Page 40 of Moonlit Choosing Ritual

“Mine. Mine. Mine,” he snarled in an animalistic voice against my skin.

The pain in my shoulder was just a sensation. I felt something sliding inside my blood. His venom.

“Hail to the Moon Goddess!” The Elder shouted. “Kimble is bound to him. Remember that you will always remain his from today till the day you die, and he will be yours. You will follow each other to the Fade.”

He came out of me slowly, slowly, almost reluctantly, his hot cum dripping down my thigh.

I heard people moving closer to us, their heavy footsteps grazing the grass. More incantations followed and filled the night around me. I heard clothes rustling. He left me and stepped back and, for a long second, I stayed in that position, blindfolded, freshly fucked, with cum dripping down my thighs, a terrible pain in my shoulder where my flesh had been punctured, and naked for everyone to see that I had actually been claimed.

I whipped my head wildly. I sensed people surrounding me, as they started singing a prayer. There was a short tug on the ropes around my wrists, and then they fell. I was so tired that I collapsed to the ground, panting in pain and pleasure. The voices of the prayers rose. I reached to remove the blindfold and yanked it from my eyes. To my utter surprise, my eyes met the soul-ripping dark ones of Alpha Talon. He was standing naked in front of me, his cock smeared with my juices and blood.

Chapter 22

Kimble

Talon had claimed me.

I wanted freedom from him, and instead he had bound me to him for life.

Aghast, my gaze darted between him and the Elders. While he looked pleased and had a cruel smirk on his face, the Elders stared at the blood staining my thighs.

“Accept him as your mate, human!” an Elder in a purple robe demanded.

I opened my mouth to deny it. With quivering lips, I whispered, “No.”

Talon was behind me in an instant. He circled one arm around my neck and the other around my breasts. “Accept it, Kimble.”

My eyes went to a nearby tree where two Alphas were fighting for a blindfolded she-wolf. I widened my eyes in shock when I recognized Aria. Liam was fighting for her with another wolf who looked like he could easily kill Liam.

Talon lowered his lips to my ear and said, “If you don’t accept me, I’ll tell that wolf to kill Liam. And Liam is Aria’s mate.”

A thunderbolt struck my soul, leaving me paralyzed in a storm of silent astonishment. Liam was Aria’s mate? The words that were vibrant and full of angst on my lips now lay scattered like fallen leaves in the wake of this unforeseen revelation. My breath hitched as I saw Liam struggling to reach Aria. But he wanted to marry me, had said he loved me. It didn’t make sense.

“And guess what?” Talon added. “Liam tried to kill me to get to you.”

My heart thundered in my ribcage. This was all so fucking screwed up. “No…” I muttered. Why were my legs going limp? It was as if I was about to collapse.

“Accept me, Kimble.”

The Elder in front of us narrowed his eyes at me.

“Should I ask him to kill Liam?”

“No, please no,” I begged, tears streaming from my eyes because I didn’t want any more people killed because of me. I was shaking uncontrollably as I croaked, “I accept Alpha Talon as my husband and my mate.”

The Elders raised their hands up, tipping their heads toward the moon. “We honor your law, Goddess. Please accept this pairing you have made.”

“Praise be to the Moon Goddess!” Talon said in a loud, firm and strong voice. “From this day onwards, Kimble is my wife, my Luna, and my mate, until the day I walk into the Fade.”

Fade. Werewolves lived longer than humans. And mates never survived after their mate died. In other words, Talon had chosen to die earlier than necessary, with me. Why?

From the periphery of my vision, I saw the other wolf backing out, but not before he stabbed Alpha Liam in the chest. I gasped, and Talon closed my eyes with his big hand. “Liam and Aria tried their best to separate me from my mate. They have to pay.”

Mate? Was I Talon’s mate? What was this fuckery?

I couldn’t take any more of it. The weight of tonight’s deeds, my emotions, Talon’s wickedness, and the effect of marking me was a lot to bear. I staggered, the forest spinning wildly as his venom coursed through my veins, its icy fingers entwining with the raw, overwhelming surge of emotions. Eyes fluttering, I grasped Talon’s arm, but my strength waned. A silent scream etched on my lips as I succumbed to the dark embrace, my bodycrumbling like a delicate flower under the effect of his venom and my despair.

I was so cold. I didn’t know how long I’d been in this cold, but when I woke up, it was like waking up from the worst sleep ever. My head felt heavy, and everything around me was a blur. I was lying somewhere, trying to piece together where I was or what had happened to me.

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