold in the whimper that tumbled from my throat.

“All this time, what you needed was a wolf mate, Mere.” His lips grazed the space beneath my ear. “An alpha mate, and that’s what you have now.”

Finally.

“Do you know why you had to have a wolf mate?”

I did. Of course I did.

“Because you’re not a shifter, so why would you need a mate?”

The thing was, I was ancient, but still, I needed his words.

“With all the choices you made, of what you would be, with shouldering everything, with so much weight on you, of course you’d need another to give you peace.”

The tears welling in my eyes were hot as well.

“Your mate who will care for you, who you can lean on. Always.”

“Yes.”

“I’m ready to claim what’s mine,” he husked, turning my head, still holding me, staring down into my eyes.

“Will you start with a kiss?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good, because you haven’t kissed me yet. You don’t even know if you’re going to like it.”

“Oh, Mere, I know I’m gonna like it.”

“How?”

“Because you were made for me, and me for you,” he whispered, his breath warm on my face before he bent and pressed his lips to mine.