Page 7 of Mated By Twilight
Rylan stepped back slightly, his hand dropping from her cheek. His gaze locked on the mark as if it offended him, as if the mere sight of it was enough to ignite his fury. “He did this to you.”
It was the wolf that spoke to her, not the man. Rylan's voice was a growl, laced with barely restrained rage. It wasn’t aquestion the wolf asked; it was a statement, a declaration of his intent to right the wrongs done to her.
Liza nodded, her throat too tight to speak. She had spent so long trying to forget, trying to move past what Rob had done, but the mark had always been a reminder, a symbol of her naivety and the betrayal that had followed.
Rylan’s hand curled into a fist at his side. His entire body went taut with effort, like he was trying to keep his anger in check. “He had no right. No right to mark you, to claim you when you were never his.”
Any remaining fear left her body. The doubt was close behind. The way Rylan looked at her with such intensity, such certainty, made Liza believe that maybe, just maybe, she could trust him.
“I’m not his,” she whispered, the words slipping out before she could think them through. “I never was.”
The anger in Rylan's eyes faded in an instant. It was replaced by something gentler, something that made her heart ache with its sincerity. “No,” he agreed, his voice losing the growl. “You’re mine, Liza.”
The words wrapped around her heart like a warm blanket, easing the tension that had been knotted there for so long. And then she cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure as Rylan's canines bit into the soft flesh at her collarbone.
7
Rylan zeroedin on the mark that marred Liza’s delicate skin. The sight of it sent a surge of raw fury through him, a white-hot rage that made his vision blur at the edges. His wolf growled, a low, menacing sound that rumbled deep within his chest. His canines sharpened in response, the claim overpowering all else.
Inhaling deeply, Rylan caught it; the lingering scent of the other wolf in her skin. It was enough to make him see red. That mark, that vile reminder of a false claim, was a stain he couldn’t bear to see on his mate. It was a lie, a perversion of what should have been sacred, and it filled him with a need so powerful it left him trembling with the force of it.
Rylan grabbed Liza to him. His hands gripped her shoulders as he leaned in, his breath hot against her neck. Liza gasped, but she did not pull away.
His lips brushed over the mark, his growl vibrating against her skin before his teeth sank into her flesh. The bite was hard, deliberate. His canines pierced the tender skin with a precision that spoke of both dominance and desperation. He wanted this mark to scar, to be permanent, an unmistakable sign to the world that Liza was his and no one else’s.
Liza trembled in his arms, a soft moan escaping her lips. He knew that his mark was a mix of pleasure and pain. The deeper he made it, the more pleasure he'd give his fated mate.
The scent of her arousal filled Rylan's nostrils. It was intoxicating, heady. It heightened his own desire, his need to claim her in every possible way. He felt her heartbeat quicken. Her body pressed against his, warm and pliant, as she surrendered to him completely.
When he finally pulled away, his mouth smeared with the faintest trace of blood, he gazed into her eyes. The connection between them crackled in the air, electric and undeniable. Liza's eyes were wide, her pupils dilated. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps. But there was no fear there—only trust, desire, and something deeper, something that resonated within him and made his heart clench with a fierce protectiveness.
Mine.
Rylan’s gaze dropped to her lips, and without a second thought, he captured her mouth.Mine, he claimed as he licked past her lips.Mine, he confirmed when she opened for him. His lips moved over hers with a hunger that bordered on desperation. And, thank the gods, she met him stroke for stroke.
As the kiss deepened, something shifted. The intensity of his need to mark her was met with a realization that rocked him to his core—she was marking him just as much as he was marking her. Every brush of her lips, every flick of her tongue was a branding of his soul, a claim that went beyond the physical. She was embedding herself in his heart, in his very being, in a way that no one else ever had.
Rylan’s hands slid up to cup her face as he poured everything he felt into that kiss. The desire, the need, the love he hadn’t even realized was there—it all flowed between them, a current that connected them in ways words could never capture.
The quiet knock at the door sliced through the charged air between them, yanking Rylan out of the intense connection he’d been drowning in with Liza. He growled low, his wolf still on edge, a primal frustration simmering just below the surface. But the scent that wafted in from beyond the door made him freeze, his nostrils flaring as recognition hit him.
Micah.
Rylan cursed under his breath, the weight of the situation crashing down on him like a wave. He turned to Liza, who was still dazed, her lids low and lips slightly parted from the fervor of their kiss.
“Go,” he said, his voice low but firm. “Wait in the other room.”
Confusion flashed across her face, but she didn’t argue. With a slight nod, she turned and slipped through a door at the side of the cabin, leaving him alone with the gravity of what he was about to face.
Rylan took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, to rein in the tumultuous emotions that churned within him. The cabin felt too small, too confined, and the scent of Liza—sweet and warm, tinged with the faintest trace of fear—lingered in the air, making it hard to focus.
He crossed the room in a few quick strides and pulled open the door, revealing Micah standing on the other side. The older Alpha’s face was shadowed, his expression unreadable, but there was an intensity in his eyes that made Rylan’s gut twist.
“Micah,” Rylan greeted, forcing a calm he didn’t feel. The cool night air brushed against his skin, carrying the scent of his forests into the cabin.
“Rylan,” Micah replied, his voice steady, though there was an edge to it that set Rylan’s nerves on high alert. “Is my daughter here?”
The question hung in the air like a loaded weapon. Rylan hadn’t thought about Celine since he’d laid eyes on Liza. Celine, the woman he was supposed to mate with to secure the land deal that would expand his pack’s territory.