Bear the Burden: McMahon Clan 3 (Fated Mates Book 6) (7 page)

“And easier for me to cast.”

“That was awesome!” Finley breathed. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.” She and Tahlia had been watching from the safety of the porch, but moved closer now that Tempest and I were done.

“Neither have I,” Tempest murmured. “Selene’s magic has grown more than any of us could have anticipated.”

“I’ve experienced a bump in my magic with each step in my relationship with Camden—starting from the first surge I felt when I saw him in my vision while meditating and culminating in the...bonding we did last night.” I felt my face heat as I thought about exactly what our bonding involved and regretted any mention of it. I didn’t want anyone to ask questions about what we’d done since there was no way I’d be able to answer them.

“Your powers have been getting stronger as you and Camden grow closer?” Tahlia asked.

“By leaps and bounds,” Tempest confirmed.

Tahlia gave me a considering look, a speculative gleam in her eye. “I’ve heard consorts can anchor their witches, but Camden seems to do more than that for you.”

"You're familiar with consorts?"

“I’ve had a little bit of contact with witches in the past because of my role with the council. There have been situations involving dark practitioners where we’ve needed help from witches,” Tahlia explained.

“Witches helping the shifter council?” I couldn’t keep my shock out of my tone. When our coven had decided to help the McMahon clan, it had been a difficult decision because we thought we’d be risking a backlash in the witch community.

“It’s something the council has kept quiet,” Tahlia explained. “It would have been considered a sign of weakness to turn to the witches for help, but battling dark practitioners required a skill set the council just didn’t have. Ultimately, their job is to protect the shifter community, and the council members take their responsibility very seriously—whatever it takes and whomever they have to work with to accomplish their goal.”

I thought about my mom’s role as high priestess of our coven and everything she’d taught me about being a leader. “Something witches and shifters have in common, then.”

“Considering the prophecy, it’s a good thing you’re already finding commonalities,” Tempest added, laughing afterwards. “I can’t believe I just said that. I feel like I’m in the twilight zone.”

“How about I make it even stranger?” Tahlia asked. “I’m guessing you’ve never attended a shifter claiming ceremony before?”

“Of course not,” Tempest and I answered in unison.

Tahlia’s attention centered on me. “I think tonight’s the perfect time to have the first ever claiming ceremony between a shifter and a witch.”

“Yes!” Finley agreed. “I think that’s a perfect idea.”

“Don’t you think Camden and I should be the ones to decide when we have our claiming ceremony? Don’t you see how ridiculous this is? I don’t even know what a claiming ceremony is and Camden hasn’t brought it up to me yet.” I was practically babbling in consternation at this point.

“There are three stages to a shifter mating,” Finley explained. “First, you have the mating words, the phrasing of which is unique to each family. It’s how a shifter male shows his commitment to his mate. Then, the marking, the bite which deepens the bond between mates and shows the female’s acceptance of her male. I know you’re familiar with both since I spotted Camden’s mark on your shoulder when we met.”

“And the claiming?” I asked.

“Well, that varies by species, and I’m guessing you’ll be glad Camden’s a bear instead of a wolf. They’re more laid back when it comes to claimings. They don’t really do any of that chasing down of their mate in front of their whole pack to stake their claim.”

Finley’s answer shocked me—and maybe even intrigued me a little bit. Not that I’d ever actually consider sex in front of other people. I wasn’t into voyeurism.

“I think we’re losing sight of why I suggested this in the first place,” Tahlia interjected. “A McMahon claiming is a relatively straightforward event without much pomp and circumstance and definitely no public nudity. What it will involve is cementing the mating bond between you and Camden, and hopefully, give you another burst of power. An edge we might need when it’s time to face the dark practitioners.”

“If he wanted us to do the ceremony this soon, then he would have asked me,” I argued. “And I don’t want to force him into something this important if he isn’t ready yet.”

“Is that what you think?” Camden asked.

I swiveled around to find him standing on the porch steps, arms crossed over his chest and a frown tilting his lips at the edges. “Yes? No? I don’t know,” I said, and really didn’t know what to think.

“Selene,” he sighed, striding toward me, “I have no doubts, no reservations whatsoever, when it comes to you.”

“Then why haven’t you mentioned the claiming to me?” I ask, my voice sounding like that of a hurt little girl, and it dawned on me I really was concerned about why he hadn’t explained the bear mating customs to me.

The feel of Camden’s arms wrapped around me went a long way to settling my nerves, and his answer put an end to any doubts I was experiencing. “Because you’re more important to me than anything else. I never want you to think, not even for a minute, our claiming ceremony happened for any reason other than my need for you as my mate. Not the upcoming battle, or the prophecy. When our claiming happens, it will be because we want it to for ourselves, and no other reason.”

“And if I wanted you to claim me now?”

“Then I’d call my dad out here to do it.”

“Really?” I breathed.

“Is that what you’re telling me? Do you want to have the claiming ceremony today?”

His dark eyes held hope, as though he was worried my answer would be no, letting me know exactly how important this was to him. “Yes, I’d love to.”

A triumphant grin spread across his face and he bellowed out for his father without letting me go. “Dad! Can you come out here? And bring Audra with you.”

“What’s wrong?” Carrick sounded frantic as he raced out of the house, my mom quick on his heels.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Camden answered. “In fact, everything’s right. Selene and I would like to have our claiming ceremony.”

“When?” Carrick asked.

“Right now,” I answered.

Carrick seemed to take my response in stride, but my mom appeared taken aback. Considering she had probably never heard of shifter claiming ceremonies, her being a little flustered as we all gathered in the front yard wasn’t a surprise.

“Are you sure you want to do this so soon?”

I offered her a smile of reassurance as I lifted my wrist for her to see. “Yes, Mom. I’m absolutely certain. He’s my consort, and I already have the reassurance of this mark to show what he means to me.”

“He’s also left his mating mark on your shoulder,” she pointed out.

“In our world, the only thing we need to cement our relationships is the consort’s mark, but it’s different for shifters. The claiming ceremony is important to him, and I want to be everything he needs, just like he’s become everything to me.”

“You’re already everything I need just by being yourself.”

My mom sighed at Camden’s words, tears misting her eyes. “With that response, you’ve just proven you’re everything I could possibly want for my daughter in her consort.”

Camden let go of me to give my mom a hug. “Thanks, Audra.”

“Treat her like gold or else you’ll have me to deal with. You don’t want to get on my bad side. My daughter may end up being a stronger witch than I am, but I’m still powerful and well-versed in all manner of spells that could bite you in the ass,” my mom warned in the barest of whispers, but I was standing just close enough to hear it.

Camden chuckled, unbothered by my mom’s threat. “I’ll never give you a reason to use your magic against me.”

He took each of us by the hand and led us to where his dad, brothers, and their mates were waiting for us, along with Tempest. He released my mom’s hand when we reached the circle our family had formed. She stayed behind as we joined his dad in the middle. Carrick reached for our joined hands and wrapped his own around them.

“I’m a little nervous,” I whispered to Camden.

“Nothing to be nervous about,” Carrick answered for his son. “The ceremony is a simple one, and from the way I’ve heard other shifters describe it, in a short moment, your connection with Camden will be indestructible.”

“Ready?” Camden asked.

“Absolutely,” I answered, turning my attention back to Carrick in anticipation of the ceremony.

“
Bless mé an aontas
!” he bellowed.

That was it, nothing else. With four short words, I was claimed by my bear and felt a rush of power surge through my body. The bond between Camden and I wasn’t the only thing that seemed indestructible. My magic had grown enough that I wondered if any witch could ever get the better of me.

It should have been the opposite of romantic. Me in the jeans and sweater I’d worn all day instead of a beautiful dress, and not a flower in sight, except the ones in planters on the porch—it was nothing like the weddings most human women dreamed about all their lives. Then again, I wasn’t a mortal woman and witches didn’t have anything like a wedding when they took a consort. It didn’t matter, though. This uncomplicated ceremony was the single most romantic moment of my life because I had the only thing I’d ever need: Camden.

F
rom the moment my dad blessed my mating with Selene, I wanted nothing more than to get my mate back to my house so we could be alone, but everybody else had other plans in mind. They wanted to help us celebrate our claiming ceremony, and I found it hard to deny them when Selene seemed delighted to stay, so I suffered through the meal Audra made. I’d been excited about it before the claiming since I’d helped her do all the preparations, but the prospect of providing Selene with one of her favorite dinners paled in comparison to making a meal out of her. My mind was on other appetites that needed satisfying, my hunger for her burning brighter with each passing minute.

As soon as she was finished with her meal, I shoved my chair back and practically yanked Selene to her feet. Before she had a chance to protest, I bundled her into my truck and zoomed out of my dad’s driveway like I raced cars for a living.

“How quickly can you make it back to your place?” she asked, turning in her seat to watch me as I drove. Her eyes traveled up and down my body, lingering on my lap as my cock hardened, hunger evident in her gaze.

My foot stomped on the accelerator. “Faster than I’ve ever done in the past.”

Her cheeks flushed a rosy hue, a sure sign of how aroused she was. “Hurry.”

“Unsnap your jeans,” I rasped, splitting my attention between the road and her fingers as she rushed to comply.

No further instruction was needed. Her hand slid inside her panties, right where I wanted to be. When her legs spread wide and her hand moved more quickly, it was damn near impossible to watch where I was driving. Not with the scent of her arousal filling the cab of my truck and her moans ringing in my ears. “Give me a taste,” I growled.

“So close,” she protested.

“I’m pulling onto my street now. You won’t have long to wait, but I want you to feed me your flavor from your fingers. Now!” I snapped.

She jerked her hand out of her pants, most likely startled by my command. I hadn’t used that tone of voice with her before, but I didn’t have time to worry about her reaction because a few seconds later, I was sucking on her fingers. I moaned at the taste of her desire, slipping my tongue between her fingers as I pulled into my driveway. When I parked the truck, we both jumped out and ran into my house. Clothes were tossed to the ground on our way to my room, until we were both naked and in my bed. Finally, right where I’d wanted us to be from the moment we left this morning.

“Is your body burning for the orgasm I promised you earlier?”

“I'm way past burning, Camden. Please,” she begged.

“Maybe you can understand how hard it was for me to sit beside you during dinner tonight.”

Pinning her to my mattress, I sucked at the skin near the base of her throat where her pulse throbbed. I left a mark there, right above the scar my mating bite left behind. Then, I swirled my tongue around her breasts as I kneaded them with my hands and rolled her nipples between my fingers. When she was trembling beneath me, I nibbled on her softly rounded stomach before moving lower to lick along the top of her pussy as I slowly spread her legs wider. I plunged deep inside and ground my face against her warm flesh, driving my stiffened tongue as far as I could, my nose rubbing against her clit. Her body shuddered in my arms as her climax exploded against my mouth.

“Please,” she sobbed as I thrust two fingers inside her, making her ride her orgasm out on my hand.

When her pussy stopped clenching against me, I climbed up her body. She was drenched, and I drove inside with one powerful stroke. I pounded into her, barely able to maintain any semblance of control. I couldn’t give in to my need for release yet. I needed her to come again, wanted her to be as mindless in her pleasure as I was in my own. I flipped her onto her stomach and pulled her up on her hands and knees, desperate to get her off again. Lining myself up from behind, I thrust back inside.

“Harder,” she begged. Her fingers reached out for the headboard as she ground her hips back against me while I hammered into her.

Flexing my fingers against her hips, I tightened my hold and dug in hard, picturing the bruises I’d leave behind—yet another mark of mine I wanted to leave on her skin. “Hold on.”

Her knuckles whitened as her grip tightened, giving me more leverage. “I’m so close.”

I pounded into her body at a punishing pace, making sure to swivel my hips to hit her G-spot with each thrust. Her walls clenched tighter and tighter, until I was practically forcing myself inside. Wrapping my hand around her body, I played with her clit, determined to send her over the edge.

“I’m coming,” she cried out, her pussy milking me with every stroke.

Gathering moisture from her pussy onto my fingers, I slid my hand over her hip and down her ass. While she was at the height of her pleasure, I sunk a finger into her dark hole, swirling it around as she screamed out. I added another finger, stretching the tight, virgin flesh to make room for my cock.