Chapter 5
1103 Words
Chrystal felt Castian’s pulse spike as her heart sank, but when his jaw tightened, and his grip pulled her even closer, she was even more confused by the instant swell of what she could only describe as relief that filled her chest.
[Careful, Chrys. Hold on…,] Ari warned her human even as she, too, felt a loosening along her spine and stretched out, like a cat who had just awakened from a peaceful nap, clearly affected by Castian's wolf despite her words of caution and his wolf’s complete silence.
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Castian’s body was in fast motion, but his mind was moving slowly. It had been moving slowly since the Blood Moon ritual had begun.
A bonding ceremony was a relatively simple affair. It was basically a wolf wedding.
Two mates came together to declare their undying love for and commitment to each other; they didn’t even have to be true mates. They could be chosen mates. It could even be a forced claim.
None of these options applied to him and the one under his arm.
For what happened to have happened, someone must have gone the extra mile to make things look ordained or bestowed or whatever foolish little wolves and romantics wanted to believe.
He had known the facts of what others saw as heavenly concerns since he was a pup; after all, his father, the former Alpha King, had never allowed his son and heir to be raised with any fancies.
The former Alpha King had been a practical leader who believed that power came from careful planning and ruthless execution rather than hoping for assistance from any goddesses.
Such lessons, among many others, had been burned into Castian's consciousness through years of harsh but necessary education.
So, when the fire had started in this chest, and then it had felt like his skin was burning, he had known something was wrong.
Now, running for his life, every muscle in his body tense with barely controlled frustration, his mind continued to work.
This was not supposed to happen! I didn’t come all the way here for this! He complained in his mind as the connection to the Luna-in-waiting burned under his skin like acid.
[Magic,] his wolf, Tor’el growled.
[Yes, they designed it for her. For them, not me! Their false magic to trap their princess.]
[It failed,] Tor’el rumbled.
[It was SUPPOSED to fail. That is what I came to witness! But why did it hitch on me? No one knew I was there. Even if they did, they would never bond the precious Moonblaze Luna to a rogue. Or could it be…]
He stopped immediately, cutting off all wayward thoughts. He wouldn’t allow himself to finish the statement.
He could not. He did not believe in such things.
There was only one way, if magic had not been involved, that he would have bonded with the she-wolf in his arm. Only one, and that was only if she were truly his mate. And not the ordinary kind.
She was a pack wolf. He was a rogue.
Theirs had to be a fated bond.
[That’s impossible. That would be a cruel joke by the Moon Goddess, on both of us. Their magic failed. That’s all!] Castian cursed, swore, prayed.
[Are you still talking to me, or to yourself? You feel this, do you not?]
Chrystal’s hand tightened on Castian’s shoulder; a heat flared where she held him. His jaw clenched.
[A pampered princess! Of all the she-wolves in the kingdom, the goddess had to choose Mason Barone's sheltered daughter?! What am I supposed to do with this?] He spat at his brother.
Tor’el growled, low in Castian’s mind, the hackles on his neck rising as the wolf within tensed.
Castian blinked, pulling his mind away from the dangerous path it was taking. Out loud, to distract himself, he spoke to the only person around instead of riling his brother up with something neither of them could control.
“What do you think a mate bond is, little Luna?” he retorted dryly, replying to her command to leave her, using words she would understand to stress his unwillingness to release her.
“What?”
“That’s what you were in that field for, no? To put on a display with your little Alpha? Demonstrate the goddess blessings upon you two as true mates? Do you even know what it is to be a true mate?”
Chrystal pressed her lips together, but he felt her heart skip.
Castian almost rolled his eyes.
“If they have you, they can harm me, because even if I abandoned you here and disappeared into the wilderness, they could torture you until the mate bond compelled me to return, or use our connection to track my location, no matter how far I ran or how well I hid. Do you understand? I won’t let that happen,” he droned.
The girl in his arm stiffened as the implications of his words sank in, her breathing becoming shallow as she processed the impact of how mate bonds could be used by those ruthless enough to exploit them.
He could feel her mind working through the possibilities, her sharp intelligence more than enough to grasp the brutal applications of romanticized mystical connections, and he almost nodded in acknowledgement.
He had already sensed it, seen it work when she had challenged him in the stone circle, and now, since he started carrying her, he could almost hear her thoughts, almost SEE into her mind.
True mate? Him…?
Her breath caught in her chest. Her grip on him tightened, nails digging into his cloak.
No! She all but screamed in her mind, and Castian instantly pushed her away from him, mentally, drawing up a wall, a mental barrier to the incessant flood of thoughts that had not stopped for a moment, except when she was probably with her wolf, when her mind seemed to go blank.
The bond is getting stronger… he thought darkly, taking the strangeness of the situation with far better composure than the she-wolf; after all, he was not some pup raised on milk and promises.
Holding her like this is making things worse. We can break the bond, alright. I’ll get it done once we get back to base.
Base! s**t! Those bastards are still following us! They’ll find the others if I keep going like this!
He felt a tremor in the she-wolf he was holding, her body responding to some new threat that he could not identify. He glanced down at her just as a sharp whistle cut through the air.
- Writer
