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Macey glanced at him, love? Too soon to tell, but she smiled. At least they’d get a chance.

* * *

Birds chirpingat the gray dawn woke her. For a moment Macey wasn’t sure where she was. Then the events of last night rushed back in a storm of emotion. The fear and shock, the fight, and her elation at winning then Owen’s banishment from his family and pack. She gasped and turned over. Her ribs were sore but not as painful. Sleeping on the ground by the lake probably hadn’t helped.

“Did you sleep at all?”

Owen lay on his back next to her, wide awake and gazing at the sky. “A little.” He smiled, but it was tight. Then he glanced at her. “Not really. I was thinking about everything I need to do.”

“You have the pack numbers.”

“I still need the vote.” He rolled onto his side and pulled her closer. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”

“But it has. What would you have done if I’d refused to fight?”

“Fought to win, even though it would’ve made leaving harder.”

“Why not lose?”

“For the same reason. People at the bottom are stuck. I’ve spent the last five years reading as much as I can on the rules and different interpretations and who does what. My father wasn’t expecting you.” He smiled and brushed the hair off her face. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

It was just lust, but her heart melted at the tenderness in his eyes and his touch. When his lips brushed hers the spark between them ignited. His pulse quickened, and all she wanted to do was taste him. Her fangs scraped against his lip and he groaned as though he liked it.

“Have you ever bitten someone?” he whispered against her lips.

“No. We aren’t supposed to bite humans, and I’ve never been that hungry.” But she was hungry now. She knew the taste of him and wanted the sweet iron on her tongue. “Biting wolves is forbidden.”

His heartbeat was music, a siren song calling her to drink.

She kissed his neck and flicked her tongue over his pulse, expecting him to pull away in fear.

His heartbeat quickened and against her thigh his dick thickened as though he liked the idea. She drew back not wanting to be tempted any more than she was already. Her fangs ached to sink into his neck.

“I’m feeling pretty hungry,” he murmured as his hand slid over her ass and ran along the edge of her panties.

She laughed. “I think that’s horny.”

With his help she wiggled out of her panties. His fingers swept up her inner thigh and brushed the lips of her pussy, before dipping into her core. He held her gaze. “Do you want to bite me?”

Did admitting it make her bad? “You taste good.”

“I’ve heard that it can feelverygood.”

If that was true, why was it forbidden?

While she’d tasted his blood when her fangs had cut his lip, a bite was different. It was planned and personal not accidental. She rocked her hips needing more than his fingers.

Owen rolled onto his back and dragged her with him. She sat up and straddled him, undoing his shorts to free his cock. She stroked the length, and he watched with dark eyes as though he couldn’t look away. He ran his hands up her thighs then circled his thumb over her clit. She drew in a breath, moving in rhythm.

The need knotted in her belly, and her fangs pressed against her lower lip. She’d bite him, taste him as he came. The idea sent a shiver a pleasure through her that was chased by a shudder of release.

He lifted her hips and thrust into her, filling her. She gasped and took him deeper, then she leaned forward and kissed him so he could feel her fangs.

“You want me to bite?” She nipped at his lip. Even if she didn’t, the idea that he wanted her to, that maybe she could and that he might like it made her hot.

His grip on her hips tightened. “Yes.”

“Are you sure? You’ll be marked.”