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
Richard’s POV:It wasn’t just in my head. I knew it; I could tell the difference between the way that Arielle sounded in my head, and everything else.It had been a voice clear as a fucking bell; a woman’s voice, which I now realized wasn’t Arielle’s. No, that voice was very different from my mate’s.It definitely had to be someone else’s.But who?I pondered that a little as I walked out of my home, nodding to the greetings of the guards, and then walking down the street towards the person that I knew would help me enact the next oart of my plan. All that I needed to do was just to convince him.Hopefully, it would be easier than I expected.It was at least another five minute walk to the Pack house at the furthest part of the Compound.In that time, I had appreciated the way the sun had cast a refreshing blue glow over the entire pack. People had already begun to mill about, and though it was morning, I could feel the excitement of the day. It was the day of the full moon festival a
Elise’s POVThis was such a fucking solid attempt at revenge from Richard, and I hated to admit it but I was on the losing side.How dare they?“How dare they?!” I fumed, stepping on a loose fallen branch so hard that it completely broke in two.Hunter walked beside me, silent. But I could sense his anger as well. After all, he was also under punishment for being my ally in this.What did Richard expect though, that Hunter would simply not care about me?I was about to take a step when my brother said, “Elise, stop.”His voice was dangerous and I had to turn to see what he wanted. He was glaring at a direction.I turned my head to see where he was staring at, and I was greeted with two people.A guy and a girl, who looked to be…. nomads? Or something like that. They definitely looked disheveled, a little bit. And it irked me that such people would be near my pack’s territory.“Who are you?” I asked the two of them, watching as they appraised me. “Well, speak.”“Someone you should be c
Arielle’s POV:‘It’s time, love,’ he called me through the mind link.Richard had told me to prepare for meeting the Pack Elders - just me and him this time, with no crowds or any other pack members around. I would be able to stand before them and make my case.A part of me still harbored some sort of fear, but by now I was used to my fears. They in made me want to get this over with, because above all, my faith in Richard wouldn’t waver for a second now.I rolled my shoulders back, standing up from where I had been laying down since.I had dressed up simply - in a black dress and blue denim jacket. I wore my favorite boots, wanting to be as comfortable as possible as I would be standing for a long while, according to Richard.Leaving the house, I met my mate at the entrance. But that wasn’t what stunned me.“Ethan?” I asked, as if not believing that he was here too. Why was Ethan here? “What are you doing here?”“Arielle, how are you?” My friend’s eyes roved over me and I could tell
Richard’s POV:It’s going to be alright, I wanted to tell my mate as she brushed past me to walk forward, stepping up to the podium. She looked calm, for someone who was being summoned to come to her own defense.Or at least, that was what an outsider with no trained eyes would say.I could tell by the way that she was taking slow steps forward that she was trembling, and her knees looked like they were about to buckle under her any moment. And the way that she clenched her hands into fists stiffly by her side, made me want to end all of this and take her back to our home.But I had faith that Arielle wasn’t my mate for nothing. She was stronger, way stronger, than anyone would ever know. She was even stronger than she herself knew.I would need to remember that, as the inquisition began.“Arielle Grey, your witnesses have told us the story. However, it would be better if we could hear it from you directly. What exactly happened between you and the Rogue, Leon Walker?”And so it began