Richard’s POV:‘A plan?’ She asked me after I reached out to her through the mind link. There was curiosity in her tone, although she sounded odd. I paused, listening to her emotions for lack of a better word. There was slight longing, intermingled with resignation.Out of the corner of my eye, I could spy Darren giving me an intrigued look. Ever since I had told him about the fact that I shared a mind link with Arielle, it I had been receiving those kinds of looks. But I didn’t mind, and only shrugged them off as part of my best friend’s curiosity.Right then I had to focus on one thing and one thing only - and that was Arielle and trying to get her back into the pack, back with me, and to win the Pack aElders over.‘Yes, love. Would you like me to explain it to you or do you need a second?’I heard a scoff, and unwittingly, my bad mood lightened quite a bit. I smirked, and Darren rolled his eyes at my behavior. He muttered under his breath and my sharp ears picked it up. He was talk
Arielle’s POV:I was a mess, and I knew it.Somehow, I knew that it had to be my fault as well, just like everyone else probably thought.There I was, even when Richard was going his best to be comforting, and I was messing things up.I just couldn’t help it. The more I thought about Richard, the more my chest hurt. The more I felt the futility of this love in the face of so many obstacles. If I ended up bonded to Richard, it would greatly harm his integrity as the Alpha.And Elise? Wouldn’t she be there to make things even worse, no matter how much I tried to appeal to the Pack Elders?‘Arielle, stop it,’ Richard’s voice through our mind link broke me even more. He sounded incredibly weary, and I felt even more guilty.I placed my hand over my mouth, trying to stop the tears from coming out. Eventually, and it did take a lot of time and trying, it it stopped.Perhaps it was the constant stream of my mate telling me that it was okay and he would protect me, that made me to actually s
Richard’s POV:I clenched and unclenched my hands, feeling the strain and slight ache that was a normality for me after finishing all the paperwork on my desk.It was already three hours - wait, actually four hours, I amended after a glance at the clock - since I had spoken with Arielle. The sun was already leaving orange, pink and red hues in the sky, as it was setting, giving way for the moon to shine bright. I noted absently that the night of the full moon was only three days from now - and that was why there was just so much paperwork to get done. Too many logistics, and we would be inviting delegates of the neighboring packs as well, just like last time.Standing up from the chair I had been sat on for hours now, I raised my arms over my head and stretched.It was relieving; physically I was fine.Mentally, however…I still had to admit that the fact that my own mate didn’t want me to mark her despite our impending bonding ceremony smarted like a bitch. It was a war I couldn’t wi
Arielle’s POV:I was now pacing around the clearing. With each step I took, my anticipation rose. I was restless, with a need to go to my mate for comfort. But he wouldn’t be here for a long while yet.It was already afternoon and the forest looked brighter, bathed in beautiful golden light. For the first time since I left to the forest last night, I felt like the beauty of the forest was truly glorious.Still that couldn’t calm the strange anticipation I felt in my heart. What was I waiting for? What made me restless this much?It wasn’t until I heard footsteps drawing nearer to me that I stopped walking about, and then I realized what was making me feel so. It was my mate, and it had to have been his emotions I was feeling causing me to become restless.Richard came nearer to me and I felt elated, even though I was a little surprised. I hadn’t expected him to come here anytime soon.“Richard, what happened?” I asked him. From his tense expression, with his brows drawn together and h
Richard’s POV:I truly hated this.My eyes stared at the wall clock in front of me.Once more, I was in my study, my work half finished but not even catching my attention right then.I was distracted, still thinking about how many hours more I had to wait until tonight.Tonight… tonight I would finally bond with Arielle.As tomorrow was the festival and the night of the full moon, Arielle and I had decided that it wouldn’t do to arouse suspicion on us just yet.Therefore instead of culminating our mate bond under the blessed light of the full moon, we would have to settle for the night before.I had already handed over certain duties regarding the preparations to Darren. Ever the able and charismatic beta, he would definitely not fail in carrying out the duties in any way.He and Lilian had expressed sadness that they wouldn’t be able to come to our bonding ceremony.I shook my head, bringing my hand up to rake through my hair.That only reminded me of the way that she would thread he
Arielle’s POV:As I watched the sun disappear into the shadow of the trees, I knew that it was time.I only had to wait; it wouldn’t be long now until Richard came to meet me here, and we would finally have our bonding ceremony. Unconsciously, I clasped my hand over my chest, and felt the pounding of my heart. It was too much for me to bear; I thought my heart would leap right out of my chest with the burning anticipation I felt.After tonight, Richard and I would be one forever.Of course I still felt that fear - that overwhelming anxiousness that when he Pack Elders found out, they would not only punish me but also Richard. Or that they would take away his status as Alpha, or even worse, exile him from the pack and cause him to become an outcast, because he had been bonded to me.That didn’t mean that I didn’t trust Richard though. I had put all my love and trust in him, and unlike the shadows of the past that I didn’t wish to ever think about again, I knew that Richard would never f
Richard’s POV:I longed to devour her, inside and out.I braced my arm as I gripped her waist, kissing her deeply and letting my lips then trail down her neck and to her chest, her breasts like two beautiful mounds that I wanted to put my mouth on. And so I did, taking her left nipple into my mouth. She cried out as I began to play with her. I was a skilled lover, that much I could boast about and was proud of.And ever since Arielle and I had found each other to be mates, I had spent every waking moment thinking at the back of my mind about the time that I would finally make her mine.Now was the time and I couldn’t let it go.I would make sure she felt every inch of the desire that I held for her. She was mine in every way.Still, as I ground my manhood on her thigh and began to caress, bite, suck every inch of her, I longed to plunge my length into her core finally.“Richard,” she panted my name like a prayer. “Please…”“Yes angel?” I asked ber, releasing her other nipple from my l
Arielle’s POV:I was still half-scared, feeling like I was going insane. What more could I use to explain the intense way that I had woken up? At first it hadn’t been much, merely whispers of my name. I half/thought that it was the moon goddess trying to reach me again, as I had grown used to hearing her voice every now and then.But instead of that, it was a flurry of voices - actually, just one voice, Richard’s voice - and it felt like I was sinking deep into the very depths of my mate’s mind.He thought about me a lot more than I had expected, apparently.But as he calmed me down, holding me in his arms, I felt a lot more relaxed, and I began to take in deep breaths, pushing all the whispers and words and memories that were still flowing into my head at a somewhat more sedate pace, to the back of my mind.Still, that didn’t change the fact that I had questions.Was this effect a part of the bond that had been deepened by the bonding ceremony?I looked up into Richard’s intense gaze