44

Seles.
I heard her. She’s still with me.
I’m still in shock, staring blankly ahead, solely focused on the fact that I still have my companion, my wolven partner. “Ivy.” I snap my attention to Nate who looks at me with a smile. “They’re off.” I scrunch my face in confusion, but it dawns on me.
The cuffs!
I look down to see my bare skin where there once used to be silver. I raise them up in front of my face inspecting my jewelry free arms. I see some scarring along the borders of where the silver used to sit, but it’s not too noticeable.
“Oh my god.” I say out loud in disbelief, and I catch Althea’s proud gaze between my arms. I lower them and look at her, tears falling freely.
“Thank you, Althea. Thank you so much for this.”
“My pleasure, Luna Queen.” She turns her attention to Nate.
“Did you still want to do a bond acceptance with your mate Alpha King? Or did you want to wait and see if her wolf resurfaces?”
He looks to me. “What do you think, baby?”
“I want to accept them. If Seles awakens again, then I can just mark you after that. Right? That won’t interfere with anything?” He shakes his head. “No, it won’t. I guess we will do an acceptance as well, Althea.”
“Understood. I’ll need you both to stand, facing each other.”
I rise to my feet as Nate does the same and we stand facing together, eyes locked.
“Arms to your sides, palms outward.” I comply with Althea and wince slightly as she nicks my palm with her knife and does the same to Nate, placing our palms together. We entwine our fingers together and I feel warmth radiate from where our hands are connected.
I glance down and see Althea tying knots in small ropes around our connected hands before standing back to attention.
“Alpha King, repeat after me Ex solis ad occasum, ego sum tenetur ad vos aeternum.”
He repeats the phrase effortlessly and I feel a shock come from our hands and a more intense feeling of warmth.
“Luna Queen, repeat after me Ex solis ad occasum, ego sum tenetur ad vos aeternum.”
(From sunrise to sunset, I am bound to you for eternity)
I repeat the phrase, surprised at my ability to say it. The warmth moves up my arms and all over my body and I see Nate’s eyes change to his wolven yellow and I can’t help but admire them, knowing his wolf is present. Althea chants around us and the wind picks up, blowing intensely around Nate and I before settling back down again.
“You both are now bound in the eyes of the moon goddess. Once Seles awakens Luna Queen, you and Nate can go ahead with a regular marking, but your bonds are accepted as of today.” She removes the knotted ropes, allowing Nate and I to move more comfortably and stand side my side.
“You think she will awaken again?” I ask as I hold onto Nate’s arm, and she smiles. “I do believe so. A strong wolf like her will not be held down for long. She survived you being bound with silver for six years, which shows her resilience and connection to you. Be patient. I’m sure she will return. I will leave you now to retire for the evening. Don’t hesitate to come find me if there’s any questions or issues.”
With that final statement, she packs up her items quickly and leaves Nate and I in the training field.
“Do you feel our bond, songbird?” Nate asks quietly and now that we’re alone, I realize I can feel us connected. I nod and he embraces me with a tight hug followed by a sweet peck on my lips, leaving tingles wherever he touches. “The tingling… I never thought I would feel this ever in my life.”
“I know it’s not the traditional way, and our bond won’t be fully complete until we mark each other, but this feels perfect right now, songbird.”
“I agree. This is perfect for right now.”
Nathaniel’s POV
The connection with her is more perfect than I ever could have imagined. For it only being a week since we accepted our bonds, the strength of it is baffling.
I feel the bond between us every waking moment; weaving, tightening, entwining. I know Ivy can feel it now just as intensely as I do, as I’ve seen her peek over at me multiple times already today from her desk in my office. It’s been this way since the acceptance, and I think it’s been a bit of a shock to her, as well as an adjustment from before. She’s acted like this before our bond, but now it’s more intense and I can sense her arousal. Every. Single. Time.
I chuckle lowly as I catch her yet again and she notices my gaze and laughs. “I’m sorry. I’m staring at you too much. I can’t help it.”
“I don’t mind baby. Stare all you want. All of me is yours for the taking.” Her cheeks flush with embarrassment and my cock twitches in response. The desire to fuck her and claim her body again has made for quite the tormented time.
I know she would gladly allow me to take her anytime and anywhere, but I’m secretly waiting for her to take control and act on her impulses. She’s been close a couple of times but has reigned herself in and I must give it to her; she’s stronger than I thought when it comes to the primal impulses, physical feelings and enticement of intimacy that comes from accepting a mate bond.
“Are you done your work for today, songbird?” I ask and she nods. “Was done a long time ago.”
“Oh, really now?” I question and she bites her lip. “Yes.”
Fuck.
“So, you’ve just been pretending to be busy to stare and gawk at your mate?”
“Yes, Alpha.” She addresses me and I internally groan.
Fuck I love it when she uses my title.
I feel a mind-link and my guard goes up the moment I let it in. It’s Tobias and his unease makes me worried. I see Ivy’s face change into a look of concern and I shake my head at her to try and ease her worry as Tobias informs me of a rogue attack on a local pack nearby.
I stand and Ivy rises and follows me out into the main foyer where Tobias stands, the anger and rage on his face all too obvious.
“The entire pack was wiped out.” Kiba growls in my head.
“I am seriously getting fed up with rogues attacking packs on my lands.” I say sternly. I feel Ivy grasp my arm and I pull her into me, the tingling of our bond calming me down slightly. Tobias hands me more paperwork and I don’t even want to read it. I know what it’s going to say.
“Rogue attacks?” Ivy questions and I look down to her and nod as she takes the paperwork from me and skims it over. “Yes. There’s been quite a few attacks recently. This is the first one where the entire pack was wiped out, though. Usually it’s been an Alpha, Luna or a Beta being attacked, causing a ripple in the hierarchy of the pack.”
“That doesn’t sound normal to me at all.” She says quietly, her eyes still scanning the papers in her hands, and Tobias nods. “It’s very odd but we haven’t had any connection between the packs or those who were killed other than being attacked.” He pauses and then continues, “We’ve had other packs taking in some wolves, but they can’t accommodate all of them. Unfortunately, there have been many that have turned rogue themselves.”
“There is a connection.” Ivy states and moves to stand between Tobias and me. “What do you mean, Luna Queen?” Tobias questions her intently, clearly wondering what he has potentially missed.
“These packs were all attacked by rogues, their highest-ranking wolves killed or incapacitated. Why would rogues continue to attack packs that could possibly accept them into their ranks if not to make them rogue as well?”
It’s then it dawns on me.
“Someone is orchestrating the attacks to eliminate the competition and gain wolves.”
“Just like Red Moon was. Just like how Cole’s parents died. It’s only slightly different, but who the hell knows. It could have been a test run.”
“You think Cole is doing this don’t you?” She nods, looking at me with anger and irritation. “He’s either planning it all, or at the very least, a part of it.”