Elara POV
My blood drains from my face, and I feel lightheaded as Kane speaks. This must be a nightmare, right? This cannot be true. This cannot be happening. I did everything the way they told and showed . They never complained. Hell, they climaxed multiple tis during the night. How the fuck is that unsatisfactory?
“What’s the aning of this?” Elder Anton bellows, pulling away from my thoughts. He stands up and grabs the bannister in front of him, his bony knuckles white and his face twisted into a sneer of disbelief and sheer rage.
“Elder Anton,” Kane says calmly. “I’m simply following the laws that the High Council set forth.”
The room goes quiet, and all eyes are on Kane – including mine. What law is he talking about? Is he making it up? I an, if such a law exists, why has nobody used it?
“I bookmarked the page,” Kane motions a guard from the High Council to co over and hands him the book of laws to give to Anton. “You may look at the law yourself.”
Anton unpeels his hands from the railing and snatches the large book away from the guard, scowling as his eyes scan the page. He slams the book shut and tosses it back at the guard, who struggles to catch it without damaging any pages.
A sliver of hope shimrs inside . If Anton tells Kane he is wrong, this nightmare can end.
“Do you agree with my assessnt of this law?” Kane raises his eyebrows, and Anton glares at him before nodding slightly.
“Then my ruling stands,” Kane declares. “As our assigned mate has proved unsatisfactory, and we were unable to claim her, we will be taking a second mate of our choosing.”
My heart stops, and I am frozen on the spot. They want to do what?
Anton’s lip twitches as if he wants to say sothing, and Kane ets his gaze, raising an eyebrow, daring him to do sothing.
“That’s bullshit,” I shout, rage pulsing through my veins. “And you know it!”
The crowd gasps and loud whispers erupt from the gallery, but I do not give a shit. I am practically naked and fighting for my dignity. They can hardly say worse things than the reality I am finding myself in.
“Excuse , Miss Montgory?” Kane growls, his blue eyes throwing icy spikes at .
My fingers twist into the fabric of my robe as defiance, sha, rage, and humiliation flow in waves off .
“You heard ,” I yell, squaring my shoulders and setting my jaw. If he thinks I will just take this and move on, he is sorely mistaken. “You not claiming is bullshit. You and Axel claid multiple tis last night, and there was no indication that anything was ‘unsatisfactory,’ as you so delicately put it.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Alice half-rise from her seat, leaning forward and looking as if she wants to maul . Good, I decide. Now she knows how it feels when the man – or n – you are dating is sleeping with soone else.
“Yes, we consummated the mating,” Kane says, clearing his throat. “But we did not claim you. A full claiming only occurs after we have bitten your neck, and you ours. I’m sure you can recall that that act did not occur last night.”
I did not think it was possible, but I feel worse. Dots form in front of my eyes, and I blink a couple of tis, centring myself.
“But ...” My voice is filled with desperation, and my stomach drops.
Fuck, the liars. I just can imagine that they can do such a disgraceful thing.
“Claiming does not always happen on ceremony nights,” I pull myself together, and continue. “Many mates take the ti to emotionally connect more before they complete the claiming ritual.”
Kane POV
I grind my teeth and sigh inwardly. Axel and I knew she would be upset, but we could not predict or anticipate her exact response. I am not proud of blindsiding her like this, but this is the only way. Besides, we have already set it in motion, so it cannot be undone.
“You are correct, Miss Montgory,” I nod, my voice firm and steady. “But even though many mates elect to wait to complete the claiming process, they still feel the urge to bite their assigned mate when they consummate the match.”
“You fool!” My wolf is tearing up inside. Hunter is not happy right now. “You’re an idiot. A complete and utter moron, and you’re going to regret this.”
I ignore him. He is only concerned that I am bringing the attention of the High Council to us by doing this.
It has nothing to do with the fact that my heart is twisting, and my guts are a bundle of knots in a tangled ss as I gaze upon Elara standing there in her robe, the hurt and humiliation etched on her face like a scarlet letter. And I most certainly do not want to scoop her up and run to my quarters with her and shield her from this sha she does not deserve.
That was just my dick thinking right now. And I need to be thinking with my big head. Not with the little one.
“Be gentle with her, brother,” Axel says. “This sounded so much easier when we discussed it. I can hardly look at Elara. I feel like shit, and Blaze is furious.”
“So is Hunter,” I reply. “But if we want this to work, we must proceed.”
I steel myself for her reaction to the next words I am about to say. Hunter knows what is coming, and I feel him pawing and pawing and pawing inside , begging not to speak, begging not to ... not to hurt her?
What the fuck?
I ignore Hunter and pull my shoulders back.
“Neither Axel nor I felt any desire to bite you to complete the mating,” my words echo through the room. “In fact, the thought of biting you was so unappealing, we left your bed as soon as we could.”
I feel Hunter screaming inside after I said that. That dumb wolf only thinks about his mate. But no, Axel and I both need to make mature decisions.
“Instead,” I turn to face Alice and look at her hopeful face. “We felt compelled to bite Alice Fabine and chose her as our second mate.”
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