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For the first time in ages, tears burned behind his eyes. “Will you be my mate, Cortana?”
“Nothing would give me greater joy.”
Rising on her toes, she brushed her mouth over his in the softest of kisses. He held her gaze as she retreated, seeing the honesty and vulnerability behind her eyes, feeling the same emotions filtering through their unfinalized bond. And then, with her permission, his teeth sunk into her neck.
The shiver of pure pleasure that pebbled her skin and jolted through their bond reverberated through him. When her teeth locked on his neck in the next moment, everything blurred.
The mating bond that’d lingered unfulfilled flared in a brilliant spark of sensation, igniting in a robust red flame that turned from flimsy twine into steel cable. Two souls became one, the resulting affect cascading through their minds.
Everything in his world shifted to focus on his mate, as she became his axis. Other priorities, once fundamental, became secondary in light of the new bond that connected them. Retreating from her neck, he smiled at her, and she melted against him.
“My mate,” Cortana breathed.
“No, my mate.”
Her smile was so gentle, so endearing, that his heart twisted. For a moment, they simply stayed that way, tangled together in the bliss that was their bond. But already, Riaz felt the pack’s collective energy building. They would’ve experienced the ripple of their formed bond. Being alpha, each wolf was connected to Riaz on a primitive level, through their deference and submission. They would instinctively recognize Cortana as his equal and their dominant.
There were few things he wanted to celebrate more, but first, there was the matter of Renata’s betrayal. No pack would allow her treachery. Her pathetic attempts at separating them had proven the very thing she’d set out to prevent: their mating.
“We must see to our pack, Cortana.”
With a nod, she deferred to his judgement. He quickly shrugged on a shirt, and she changed into something more professional. Grasping her hand, he led her from their quarters into the hallway, then into the great hall where a crowd had already gathered in a loose circle around Renata.
The pack was showing deference to their new alpha pair, bowing their heads in submission, and gently brushing their hands over them. Renata crouched in wolf form, whimpering, by the fireplace.
“Shift.”
The word, dominant and unyielding, forced Renata to transform from her wolf to her feminine figure. Still upon the wooden floor, tears began to stream down her face in earnest, her hoarse cries echoing in the hall.
Riaz’s wolf appeared in his eyes, the blazing orange glowing. “Renata Myro, in light of your grievous crimes against Cortana, my mate, I hereby excommunicate and exile you from this pack. You are banished from pack land and stripped of any dominance or position. Arno and Gadriel will immediately escort you off pack land, and any attempts at subterfuge will result in your immediate demise.”
No one spoke in the seconds that followed, the wolves all rallying around their alphas. Riaz’s howl was the first thing to break the silence, and a chorus of corresponding voices followed, eager to affirm their support of their alpha pair.
In a blink, Arno and Gadriel pulled Renata to her feet, spinning her toward the door. She was allowed no belongings, no personal effects. In fact, banishment was the lightest punishment he could’ve given; death would’ve been equally accepted.
Riaz turned his back on Renata, eager to be done with the treachery. Instead, he focused on his mate. The shining star of his life. The one his world revolved around. His one true north in a sea of souths.
Cortana.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Young children played recklessly in the great hall hours later, tossing a football back and forth between them as several adults attempted to corral them. Sitting on a bench to one side of the action, Cortana was content to simply be together with her mate.
She reclined against Riaz, her back flush with his chest. He gently massaged her hand, almost purring behind her, as she enjoyed his touch, eyes closed.
Gadriel, Arno, and Nico had all approached them separately to offer their congratulations and express their support. She’d been overcome with gratitude that she was now a part of this pack. As the alpha’s mate, she had unintentionally gained a leadership position, and there would be no complaints about that from Cortana.
After Drake had stepped into a broader position at D’Ancouer, she’d been floundering. Assuming a similar role here in Riaz’ pack—her pack—was the icing on the cake. As her alpha wolf pressed a kiss into her neck, she sighed in contentment.
“My perfect little vampire mate,” he mused, his teeth replacing his lips. “Whatever will I do with you?”
“I’m sure you can come up with a few things, Fluffy.”
He scoffed. “I thought you’d forgotten that nickname.”
“Never.”
His teeth reattached to her neck, nipping slightly before trailing a row of scorching kisses down to her shoulder. Chuckling, he sighed and became solemn.
