Page 61 of Moonlit Choosing Ritual

My insides twisted. Talon’s army had breached the pack’s territory and they were nearing the manor. I knew he wouldn’t stop until he found me. And vice versa.

“Talon!” I shouted. “Talon!”

A menacing growl erupted from somewhere. The wolves stopped fighting. Another menacing roar erupted, making me shiver all the way down to my toes. That was Talon. I couldn’t stop myself and started running toward the source of the roar. However, I hadn’t gone even thirty feet when a powerful hand grabbed me and pulled me back. The force was so strong that I reeled and stumbled, falling on the ground.

“Vandil!” I retorted when I whipped my head round to see him. “Leave me alone!” Beside him, I saw my father and mother standing with their claws protruded, their clothes bloodied.

He hissed, “What did I tell you, Ylva? How did you manage to get out?”

“Leave me alone,” I shouted, struggling to get out of his grasp.

“Go back!” he yelled. “You’re—”

“If you don’t leave her alone now, I’ll make sure your body is ripped into pieces and thrown to the vultures!” Talon’s rough, jagged voice reached my ears. I turned to look at him, and my happiness had no bounds. He was looking feral with a murderous glint in his eyes. His chest was rising and falling as he took shallow breaths. His clothes were tattered with blood sprayed everywhere over his body. And, Goddess, even like thishe looked beautiful. His eyes were trained on me, on the place where Vandil had grabbed me.

“Talon!” I said through a choked throat.

“If you want her, retreat!” Vandil growled, clasping me tighter.

“I’ll take her with me, and I’ll kill you and Jackie!” Talon responded with hatred. “However, if you don’t let her go, or if you so much as harm a hair on her body, I will unalive every damn Viking wolf.”

“No, Talon!” I pled. “This is all a misunderstanding!”

“This is your last chance, Talon!” Vandil raged. “Retreat, otherwise I’ll kill you, even if it means my death.”

How could this turn into such a disaster? I hated the way Vandil said he would kill Talon. He had a mate. Didn’t he know about the mate bond? Or was he protecting Jackie? I was between two extremely dangerous wolves.

No. No. No.

Something inside me pulsed, hating that Vandil would hurt Talon.

I felt it first as a restless energy thrumming beneath my skin—a sense that something wanted to break free. It was subtle at first, an itch I couldn’t scratch, a nervous tension building inside my muscles. My heartbeat quickened, and my senses started to sharpen. There was a tingling in my limbs, and my body temperature started to rise. A dull ache formed in my bones, one that quickly grew sharper, like a growing pressure that demanded release.

The change began suddenly, violently. Pain lashed through my body as my bones shifted and elongated. My muscles stretched, pulling at my skin. It felt as though every part of me was being torn apart and rebuilt, reshaped into something else. There was a moment of white-hot agony as my skull reshaped itself. My senses exploded and so did my body. Before I knewit, I was running toward Talon on all fours. I shouted his name but it came out as an animalistic growl. I lunged at him and he caught me in his arms, surprise written all over his face. “Talon, Talon, Talon!” I think I said his name but all I heard were growls. I wanted to kiss him, but saw my long tongue licking his face.

“Goddess!” he said in a raspy voice. “You’re a white wolf!”

Wolf? Hell, no. But then I realized I was wagging something behind my body. It must have been my imagination. I yelped as I writhed and turned and squirmed in his grasp, so happy that it made me giddy. Talon burst out laughing as he cuddled me and gathered me close to his chest, kissing my… snout?

“You are a werewolf!” he said excitedly. “Goddess above!”

I stopped licking him and my gaze landed on my… paws. I shrieked but it came out as a yelp. What the hell! I’d shifted? How was that possible? I writhed in Talon’s grasp, wanting to jump out, but he clutched me tightly. “I’m not letting you go anywhere, Kimble. You’re coming with me.” He lifted his eyes to Vandil, and said, “I’m taking my wife back with me to my camp, just outside your border. Come and talk to me before the sunrise because I can smell you all over her.”

With that, Talon peppered kisses on my wolf and turned to leave. His warriors surrounded us as he made his way to the camp. “My Kimble,” he said proudly as I lay quietly in his arms, licking at every opportunity.

Chapter 35

Kimble

Talon took me back to the camp, where I stayed in my wolf form for a few more hours because of my adrenaline surge. My wolf wasn’t ready to shift back. Since this was the first time for both of us, I was just as excited as she was. Oh, my wolf’s name was Snow.

Finally, when Snow allowed me to shift back, I found myself in Talon’s arms. It was the break of dawn and we were on a makeshift bed in a tent. There were dark circles beneath his eyes, which meant he hadn’t slept while he held me tightly against him.

“Talon…” I murmured.

“Kimble…” His eyes were burning with unshed tears, and for the first time in my life, I saw my beautiful, ruthless mate and husband blinking tears from his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he tried to swallow his emotions. “You’ve got the most beautiful wolf on this earth and I love you. I’ll love you until the end of my life and on into the Fade.” He pulled me against his naked chest and I soaked it with my tears, crying for both of us.

“I love you, too,” I muttered so many times, giving in to the most beautiful sensation I’d ever felt, because with my wolf, I fully recognized Talon as my mate.

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