Free The Strip by Heather Killough-Walden, Gildart Jackson Page B

gazes.
    Malcolm was fast becoming flabbergasted by everything Claire chose. A wolf? The inside of her wrist? It was like they were sole mates. If he had believed in such a thing.
    “The right one.” She held out her arm and released a shaky breath. It would be the same exact spot where Lily had born Daniel Kane’s mark. Suddenly Cole wondered whether all Dormants instinctively and automatically went down the same roads when it came to their mates.
    Claire glanced up at him and he caught and held her gaze. Her ice blue eyes were nearly pleading. Begging for him to make her believe this was the right decision – and to continue to give her strength with which to do it.
    My Charlie, Cole thought. So very brave.
    “It’ll be stunning, luv,” he told her softly. She smiled and blushed. “And should you change your mind fifty years from now, I’m sure they’ll have created some instant method for removing them.” Just not these kind , he added mentally.
    With that, Lucas moved behind the table and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. Cole’s jealousy instantly spiked, but he reigned it in and allowed the other wolf to ease Claire back into the table-chair, reclining it so that she was in a more relaxed position. Then Caige’s gaze cut to Cole and more silent communication passed between them.
    “Just close your eyes and relax, Charlie,” Cole told her, allowing a fair amount of power to lace his words and influence his tone.
    Claire closed her eyes.
    Cole moved behind the table as Lucas handed him a pocket knife. Malcolm wasted no time, drawing the knife’s sharp blade down across his palm. As the blood welled up, he squeezed his hand into a fist and held it over one of the empty ink containers on the plastic-wrapped tray. When it was half full, Lucas nodded.
    Malcolm drew his hand away as the wound closed. His earlier discussion with Lucas came back to him…
    “ I’ll have to go a lot deeper than I would normally with an ink job; deep enough to draw blood. So it’ll hurt her a lot more than it would otherwise. Can you cloak her against that pain?”
    Malcolm had considered that carefully. The truth was, he held a good deal of influencing ability when it came to his unique talents, but the power to help someone ignore pain wasn’t one of them. The most he could do was hold her in his sway.
    Or kiss her. A werewolf’s kiss could do many things. Through a kiss, a werewolf could exact upon his victim drowsiness, weakness, pleasure, and even sleep. He’d heard that was what Daniel Kane had done to his mate when he’d marked her.
    For some reason, following in the Baton Rouge police chief’s footsteps didn’t sit right with Malcolm. And the truth was, he wanted to see the look in Charlie’s eyes when she realized what was happening. He knew that somewhere deep down, she would recognize the mark. It was hardwired into her. She was a female-born and a Dormant. She would know he was marking her as his, and he wanted to see that knowledge in those stark baby blues.
    More of Lucas’s words came back to him.
    “ The moment the needle penetrates deep enough for the blood to take effect, she’ll slip into submission. You’ll have to act fast, then, or she’ll freak.” Lucas told him.
    An alpha’s mark forced a submissive effect onto the Dormant he marked, and its initial stages were potent. Dormants were normally overwhelmed with instant sexual need, an utter stripping of will power, and a healthy dose of fear that could cause them to do crazy things. But so far, those Dormants had all been human.
    Malcolm wasn’t sure what would happen to Claire. It was entirely possible that she would slip into fight mode and it wouldn’t be fun. God only knew what she would be capable of once an alpha’s blood mingled with her own.
    He’d decided that once she’d been marked and Malcolm could see that she’d had a chance to register his claim, he would kiss her then. He would push hard until she was weakened