Page 4 of Claim Me

Except I can’t feel her now,I realize.I… I can’t feel much at all.

“Fallon,” a deep voice says, drawing me back to Daithi. “How do you feel about Nikolas?”

I blink at him. “Nikolas is my mate.” The words taste foreign, like someone else spoke them, but they came from my mouth.

“Very good. And what do we do for our mates?”

“Mates support one another. Mates cherish one another. Mates help one another.” The mantra rolls off my tongue, causing my insides to churn.Why do I sound so robotic?

“Excellent,” he praises. “And why do we help our mates?”

“Because that is my duty. That is my place. This is who I am in this world—I am Nikolas’s mate.” Cold dread blankets my skin with each statement, yet my tone remains exactly the same.

“How long does this last?” Nikolas asks, his voice curious.

“Until you break it,” Daithi tells him. “I’ll share the details with you privately so that only you can undo the obedience spell.”

Nikolas nods while my insides freeze over.An obedience spell? Forcing me to mate him wasn’t enough? Now he adds this?

“This will be fun,” Nikolas says, dark amusement coloring his tone. “An obedient little fuck doll with powerful blood.” He glances at Patrick O’Neely, the O’Neely Clan Patriarch. “Thank you for my gift, Uncle.”

“Just make sure you use it wisely, Klas,” the patriarch replies. “We need you to move up in the Gold and Garnet ranks.”

Nikolas dips his chin in acknowledgment. “I will absolutely use her, and often.”

My teeth threaten to grind together, except they don’t. They just remain placid like the rest of me.

Because I’m spelled to behave.

Neither of my parents says a word or reacts to the exchange regardingusingme or what the phrase implies.

Instead, my father turns to Patrick to shake his hand. “I’m pleased with our renewed alliance,” he says.

“Likewise, old friend,” Patrick returns. “Shall we celebrate at O’Mally’s Pub?”

The two of them start to walk away, leaving me behind without a second glance.

My mother bows her head and follows, as does Patrick’s mate. They’re both victims of a fate similar to mine, their matings arranged to powerful male figureheads within the Outcast Coven.

The joining of clans,I think, disgusted by the antiquated practice.There’s a reason these mating spells are illegal.

“Enjoy,” Daithi murmurs, that single word possessing so much sinister intent that I die a little inside.

“Oh, I intend to,” Nikolas replies, his palm sliding down my spine to the curve of my ass. “Thoroughly.”

Daithi shoots me a salacious glance before refocusing on Nikolas and saying, “Come find me afterward for the reversal instructions. Although, I imagine you won’t be using them.”

“Very likely not,” Nikolas agrees, his palm squeezing my ass to the point of pain.

Yet no part of me outwardly reacts.

I merely take his cruelty as though I feel nothing at all.

However, I very much feel it inside.

Just like I very much experience the influx of fear as he turns his attention to me and says, “I’m going to fuck you until you bleed, and you’re going to come every time I tell you to, no matter how much it hurts.”

My heart longs to stop beating, but it doesn’t.