Moon Bound

(46) Hush, My Love |Regan's POV|

Hours after my people deserted me, I stood on that clearing inside the woods where the past had been burned. Ashes. Two feet rooted to the grown that held their ashes.

Quiet while the Moon watched from above, the pack had settled into that silent agreement that this needed to happen. With reason being thrown into the mix and their vocal acceptance of the decision for a change, they chose the better alternative for themselves.

Follow him.

Standing on the wrong side of the line without even realizing it was not their place, the loyalty they gave me once was nothing now.

They should have supported me – the one who led them through so much and tempered them with fire and blood; they weren't.

Alone in the sea of wolves who once saw nothing and no one more worthy than I, I wondered what promises would be fulfilled tonight.

I wondered why we had to come this far in the play of power. I wondered if we would make in out of this in one piece.

Letting me use her once again was a sickeningly perverse punishment for someone such as I. Asking me to do something I wanted to do when we were alone, with our hearts in our hands, extended toward the other, to do it like this – out of necessity, in front of the wolves who needed to learn a lesson, it hurt.

She was hurting too. Her eyes gleamed with the tears she wouldn't let flow free.

"Mark me, Alpha," she said and the moment these words left her lips, I knew it was not just my punishment.

Fate had played her too. It didn't care what you wanted or what you needed. It took all, even that which you didn't have to give – didn't want to give. But here she was – offering herself to me.

Did she know what was this going to do to us? Did she know we would be forced by the Moon to take a step further after this?

She had given me silence when I suggested it earlier. Now she gave me words – directions.

Staring into her eyes, her neck bare to my gaze as she stayed silently focused on me, I tried to move an inch closer to her, do what she was requesting of me; I found myself rooted to my spot. The wheels kept turning in my mind, thousands of thoughts passed through, a voice was screaming....

Don't. Not like this.

Frozen, I couldn't help but listen to this voice, wonder if it was my beast finally speaking to me, my reason or just insanity.

The wind shifted. It lifted her body scent off her skin and threw it at the beast. He breathed that fragrance he'd been dreaming to inhale deep into his lungs until there was no reason to stand on the way.

It was exactly like people said. The path to hell was paved with good intentions and her intention was we won tonight.

"Mark me, Alpha." It was a curse rolling off the sweetest lips. Their taste was carved to my memory from the first sip.

"Are you sure you want me to—"

"Mark. Me." 

With the words fanning over my feverish skin, I found myself compelled to obey her command.

I leaned over, both beast and man shifting into space, melting the distance between us and our mate. These felt like the hardest few inches in our intertwined lives.

My vision narrowed down to the single spot at the crook of her neck, bared in invitation, just where it met her shoulder. My canines descended through flesh with the slight sting there usually was, this time, however, there was much more than just that sting.

Everything was drawn to her – from the moonlight that made her fair skin glow to the gust of wind that weaved around her frame, to the man who had lost all control because of the few inches of barren skin.

The bond tugged on me. Her scent mesmerized my every sense the closer I leaned to her. The moment felt frozen. The world felt still. We didn't have a past or future but tonight. We were suspended in time.

In the presence of others, the Moon allowed us to have this moment for ourselves.

Teeth broke the skin. The truth of what we were a second ago disappeared. The matebond sizzled and snaked around us, binding us to each other in a ghostly hold. We could not see it but we felt it. Tight, choking, electrifying grasp that made if feel like there was no one else in our world but the other.

Her heart beat against my chest. My own matched the rhythm. Her body gave in. My hands pressed to her sides, steadying her to her feet as arms enclosed her within embrace.

Captured. Mine to hold.

A soft sigh brushed past her lips. It tickled my ears. The bond wrapped itself around us tighter. Her breathing sped up into shallow gulps of air. Her heart raced. Her skin burned against my touch. Pain flowed as nerves registered sensation. For a moment I felt it before it faded. The bond surged deeper.

Every barrier between us broke. Block after block collapsed. She crumbled, broke down. Wide open. Vulnerable. Body melting in my touch.

The canines retracted. I raised my lips from her skin, cradled her small frame within until the shape of her body imprinted on mine.

Giving her comfort when she needed it.

Her trembling arms came around me, closing around my waist. She was unsure if this was their rightful place, if it was the right choice she made. She couldn't undo it.

She could only follow the instinct.

Her head fell on my chest. She breathed me in. I breathed her in with my nose buried in her hair. My hand rose to her waterfall of curls, running fingers through the soft texture.

The skin on my chest burned with the first tear that fell from my mate's eyes. She shivered in my embrace. A storm of feeling flooded the bond as she tried to fight the need to hold me closer but her body snuggled into mine.

I could feel it all. It was no longer her personal hell, it was ours now. To share.

The sound of her quiet sobs echoed into the matebond, inside my head. It was a gut-wrenching feeling of regret, of failure, of love despite convictions and beliefs, despite her.

It's just the bond. It's not real. I could hear her thoughts of denial.

"Shh," I soothed, the sound rumbling from inside my chest, quieting down her sorrows with my desperation to make it all right between us. "Hush, my love."

I'll make it all real.

She snuggled closer into my chest.