35. Chapter Thirty-Five

Gaping at Cortana's proclamation, Riaz stilled.

A glint of light reflected across Cortana's perfect features, illuminating her icy blue eyes and plump red lips. Her chin was raised in self-assurance as she glared down at the hesitating animal before her. Every inch the fiery huntress suffused with noble beauty, Cortana shifted so that she stood between him and the wildcard threat before them.

She was protecting him.

If he'd been a weaker man, he'd have succumbed to the impulse to swoon over the showing of possessiveness and protection.

Cortana hadn't balked in the face of danger, nor retreated into safety and let him deal with it alone as most of his pack expected from their alpha. She hadn't stood idly by while he faced the wrath of another. She knew it would cost him to lose a member of the pack, because one way or another, Renata would be gone by the end of this day.

When Riaz turned his gaze on the wolf he'd once held affection for, nothing but pity and disgust was left. Lips pulling back from his teeth in a feral snarl, the alpha growled deep in his throat. The submissive wolf rolled onto her back before the alpha pair, belly up and whimpering.

Lording above the weaker animal, Riaz's wolf bled into his eyes, seething. "You will wait for us in the great hall."

Given the dominance that dripped off the command, Renata couldn't do anything but submit. Whimpering, the trembling she-wolf with the tucked tail melted to the floor and crawled out of his quarters. She knew what was coming.

Riaz took half a moment to text his betas a succinct order. They wouldn't allow the traitor to move a single paw until he arrived. But Renata wasn't his main concern right now. Spinning, he locked gazes with the fierce female beside him.

"Riaz."

The word was full of emotion and concern, the myriad of emotions thickening her voice and making the bond vibrant between them.

Her name was a whisper on his lips. "Cortana."

"Are you okay?"

A delighted chuckle left him. "I'm—I've never been better. You claimed me—you protected me."

"I always will, Riaz." She moved closer and laced her fingers through his. "It doesn't matter what happened to you before, what happened with your family. I know you, and you're a good man. You're not a coward, Riaz. You're the strongest man I've ever met."

For the first time in ages, tears burned behind his eyes. "Will you be my mate, Cortana?"

"Nothing would give me greater joy."

Rising on her toes, she brushed her mouth over his in the softest of kisses. He held her gaze as she retreated, seeing the honesty and vulnerability behind her eyes, feeling the same emotions filtering through their unfinalized bond. And then, with her permission, his teeth sunk into her neck.

The shiver of pure pleasure that pebbled her skin and jolted through their bond reverberated through him. When her teeth locked on his neck in the next moment, everything blurred.

The mating bond that'd lingered unfulfilled flared in a brilliant spark of sensation, igniting in a robust red flame that turned from flimsy twine into steel cable. Two souls became one, the resulting affect cascading through their minds.

Everything in his world shifted to focus on his mate, as she became his axis. Other priorities, once fundamental, became secondary in light of the new bond that connected them. Retreating from her neck, he smiled at her, and she melted against him.

"My mate," Cortana breathed.

"No, my mate."

Her smile was so gentle, so endearing, that his heart twisted. For a moment, they simply stayed that way, tangled together in the bliss that was their bond. But already, Riaz felt the pack's collective energy building. They would've experienced the ripple of their formed bond. Being alpha, each wolf was connected to Riaz on a primitive level, through their deference and submission. They would instinctively recognize Cortana as his equal and their dominant.

There were few things he wanted to celebrate more, but first, there was the matter of Renata's betrayal. No pack would allow her treachery. Her pathetic attempts at separating them had proven the very thing she'd set out to prevent: their mating.

"We must see to our pack, Cortana."

With a nod, she deferred to his judgement. He quickly shrugged on a shirt, and she changed into something more professional. Grasping her hand, he led her from their quarters into the hallway, then into the great hall where a crowd had already gathered in a loose circle around Renata.

The pack was showing deference to their new alpha pair, bowing their heads in submission, and gently brushing their hands over them. Renata crouched in wolf form, whimpering, by the fireplace.

"Shift."

The word, dominant and unyielding, forced Renata to transform from her wolf to her feminine figure. Still upon the wooden floor, tears began to stream down her face in earnest, her hoarse cries echoing in the hall.

Riaz's wolf appeared in his eyes, the blazing orange glowing. "Renata Myro, in light of your grievous crimes against Cortana, my mate, I hereby excommunicate and exile you from this pack. You are banished from pack land and stripped of any dominance or position. Arno and Gadriel will immediately escort you off pack land, and any attempts at subterfuge will result in your immediate demise."

No one spoke in the seconds that followed, the wolves all rallying around their alphas. Riaz's howl was the first thing to break the silence, and a chorus of corresponding voices followed, eager to affirm their support of their alpha pair.

In a blink, Arno and Gadriel pulled Renata to her feet, spinning her toward the door. She was allowed no belongings, no personal effects. In fact, banishment was the lightest punishment he could've given; death would've been equally accepted.

Riaz turned his back on Renata, eager to be done with the treachery. Instead, he focused on his mate. The shining star of his life. The one his world revolved around. His one true north in a sea of souths.

Cortana.