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  Somewhere, somehow, in the midst of the most indescribable pleasure, in the midst of whispering to Mason just how much I loved him, I remembered that we were approaching the second part of the mating ritual. Wave after wave washed over me, my body surging toward a point where I was positive I’d shatter.

  Instinct kicked in as both Mason and I cried out, our fangs dropping while Mason rolled us over so I was now lying on top of him. Just as we reached the peak, our bodies straining, I plunged my teeth into Mason’s neck, him doing the same. His blood sizzled on my tongue, infusing me with magic and I convulsed against his chest, calling out his name. My own echoed in the room, Mason’s voice hoarse and I felt all the bones in my body liquefy. The moment was beyond intense and I struggled to catch my breath.

  Something inside me expanded, growing tighter and tighter. There was a rush of power that filled me completely, sending my senses spinning in all directions. I felt euphoric and whole. I could feel energy pulsing under my skin and my wolf howled with joy. Our mating was now binding and it had been epic.

  “Wow.” I laughed, my heart still racing. “Just wow.” I could barely move.

  “Pretty profound, huh?” Mason chuckled. Somehow he’d found enough strength to trace his hand up and down over my sensitive skin.

  I let out a deep breath, enjoying how close we were. “I didn’t know it could be so . . .”

  “Good?”

  “Mind blowing.” I sighed happily. “Is it always . . .”

  “Good?” Mason bent his neck slightly so he could kiss my shoulder, tightening his arm around my waist.

  “So amazing?”

  “Just you wait.” There was a hint of a grin in his voice that had me moving so I could look at him.

  “For what?”

  “That was just round one.” He gave me no warning before he rolled me over onto my back again, desire in his eyes as his body stirred. Mine eagerly responded and I curled my leg around his hips. “Ready for more?”

  “Always, husband. Always.”

  “The night is young and I aim to please.” Capturing my mouth in a soul searing kiss, Mason proceeded to show me how dominating and thorough he could be in keeping his promises.

  Over and over again.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  It was early morning, the sun slowing rising when I stretched out my muscles. We’d finally fallen asleep a few hours ago, completely satiated and blissfully content, our bodies still wrapped up in each other.

  Shifting my weight, I tried not to wake Mason, who was softly snoring beside me. Certain parts of me ached, but I didn’t complain. I was deliciously sore, memories of our first night together as man and wife still fresh in my mind. My fantasies about how it would be hadn’t even come close to reality, Mason proving he was just attentive in bed as he was out. Touching my lips, I smiled. I was tempted to wake him so we could replay some of the kisses.

  Your wish is my command. Mason’s arm tightened around my waist and he nuzzled into my neck.

  Do you think people would notice if we didn’t leave our room for let’s say . . . a week or three? I tried not to squirm as he found yet another sensitive spot, his day old scruff tickling my skin.

  They will; but if they know what’s good for them, they won’t say anything. His hand rested against my bare stomach, the slight pressure awakening my body. I say we stay right where we are. His fingers began moving in a small circle, each swirl going lower and lower.

  But, I’m not tired. Between the kisses at my neck and the magic his hand was now evoking, there was no chance of sleeping. Ever.

  Good, because I had a few things I wanted . . .

  I bolted up, my eyes widening with wonder. Not from what Mason had been about to do, but from the realization that had struck me like a lightning bolt.

  “We weren’t talking!” I exclaimed, bouncing on the bed, so I could turn and look at him. “We weren’t talking normally. Our connection . . .” I placed my hand on his bare chest as he folded his hands behind his head and grinned.

  “Our connection seems to be working perfectly. Crystal clear with no interference.”

  “Do you think it’s because we’re mated?” Early morning sex was now pushed aside as my mind attempted to wrap itself around this new revelation. “All this time and now it works.”

  “You’re cute when you’re excited.” Mason chuckled. He tried pulling me down on top of him, his plans obviously not cast aside just yet.

  “Wait, I want to make sure. Let’s test it.” I made my expression blank and stared hard at him. “Okay, what am I thinking?”

  Mason snorted. “I’m not the one stopping us from doing that, Mrs. O’Connor.”

  I shook my head, ignoring the warm flush in my cheeks. “You try then.” Mason cocked an eyebrow and when I didn’t say anything, looked me up and down. “I don’t even need our connection to know what’s on your mind. Be serious.” I slapped his chest and he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

  “Fine.” He paused for a second and then returned my gaze. “Ready.”

  I didn’t even need to try, his thoughts and feelings were right there inside my head, easy to interpret. “I love you, too.”

  “Hmmm, this is definitely a good thing. Are you satisfied our connection is fixed?” Mason was already reaching for me again, desire taking over his features.

  “Just one more test and I will be.” I bit my bottom lip and cast a sidelong glance at the door. I didn’t say a word, telling him through our mental pathway.

  Mason responded just as I wanted. “One glass of cold orange juice coming up.” He slipped out of bed, pulling on his trousers before leaving the room. His hair was all messed up, making him look incredibly sexy and watching the way his muscles flexed when he moved, made me impatient. Just a few more minutes and I’d be certain—leaving the rest of the day for play.

  Liked the view, huh? His voice still came across loud and clear. He continued talking, describing what he saw and which pack members were already up, not bothering to block out his brief conversation with a curious Daniel.

  Tell him to mind his own business! I exclaimed.

  Taking advantage of my few moments alone, I lazily entered the bathroom, needing to freshen up and complete my morning routine. There was no hiding the happy reflection that greeted me in the mirror or the way I seemed to shine. Brushing my teeth was easy; my mouth shaped in a constant smile and after tying my hair back in a loose ponytail, all I wanted to do was dance.

  Then do it, sweetheart. Mason’s thoughts revealed he was headed back to our room.

  Winking at myself in the mirror, I jumped up and down, moving my arms above my head like I didn’t have a problem in the world. Deciding to throw in a random twirl, I fist bumped the air when I completed it—grinning crazily.

  “Wooohoooo!” I cried out, not caring if my exuberance woke others. “I love Mason O’Connor!!”

  Power surged from within me, pushing it outward. There was a slight buzzing in my ear before the mirror shattered, tiles exploded, and the shower head shot off the piping. Water sprayed everywhere and I screamed in surprise. Shock and fear flooded my system as all around me the bathroom was reduced to rubble.

  “What the hell happened?” Mason shouted, bursting through the door. He skidded to a stop as he caught sight of me—standing in the middle of jagged glass and ceramics, wet from the broken shower. “Darcy?”

  I shook my head, bewildered. “I have no idea. I was just goofing around and bam!” I twisted my body around, gesturing to the destruction. “I didn’t do this.”

  Mason grabbed one of the towels, laying it out on the ground between me and him. Once he was sure there was no way I could cut my feet, he helped me bridge the distance, scooping me up in his arms.

  “Maybe it was water pressure that made the pipes burst and everything else go crazy.” Thanking Mason as he sat me down on the bed, he handed me my underwear and one of his t-shirts from the drawer. It was his way of saying I was getting dresse
d enough for someone else to come into the room, but not too dressed so that it wouldn’t take too long to get me naked again.

  “I saw through the connection though. The mirror went first, then the tiles, followed last by the shower.” He raked his fingers through his hair, glancing back at the bathroom. “More importantly, I felt you as well. Something happened inside you. Some kind of magic that I think triggered everything.”

  “That’s impossible, though. I’m a werewolf. The only magic I do is shift.” I wrapped my arms around myself, a bad feeling starting to settle in my gut.

  “How else do you explain it, sweetheart?” Mason sounded just as baffled.

  There was a knock on the door before it opened and Daniel rushed in. “What was that noise? Are you both okay?” Daniel glanced between us, seeing our worried expressions and when Mason pointed at the bathroom, he went to check for himself. “Damn!”

  “Before you say it, it’s not what your dirty mind was thinking. Darcy was in there by herself when it happened. We both felt her have some kind of power surge right before . . .” Mason gestured at the mess again, not finishing his sentence.

  “How are you feeling?” Daniel crossed over to me, kneeling on the floor. He studied my face, assessing any damage.

  “I’m fine. In fact, I’ve never felt better. I still don’t think I had anything to do with it. See,” I jumped up and repeated the dance I’d done earlier. “Nothing.”

  “Did you also make some crazy noise?” Daniel asked, standing to his feet and joining Mason. “I swear I heard someone declaring their love for this fool over here.” He affectionately slapped Mason on the back.

  “I did. But I don’t think that was it.” I tried not to roll my eyes when they didn’t respond, waiting for me do the same thing. “If it helps, here . . . I love Mason O’Connor!” My yell wasn’t near as loud as earlier or as heartfelt, but I tiled my head back and made my declaration to the ceiling.

  There was nothing at first. Everything was quiet, but even I couldn’t deny the small niggle I felt in my chest. A slight flare of energy stirred within me and before I could tell Mason, the ceiling fan crashed to the floor, narrowly missing Daniel.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but that was you. I don’t know how, but yeah, something’s not right.” He came to sit by me and I raised my hand, stopping him.

  “If you’re right, don’t come any closer. We don’t know what else triggers this and I don’t want to hurt you.” Fear trembled inside me, trying to override my need to remain calm.

  “But . . .” He tried reasoning, but he knew what I was saying made sense. “Let me call Vivien or Devlin. See if they’ve heard of anything like this before.”

  “No need to call us.” Vivien’s concerned voice drew our attention to the door. “We believed something like this might happen once the two of you completed the second part of the mating ritual.”

  Entering the room, Vivien stood aside as Devlin came forward. Worry filled his features, his red eyes scanning my body before taking in the rest of the room. “So, it’s true. The prophecy.” He glanced over at Vivien, who nodded in confirmation. “Even with the signs at her birth, I’d hoped we were wrong.”

  “Prophecy? Birth? Hello? Are either of you going to answer my questions?” I stood, moving away from the bed and came to stand beside Mason. He was also staring at the only two people in the room who seemed to know what was going on.

  “I’m going to ask the same thing. What prophecy?” His voice was edged with steel. “Someone better start talking, and now.” There was no mistaking the unspoken threat if we continued being ignored.

  “Where do we even begin?” Vivien looked around her, as though she was surrounded by her thoughts. “I knew this day would come and you would need to be told of your heritage. I’ve worried about how to answer you, how to ease your anger at being kept in the dark for so long. Please believe me; it was always for your own good. We felt too much knowledge, too soon, would only bring on danger. We wanted to keep you as safe as possible for as long as possible. It’s why we bound your powers, your second nature.”

  Nothing Vivien was saying made sense. Instead of providing answers, my mind was rapidly filling with more and more questions. I glanced over at Devlin, hoping once again my beloved friend would speak, or at least interpret Vivien’s cryptic comments. He stood there, sadness filling his eyes. And for the first time ever, I knew he would fail me.

  “Devlin, you tell me. Don’t sugar coat it. No more cryptic words of powers and second natures. What is happening to me? Please, don’t lie to me.” I moved away from Mason and came before Devlin. “You are my friend.”

  “He’s more than a friend, Darcy.” Vivien interrupted. “He always has been.”

  “Enough. I demand someone start talking sense,” Mason exclaimed, his temper surfacing. He wasn’t used to being ignored, nor was he used to not knowing how to protect his mate.

  “You are part witch, Darcy. We bound your powers when you were a baby, after we were certain you were the one he would come for. The one he’d waited for. We suppressed your witch nature, letting you believe you were a pure werewolf and set guard over you as you grew. Neither Devlin nor I were ever very far from you. We kept you safe. Kept you hidden.”

  I thought that my brain was going to explode, the new information was so overwhelming and I struggled to process it. Every time I attempted to speak, I stuttered and I staggered back, landing on the bed again.

  So many lies. I looked around the room, not knowing what to believe or who to trust. “Did you know any of this?” My question this time was directed at Mason. “Tell me you didn’t.”

  He shook his head, instantly coming to my side. “I swear I had no idea. I would never keep something like this from you. I promise you, no one, me or anyone in the Pack knew this.”

  I stared into his eyes and saw his sincerity. I felt it along our connection, the perfect conviction in his heart and the outrage stewing within him.

  “Why?” The one word came out, filled with disappointment.

  “It was the only way we knew how to keep you safe,” Devlin replied. “I know you’re angry; but it was never our intention to hurt you.”

  “Only to deceive me,” I answered. “I trusted you . . . both of you. Why couldn’t you trust me enough to tell me?”

  “I didn’t want to burden you with this. I knew once you understood, you would struggle with it and I didn’t want you always looking over your shoulder. I wanted to give you as much time as possible.” Devlin took a step forward, his hand outstretched as though his touch could not only convince, but comfort me. “I have always wanted what’s best for you.”

  “Who died and made you boss of me?” I finally shouted. “You were meant to be my friend, not lord and master.”

  “I told you. Devlin is much more than that to you,” Vivien interjected quietly.

  “Fine, what are you then?” I stared at him, bracing myself for the truth. Nothing could’ve prepared me for the words he next uttered.

  “Darcy,” he began, “I’m your uncle.”

  Coming next . . .

  Forever Changed

  Book Four in the Mystic Wolves series.

  About the Author

  A homesick Aussie living amongst the cactus and mountains of Arizona, Belinda Boring is a self-proclaimed addict of romance and all things swoon worthy. When she's not devouring her latest read, you can find her celebrating her passion for books on her blog The Bookish Snob.

  With all that excitement, it wasn’t long before she began writing, pouring her imagination and creativity into the stories she dreams. Whether urban fantasy, paranormal romance or romance in general, Belinda strives to share great plots with heart and characters that you can’t help but connect with. Of course, she wouldn’t be Belinda without adding heroes she hopes will curl your toes.

  Surrounded by a supportive cast of family, friends and the man she gives her heart and soul to, Belinda is living the good life. Happy reading!
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