Monachopsis

and pulled me closer. Everywhere he touched tingled with the matebond.
Our lips molded together perfectly and the craving I had for him burned deep in my core. This feeling couldn't compare to anything I had felt before.
I couldn't get enough of it, of him.
The sound of shredding clothes and bones popping broke us out of our trance just in time, as a smaller brown wolf launched himself at my second chance mate.

Time decelerated as the man who enthralled me pushed me out of the way. Sparks erupted from his touch and I stumbled back into Xavier who caught me with strong arms.
The man caught the brown wolf's snout in the palm of his hand and slammed him to the ground with force. The sound of the impact was a sickening crack. Whispers echoed around the clearing. Violence never occurred during an Alpha ceremony, or if it had, there was no record of it.
The brown wolf whimpered from the blow, submitting immediately. I recognized the brown wolf as Nolan. Thoughts swarmed my head as to why he would attack an Alpha. His father may have been a Beta, but he wasn't. A regular wolf going against a wolf as strong as this man was suicide.
"You're a pathetic excuse for a werewolf. You fell to one blow in a fight you initiated." The silver-haired beauty sneered at my ex-mate.
"What the fuck is happening?" Xavier whispered in my ear. It sent a sharp pain through me. Being touched by him was physically painful now that I had a matebond forming.
Nolan shifted back to his human form. His body shook, coughing up blood. "She's not your mate. She's mine."
"I am not your mate. I accepted your rejection. It broke our matebond," I said, pushing myself away from Xavier and toward him.
The thought of him trying to say, even for a second, that I was his mate made my skin crawl. He rejected me, not the other way around. He married my sister for fatesake.
My second chance mate stalked toward me. His unfaltering gaze bore into me with an intensity that made me shiver. He came to a halt a couple inches from me. All of my anger for Nolan melted away as I stared into his eyes.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself. I'm Blaine Huntington, the Alpha of the Huntington Pack." His eyes never left mine as he lifted my hand and pressed a soft kiss to my palm.
My cheeks warmed. "Blaine." I tasted his name on my tongue, and I became addicted.
"You are flawless." His eyes darted to my lips that were still tingling from his kiss.
"What the hell! Look what that monster did to my husband." Ivy ran out of the crowd and helped Nolan to his feet.
Anger rushed through me and my canines extended. "What did you just say?"
"He's a guest on pack property and he attacked one of ours! We should arrest him." Her face was red, and her frame was shaking from holding up Nolan. He was just leaning his weight on her, staring at me, his gaze unmoving.
My nails dug into my palms. "I'm the Alpha of this pack. Blaine being my mate makes him an Alpha of this pack too."
Her eyes narrowed at me. "You don't have a mate."
"I'm her mate." Blaine's hand rested on my lower back, pressing me against him as he let out a deep growl.
I placed my hand on his chest before stepping forward. "Riley, please see that Nolan gets the proper punishment. No medical care either."
"Yes, Alpha," she said. Her eyes darted between Blaine and I.
"Ivy stand down and go with your husband. You and Nolan are being demoted in this pack. You will both do an Omega's job for the next two weeks—"
"An Omega's job? You have to be kidding me! I'm an Alpha's daughter!"
"I'm the Alpha now!" I shouted, my voice booming around the forest. "You will do an Omega's job, or you'll go to the cellars for two weeks instead!" My claws extended from my nails and a few in the clearing took a step back, awaiting her next response.
Her head bowed, and her shoulders trembled. "I will do the duties of an Omega, Alpha Maxwell."
My claws withdrew, and I turned away from her. "Xavier, please lead the remaining portion of the ceremony and announce my pack warriors."
His brows bumped together in a scowl. "Absolutely, Alpha," he gritted out.
A pang shot through my chest as I glanced at Xavier. He was shaking and avoiding eye contact with me. Me finding a mate was something we never thought would happen.
"As for everyone else, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I have personal business that needs my immediate attention."
Blaine arched an eyebrow at me. "Where to, Darlin'?"
My heart skipped a beat. That country accent drove me wild. The urges that ran through me were feelings I hadn't felt in years. I never thought I'd get to feel like this again—all my dreams of a soulmate were ripped away when Nolan made his decision... or so I thought.
Fuck, my thoughts were all over the place.
"My cottage. You deserve an explanation about what happened," I whispered.
He gave a brisk nod as his smirk became prominent. "You're taking me back to your place, I like it."
A smile played on my lips as we walked away from the ceremony.
"You seem to be dominant. We may have a power struggle in progress." His hand clasped mine as we walked through the forest, far away from the clearing.
"Don't worry, I know when I need to submit." I winked.
"Oh, fuck." He leaned his head back as if he were thanking a higher power. "The fates did right with this match."
This man came out of nowhere, captivating my soul in one glance. This was how mates were supposed to be.
Love at first sight, reciprocated.
"Thirsty?" I asked Blaine as we entered my kitchen.
He glanced around the room before his eyes settled on me. "More like hungry."
I swung my long hair over my shoulder, exposing my collar