I wanted to do something, help, and tell Ron Zera he wasn’t an enemy, but he had shoved me so far behind that the only thing I could do was watch and listen. I wanted her to stop running and face him, but I knew she wouldn’t do that even if she heard me. She was terrified of him, as she should be, but the more terrified she was, the more he would take advantage of that.
Zera stumbled and fell to the floor, groaning loudly, and as she turned around, she gasped as she saw Ron before her. She hurried to her feet to run again, but Ron surged towards her, pushing her onto the ground and keeping her there. He dug his claws into her shoulder, and she cried out in pain. She was human, and she didn’t have the strength or the healing ability to take the pain and heal through it. Ron knew that, but he did not care. He wanted to afflict her; he wanted to hurt me for what I did to him, and by hurting her, he did just that. Seeing her in pain gave him great pleasure.
“Please, let me go,” she pleaded, tears streaming down her face, but it fell on deaf ears because Ron only afflicted her more.
“Stop!” she screamed, her pain slowly turning into anger. “Stop!” she snapped at him.
Ron withdrew his claw from her shoulder at her command.
“Get off me!” she shouted, her voice coming off firmer, and he stumbled off, taking to her words. She helped herself sit down and wrapped her hand around her bleeding shoulder. I smelt her blood and knew his claw-dug dip had caused her much pain.
I could feel Ron tensed and angry, but I did not have the proper channel for his anger. He couldn’t unleash it on her. She wasn’t scared of him anymore, and that took the power from him.
Zera pulled herself up to her feet and stood to speak. Her confidence soared. “It’s the lunar eclipse, Ron, and I am here trying to save both you and the one I love. I am not the enemy, and I will not be afraid of you. If you harm me, you will also harm yourself because your survival depends on me.” She growled at him, her pain mixed with anger, and he shivered in response.
Ron rarely ever showed fear or submission to anyone, and his stubbornness had made everyone keep off, but Zera held him on his toes in fear.
“You’re going to mark me under the full moon, and you will not harm me. We will work through this, and you will be a good wolf, won’t you?”
Ron growled in rebellion, and Zera’s gaze darkened as she stared at him.
“Won’t you?”
Ron whimpered and nodded.
“Yes!” I could not hold my excitement, and watching Zera subject Ron to obedience instead of running away from him made it complete.
She dropped to her knees and reached out to stroke his head. “I am your mate, Ron. And you do not get to attack those who were meant to be the one! Do you understand?”
When he nodded, she continued, “There is a ritual, and if you’re a part of Aaron, like I know you are, you already know what you need to do. I am going to trust you and hope that isn’t a mistake.” She said this with her eyes fixed on us and her hand lifted to rub over Ron’s back. He purred, liking her touch and leaning in to get more.
How she had tamed Ron and made him into her obedient little wolf still came as a shock to me. Either way, I felt proud, and once this was over, I’d be on my knees, giving her the worship of a lifetime.
“You are going to mark me under the lunar eclipse, and you’re going to be gentle.” She spoke with a soft voice, placing her head against his, and he purred.
“Yes,” he replied, but she didn’t hear.
She pulled away and lowered herself onto the grass-covered ground. She lay flat on her back, eyes fixed on the moon in the sky, as she waited for him to get on top of her and mark her. She stayed still, but her heart hammered away in her chest. The marking could go wrong, and she knew that, but she was still trusting him.
The moonlight flickered on her face, making it glow radiantly, and I felt a stir within. I immediately knew Ron wanted more than to mark her. He wanted to take her as well. He had seen what I always saw and could no longer hold back. He had lurked around many times when I claimed Zera, and I knew he’d grown fond of her, and now his desires were ruling him.
Zera couldn’t read his reaction and know what he wanted, and even if she did, there was no guarantee she would want what he wanted.
He stood unmoved as he watched her. After a few seconds, Zera helped herself onto her elbow to stare at him, her perky breasts settling in the blue dress she had on, and it wasn’t helping Ron or my focus.
He stepped towards her and licked her face with his tongue a few times before moving his face down her neck.
Zera shivered at his touch, and I couldn’t tell if she was afraid or affected by Ron’s closeness. He rubbed his nose against her neck a few times, and she moaned out, tilting her neck to give him much access to her. Her act was fueling his need, but he knew he couldn’t take her, not like this. He needed to focus, and she wasn’t helping. She raised her head, and her eyes locked in his, and I saw her desire, but I couldn’t tell whether it was for him or me.
Ron withdrew, and I emerged on the surface, which had never happened in the history of the lunar shift. The werewolf form had always maintained dominance throughout the shift for all werewolves, but now Ron had changed the game. I could still mark Zera in my human form, and the ritual would still stand. Ron knew that, too and chose to let me.
He had never been selfless. He was the most selfish of all wolves. He had always taken every opportunity he saw to seize control, but he just gave it up because of how much Zera affected him.
“I don’t understand.” Zera stuttered, shaking her head as I transformed back to my human form before her eyes.
She didn’t, but I did. “To mark you, he’d have to take you, and as much as he wanted you, he knew you wanted me.”
He must have also figured out how impossible it would be to mark her without hurting her. Ron might be my wolf, but I knew her body better, and he knew that, too. He didn’t want her to hurt more than she already did.
My hand trailed over the side of her shoulder, where Ron had dug his claw earlier. She whimpered, and her eyes fluttered briefly in pain. “I’m sorry.” I apologized, feeling terrible for her pain.
She smiled at me and shook her head. “I’ll live.” Her lashes fluttered. “What happens to the ritual now?” she asked.
“As long as you get marked under the lunar eclipse by either of us, it’s still valid.”
“Then take me.” She pulled her clothes off, and I felt Ron growl from within. He wanted her, and it was an insane level of want.
I pulled her closer and kissed her lips hungrily. With little clothing between us, claiming her happened within seconds, and we both moaned out. I had her on top of me, and she worked her hips furiously against mine like an animal deprived of its due release. She was fierce in her need and wasn’t afraid to pursue it. I released my left hand around her and moved the hair from around her left shoulder to give me a better view while fiercely thrusting into her.
I caught her lips for a hard kiss before pulling away, and I saw the flare of lust and need brew in her eyes, and I knew this was the peak of her desire. This was the perfect moment.
“Mark me, alpha.” She moaned as if reading my thoughts.
Without hesitation, I dug my fang into her skin, marking her while claiming her as mine through the act of lovemaking. She whimpered out in pain, but I had marked her in the right spot, so though the pain existed, it was only temporary.
I withdrew my fang from between her shoulder and neck and then turned to meet her eyes, and behold, they glowed a bloody red just like mine before they faded away. We were one, never to be torn apart until the end of time. She wasn’t just Zera anymore. She was my mate and my Luna, the bearer of my mark. My skin glowed, and the second marking appeared on my chest below the moon, and I knew the ritual had been accepted. I felt happy, knowing we had one more ritual to break the curse of power. I’d no longer have to leave my mate, the woman I will be with for a very long time.