All Chapters of Claws And Blood: A Mate From Beyond : Chapter 11 - Chapter 17

Chapter 11~ARDEN~I slid a hand beneath the oak table, my fingers immediately finding the soft, warm flesh of my mate's thighs. She was seated to my right, surrounded by Alpha Salvatore, his daughters, and their mates. She released a trembling breath, her legs wriggling together as I dragged my thumb higher along her inner thigh.The Salvatores had invited us over for this miserable dinner, and I wasn't entertaining any of their fake, rehearsed jokes at all. God forbid a man entertained himself with something else—like his mate's sweet cunt.She instinctively caught my wrist, squeezing it, and I’d never been so pushed to forcefully activate our matebond mindlink."Grab my hand one more time, princess," I murmured through the bond, my gaze remaining deadpan on Salvatore as he droned on. "And I won't be easy on you next time."She glanced at me, a silent understanding passing between us. My hand slid even higher, beneath the silk of her thong. Her wetness was fucking scorching. I

Chapter 13 ~ARDEN~ The blood on Elana's lips tore every thought from my mind. I caught her before she met the ground, drawing her against my chest as another violent cough wracked her body. Warm blood soaked through the front of my shirt. My senses fixed on her face as the color drained from it with frightening speed. "Elana," I called, steadying her with one arm while brushing the damp hair away from her forehead with the other. "Look at me." Her eyes glazed with pain and confusion. Another cough stole her breath as she tried to answer, jerking her body so hard that I tightened my hold around her, afraid she would collapse if I loosened my grip for a microsecond. . "I've got you," I said quietly. "Just breathe." She nodded weakly, though it was obvious every breath had become a struggle. My mind raced through every illness and every curse I had encountered over the centuries. None of them had begun this suddenly. Then my wolf stirred. Beneath the metallic scent of fres

Chapter 15 ~ARDEN~ Birds scattered into the night sky. The wolves within the surrounding territory answered instinctively, their distant howls carrying through the darkness before falling silent again. I skidded to a stop at the edge of a rocky cliff. The valley stretched endlessly before me, washed in silver beneath the full moon. My breathing gradually steadied but the anger hadn't disappeared. It had simply become something else. Acceptance. No matter how much I tried to deny it, the curse hadn't changed me. She had. She had changed me without demanding anything or asking me to become someone else. She had quietly and effortlessly found a place in a heart I had believed was incapable of holding anyone. She had walked into my life carrying wounds she never spoke about, and somehow she had become the one person I could not imagine losing. I lowered my head, closing my eyes against the cool night air. For the first time in a very long time, I didn't know w

Chapter 17 ~ARDEN~ The woods were silent when I arrived. That was the first thing I noticed not the empty road, or the abandoned vehicle or the faintest trace of rogue energy lingering between the trees. It was too quiet, but I knew forests were never truly quiet. There was always something alive within them. Either the movement of creatures beneath the soil or the whisper of leaves or the distant calls of wolves communicating at night. But this silence felt unnatural, like the entire forest had witnessed something and decided to keep its secrets. I stood for a moment, letting my senses stretch beyond what ordinary wolves could perceive. Cassian Thorne was gone. No trace of his presence remained except the faint stench of blood that clung to the air. He had been here. I knew it. The bond knew it. But why? That question bothered me more than his disappearance. Cassian was not reckless. He was not the kind of creature who wandered into places without purpose. Every movement