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  Suddenly, she couldn’t get enough of him, his mouth, his teeth, his lips. She wanted him to taste and lick every bit of her. To devour her like she’d never been devoured before. Fate had come through for her. This was her mate and every part of her knew it from the wolf inside to the dreamwalker outside. No doubts.

  She ran her hands all over him, knowing he felt the same way she did. Knowing that from this day forward, they would be mates. They were pressed together in the narrow bed, but it didn’t matter. She wanted to be even closer. She rubbed against him, growling at last barriers between them. He tore his gown off and threw it onto the floor.

  She reached for the ties on the back of her neck. “Help me. I want to be skin to skin.” Together they took her gown off over her head. As the air touched her fever-hot skin, she shivered.

  Without the layers of fabric between them his body was burned against hers. A responding heat-flash ignited inside her.

  She kissed him and this kiss went wild. His mouth, her mouth; it was all a blur of tongues tangling together sending rushes of pure feeling through her body. She couldn’t tell who was shaking harder, her or Gabe. But it didn’t matter. They were in sync.

  He sank his jaws into her neck in a wide shallow bite, licking her skin between his teeth. It rushed straight to her center, and she lifted her hips and pushed against him.

  “I want you on top of me,” she panted, rolling flat, and pulling him with her.

  He released her neck and moved with her. Cradling her head between his forearms, he settled his cock against her pussy.

  She shuddered, urgent need rushing through her body.

  “Gabe.” It was barely a word. More a gasp of desperation.

  A massive quake rolled through his body rippling against her from tip to toe. “I’m so sorry. This is going to be fast.” His words were almost indecipherable, his voice was filled with so much growl.

  His need and her need rocked through her. Her wolf rose to the surface, the animal’s insistent compulsion to be close ripping through her. She gripped Gabe’s arms and lifted her hips to his, trying to find his cock with her pussy. Wanting him inside.

  “Good. Do it. Now.” She growled and bit him on the neck.

  He growled back and pushed into her, hard. It was too soon, too much, but it was exactly what she wanted. She pushed back, taking and giving until the tightness eased into pleasure. His movements drove her to press closer to him, the Fever washing through her.

  “Oh, God. Serena.” His wolf was in his eyes, and his teeth grazed her neck.

  Anticipation quivered through her, and her eyes slammed shut. His teeth sank in, right over her jugular. Pain. Pleasure. It all shot through her in a maelstrom of colors that danced across her closed eyelids and rocked her into an orgasm. This was it. This was the Bite.

  Gabe’s teeth were locked onto Serena’s neck, the blood from her throat pulsing in his mouth. He couldn’t tell where he ended and his wolf began as he shuddered his orgasm into his mate. All he knew was she was theirs. Forever.

  She clung to him, and he never wanted to let go. But sanity slowly kicked in. The swirl of colors from the Bite slowly receded, and he opened his jaws and released her.

  It was as if he were seeing her anew. Each detail of her face at this moment would be something he would never forget. The sweep of her hair stark on the white pillow. The pale skin of her delicately closed eyelids edged by jet-black lashes. The flush on her cheeks and the still-rapid breath coming between her lips.

  And the drops of blood edging the marks of his claim.

  A howl rose in his throat. He couldn’t keep it back, didn’t want to keep it back. It poured out in a joyous belling, echoing off the painted cement blocks of the walls. He howled it to the world—Serena Lowell was his mate.

  No one else would ever do this to her. Not that piece of shit who’d died up on that mountain. Not Sam, his own twin. No one.

  Her eyes fluttered open. The look in her eyes was dark and mysterious and full of wonder. “Oh, Gabe.”

  It was all she needed to say. He understood. He moved off her and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her.

  “I should do something about this.” Her fingers touched her throat, and she started to move away.

  His arms tightened around her. He couldn’t let her go. “Not yet. Please.” He craned is neck up. “It’s already coagulating. Give it a minute and we’ll get you cleaned up. But I need a second.”

  He needed more than a second. He needed the rest of her life. But the urge to tend to his mate was strong and after a little bit he forced himself to ease up. “Okay. You stay here.” He went to stand, but his legs gave out, and he had to hang onto the grab bar on the side of the bed for stability.

  “Are you okay?”

  “A little shaky.” The Fever still rushed within him, quieter, but still there. It would take a day or so to ease. He handed Serena some gauze from the prep table and looked harder at his mate. “Are you okay?”

  “It’s pulsing under my skin. It’s like heat and pressure.” She dabbed at her neck and let out a breath. “I didn’t know it would be like this.”

  “Your virus has been dormant since adolescence. Now you’ve got my variant inside you. It’ll take a few days for your antibodies to adjust.” He knew it shouldn’t please him, but it did. He was as puffed up as if he’d won a marathon and a wide grin spread across his face.

  “I see that. You macho wolf. You feel like you’ve spread your claim all over me.”

  “Who? Me?” He tried, but his grin got bigger.

  “Jerk.” Serena threw one of her pillows at him, but the smile on her face was just as wide.

  He caught the missile and laughed, tossing it back on the bed. “You’re mine. Mine.” All at once his wolf pushed to get out. His smile faded away, and he stalked back to the bed, the rest of his words almost a growl. “And once that virus has done its job, you’ll smell like you’re mine from the inside out.”

  “And you’re mine. My mate.” The laughter faded from Serena’s face, replaced by such an intense look of love that it shot straight to his gut.

  He climbed back onto the bed and snuggled under the covers, pressing his body to the fever-hot skin of his mate.

  Her head rested on the crook of his arm. “We have a lot of challenges ahead,” she said. “Sam, for one.” She laced her fingers into his.

  “We’ll face them together.”

  She tightened her grip on his hand. “Together.”

  Serena’s breath slowed. His body took its cue from hers and finally gave into his exhaustion. Sleep began to sneak up over him. The pack. His twin. His job. Even where they would live were all things they’d have to figure out. But no matter what, they were Fever bound together forever.

  Fated mates. For life.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Serena raced alongside Gabe through the forest of his dream, her white wolf keeping just ahead of his gray one. “Can’t catch me!” She gave the equivalent of a wolfish grin and sped up, losing him in seconds as she put on her best speed.

  “You bet I can.” His challenging growl was lost behind her and soon she ran by herself through the unfamiliar woods.

  She slowed down, looking behind her. Where was Gabe? Had she really lost him?

  There was a rustle in the leaves beside her, and she turned, just in time to brace for Gabe’s playful pounce. “No! Gabe, don’t!” But she laughed as he took her down to the grass, rolling and tumbling like puppies.

  They slowed their tussling, and he nuzzled her face. A hum of happiness filled her.

  Here in the dreamscape, they were able to race together as wolves and to speak using dream telepathy. It was a wondrous experience, and she suspected the thrill of flirting with her mate in wolf form would never grow old. Not when they were middle-aged. Not when they’d reached white muzzle stage. Not ever.

  In the real world, she’d taken back her job and stayed in Colorado. The council had understood—they were almos
t all shifters, after all. The Fever was part of their lives. Nancy was on probation for her poor handling of a new employee and both she and Serena were working to get the office together after losing Vince. It had been an odd experience, bonding with Nancy after the horror of being kidnapped by Vince, but it gave her hope that the dreamwalker’s office would not just survive, but thrive.

  “Hey.” Gabe licked her face. “What’s going on in there, dreamwalker?”

  “Nothing, just thinking about the future.”

  He grinned. “How about we wake up and start making a future of our own?” His eyes sparkled with mischief and his form faded, disappearing from his own dream. Serena watched as Gabe’s dream forest faded into mist.

  Was this the dream? Or was her waking world a dream? One where she had a challenging job, a new pack, and a mate who never let her forget how much he loved her? She smiled and let the dream go. She’d rather be awake, back in her bed. With Gabe.

  Epilogue

  Vince’s mentor walked up the steep mountain trail, all the way to the top where he’d met the young Vince. How long had it been? Ten years? Fifteen? He’d spent years cultivating the young man, helping him deal with the trauma of his family life. Guiding him, so that he could be one of the instruments of change. And now, Vince was gone.

  What a waste.

  He settled down on a rock and stared out over the surrounding peaks and valleys. Here, the ground was bare except for some scrappy bushes wedged into sheltered spots between the boulders. The trees were stunted, twisted into odd shapes by the constant blowing of the wind. Much as Vince had been stunted by the rigid system of the packs.

  It wasn’t right that dreamwalkers and spelltalkers were left out as decision makers. Or shunted to the sidelines with token positions. He’d watched it destroy young man after young man. The best women went to the shifters. The best housing, the best jobs.

  Pack hierarchy needed to change.

  Vince had understood that. Too bad he’d lost control. Too bad he was dead.

  But there was always hope. There would always be another lost soul, twisted into the wrong shape by outdated pack culture. Deprived of their fare share, there would always be young boys who would be lost without his help and his guidance. Vince wasn’t his only tool to shape the packs. He had others. Boys in need of a guiding hand, just starting out on their journeys. And men in positions that the pack deemed suitable for non-shifters. Positions that didn’t look powerful, but were more than full of opportunity for change.

  He said his goodbyes to Vince, taking his time and watching the black shadow of a turkey vulture soaring in the blue sky above him. The bird changed course, likely spotting some tasty bit of carrion, and dove to the ground.

  It was time for him to do the same. Move on and look for the next opportunity. He stood up, and made his way back down the mountain.

  The pack needed him. His boys needed him. He finally had the means to take back the very thing that gave the shifters their power. He finally had access to the virus. The Bite—protected for centuries, hoarded for the ceremony that all the pack adolescents went through, and then tucked away until the next crop of children was ready to face their fate. But he had another purpose for it. And he’d already begun to take steps.

  The shifters didn’t know it, but the future was here.

  Are you dying to find out what happens to Sam???

  I know! Me too!!!

  Click HERE and read Sam’s story where he finds his real, absolutely, for sure fated mate...

  STALKED MATE

  Desperate to escape a world she never imagined could exist.

  Prisoner of a man so scarred, he just wants to be left alone.

  https://jessicaaspen.com/book/stalked-mate/

  Thank you for reading CLAIMED MATE.

  Like this book? Leave a review now on Bookbub or Goodreads!

  There’s more Fated Mountain waiting for you...

  LET THE MATING DANCE begin...

  It was just another ordinary day for Glenna...until she was violently attacked and thrown into a world of wolves, dreamwalkers, and spelltalkers—a world she never knew existed.

  Now she's hell-bent on escape.

  After nearly going wild wolf, Sam Wulfric is back and sane—mostly. The last assignment he wants is babysitting a new wolf shifter—and all the chaos that involves. Even worse, she’s one of the sexiest women he’s ever seen.

  And she’s driving his wolf crazy.

  But when everyone from the US Government to an unknown assailant comes after Glenna, Sam’s instincts take over. Now, he’ll do anything to keep Glenna safe—even if her new found mating urge drives him over the edge.

  Sam’s already found and lost the woman he thought was fated to be his mate and he’s hell bent on never going through that again. But fate has other plans...

  Sexy Shifter Romance you can’t put down...Buy STALKED MATE today.

  https://jessicaaspen.com/book/stalked-mate/

  Fated Mountain Wolf Pack...Come to Colorado where the rivers run cold and the alphas run hot!

  https://jessicaaspen.com/book-series/fated-mountain-wolf-pack/

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  Read Sam’s struggle to overcome his wounds and finally find his fated mate...

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  Want more sexy shifters, alpha wolves, and paranormal suspense?

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  When Red runs into Evan, the new forest ranger, she thinks it will be just a quick fling.

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  DEAR READER,

  Thanks for reading Serena and Gabe’s story. I love this series, but it’s funny how it’s come about. I wrote STALKED MATE, Sam’s story, first. I knew who his fated mate really was...Glenna, but as I wrote STALKED MATE, I knew I had to tell the story of how Sam nearly lost his mind and went wild forever—the story of how his twin Gabe actually found his fated mate, Serena.

  But, as I was writing CLAIMED MATE, I got so caught up in the twins desire for Serena it was soooo hard not to turn it into a ménage!

  Yes, it would have been fun, but then what happens to Glenna?

  I couldn’t do that to her. She’s been Sam’s fated mate for so long, despite that ménage temptation I had to stick with the plan—I had to make his life miserable while he fought his fever and his longing for the wrong woman in CLAIMED MATE.

  And I’m so glad I did!

  It not only made Gabe and Serena’s story much more interesting, but you still get to read Sam’s true journey for his real fated mate—Glenna.

  BTW Serena plays a big role in the series, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of her when you read STALKED MATE. And of course, you’ll see more of both of them when you read HUNTED MATE, the story of Rico, Gabe’s partner in the Enforcers.

  Thank you so much for reviewing my books and giving other readers the opportunity to discover new stories. Your reviews help readers find new authors and new books to love—so keep spreading the word of what you like to read, because your reviews matter.

  Did you love CLAIMED MATE? Leave
a review and share with others why you loved the book. They’ll thank you, and I will too. Good places for readers to find your reviews? Goodreads, Bookbub and anywhere you buy books!

  Best place to connect with me? The Jessica Aspen Book Party on Facebook. Drop on by and say ‘hi!’ and let me know your favorite part of HUNTED. I can’t wait to hear from you.

  Thanks so much for reading!

  -Jessica

  P.S. If you loved CLAIMED MATE, then I know you’ll really love STALKED MATE, HUNTED MATE and WOLF MATE—the rest of the FATED MOUNTAIN WOLF PACK romances. Every book is full of sexy alphas, romantic suspense, and fated mates... I can’t wait to share them with you. Enjoy!

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