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Tonya Pain was like a star imploding, dragging me into its darkness. The council hall vanished, and Zeke’s voice receded. Rejecting Zeke was accompanied with tremendous pain, but I welcomed it because it tasted of freedom. When I opened my eyes again, there was no Council Hall or the noise. Soft morning light spilled from the window. I tried to move but realized I couldn’t. An arm was draped across my waist, which pulled me against a warm chest. I knew it before my mind focused. I was sleeping with Ezra.His breath was warm against the back of my neck, slow and relaxed. His palm rested over my chest like it had been made to fit there. Realization hit me that I was in his room. In his bed. In his arms.For a moment I just lay there, staring at the window, the curtains stirring with the morning breeze. His room smelled like him, like woodsmoke and pine. And I was wrapped in it, cocooned in his safety. Relief hit me so hard that tears pricked my eyes and slipped silently onto the pill
ZekeShe rejected me? Her words hung in the air like poison. They echoed in my head, slicing my heart over and over until I could barely breathe. My chest felt like it had been ripped open, with her every syllable. My hand clasped my chest and I felt like clawing it because the pain was too much to bear. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think as I just stared at her. It felt like she had turned into a stranger in a matter of a few seconds. I could see that she was also in a lot of pain, but how could she reject me? She was in love with me. I knew I committed a mistake by choosing Angie over her, but now I was here to amend it. And yet she rejected me? This wasn’t supposed to happen. My wolf whined and cried inside me. ‘Mate, my mate. She rejected us. I want our mate. Get her.’ “Tonya…” My voice cracked. “You can’t mean that. You can’t… you can’t be so cruel. We are bonded. We are moon mates.”In Ezra’s arms, she turned her gaze on me. But her eyes had turned cold and merciless. She looked
TonyaThough the world felt like it had split open beneath my feet and my heart pounded like a drum of war, as the weight of the situation sank in, everything was crystal clear. I looked from Zeke to Ezra. I was a mate to the brothers. How was this possible? The crowd’s murmurs were more than ever. Eyes wide, mouths parted, disbelief etched on every face. It was as though the entire world had turned to chaos, and I stood at the center of the storm. My legs trembled, my body refused to move, while inside my soul was spiraling out of control.When I said that I had to say something, every eye fell on me. There was a stunned silence around me. My knees quivered because a thousand weights pressed against me with judgment, confusion, and awe.I still couldn’t believe that after centuries of moon goddess not bestowing mates to our world, she had chosen me to have two mates. Was it a cruel melody of hers? I had thought Ezra’s pull was some kind of twisted fate, something my body betrayed me
TonyaMy hands trembled on the wooden railing of the stand as I awaited Elders’ orders. Zeke was my mate? And he took advantage of my feelings by never revealing it to me only so that he could marry Angie, and keep me as his mistress? My stomach twisted at the thought, and I retched. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head, my vision blurring with tears. My gaze went to Ezra. His eyes were full of fury and possessiveness and they were locked on mine. “I don’t want to go!” My voice cracked as I bared my soul before the Elders. “Please! Please don’t send me back to him. He’ll destroy me.”The hall had gone still. The Elders exchanged looks and the ground might as well have swallowed me because I knew what they were about to say. Elder Derek said, “In lieu of the current situation, we order Tonya Wilson to return to Alpha Zeke. We also order Alpha Zeke to mark her and complete his mating bond. It’s a bond we’ve been waiting for centuries.” Zeke smiled cruelly. His eyes glistened with trium
Ezra Tonya wasn’t beside me, and everything in me misfired. Every voice outside the Council Hall sounded far away, as if I stood under water. Shade paced impatiently in my skull with a maddening rhythm. I tried to stand still, but couldn’t so I pressed the heels of my boots to the ground.“Alpha,” Norton said quietly. “If the Elders press jurisdiction, we pivot to due cause. Zeke’s unlawful confinement, the bruising documented by our physician. If they argue territory, we—”I watched his mouth move and heard none of it. My gaze kept cutting to the main door. Tonya was somewhere behind that door, too far from my reach. Shade growled, wanting me to free him. I clenched my fists until the knuckles cracked. If I freed him, he would bring carnage. A soft ripple of laughter came from the opposite colonnade. Zeke stood there with Daniel and Angie, like he already knew he was going to win. He tilted his chin when he saw me, a slow, ugly smile dragging across his mouth. Angie, on the other h
TonyaMy words echoed in the council hall as everyone became quiet. I repeated what happened with me, and what Zeke wanted to do with me. “It was Alpha Ezra who rescued me from Alpha Zeke, and his nefarious intentions. Not only he took me to his pack, he gave me a safe place to live. Why wouldn’t I reject my old pack and live in my new one when that’s where I feel safe? Any sane person would lean toward safety. And Alpha Ezra is my safety net.” When the Elders didn’t reply, I prayed to the goddess that she listened to me genuinely just once.The Elders looked at each other. It seemed like they were talking amongst themselves through mind link. The next five minutes seemed like eternity. Like the judgment was about to come. Like they did not believe in me.Mentally, I remembered where my dagger was. My eyes went to Ezra who was still staring at me, shocked. His face was ashen white. But why? When my gaze met with Zeke’s he appeared to be on the edge, but not in shock.Elder Derek final