Elias nods curtly, then turns to me, his eyes glowing with what I think is mischief.
“I know my jokes are as dry and cold as this skull,” he whispers. “But promise you won’t run away? I’d hate to have to chase you while carrying this horrid thing.”
He grimaces while staring at the skull, and it’s his expression that’s the funniest thing I’ve seen tonight. For a moment, I forget all about what we’re doing when his casual appearance makes him appear so human.
Snorting when I imagine him chasing me through the woods, wielding the stake, carrying the skull, I stifle the urge to burst into laughter. Elias’s eyes light up with a vibrance only owed to the stars twinkling in the night sky.
If he was trying to ease my tension, he succeeded, and it prompts him to continue with the ceremony.
“By the light and grace of the Moon Goddess, I, Alpha Elias McGruff of the Snehvolk Pack, accept Aurora Sinclair as my mate and luna of this pack.”
The twinkle in his eyes keeps me imprisoned but safe from the rancor of the pack, allowing me to repeat the words in response to his declaration, noting that he hadn’t used my rank. If he’s trying to use me, it’s not with the pack’s knowledge.
“I, Aurora Sinclair, accept you, Alpha Elias McGruff, as my alpha mate,” I respond, and the twinkle in Elias’s eyes grows even lighter now, and I’m able to see the tiniest emerald specks between the pools of hazel.
Awed by the beauty of his eyes, my mind empties, and my tension is eased enough to let my trepidations and wariness slip through my fingers. When the ceremony is completed and Elder Silas whispers something inaudible in Elias’s ears, he nods his agreement and then fixes his eyes on me.
The glint of mischief is still evident in his eyes, a coy smirk playing on his lips as he leans closer and whispers in my ear,
“What do you say we get out of here?”
“You wanna leave your pack?” I gasp, my eyes widening as I pull back to stare at him in disbelief. “During an important ceremony?”
He shrugs nonchalantly, his face contorting with a grimace. From this angle, I’m able to see just how sharp his jawline is, my finger tingling with a sudden desire to trace it.
“I am a married man now,” he teases, wiggling a brow. “Don’t you think I’d wanna skip all the formalities and go home with my luna?”
A fiery surge of awareness rushes through me and prompts my lips to part with a gasp. Elias only smirks as he turns back to the fire and whispers to his grandfather that we’re leaving.
I’m not sure if it’s Elias's wolf that compels him to want to hurry back home, or if his human side allows him to be thoughtful enough to lead me around the fire instead of taking me through the gathering of Snehvolk wolves.
Either way, the claws of anxiety come creeping over me as I follow Alpha Elias McGruff—my mate—back to his house.
Was that coy smirk and twinkle in his eyes a mischievous jest about what this means?
Our wedding night…
I can hardly contain my anxiety, gulping as I’m led into Alpha Elias’s house with the impending consummation of our mate bond hanging above me like a weighted cloud ready to burst and rain its storm on me.
What was I expecting, after all?
We just performed the mating ceremony in front of the pack, taking oaths that bond our celestial wolf beings. All that’s left is the consummation of that ritual that will cement our bond, with Elias marking me to lay his claim to my human body.
A shiver runs through me when it suddenly feels foreign to me. I was adamant not to be tied down to the alpha, but it seems my moment of weakness and vulnerability the other day was my undoing. He must believe that he can have his way with me, and dread seeps through the cracks of my already fragmented being as he passes the guest bedroom and leads me to his own.
This is happening…
And there’s no way out for me now—not with our wolves bonded as mates. I know my wolf won’t allow me to get far if I try to escape, even if it’s weaker and won’t come out from hiding when I need it to.
Even now, she remains quiet, only my body reacting to the anticipation of what this night will bring. My mind and body are at war, one wanting to flee while the other part wants the alpha more than anything.
I can feel that wanton need between my thighs, stifling the tingling sensations threatening to spread through my body and weaken my knees.
This can’t be happening.
Elias opens his bedroom door and steps aside, allowing me to enter for the first time and take in the neutral shades of his furnishings. Everything is as clean-cut as he is, austere as if he only uses the bedroom to sleep in.
I could spend all night dissecting his character based on his bedroom, and use it as a distraction, but Elias interrupts my thoughts when he clears his throat behind me. I stay frozen, squeezing my eyelids shut and bracing myself for impact.
