Page 96 of Claiming His Rejected Mate

“Well, it’s not news I’m crazy in love with you already.”

Her smile is wide now, and I see the girl in her, young, full of life. For a moment, her smile erases the years of pain and torture that she has had to endure. And she is just Hazel again. I kiss her forehead, but she pulls me in to her lips, capturing mine in her soft ones, teasing mine apart and lending me her tongue. She tastes of berries and honey.

Her taste saturates my tongue, and it feels like my body has come alive. I want to press into her, hold her so close she merges with me. I never want to lose her again. I never want to look for her and find out that she is nowhere to be found.

She pulls back, a little out of breath, her breathing labored from the intensity of our kiss.

“Well…don’t keep me waiting, Mr. Romantic.” She nudges me, and I shake my head, drawing myself back to the present.

“Yes, of course, my angel.”

My wolf is wagging his tail furiously, and I feel hers is excited as well. I can’t wait for our wolves to play together. I can’t wait for us to find a way to break the seal that Magnus put on her.

When she reaches the table, she trails her fingers along the edge, glancing at the setup. “You really went all out.” She admires the trim on the tablecloth.

“It belonged to my mother. I wanted to feel a piece of them here, so you can meet them somehow. I wanted it to be perfect.”

I pull out a seat for her, then sit across from her. I push a button in the center of the table, and the dinner service begins.

“We will have our own private celebrations. I know you must be tired from everything and will need to breathe away from the pack.”

She smiles. She appreciates the gesture and she expresses that much with a nod.

My Mate is hard to please. Such independence and autonomy, combined with her fierce energy that burns like a furnace, draws me to her like a moth to flame.

She hums, running her fingers over the stem of a wine glass before finally lifting her gaze to mine. “Why did we have to have a separate dinner? I would have wanted to spend time with you with or without them, either way, Kieran.”

The question catches me off guard.

Why? Why?

Because I have wronged her in ways I don’t know how to fix.

Because she deserves something good. Something soft.

Because the thought of losing her again is something I cannot bear.

But none of those words leave my mouth.

Instead, I exhale, stepping closer. “Because I owe you that much.”

She watches me, something flickering in her expression before she picks up a spoon. “Then let’s eat.”

The tension eases slightly as we settle in, the flickering candlelight casting shadows on her face. We talk—lightly at first. About Moonfang’s rebuilding efforts, about the Omegas she’s been working with. I find myself captivated by the way she speaks, the way she cares.

“We need to do something about Nightclaw. They do not have an Alpha. They are exposed and vulnerable.” She takes a breath after saying this. It's not easy to think of the people that have hurt her with empathy. But she does. As a Luna should.

“We will annex, like Elara said.” I see her eyes light up. There's nothing I desire more than to see her pleased.

She nods with a smile.

For the first time in a long time, I feel at ease.

But the weight between us remains.

And as I refill her glass, I know I can’t avoid it forever.

I set the bottle down, my fingers tightening slightly. “Hazel…”