A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #2)(37)

He gave me a long look. “You feel it, don’t you?”

“Was it you just now, or did he take over again?” I asked.

“Me.”

I let my eyes close, and a smile budded on my lips. “My animal pushed me out of the way to ask you to bite me.”

“Hmm.”

I couldn’t tell what that meant, but passion washed through the link.

“Biting is a shifter thing, huh?” I asked.

“Biting is marking, and yes, marking is a shifter thing. She asked me to bite you because marking you where the shoulder meets the neck is traditionally a shifter way of claiming a…person.”

Butterflies filled my stomach. It almost sounded like he’d been about to say “mate.” Which was the exact feeling that had come over me when he bit me on the middle part of my neck—that he was marking me as his. I knew it wasn’t an actual claim, but I had felt the sentiment.

I went ahead and filled in the blank. “A mate?”

“Yes,” he said softly.

“So if you claim someone, you are basically mating?”

“If a shifter claims someone, that person usually becomes their mate. The reason is because it usually happens in moments of strong feeling and blind love, and the couple then needs to figure out what to do about it. The effects of claiming are forever. A person can be claimed by multiple parties, but the scent of each is always there. However, mating itself doesn’t require love, like imprinting does. It really just needs the agreement of both parties. If the claiming didn’t happen before the mating, then it will traditionally happen after to further establish their agreement.”

“If I were claimed by five people—” He stiffened and dipped his head, running his teeth along my neck. I shivered but continued, “I’d smell like all five?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s it?” I asked. “You just bite me on the shoulder, and I’m claimed?”

“No. With my dragon’s help, I…secrete sounds bad, but… I secrete a pheromone that will soak into your skin. It’ll ensure my scent weaves in with yours. Other shifters will know you’ve been claimed. That you are mine, and if they flirt or touch you or…whatever, it is a challenge against me.”

“And you’ll…”

“Kill them,” he growled. “Swiftly. With pleasure.”

I bit my lip. That admission shouldn’t have been so hot. “And then, what, you just get to flirt your way through the castle?”

“You would mark me, too, if you wanted to lay a claim on me.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

He adjusted his position uncomfortably. “A mate’s mark isn’t always welcomed.”

“People lay it on others against their will?”

“No. That is forbidden. The punishment is death. But with arranged matings, a couple might mark each other without sharing a true connection. Sometimes the male will mark the female to claim her, trying to ensure she doesn’t bed anyone but him, and she does not desire to return the mark.”

“Your mother didn’t mark your father,” I guessed.

“Correct, and it was a source of great contention because it showed the world that she did not want him. That she was there out of duty and nothing else. He tried to beat her into doing it, and she would not.”

“He beat her?”

His expression turned hard and rage lit his eyes. “Yes. Another dark secret. She tried to hide the bruises, but I have excellent eyesight. I could see her bruised face in the garden when I was locked in the tower. She did not bend, though. I respected her more for it. I just wished I could’ve helped her.”

“Did you try? Not that I’m judging you, I’m just wondering—”

“I was only a teen then. Late teens, but… I asked her how I could help. She told me to leave. To find someone I loved, without the weight of a kingdom on my shoulders, and be happy.”

“But then…” I pulled away so I could see his face. Sorrow shone in his eyes, and guilt ate through the bond. “But why would you think you killed her if she told you to go?”

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Because I left her here with a monster.” His eyes glossed over as he stared out into nothing for a moment.

I stroked down his face, my heart aching for him.

His eyes fluttered, and then his gaze zipped down to me. All at once, his expression hardened. His body tensed. Anger rushed through the bond to cover the softer emotions. He was trying to erect walls to keep his pain inside.

“Get off,” he barked. “It’s time to go. We’ve dallied long enough. Your lady’s maid can clean you up.”

He pushed me off him and walked to the edge of the rockface, clearly waiting for me to put on my pants.

I sighed, still aching inside, but not because of his rough treatment. His words and actions didn’t affect me as much now that I understood more of his pain. His turmoil. His behavior was a symptom of a greater problem, and while I wouldn’t let him go overboard with it, I would tolerate these little outbursts. It was human, this side of him. I welcomed that.

“Yeah, okay.” I worked my pants back on and felt my face sour. “Gross.”

He glanced back, saw that I was ready, and changed into his beast.