Zaira's POV
His chest rose and fell rapidly as he turned to face me. His body vibrated with anger and he looked at me with eyes so cold that weeks before I felt catapulted into it. But then I saw the worried look cross his face and his hands gently cupped my face. They were shaking badly.
"Are you hurt?"
"No." I shook my head. "Not really."
Aramis exhaled and his shoulders sagged in relief. Then he eyed me carefully, as if to convince himself. My abrasions were already healed and so was my split lip from the fall. My clothes, on the other hand... I bit my lip, trying to keep the redness off my face.
He breathed deeply again. "I thought..." his voice cracked. "I thought I was late at first."
I still felt his shaky hands on my cheeks and gently pulled them down. Kissed his knuckles and tried to breathe warmth into him.
Aramis stood very still, letting me do it. But then he changed his mind, pulled me to him and pressed his mouth to mine. His kiss was demanding, energetic and raw. Our teeth clicked together and his hand squeezed me even tighter. I moaned in excitement and kissed him back with the same passion. Then he suddenly broke the kiss and laid his forehead on mine. "If he had gotten you... If the demon..." his voice was thin and trembling. "Oh god."
I put my finger on his lip, silencing him. "Hey, I'm here. I'm fine." I rubbed his lower lip gently, tracing his mouth. "Now that I'm with you, everything's fine."
He kissed me again. Slowly and tenderly this time, as if I might break at any moment. I shuddered.
"How did you do that?" he whispered against my lips. "The thing about the demon."
"I don't know it. I..." I shrugged and raised my hands awkwardly. "I don't know, but there was a power inside me that just wanted to get out."
"It must be your healing powers. You're slowly waking up."
"Yeah, could be," I said, speaking the thought out loud for the first time. It felt weird knowing you had such great power, but then again, it felt damn good.
He buried his head in my neck and breathed in. Then he froze and sniffed at me again. He growled.
"What's up?"
"Why the fuck are you wearing a different smell?" His voice was somber and a lot lower than usual.
"What?" I couldn't follow him. "I don't wear any other scent."
"Yes, you do! He fixed me, eyes gleaming murderously. "What man touched you and marked you with his scent?!"
Now he was beside himself. His jaw twitched and I could see how tense he was. He wanted to hunt down and kill the man who got too close to me. I wasn't afraid for a second that Arami's anger was directed at me.
"Nobody!" I protested. "Nobody tagged me, I swear!"
But that didn't seem to calm him down. On the contrary, he was pacing, tearing his hair angrily. "WHO THE FUCK?!" thundered, staring at me. Then he was in front of me in a flash, grabbing my hips and pinning me against the tree.
"YOU ARE THE FUCKING MINE!" he roared. Aramis stood in front of me and pounded his chest with one fist. "YOU ARE MY GIRL! MINE!"
Then he darted out and bit my lower lip. His hot mouth trailed down the back of my neck until it came to exactly where the mark should be. He flashed his tongue out and sucked hard at the spot. So powerful that a hickey would remain. Everyone would know who I belonged to.
I groaned loudly and rubbed my body against his. Aramis accommodated my rubbing, thrusting his pelvis out and driving his hard cock right into the spot where I was already hot and wet. I whimpered and met his thrusts.
I pulled his head up and kissed him. Our tongues entwined, played with each other and explored our mouths.
"Mine." Aramis growled tightly.
My wolf howled and called for his wolf.
I broke the kiss breathlessly and looked into his eyes. "I belong to you? you accept me?"
Aramis froze. His eyes lit up and his breath caught. "Yes." He breathed and looked at me in bewilderment.
"Yes," he said again, his eyes suspiciously wet. Then he buried his head in my neck and I felt his body tremble.
Aramis wept.
I gently stroked his hair and hugged him tightly while tears came to my eyes. I pulled his head up and gently rubbed my nose against his, comforting him.
"You heard Serdas. He doesn't know you, he doesn't even know who you are to me. He didn't make our mate band." Aramis said, his whole body shaking. "You're my mate. You're mine."
I gasped and he wrapped his arms around my body protectively. "Then you're mine too."
"Yes," he said and looked at me more tenderly than ever. As if I were the most precious thing in the world. "Yes, I'm yours."
My lips trembled and his arms tightened around me. "Say it. Say you're mine."
I sobbed. "I belong to you."
"Me, me all by myself." He stared at me, his eyes burning possessively.
"Yes, you alone." I whispered, smiling through tears. My heart was filled with love, love for this man. For this man who was mine.
"She's mine!" Aramis yelled, throwing his head back. "ONLY ME!"
I chuckled at his demeanor that defined the dominant wolf and beamed from ear to ear. I would never give him up again.
He gently rubbed his cheek against mine. "So who forced his scent on you?"
"I already said nobody."
He inhaled my scent deeply and his face darkened. "Cha'tima? Why did Cha'tima come so close to you, it can't have been because of the dancing."
My eyes widened. "Oh! I completely forgot about that!"
"What?" he asked sharply and impatiently.
I looked at him warningly. "Don't talk to me in that tone."
"'Sorry," he murmured tightly. "So?"
"I found him when you were leaving with Honaw. He was injured, the demons attacked him and he was so close to death. I went to him and then..." I furrowed my brows, not really knowing how I did it myself. "I sort of healed him. There was such darkness inside him, it was horrifying."
I still shuddered at the mere memory of it.
"You transmuted the demon's dark, black energy and brought it back to life instead." His voice was filled with wonder and pride.
"Yeah maybe," I said, feeling the possibility that I might actually have a chance to save the goddesses.
"Maybe?!" Aramis exclaimed in mock indignation. He picked me up in the air and spun me around. "You're a fucking miracle."
I giggled and my heart leaped at the sight of him. "If you say that, it must be true."
"Shit yeah!", he grinned at me and slowly lowered me down to him. Then he kissed my forehead, nose and both corners of my mouth. "My miracle."