Every instinct in my body screams one undeniable truth: she is mine, I am hers, and nothing in this world will ever come between us again.
11
Rylan’s POV
The moment Ronan hits the wall, time slows. The crack of stone reverberates through the chamber as his body slides to the floor, but my focus narrows to Selena. Her knees buckle, her breath catching on a strangled gasp as the backlash of the broken bond hits her.
I’m already moving, catching her before she falls. My arms wrap around her waist and ribs, pulling her back against my chest. The contact is electric, skin to skin, heat to heat.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper, but the words are drowned by what happens next.
The silver light of the truth rite bends, drawn to us like metal to a magnet. It swirls around our bodies, cocooning us in ancient magic that feels both foreign and achingly familiar. The energy doesn’t fight us, it recognizes something primal between us, something it bends to rather than controls.
My wolf, so long leashed and controlled, surges forward with such force that I can’t contain him. He rises to the surface of my consciousness, merging with me rather than fighting for control.
“MINE,” he roars through my mouth, the word echoing with dual voices, man and beast as one.
I feel Selena stiffen in my arms, then relax as something within her responds. Her head tilts back against my shoulder, her eyes flashing with silver fire as her Lycan, long suppressed by Ronan’s herbs, rises to meet mine.
“MATE,” she answers, her voice carrying the same dual quality.
The chamber falls instantly silent. I can hear heartbeats, the shallow breathing of the elders, the rustle of fabric as wolves shift uncomfortably in their seats. In my peripheral vision, I see Elder Miriam’s hand rise to her throat, Elder Darius’s eyes widen with recognition.
The truth rite flares brilliantly then begins to fracture, silver light splintering as the ceremony destabilizes under the power of what’s happening between us.
“This ceremony is suspended,” Elder Darius announces, his voice cutting through the silence. “We will reconvene tomorrow at noon.”
Whispers erupt around us. I don’t hear the words, don’t care to. Selena trembles against me, her body processing both the shock of the broken bond and the surge of our new connection. Her legs are unsteady, her breath shallow.
Without hesitation, I sweep her into my arms. She weighs nothing to me, my strength amplified by the need to protect, to claim, to shelter. Her head tucks against my shoulder, trusting, yielding.
Not one person moves to stop me as I stride from the chamber. Not one voice rises in protest. They know, all of them know, what they’ve witnessed. A true mate bond revealing itself is sacred, ancient, beyond their authority to interrupt.
The walk to my suite passes in a blur of stone corridors and startled faces. I kick the door shut behind us, and suddenly we’re alone, wrapped in silence broken only by our uneven breathing.
I set her gently on her feet, but keep my hands at her waist to steady her. The bond between us hums, a physical presence that connects us chest to chest. It doesn’t control, it invites, it offers, it whispers of possibilities.
“Selena,” I manage, my voice rough with restraint. “We don’t have to...“
She steps forward before I can finish, pressing her body fully against mine. Her hands slide up my chest, over my shoulders, fingers tangling in my hair as she pulls my face down to hers.
“I choose this,” she whispers against my lips. “I choose you.”
My control shatters like glass. I capture her mouth with mine, tasting her for the first time, sweet, warm, perfect. The kiss deepens instantly, her lips parting on a gasp that I swallow hungrily. My hands span her waist, lifting her against me as I walk us backward until her back meets the wall.
Take her. Claim her. MINE.
I pin her against the wall, my body caging hers. The impact knocks the air from her lungs, her tits pressing against my chest, her thighs parting instinctively.
Her scent iseverywhere, sweet and savory, the aroma of her arousal cutting through the remnants of pain.
My mouth crashes onto hers, my tongue forcing its way past her lips, claiming her in a kiss so deep I taste the copper tang of her blood from where she bit her lip. Shemoans, a desperate, needy sound, her nails raking down my back.
“Fuck,Sel,” I growl against her lips, my hands rough as I grip her hips, grinding my cock against her softness. She’s sosmallcompared to me, her curves fitting against my hardness like she was made for it.
“You feel that? That’sus. That’s our unbreakable bond.”
Her hands tangle in my hair, yanking hard enough to sting. “Ifeelit,” she gasps, her voice trembling. “Iwantit.”
