Page 35

Cassandra’s POV

The moment the clock struck midnight, I knew I was in trouble.

Alec leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, a knowing smirk playing on his lips.

“Our bet is over,” I announced before he could speak. “Time for bed.”

He didn’t move. “Not yet.”

I exhaled. “Alec, I—”

“Cassandra.” His voice was soft but commanding. Dangerous. “You know what I want.”

The mark.

His claim on me. The final, irreversible step in binding us together.

My heart pounded.

I had been fighting it for so long—this pull, this undeniable gravity that made it impossible to resist him. I had convinced myself I wasn’t ready.

But the truth was, I wasn’t afraid of the bond.

I was afraid of how much I wanted it.

Alec took a slow step forward, his smirk fading into something darker, something more real. “I told you I’d wait.” His fingers ghosted over my jaw, tilting my chin up. “But I think we both know you don’t want me to.”

I swallowed hard.

He was right.

Every instinct in me screamed to claim him. Not because of duty, not because it was expected—but because he was mine.

And I was done pretending otherwise.

Alec’s breath hitched as I reached for him, curling my fingers into the collar of his shirt. His usual cocky arrogance vanished, replaced by something raw and unguarded.

I tilted my head, baring his neck.

His pulse thundered beneath my lips as I murmured against his skin, “You said you’d wait for me.”

He exhaled sharply. “Always.”

“Then wait for this.”

And bit down.

Alec shuddered, his grip tightening on my waist as my fangs sank into his skin. Power surged through me, hot and electrifying, as the mate bond flared to life. His scent—smoke and cedar—wrapped around me, burning itself into my soul.

Then—something shifted.

A sharp, tingling sensation bloomed on my own neck, and my breath caught as heat spread across my skin like wildfire.

Alec’s body went rigid beneath my touch.

I pulled back, dazed, licking the last traces of blood away. My mark—my claim—stood stark against his skin.

But then his eyes darkened, and his fingers brushed my throat, tilting my chin.

“Cassandra,” he whispered, voice rough.

Confused, I reached up—

And felt another mark.

My pulse skipped.

It wasn’t just him that had been marked.

I had been marked, too.

I met Alec’s gaze, wide-eyed, realization crashing down on me. “That’s not supposed to happen.”

His smirk returned—slow, dangerous, possessive.

“It does,” he murmured, his thumb brushing over the fresh mark on my skin. “When the bond is perfectly matched.”

I swallowed. “That means—”

His lips curled as he leaned in.

“We belong to each other. Completely.”

My heart thundered.

Because this wasn’t just any mark.

This was permanent.

Alec was mine. And I was his.

Forever.