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“Now, petal. Do as you’re told.”
The moment she did, I knew something was wrong. An electric sensation coursed through me at the contact, a hum of anticipation, like the promise of a wild storm.
The councilman drove the silver spike through the center of our palms, mingling our blood, forging a connection and opening a box inside me I’d thought forever locked.
“Joined by blood and pain, the two of you are one. Heal your bride.” He pulled the spike free, and I was left staring at the wound in stunned silence.
But I did my duty. I brought my free wrist to my lips and broke my skin before dripping my blood over her hand. She healed quickly, the hammering of her pulse loud in my ears and synced perfectly with my own heart.
“Henceforth, you shall be known as Roslyn Donoghue. Your former name no longer exists. My deepest felicitations to you, the future Duchess of Canterbury.”
Roslyn had barely made a sound during the ceremony. She blinked slowly at the title, her eyes locked on me when they opened as if asking what came next.
There was one final thing I needed to do before this was over. Cock hard as steel, I took a deep breath, already scenting her body’s reaction to me. Gripping her by the nape of her perfect neck, I pulled her hard against me and bared my fangs. Then I struck, feeding on her, making her whimper, and rocking my hips into her as I did.
“Gavin,” she whispered on a soft moan.
One word flashed through my mind like a bolt of lightning illuminating the night as it all came together. Her heart beating in time with mine. My intense need for her. The sense of absolute rightness between us as I fed.
Mate.
Oh, fuck.
This changes everything.
ChapterSix
GAVIN
How could she be my fated mate? I didn’t have one. The Seer had said as much when my parents took both my sister and me to her when we came of age. It was the entire reason Callista had been promised to Noah Blackthorne. Well, the reason the Blackthornes ultimately agreed to the match. The alliance had always been a bigger boon for our family than theirs. But no one could argue with fate.
I wiped my bride’s blood off my lips and stepped back from her still trembling form. Every instinct inside me said to protect, provide for, and cherish this delicate creature. Every one but the darkest. That part of me wanted to see her marked and covered in my spend. Even now, the trail of blood dripping into her dress begged for me to smear it across her skin so I could spend hours licking her clean.
How could I hurt the one person I was supposed to safeguard?
The dual urges would be my undoing.
Not stopping to think about what I was doing, I scooped Roslyn into my arms.
“Gavin, where are you going? The banquet—”
“To hell with the banquet.”
“He needs to consummate the marriage, Felicity. That way there can be no doubt by the Blackthornes that the deed is done.” My father’s voice was filled with knowing pride.
“Very well, but come join us when you’re done. It’s rude to ignore your guests.”
I didn’t answer her. Roslyn snuggled against me, trusting and innocent and all mine. My father was right about one thing. I had to consummate this union. The thought of seeing her virgin’s blood streaked down the length of my cock sent a shiver through me.
I swept through the castle, single-minded in my focus. I was nearly shaking with my need to sink inside her by the time we reached her door. With my hands full of her, I couldn’t reach the doorknob, and I had half a mind to kick the damned thing in when her sweet voice stopped me.
“No one’s ever bitten me before,” she whispered. “It... made me feel things.”
“What sorts of things?”
I set her on her feet and pressed her into the solid wall next to her door. The way she bared her throat to me had my cock kicking against my trousers. But I couldn’t take her right here.
“Between my thighs. A tingle. A heavy ache.”
