Page 39 of Collar Me Crazy (Hollow Oak Mates #8)
RYKER
T he world narrowed to just her as the battle raged around them. Sonya's skin was warm silk beneath his hands, her brown eyes dark with desire despite the chaos. Ryker had never needed anything more than this moment, this claiming, this chance to finally make her his in every way that mattered.
"Are you ready?" he whispered against her lips, his body poised above hers.
"I've been ready since the moment I first saw you," she replied, her hands pulling him closer.
Around them, the defensive circle held, but he could hear the strain in their friends' voices as they fought back wave after wave of shadow creatures. The Void pressed harder, sensing what was about to happen, desperate to stop the ritual that would banish it forever.
But nothing could stop this. Not fear, not prophecy, not ancient entities that fed on despair. Love was older than hunger, stronger than darkness, more enduring than any force the universe could conjure.
Ryker kissed her like a starving man, his lips fierce against hers, his hands rough with urgency as he cupped her face. The world outside the sanctuary walls roared with chaos—the Void pressing harder, shadows clawing at the wards—but in here, there was only her, only them.
He pulled her beneath him, bodies aligning with the inevitability of destiny.
Her curls spread across the floor like a dark halo, her warm brown eyes shining with both fear and certainty.
She reached for him, palms pressed against the hard planes of his chest, fingers sliding up to tangle in the messy auburn hair that glowed like molten copper in the firelight.
“Ryker,” she whispered, her voice trembling with equal parts need and resolve. “We don’t have time?—”
“We’ll make time,” he cut in, voice hoarse. “Even if the world is burning down around us. I’m not facing that darkness without claiming you first.”
Her breath caught, and her thighs opened instinctively, welcoming him. She was already wet, slick with readiness, her body knowing his as surely as her visions had foretold. He groaned as his cock brushed against her folds, the heat of her pussy drawing him like a lodestone.
“God, Sonya,” he rasped, forehead pressed to hers. “I could die in this moment and still feel like I’ve lived.”
“You’re not dying,” she said fiercely, pulling him closer. “You’re mine, Ryker. Forever. Now claim me.”
He slid a hand down her body, fingers skimming the soft curve of her hip, the spot where the claiming mark would seal them for eternity. His wolf prowled beneath his skin, demanding, insistent, ready to tear through every last wall between them.
“Not yet,” he growled, even as his cock nudged at her entrance. “I need to feel you first. All of you.”
He pushed into her with reverent care, the thick head stretching her pussy around him. She gasped, nails digging into his shoulders as inch by inch, he filled her, the slow, relentless slide a perfect mixture of pleasure and exquisite ache.
“Ryker,” she cried, her body arching as he bottomed out, buried to the hilt inside her. “You’re… so deep. So full.”
He groaned, jaw tight as he fought for control. “You’re so tight, Sonya. Fuck—you feel like you were made for me. Every inch of you, perfect.”
She clenched around him, and his restraint shattered. He drew back and thrust again, harder, their joined bodies slamming together with primal rhythm. The ground responded beneath them, the ancient stones of the sanctuary humming in response to the power they generated.
“Don’t hold back,” she gasped, meeting his thrusts with desperate need. “I need it, Ryker. All of you. Don’t you dare hold back.”
That was all the permission he needed. His hips snapped into hers, deep and unrelenting, his cock stroking the sweetest spot inside her again and again. The sound of skin meeting skin mingled with her cries, his groans, and the low rumble of his wolf’s growl echoing through the chamber.
“Mine,” he bit out, teeth grazing her throat as his pace grew savage. “You’re mine, Sonya. Forever.”
“Yes!” Her voice broke as she clung to him, her legs locked tight around his waist. “Yours. Always yours. Don’t stop—please, don’t stop.”
Magic flared with every thrust, shimmering in the air around them.
Sonya’s seer power opened wide, visions sparking behind her eyes—flashes of stars, of light cutting through darkness, of the circle of couples joining hands as energy pulsed through their bonds.
She gasped, shuddering as Ryker’s cock drove her higher, her climax building like a tidal wave.
“I can feel it,” she moaned, her pussy clenching around him. “The bond—it’s pulling everything together. It’s—oh God, Ryker?—”
“I know,” he panted, sweat dripping down his temple as his thrusts grew faster, harder. “I can feel it too. Like fire under my skin. Like we’re rewriting everything with every move.”
Her nails raked down his back, leaving red lines he would wear with pride. “Mark me,” she cried, her climax cresting. “When I break—mark me.”
His wolf surged, emerald eyes glowing as he bent to her hip, his teeth hovering over the curve destined for his claim. But still he moved inside her, fucking her through the storm, his cock filling her over and over until her body trembled with release.
“Ryker—!” Her orgasm ripped through her, pussy clenching around him like a vice, pulling his climax from him with merciless force.
“Sonya!” He roared her name, slamming deep as he came, hot pulses spilling into her, his cock throbbing inside her as his teeth sank into her hip.
The claiming was precise, his claws deep but controlled, blood mingling with magic as their bond ignited like a star going supernova. Power exploded outward from them, flooding the sanctuary, the circle, the town itself. Every bond answered, pulsing in perfect harmony.
Sonya’s scream of pleasure became a cry of triumph as the bond locked into place, eternal and unbreakable. Ryker’s wolf howled in victory, the sound reverberating through stone, wood, and spirit.
The moment his mark completed, power exploded outward like a star being born.
Ryker felt it rush through him—not just their combined energy, but the accumulated love of eight couples freely choosing each other despite impossible odds.
The magic was white-hot, transformative, carrying the essence of every kiss, every promise, every moment of trust and vulnerability they'd all shared.
Sonya caught that power with her seer abilities, shaped it with will and desperation, directed it through the network of seven existing bonds until all eight couples blazed with harmonized energy.
The combined magic of true love, freely given and joyfully received, wove itself into a web that touched every corner of Hollow Oak.
"Seal the tears!" she commanded, and the universe obeyed.
Ryker watched in wonder as the rushed to put their clothes back on and join the others.
Reality bent to her will, their bond serving as the focal point for cosmic transformation.
The massive rift above the square slammed shut with a sound like thunder, trapping the Void's manifestation on the wrong side of existence.
Smaller tears sealed themselves in rapid succession, cutting off the entity's access to their realm completely.
The Void's scream of rage echoed across dimensions as it was banished back to the emptiness between worlds, its hunger denied, its ancient plan thwarted by the very bonds it had tried to corrupt and consume.
And in the sudden silence that followed, eight couples stood triumphant in a town square that had never looked more beautiful, more whole, more protected by the magic of love freely shared.
"Is it over?" Kaia asked quietly, her dreamwalker senses still reaching for threats.
"It's over," Sonya confirmed, her voice strong despite her exhaustion. "The Void is banished, the Veil is stronger than ever, and Hollow Oak is safe."