My scent clung to her skin unmistakably.
My male musk tangled through hers until she smelled claimed already.
The realization nearly made me dizzy with possessive satisfaction.
I wanted it there permanently.
Wanted every creature in every realm to know she belonged to me.
Sex alone was not enough to fully bind mated pairs.
There were rituals.
Biting? Yes. And I had already done that.
But there was more.
There were vows.
Moon rites older than human civilization.
Tomorrow night during the Spring Equinox Festival, I would kneel beneath Máni’s light and formally claim her before the realms.
The thought settled through me with absolute certainty.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Only inevitability.
I wiped another tear from her cheek and kissed it away slowly.
She melted against me immediately, arms winding around my neck while I rocked us gently together.
Comforting her soothed something primal inside me.
Protect.
Hold.
Cherish.
Mine.
“Hush, Luna,” I murmured. “Don’t cry. Nothing bad happened.”
“I’m not crying,” she hiccupped softly. “I’m just leaking emotions everywhere.”
A laugh rumbled from my chest despite the fierce ache she caused inside me.
“I understand.”
And I did.
Bonding overwhelmed even experienced supernatural pairings.
For a female like Amrin—untouched physically and emotionally—it must feel catastrophic.
