The air rushed from his lungs as his head hit the wall and spots swam before his yes for a moment. He shook his head. When his vision cleared, all Sterling saw were teeth, very sharp teeth, and they were coming right at him.

"Oh hell no!" Sterling shouted.

He raised his arm in front of him. Shards of pain flooded him when the teeth sank into his skin just above his wrist. It hurt so bad Sterling's eyes watered. It had been a long time since he had felt that level of pain. It made Sterling angry.

He swung out with his claws, striking the shifter across the shoulder. It wasn't a lethal wound but it did dislodge the teeth in his arm. The shifter's glowing golden eyes glared at him. Sterling glared right back.

"Get… the… fuck… off… me!"

The shifter grinned and lunged again. Sterling cried out when he felt those long sharp teeth sink into his skin right between his shoulder and his neck. The damn shifter was going for his jugular vein. Well, two could play at that game. If he was going down, he was taking one hairy ass shifter with him.

Sterling dug his claws around the shifter's neck for leverage as he leaned forward and sank his teeth into the corded muscles of the man's neck. He groaned as sweet, hot blood flooded his mouth. It was the sweetest blood he had ever tasted, like dark chocolate and cognac all rolled together. Sterling loved cognac.

His cock hardened into steel. Sterling was disgusted with himself. And angry with the elders. He didn't know what they put into the champagne but he wanted to beat each and every one of them into pulps. He felt like he would explode if he didn't get some relief soon.

Sterling's eyes widened when he realized he was pushing his hips against the shifters, rubbing off on the man. He groaned, totally appalled, but he couldn't stop if his life depended on it. It just felt too damn good. So did the hard length pressing back against him.

The shifter pinning him to the wall suddenly stiffened and roared. Sterling winced as his ears rang. Vampires had sensitive ears and the shifter had shouted right next to his. Large strong claws dug into his sides as a surprising wetness suddenly covered the front of Sterling's pants.

The unmistakable scent of the man's seed floated up to him, driving Sterling crazy. He started jerking, shoving his cock against the man harder and harder. He needed relief more than he needed his next breathe.

Two things happened simultaneously, two things that changed Sterling life forever. An orgasm of mind blowing proportions ripped through him and the man in his arms started to slump toward the floor, ripping Sterling's fangs from his neck.

It wouldn't have been so bad if Sterling hadn't instinctively tried to catch the guy, but he did. When his injured and bleeding arm brushed against the bite mark on the man's neck made by Sterling's fangs, a white light blinded Sterling for a moment.

He felt the exact instant his blood entered the shifter's bloodstream, he felt the bond between them snap into place even as he cried out in denial. But it was too late. His entire body was flooded with sensation, every cell binding itself to the shifter in his arms.

No matter where he went or what he did, Sterling would be forever bound to the man. He would know when he was hurt, when he was in danger. He would even know when the shifter was experiencing pleasure.

Sterling growled at that last thought, a sudden possessiveness flowing through him unlike anything he ever felt. He saw red, rage building inside of him until he wanted to tear something apart, anything. The shifter, whoever the fuck he was, belonged to him now. If anyone, or anything, ever tried to come between them, Sterling would turn into the thing of nightmares.

Sterling sank down onto the floor as he cradled the large shifter in his arms. He felt tears of tenderness well up in his eyes as the wolf shifted back into a man. He gently brushed the dark brown hair back from his chiseled face.

Well, if he was going to be mated, at least the man was a looker. Hell, at least the man was a man. Even thinking about being mated to a woman made him shudder. He wouldn't know what to do with her girl bits.

The shifter, however, had all the right bits in all the right places. The man was huge, nearly a foot taller than Sterling, and he had the muscles to go with that larger size. Hell, he had muscles everywhere.

Sterling had muscles but they were quite as defined as the shifter's. His were more understated, like a swimmer. It was one of the reasons he made such a good bodyguard. No one ever saw him as a threat.

Sterling suddenly remembered Vladimir and started laughing. He was mated. The rules for vampires were a bit different then they were for other paranormals. They couldn't just up and leave their covens. They had to have a good reason and then permission or they would be branded lone vampires. And lone vampires were executed on sight.

Being mated, Sterling no longer had to have a reason to leave Vladimir and his coven. Now that he had bonded with his mate, he could go anywhere his mate was. The shifter was, for all tense and purposes, his coven.

Sterling growled and tightened his grip on the shifter when someone stepped closer. He didn't care who the man was, he belonged to Sterling. He wasn't going to let anyone interfere with that. He needed to get their mating registered and then he could wake the damn man up.

Sterling stood up and tried to lift the shifter. He sighed deeply and rolled his shoulders when the strain became too much. There was just no way he could lift the man and take him to the elders.

Sterling rolled his eyes and grabbed the shirt at the back of the man's neck and started pulling him across the ballroom floor. He was thankful the hardwood floor was recently waxed. The shifter was much easier to drag.

But the man was huge. By the time Sterling reached the dais, he was panting from over exertion. He dropped the shifter's shirt and rested his hands on his knees, bending over to take several deep breathes.

"Sterling?"

Sterling glanced up then straightened when he saw who was speaking to him. He smoothed his shirt down then nodded respectably to the elder. "Elder Lewis, I've come to have my mating recorded."