Arielle’s POVI had woken up that morning with a headache, which was likely caused by the fact that I had been laying my head on the flat, hard surface of the forest floor.It had been some time since I camped outside, I had to admit to myself as I stood up slowly. All my body hurt, and I had a crock in my neck. It was not an ideal situation as all, but I knew that it wasn’t something that I couldn’t handle. After all, I had to wait here for Richard, to see if he did have a plan on how to win the Pack Elders, and thus, the rest of the pack over.If that didn’t happen, then I had to leave, forever.Swallowing all the bitter thoughts in my head, I focused on stretching out my muscles, going through the warm-up routine that Lilian had taught me when we began my training. Now, it was like second nature to me, and when I finished the stretches and warm up exercises, my body aches had now considerably decreased in intensity.I took my time to say prayers to the moon goddess, thanking her fo

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

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

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

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