Page 22 of The Alpha’s Runaway Mate (Evermore Hollow #1)

Headlights cut through the rain as she pulls in, wipers still beating against the windshield.

She parks, and before she can even open the door, I’m already outside.

The downpour doesn’t slow me down. Water runs down my neck, cold wind colliding with the heat clawing through my chest. The second her door opens, I’m there.

Her eyes go wide in surprise before I grab her waist and lift her out of the seat.

Her boots hit the ground, barely finding traction before I back her up against the side of the truck.

Her breath catches as my mouth finds hers. The kiss is rough, hungry, all the tension I’ve been choking on since I walked into that cursed house earlier. She tastes like rain and coffee and something sweet. “I need you,” I growl against her lips.

She nods, breathless, fingers fisting in the back of my shirt. “Then take me, Alpha.”

That’s all it takes to snap the last thread of control I’ve been clinging to. I lift her up, her legs wrapping around my waist, and the world narrows to the heat of her body, the rain hammering against metal, the low rumble vibrating through my chest as I carry her toward the cabin.

The door slams open hard enough to dent the wall. Rain lashes through the entryway, wind howling like something alive. I barely feel any of it. All I know is her. The warmth of her body pressed against mine. The way she fits perfectly in my arms even as I half-carry, half-stumble us both inside.

My mouth finds hers before the door even swings shut.

The kiss is desperate, claiming, edged with panic that’s been tearing at me since I came home to an empty cabin.

Her lips are cold from the rain, but they warm fast under mine, parting with a soft gasp that sends lightning straight through me.

All I can feel is her fingers digging into my shoulders, holding on like I’m the only solid thing in a world gone sideways.

My hands slide under her shirt, palms flat against her rain-chilled skin.

I trace the curve of her waist, the line of her spine, the dip of her hip.

Every touch confirms what my bear already knows, she’s here, whole, and mine.

The relief hits me so hard my knees nearly buckle.

Inside me, my bear, wild and half-crazed from the fear of losing her, finally settles.

The pacing stops. The roar fades to a low, steady thrum.

She’s in my arms where she belongs, but settled doesn’t mean calm.

My fingers are clumsy with urgency and she’s tugging at my belt, kissing me between half-muttered curses.

The sound grounds me, pulling me back from the edge of something feral.

I pull her wet shirt over her head and it hits the floor.

My jacket follows. I fumble with the button of her jeans, and she groans, pushing my hand away to pull it free.

Then I’m shoving her jeans down her legs.

She helps me by stepping out of them. We’re a mess of clothes and kisses, touches and glances, trying to get to the only thing that matters, each other.

Once we’re finally skin to skin, I press her back against the wall.

My forehead rests against hers. We’re both breathing hard.

“I thought I could wait,” I manage, voice low, rough, scraped raw.

“But the second I realized you weren’t home…

” The words choke off. There’s no explaining the terror.

The way my bear went wild when her scent faded.

The way I was sure the darkness that took Declan had come for her too.

She silences me with a kiss, softer this time but certain. “You don’t have to explain,” she whispers against my mouth. “I get it.”

And somehow, I think she does. I can see it in her eyes when I pull back just far enough to look at her, the understanding, the acceptance of what I am, what we are. No fear. No hesitation. Just certainty.

I hold her there for a moment, memorizing the look in her eyes, the warmth in her touch. The wildness inside me eases just enough for the truth to break through, she’s become the one thing I can’t live without.

Her hands slide up, cool against my face.

Her thumbs brush the stubble along my jaw, so tender it hurts.

“You’re home,” she whispers. The words undo me and something inside me breaks open.

Fear, restraint, everything I’ve been holding back.

I pull her close and kiss her again, slower now but no less desperate.

My hands cradle her face, tilting her head to deepen the kiss, to pour everything I can’t say into her mouth.

The storm builds outside, wind rattling windows, rain drumming hard enough to shake the roof, but all I feel is her.

The slide of her skin under my hands, the way she melts into me like she was made to.

My hard cock presses against her stomach, the nipples of her large tits press against my chest. I slide my hands up massaging one as I lean down to take the other into my mouth.

Her hands go to my hair, holding me there as she writhes against me.

I can smell her pussy, dripping with need.

I’ll give her whatever she needs I promise myself as I press two fingers past her pussy lips and into her hot core.

Fuck she’s soaked. My cock twitches, wanting to be where my fingers are, knowing home is only inches away.

Using my thumb, I rub her swollen clit with slow circles that has her arching into me.

I pull back to look at my mate. Her lips are swollen, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes are bright with heat and something that feels dangerously close to love. “Nolan, please. Stop teasing me and fuck me,” she moans in a husky tone.

“Not yet,” I rasp, lowering her to the rug in front of the roaring fireplace.

The fur is soft beneath her, a contrast to the hard floor.

I follow her down, careful even as the urgency claws at me.

She’s small beneath me, delicate, and the instinct to protect wars with the need to claim.

I slide down between her spread thighs and kiss down her stomach.

I need to taste her, have her on my tongue while I’m claiming her.

She moans and moves her pussy toward me the closer I get.

She needs me just as badly as I need her.

I pump two fingers in and out of her, watching her pussy take me.

Jesus fucking christ, the sight is better than anything I’ve ever seen.

Unable to resist any longer, I flatten my tongue and lick up her center.

Her taste hits my tongue and I groan. I’ll never get used to her taste, I’ll need it every single damn day for the rest of my life.

“Fuck, Sweetheart. You taste so fucking good.” I circle her clit with my tongue before scraping my teeth over it.

This makes her pulse under me. Her heartbeat matches mine, fast and sure, pounding beneath my palms. Every breath between us is electric.

The world outside fades. There’s only her.

The warmth, the scent of rain on her skin, the steady hum of something ancient and right.

“Jessica…” Her name leaves me half growl, half prayer. I fist my cock and press it to her pussy, but don’t slide in. I’ve taken her every damn day, yet this time it’s different. It’s more, because this moment changes everything. Once I claim her, there’s no going back.

She cups my face, steady, certain. “Stop fighting it. I want this, I want you,” she whispers, voice shaking but sure. “Mark me. Bite me. Make me yours for the rest of our lives.”

For a second, I stop breathing. The words hit deeper than she could ever know.

My bear surges forward, hungry and sure, but the man inside me hesitates, terrified of binding her to the danger that comes with me.

“You know what this means?” I ask, voice rough, barely human.

“It’s forever, Jess. There’s no undoing it. ”

Her gaze never wavers. “I know that. God, I want it. I want you, Nolan, so damn bad it hurts.”

Every bit of restraint, every ounce of reason shatters at her words. All that’s left is her and the truth that I can’t hold back anymore. I lower my forehead to hers, breath shaking. “Once I mark you, you’re mine. Forever.”

“I already am,” she whispers, hands tangling in my hair. “This just makes it even more real.”

The last of my control breaks as I thrust into her and kiss her again, deep and claiming, pouring everything I have into it, the love, the need, the relief that she’s choosing me.

I can’t get deep enough, I want to claim every single inch of her, for her whole body to know it belongs to me.

I slide my hand around her neck, holding her, my thumb sliding up and down the column of her throat as I stare down at the woman who has changed me in ways no one else will ever know.

I fuck her hard, thrusting in and out of her as my cock swells.

Her pussy constricts against me, strangling me.

I’m seconds from falling over the edge and spilling inside her.

Her scent is intoxicating, pulling at instincts I’ve been fighting since the moment I met her.

She tilts her head back, baring her neck to me.

I lean down and brush my lips against her neck, right where I’ve pictured marking her.

Her pulse thrums against my lips. I graze my teeth over her skin and feel her shiver beneath me.

Then, with a low growl, I bite down hard enough to draw blood and my shifter magic to take hold.

The taste of her blood floods my senses and I lick the mark clean, watching it begin to heal in front of my eyes.

I roar as I rut into her, giving her all that I am as she shatters around me and we both come undone, linking our souls to one another on a level that’s beyond our bodies.

Her beautiful eyes look up at me in wonder as the bond snaps into place, raw and ancient, searing through me like fire.

I feel it take hold the connection threading between us, alive and strong.

I can feel her heartbeat as if it’s my own.

Her emotion. Her warmth. Her certainty. She gasps, her body arching beneath mine, and I know she feels it too, the magic settling deep, binding us.

When I finally pull back, I lap gently at the mark, soothing the sting.

“Mine,” I growl against her skin.

“Yours,” she breathes, voice soft but steady. “Always yours.”

Outside, thunder rolls across the ridge, the storm reaching its peak. But inside, wrapped around each other on the fur rug, we’ve found our calm. The mark on her throat glows faintly in the firelight, already sealing into her skin.

I gather her close, rolling so she’s draped across my chest. Her heartbeat thrums steady against mine, the bond humming warm and alive between us. For the first time since I came home to an empty cabin, I can breathe again. She’s safe. She’s marked. She’s mine.

Her fingers trace lazy patterns across my chest, her touch feather-light. The storm outside softens, the rain easing to a steady rhythm.

“No regrets?” I ask quietly, needing to hear it.

She lifts her head, eyes glowing softly in the firelight. Her fingers brush the new mark on her throat it’s already darkening into a pattern that’s uniquely ours. She smiles. “Not a single one,” she says, and kisses me, soft and certain. “Welcome home, bear.”

I hold her tighter, breathing her in. The darkness beyond the cabin can wait. The danger can wait. Right now, all that matters is this. Her heartbeat against mine, her scent wrapped around me, and the bond thrumming steady between us.