Page 17 of Ranger’s Justice (Lone Star Wolf Rangers #1)

CHAPTER 16

RUSH

T he moment my teeth sink into the soft, willing flesh of her throat, something inside me snaps into place.

The fated mate bond settles deep within me, seeping into my marrow and fusing with my soul as if it were always meant to be there. Like it was waiting for this exact moment to ignite. My wolf exhales in satisfaction, a deep, possessive rumble vibrating through my chest as I drag my tongue over the fresh bite, sealing it with the heat of my mouth.

Cassidy is mine—now and forever.

Not just in words. Not just in the way I take her, the way I own every gasp, every moan, every shudder of pleasure that wracks her body when I claim her. She is mine in a way that is irrevocable, undeniable.

She trembles beneath me, her body still wrapped around mine, the last echoes of her climax leaving her boneless and spent. I can feel her pulse beneath my lips, a frantic, erratic drumbeat against the fresh wound. Her breath comes in shallow gasps, her chest heaving, her fingers still curled into my shoulders like she’s struggling to process what just happened.

I press my forehead against hers, keeping her close, grounding her.

She stills, but I can feel the way her body tenses, her mind catching up to what I’ve done.

A growl rumbles deep in my throat, low, possessive. My hands tighten on her hips, my cock still buried inside her, still thick and pulsing with the need to take her again. My wolf is far from satisfied. I won’t be satisfied until I’ve marked every part of her, until every part of her knows she belongs to me.

I force my instincts down, force myself to breathe through the feral need clawing at my insides.

Cassidy was human. She doesn’t understand what just happened the way I do. She doesn’t feel it yet, not the way I do. Not yet, but she will.

I adjust my weight, easing out of her with a groan, dragging her down onto the soft blanket in the back of the SUV, settling her against my chest. She murmurs something incoherent, her body pliant as she curls into me. Her breath is warm against my skin, her lashes fluttering as she fights to stay awake.

I nuzzle her neck, brushing my lips against her ear. “Now you don’t have a choice,” I whisper.

She doesn’t argue, and I feel her body relax fully, her breathing evening out as exhaustion takes hold. I hold her closer, my arms tightening around her as my wolf watches, restless, waiting.

Cassidy sleeps curled against me, her body soft, warm, and completely mine.

The moment should feel like a victory. The primal part of me—the wolf that’s been clawing for this, waiting for this—settles for the first time in weeks. She’s claimed. Marked. The bond between us hums like a live wire, new and unbreakable.

But my mind won’t rest. Not when I know what’s coming. Not when we just confirmed Hollister is making his next move in two days.

I exhale slowly, my arm tightening around Cassidy’s waist as I listen to the soft sound of her breathing. She’s exhausted, completely spent from everything that’s happened. The attack. The rescue. The claiming. Her body needs the rest, and my instincts scream at me to keep her safe, keep her out of what’s coming.

But I know better.

Cassidy isn’t made to sit on the sidelines. And after today? She’s even more entangled in this than she was before.

I press my lips to her forehead, inhaling the scent of her before carefully slipping away from her. Cassidy murmurs something, her fingers reaching for me, but she doesn’t wake.

I pull on my jeans and slide out of the SUV, running a hand through my hair. The desert air is cooler now, the adrenaline of the fight fading into the hush of emptiness that is only found in the desert. But there is no peace. Not yet.

I see one of the SUVs headed our way. Gideon, Gage, and Dalton pull up, getting out of the SUV and wait. Their faces are grim, their postures tense.

It doesn’t take a genius to know what this is about.

Gideon is the first to speak. “We’ve got the confirmation that Hollister is meeting with Del Toro’s people in two days. We don’t have the location locked down, but I think that’s because neither do they. They’re scrambling. That’s two major deals we’ve blown apart.”

“Best guess is that it’ll be somewhere near the border,” said Gage.

“We’ll have final coordinates by morning,” adds Dalton.

I nod. Two days. That doesn’t give us much time, but it should be enough.

Dalton folds his arms, his gaze flicking toward the SUV where Cassidy is still asleep. His usual grin is absent, replaced by something colder, sharper. “We need to talk.”

I arch an eyebrow. “About what?”

He snorts. “Don’t play dumb, Rush.” He jerks his chin toward my chest. “You claimed her. That’s a claiming bite on her throat.”

I stiffen, my wolf rumbling low inside me. “If you’ve got something to say, Dalton, spit it out.”

Gage and Gideon exchange a glance but stay silent. They’re letting Dalton speak for them this time.

Dalton exhales, his jaw flexing. “I don’t give a shit about your personal life, boss. But you couldn’t have picked a worse time for this.”

I grit my teeth. I don’t need this conversation right now. Cassidy is mine. That’s all that matters.

Dalton presses on, his voice dropping. “You know what happens now, right?”

I don’t respond.

“You’ve bonded her to you, Rush.” His eyes darken. “That means she’s connected to you in a way she wasn’t before. She’ll feel your pain. Your rage. If something happens to you in this fight—if you get hurt, if you lose control—she’ll feel it.”

His words hit like a punch to the gut, because he’s right. Claiming Cassidy wasn’t just about marking her. It was more. It was everything. The bond isn’t just physical. It’s primal, deep, a tether between our souls.

I exhale sharply, pushing that thought down before it can take root. “I’ll handle it.”

Dalton scoffs. “Yeah? You think she’s just gonna sit on the sidelines and let you ‘handle it’ when she feels everything happening to you?” He shakes his head.

I do know. I just hadn’t wanted to admit it.

I rub the back of my neck, tension coiling tight. This changes everything. The risk to Cassidy was already high, but now? Now, if I’m in danger, she’ll feel it. If I let my wolf take over, she’ll feel that too. And if something goes wrong?

She’ll come for me, and there will be no way to stop it.

Gideon watches me carefully. “You need to talk to her, Rush. She doesn’t know what this means. Not yet.”

I nod, my fingers clenching at my sides. “I will.”

I don’t regret it—not even for a second.

The claiming bite was inevitable, whether it happened today, tomorrow, or months from now. The second I touched Cassidy, she became mine. The second she let me inside her body, let herself come undone for me, it was already done.

I glance at the darkened SUV where she sleeps, curled up in the seat where I moved her from the SUV’s cargo area. She doesn’t know it yet, not completely, but she’s bound to me in every way possible. She’ll feel my pain, my fury. If I get caught in a fight, if I bleed, she’ll feel it too.

And if I die? My wolf growls at the thought.

I push off the SUV and head toward her. I need to see her. Need to touch her. Need to figure out how the hell I’m supposed to keep her safe when every instinct I have is screaming to drag her into my arms and never let her go.

The others are still watching me—Dalton, Gideon, Gage—but I ignore them. Whatever they have to say can wait. Cassidy is the only thing that matters. With a nod, they get back in their SUV and head back to the ranch.

I open the door quietly—careful not to wake her too fast. The light slipping through the windshield illuminates her face, the soft curve of her lips, the delicate angle of her jaw.

But it’s her hand that makes me go still. She’s awake and tracing the mark with her fingers, brushing the fresh wound where my teeth sank into her skin, her expression unreadable. Not fear. Not anger. Just quiet contemplation, as if she’s trying to process what it means.

What I’ve made her. She feels it. Maybe not fully, maybe not like I do, but the bond is there. A tether she doesn’t quite understand yet. She tilts her head slightly, her fingers still ghosting over the bite as she finally meets my gaze. There’s no accusation in her eyes. No horror or disgust. Something else. Something that makes my wolf still, watching.

I step closer, bracing one hand on the doorframe, blocking her in without touching her. Not yet. If I put my hands on her now, I won’t stop.

“You’re awake,” I murmur.

Her fingers still, resting against her skin. “Hard to sleep when I feel…” She trails off, her brow furrowing slightly, like she doesn’t have the words.

I exhale slowly. “Like something shifted inside you?”

She casts me a wry smile. “Something like that.”

She doesn’t sound scared. Just curious. I should explain. Tell her what I did, what it means, what’s going to happen next. I should warn her. Instead, I reach out, brushing my knuckles over her cheek, watching the way her breath catches. The way her pulse jumps beneath my fingertips.

She wants this. She might not understand it yet, but her body does.

“You marked me.” Her voice is quiet. Not accusing. Not angry. Just… a fact.

I nod, my thumb tracing her jaw. “I did. Do you understand what that means?”

“I have a vague notion based on what’s in the paranormal romance books.”

I chuckle. “They get a lot wrong—the whole cracking bones, sprouting fur, et cetera—but the stories about the claiming bite are true. The transition affects different people in different ways.”

“I have two questions. The first is, are you what’s known as an alpha and is that knot thing real?” I laugh. “And the second is that in a lot of the books I’ve read, women who are transitioned never have to worry about watching their weight again.”

That makes me laugh harder. “Both are true.”

She grins, something flickering in her eyes—something unreadable. “What now?”

My fingers tighten slightly.

“Now,” I repeat, my voice rough, raw, “you don’t have a choice.”