Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

Chapter 16: The Mate Bond

POV: Thelma

The fire inside me was consuming everything. Every breath felt like swallowing flames, every heartbeat sent waves of burning pain through my chest. I could feel my life slipping away with each passing second, but I wasn't going to die without fighting for what I wanted.

What I wanted was Xavier. What I wanted was to live. And if completing our mate bond could give me both, then I would take it gladly.

"Are you sure?" Xavier asked, his dark eyes searching my face desperately. "Thelma, once we do this, there's no going back. The bond will be permanent."

"I'm sure," I whispered, pulling his face down to mine. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

When our lips met, it was like a spark igniting dry wood. The kiss was desperate, hungry, filled with all the emotion we'd been holding back. I could taste his fear for me, his love, his determination to save my life no matter what it cost.

His hands were gentle as they touched me, careful of my injuries, mindful that I was still weak from the magical backlash. But I didn't want gentle. I didn't want careful. I wanted to feel alive, to feel connected to something real and honest for the first time in my life.

"Xavier," I breathed against his mouth. "Please. I need you."

He kissed me again, deeper this time, and I felt something shift inside me. The mate bond, which had been weak and fragile, suddenly blazed to life between us. It was like a golden thread connecting our hearts, our souls, our very essence.

The burning pain inside me began to change. Instead of destructive fire eating me alive, it became something else, something warm and healing and infinitely precious.

"I can feel it," I gasped as Xavier's lips moved to my neck. "The bond. It's working."

"I can feel it too," he murmured against my skin. "You're so strong, Thelma. Stronger than you know."

His touch was reverent, worshipful, like I was something sacred to be protected, my p***y gradually dripping with juice. When he looked at me, I saw complete acceptance in his eyes. Not the calculating gaze of someone who wanted to use me, not the fake affection of people who were manipulating me. Just pure, honest love.

When we finally came together, when our souls connected as deeply as our bodies, the world exploded into golden light. I felt Xavier's life force flowing into me, anchoring me, pulling me back from the edge of death. But more than that, I felt his memories, his emotions, everything that made him who he was. The mate bond didn't just save my life. It opened his mind to me completely.

And what I saw there made my blood run cold.

I saw Xavier as a young man, barely eighteen, kneeling before a massive gray wolf with cold blue eyes. His father, Alpha Damien.

"The Tee pack murdered your mother and father," Alpha Damien's voice echoed in the memory. "They stole James and Catherine's daughter and raised her as their own weapon. You will infiltrate their pack, gain their trust, and find the girl."

"What do I do when I find her?" Xavier had asked.

"You bring her to me. We'll use her to destroy Marcus and his allies. Then we'll eliminate her before she can challenge my leadership."

I felt Xavier's shock in the memory, his horror at being ordered to betray his own mate. But I also felt his obedience, his acceptance of the mission.

More memories flooded through me. Xavier trained for years to perfect his cover story. Xavier arrived at the Tee pack and immediately recognized my scent as his mate. Xavier struggles with the conflicting desires to protect me and complete his mission.

And finally, Xavier makes his choice. The moment he decided to defy his father and save me instead of delivering me for execution.

But the most horrifying memory was the most recent one. Beta Marcus talking to Alpha Damien through a magical communication crystal just hours ago.

"We have the girl," Marcus had said. "James and Catherine's daughter. She's exactly what you wanted – powerful, naive, and completely under our control."

"Excellent," Alpha Damien had replied. "Keep her alive until I arrive. I want to see her face when she realizes she's been played by everyone she trusted."

The golden light of our completed bond faded, leaving me gasping on the bed. The burning pain was gone, replaced by a deep, thrumming connection to Xavier that I could feel in every cell of my body. I was alive. I was healed.

And I was trapped again.

"Thelma?" Xavier's voice was filled with concern as he pulled me close. "How do you feel?"

I looked up at him, this man I'd just given my body and soul to, this man whose memories I now carried. He looked worried, hopeful, completely unaware that I'd seen everything.

"I feel... different," I said carefully. "Stronger."

"The bond worked," he said, relief evident in his voice. "I can feel your life force. It's stable now."

"Xavier," I said quietly, "I need to ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth."

Something in my tone made him tense. "What is it?"

"What was your original mission when you came to the Tee pack?"

The color drained from his face. "Thelma, I.."

"Don't lie to me," I said firmly. "I saw your memories when we bonded. I know about your father's orders. I know about the plan to use me to destroy Marcus and then kill me."

Xavier's hands shook as he reached for me. "Thelma, please let me explain."

"Explain what? That you were sent to seduce me and deliver me to my death? That your entire pack sees me as just another weapon to be used and discarded?"

"That was the plan," he said desperately. "But I changed my mind the moment I met you. The moment I realized you were my mate, I couldn't—"

"You couldn't what? You couldn't go through with murdering an innocent girl?"