Chapter 22

Kimble

Talon had claimed me.

I wanted freedom from him, and instead he had bound me to him for life.

Aghast, my gaze darted between him and the Elders. While he looked pleased and had a cruel smirk on his face, the Elders stared at the blood staining my thighs.

“Accept him as your mate, human!” an Elder in a purple robe demanded.

I opened my mouth to deny it. With quivering lips, I whispered, “No.”

Talon was behind me in an instant. He circled one arm around my neck and the other around my breasts. “Accept it, Kimble.”

My eyes went to a nearby tree where two Alphas were fighting for a blindfolded she-wolf. I widened my eyes in shock when I recognized Aria. Liam was fighting for her with another wolf who looked like he could easily kill Liam.

Talon lowered his lips to my ear and said, “If you don’t accept me, I’ll tell that wolf to kill Liam. And Liam is Aria’s mate.”

A thunderbolt struck my soul, leaving me paralyzed in a storm of silent astonishment. Liam was Aria’s mate? The words that were vibrant and full of angst on my lips now lay scattered like fallen leaves in the wake of this unforeseen revelation. My breath hitched as I saw Liam struggling to reach Aria. But he wanted to marry me, had said he loved me. It didn’t make sense.

“And guess what?” Talon added. “Liam tried to kill me to get to you.”

My heart thundered in my ribcage. This was all so fucking screwed up. “No…” I muttered. Why were my legs going limp? It was as if I was about to collapse.

“Accept me, Kimble.”

The Elder in front of us narrowed his eyes at me.

“Should I ask him to kill Liam?”

“No, please no,” I begged, tears streaming from my eyes because I didn’t want any more people killed because of me. I was shaking uncontrollably as I croaked, “I accept Alpha Talon as my husband and my mate.”

The Elders raised their hands up, tipping their heads toward the moon. “We honor your law, Goddess. Please accept this pairing you have made.”

“Praise be to the Moon Goddess!” Talon said in a loud, firm and strong voice. “From this day onwards, Kimble is my wife, my Luna, and my mate, until the day I walk into the Fade.”

Fade. Werewolves lived longer than humans. And mates never survived after their mate died. In other words, Talon had chosen to die earlier than necessary, with me. Why?

From the periphery of my vision, I saw the other wolf backing out, but not before he stabbed Alpha Liam in the chest. I gasped, and Talon closed my eyes with his big hand. “Liam and Aria tried their best to separate me from my mate. They have to pay.”

Mate? Was I Talon’s mate? What was this fuckery?

I couldn’t take any more of it. The weight of tonight’s deeds, my emotions, Talon’s wickedness, and the effect of marking me was a lot to bear. I staggered, the forest spinning wildly as his venom coursed through my veins, its icy fingers entwining with the raw, overwhelming surge of emotions. Eyes fluttering, I grasped Talon’s arm, but my strength waned. A silent scream etched on my lips as I succumbed to the dark embrace, my body crumbling like a delicate flower under the effect of his venom and my despair.

I was so cold. I didn’t know how long I’d been in this cold, but when I woke up, it was like waking up from the worst sleep ever. My head felt heavy, and everything around me was a blur. I was lying somewhere, trying to piece together where I was or what had happened to me.

I closed my eyes and, out of nowhere, nightmares hit me like a ton of bricks.

It was dark around me, and I was running through the woods. With my heart pounding, I heard distant howls. I looked over my shoulder and saw huge, shadowy figures. They had glowing eyes and sharp canines and were coming straight for me. I tried to scream but nothing came out. My legs felt like they were moving through quicksand. Just as one of the werewolves leaped at me, teeth bared to bite me, I jolted awake, heart racing, covered in sweat. I was back in reality, but the terror from my dream felt real. It took a moment to realize that I was safe, even though the fear lingered like a bad taste in my mouth.

With labored breath, I turned to look at the window and saw that it was still night.

“You’re awake,” his deep-timbred voice reached my ears.

I turned my head to see him. Anger mingled with defiance bubbled inside me. My throat hurt when I accused him. “You drugged me and forced me into the Choosing Ritual. You mated me without my consent! I wanted freedom. You let me stay under the illusion that I would be freed.” My throat was so parched and hoarse that I coughed. He came to sit at the edge of the bed with a glass of water. I gulped it greedily and began coughing again. He stroked my back lightly to soothe me. Enraged, I smacked his hand back. “Just a few days—” My breath was labored. “Just a few days back you offered to clear my debt, and give me my freedom, if I slept in the same bed as you. What was all that?” I wanted to shout at him.

He moved closer to me as he propped up my pillows and pulled me up. I winced as the scratches on my back and hand grazed the sheet. The marks were darker and more obvious than they had been when I was tied to the tree. His gaze drifted over every inch of my exposed skin as though I was something precious, like a damaged, broken flower.

Between the heavy silence that stretched between us, I didn’t expect that his gaze would make my pulse thrum or that my blood would charge through my flesh.

His gaze came to rest on my shoulder where he had bitten me, his eyes turning a darker shade, his pupils consuming the color until only a thin band of gold remained. His eyes traced a line down, his attention so deliberate that it felt like a caress against my skin. It veered left and right and eventually settled on my face.

“You didn’t answer my questions,” I rasped, looking into his soul-ripping eyes.

“I did what I had to do. It was the Goddess’s will,” he said.

“The fuck!” I yelled as loudly as I could. “No, it was your will! Humans and werewolves are not mates. You just wanted to enslave me and keep me at your mercy forever. Why, Talon, why? What have I done to you?” I cried, feeling helpless. “Admit that it was your will!”

His eyes flashed amber, hinting at his untamed wolf. I waited for his reply, my ragged breath being the only sound in the room.

“No,” he said. “I took what was mine . I took what the Moon Goddess had given me. I know you’re my mate and it doesn’t matter if you’re human or not. Given the chance, I’d do it again. My wolf sensed you as his mate the first day he laid eyes on you.”

I felt so helpless against his fucked-up, twisted explanation. “You just wanted to dominate me!” I shouted. Then, narrowing my eyes, I added, “Liam said that he wanted to marry me. Were you so jealous of him that you fought him and then got him stabbed?”

He leaned close to me, his powerful body radiating some kind of aura that made me want to submit to him. “Kimble, you always belonged to me. You just didn’t know it. And that mark on your shoulder will remind you that I’m the only wolf who will ever own you and breed with you.” He took a lock of my blonde hair and curled it around his finger. Taking it close to his nose, he inhaled it and closed his eyes as if it calmed him. However, the moment he opened his eyes, the storm in them returned. “Aria suspected you were my mate. That’s why she helped you escape to Liam.”

“That’s not true,” I said, my eyes filled with fear and tears.

He explained, “Liam didn’t want to marry you, Kimble. He wanted to kill you after I marked Aria.”

My throat went paper dry as I clenched my teeth to stop them from chattering.

“However, I foiled his plan when I got you back. And I certainly foiled his plan when I fought him off to mate and mark you at the ritual. Out of revenge, he tried to kill you with a knife during the ritual.”

My breath hitched when I remembered how a man had touched my ankles before being yanked away. “You pulled him away from me?”

“Yes, I hurled him into a tree, and then I approached you. Once I approached you, the laws prohibited him coming anywhere near you.”

“So he went to Aria?”

Talon’s eyes filled with amusement and he tipped his head to let out an ominous laugh. “No, Kimble. You’re so na?ve. Do you think I’d let him mate with Aria so easily? Seeing that I had approached you and his plans were thwarted, he went to Aria to mate and mark her, so that at least he didn’t waste this chance to be with his mate. But guess what?” Talon’s lips curled into a sinister smile. “My wolves fought him off, and they stabbed him so he couldn’t get to Aria. You already know that.”

“Oh, my God, you killed him.”

His eyes narrowed with an emotion akin to jealousy. “Why? Are you concerned about him?”

“Did you kill him or not?” I asked.

He grabbed the back of my neck, his chest vibrating with a menacing growl. “He was injured enough not to go to her and mark her. I robbed him of his chance. He won’t die, but it will take him a long time to recover, and he has to wait a year to mark her or anyone else. I took from him what he wanted to take from me. Justice served!”

“Justice?” I squeaked. “What—” Before I could speak more, his mouth slammed onto mine. He forced open the seam of my lips, and when I opened, he delved inside, exploring me with urgency, with a need so raw that it thrummed through me. He kissed me roughly, nibbled my lips, sucked my tongue, and didn’t let me move until he was satisfied. When he pulled away, I was gasping for air. My face was red.

“Trust me, Kim,” he said in a strained voice. “This is best for you.”

“For me?” I shouted. Raising your voice to Alpha Talon was unheard of. Whoever did that attracted punishment. “No, Talon. This was what you wanted, because you couldn’t set me free. This is nothing but your ego and your ultimate dream come true to dominate me! You are a selfish, entitled brat! I’m not your mate. So unmark me!”

He grabbed the back of my head and fisted my hair in his hand. Yanking my face up, he growled, “I can’t unmark you. Even if that was an option, I wouldn’t.” A muscle feathered in his jaw. Then he left me and lowered my pillows. “Sleep tight. I’m sleeping with you.”

“What? No!”

He slid in next to me, and when I tried to pound on his chest, he held my wrists and pinned them above us. Then he pressed his body against mine, grinding his hard shaft against my belly. It was then that I realized that my pussy was so sore and still wet. I let out a frustrated cry as he locked me with his legs. “Calm down, Kimble,” he gritted. His rock-hard cock reminded me of our mating ceremony, making my clit throb. Heat crept into my cheeks at the embarrassment that I was wet for him against all logic. I tried to thrash against him but ended up squirming against his cock. It swelled and I felt its heat through my muslin gown. I was completely pinned by him and now totally immobile.

Fear cruised through me because I knew Talon was the strongest of all the Alphas, and he could do anything he wanted. I’d heard his wolf was so strong it could rip and shred five wolves at a time in an attack.

Now I understood. The only reason he gave me the option of freeing myself from my debt was to make me relax, so I would never be suspicious of his plans. “I want you to leave,” I said, tears leaking from the sides of my eyes.

“No, Kimble. That’s not an option. You’re mine. I’ll never leave you, nor will I let you leave me. You’ll bear my pups.” He let go of my wrists, brought my hands down between us and then curled his arms around me, trapping both my hands. And, as if understanding what I was thinking, he added, “Do you want to know why I offered to pay your debt?” He waited for my outburst. “I wanted you to be less stressed.”

With my face buried in his chest, I cried.

“How long was I passed out?” I whispered, my eyes feeling heavy.

“Three days,” he replied, swallowing thickly as if it was a painful reminder.

I remembered what he said about their venom. “Is this why you took me to the woods?”

“That’s right,” he said, resting his chin on my head. “That’s why I took you to the forest. That was the tree you were tied to.”

I didn’t know what to feel when I looked at him. Part of me burned with anger, a fire stoked by the fact that he claimed me, as if I were something to be owned. But then there was this pull, a deep, magnetic force that made my heart stumble in its rhythm whenever he was near. I hated how my body reacted to him, how a single glance could unravel my resolve, leaving me tangled in emotions I didn’t want to admit to. I felt trapped between wanting to push him away and this aching desire to know more, to understand why I was drawn to someone who made me feel both furious and alive all at once.

How could I want to escape him and yet find myself leaning toward him, like a moth that knew the flame would burn, but couldn’t resist the heat? It was maddening, this push and pull, this war between my head and my heart.