Caged

Chapter 44.

Rhett's POV

Joy. True joy was all I felt.

The moment she marked me, everything seemed to click into place, our souls joining together in an immovable and eternal bond.

She stirred in her sleep next to me and I couldn't resist the urge to roll over to face her, my eyes drinking her in as she lay soundlessly next to me. The only sound in the room was the steady breath quietly flowing in and out of her as she curled up against my side, her hand resting on my chest as our legs tangled together. Her blonde hair glistened in the moon light as it splayed in a halo around her across the pillow.

She was perfect. And she was mine.

I let my eyes fall over her body, trying to meld every inch of her to memory until my gaze fell on the horizontal scar on her lower abdomen. The memory of her pain from that night had crashed into my mind as we claimed each other, and it had shaken me to my core. I had known plenty of loss in my life, but nothing could compare to what she'd been through. What she'd felt that night and each one after.

The feel of her loss was harder to see than all of her time with Cage combined. The mere thought of it had me wishing he could be brought back just to suffer and die all over again, but those memories held her strength within them as well. They held what had been awakened within her.

My fingers trailed up her arm and across her collarbone before stroking her cheek. I couldn't believe she was mine after everything. When she'd first arrived, part of me thought she'd never let me in. That she'd never trust the bond between us. But she did.

As I lay there watching her, the moon slowly set and gave way to the early morning sun. The warm orange light cast an angelic glow around her as if she was part of the very landscape. Part of the heavens.

I let the sound of her breathing finally lull me back to sleep, feeling the steady comfort surging through the bond at her touch. The only thing left was to let her wolf mark me. Then she would become the pack's true Luna, and my true mate. And that was something that couldn't happen soon enough. I'd never wanted anything more.

———

I rolled over at the nudge of someone's voice pushing into my mind.

"Sorry to interrupt Alpha. But when do I need to set the pack meet today?" Asher's voice pushed through the pack link.

I drug a hand sleepily down my face trying to pull myself awake. "Give us two hours. We have to finish the wolf's bond and then get Huntleigh."

"Yes sir." He responded.

I rolled over and saw Lili's beautiful face still resting beside me, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. Her beauty truly did take my breath away.

I brushed a stray hair from her face and her smile deepened before her ocean blue eyes slowly fluttered open. My heart stalled at the joy radiating between the two of us, humming blissfully between the bond. I let out a quick breath, leaning in to kiss her gently.

"What is it?" She asked, her voice still thick with sleep as she nuzzled closer, blinking up at me.

I stroked her cheek as a smile crept up my lips. "I just don't know how I'll ever get used to this feeling."

She sighed contentedly and leaned up on her elbow, looking down at me as her soft golden hair created a curtain beside us. "I know. I never knew I could feel anything even close to this. I only wished that I'd get a fraction, but now...I never knew it could be like this Rhett."

I pulled her down into a kiss, holding her lips against mine as a satisfied growl rumbled in my chest. "There's only one more thing to do to finish the bond."

A quiet giggle broke our contact as she pulled back to eye me, raising an eyebrow as she peered down at me. "Oh? And what is that?"

My fingers trailed down her neck, brushing lightly against the overlapped silver marks at the crook of her neck. She shivered and another low growl rumbled through my chest as I pushed up onto my elbow, leaning in to press a tender kiss against her skin where my wolf and I had marked her. "Your wolf has to place her mark on me. And then our full bond as Alpha and Luna will be complete."

She looked back at me with a questioning gaze before slowly responding. "So my wolf has to mark you? Is that common?"

I shook my head as I sat up fully, leaning back against the pillows as I ran a hand through my hair. "No. Only Alphas require their mate's wolf to mark them as well. It seals the Luna to the pack, syncing her with both her Alpha's wolf and each wolf following her. It will open the pack to you as it is to me."

"And how is the pack connected to you?" She asked curiously.

I could feel her timid ness to question and realization hit me. She had never been connected to an Alpha. She didn't actually know what to expect from the connection to the pack as its leader. "As an Alpha, I can sense the pack as a whole and as individuals if need be. I can feel extreme emotions, or if there's tension within the pack. I can feel their emotions and their frustrations as well as their joys. It helps me to lead them the best way possible. It's like I have a thumb on the pulse of the pack at any point I need to without asking."

Her brows rose and I felt her surprise. "Wow. That must be a heavy weight to carry." She said quietly.

I reached out and wrapped my hand around her arm, pulling her closer as she leaned against me. Her hand rested on my chest as she smiled back at me. "That's why an Alpha needs his Luna." I pressed my face closer and laid a kiss on her shoulder as I looked at her. "We are one. Equals."

She let out a breath and and leaned into me, tucking her hair behind her ear as her eyes fluttered down. "That has a nice ring to it doesn't it?"

I tugged her chin to look at me as I brushed my lips against hers. "Are you ready?" She smiled and gave me a short nod. "Let's go for a run."

We threw in our clothes and headed straight out the back door, jumping over the side and heading into the trees. I quickly shed my clothing and tucked them into the tree beside me as she stepped closer, stepping out of hers and dropping them on top of mine. Long gone was the shyness and hiding from before. She was mine and every inch of her belonged to me as I did to her.

We shifted together and her white wolf stepped forward, shaking her fur before looking back over her shoulder at me as her gorgeous blue eyes glowed playfully back at me. My own dark brown wolf pranced to stand beside her, brushing his side against her as she licked my nose and bumped her head against mine.

"Race you to our spot." I pushed into her mind.

She snorted and without waiting, she took off ahead of me. My wolf growled and pushed off, rushing to catch up to her side as we ran side by side. My wolf stayed just beside hers as we raced through the trees, weaving in unison through the forest until we slowed. We came to a stop and walked toward the ledge we'd shared our first true moment together on.

I looked beside me to see her standing with her nose raised in the air as the wind blew through her snow white fur. She looked so stunning, completely unique from the landscape and yet, it's as if she had always belonged here. This spot had been my private space for so long, somewhere I'd only come when I needed to be alone in silence. But now, I couldn't see it without her beside me. It was ours.