CONNOR

I never thought kissing Catrina as my bride would be different but when I am told to "Kiss my Bride as the Husband"; I all but pounce on her, my wolf basking in the warmth of her. The feeling of love, pride and contentment washes over me as she responds to my rough kiss.

I don't care that we have an audience including our pack and our family, the crowd whooping in laughter and claps as I reluctantly pull back from her delicious lips.

She looks beautiful in this wedding dress and I can't wait to rip it off her body. It just covers her up too much, with only her shoulders and a little bit of her cleavage visible for my hungry eyes. And that's just not enough.

"Wow," whispers Catrina while my wolf growls in my mind, smug about kissing our mate senseless.

"There are a lot of wows for us in-store," I whisper in her ear and watch her blush at the growly quality of my voice. I can't help but get all territorial over her and I also know that she secretly loves it.

She doesn't get to reply when all our family crowds in to shower their blessings and wishes on her.

"Hey, thanks for coming," I whisper to Maxim who's accompanied by his wife and their toddler son. I don't remember his name but I don't have to stress about it because Catrina recognises them as Mr and Mrs Ivanov.

"How is baby Aiden doing?" she asks as she picks up the baby from his mother's arms and cuddles him to her chest. My wolf growls at the prospect of our mate holding a human baby and I feel a little bit amused at this situation.

"You did good, brother," says Maxim as he thumps me on my back.

"I didn't know that I would receive an invitation so soon," exclaims his wife as she looks at Catrina with a teasing smile. Catrina blushes and I just pull her closer to my chest just because I can't resist not touching her.

"We both go way back, Lily-" I begin but I am interrupted by Catrina's sweet voice.

"He just took a lot of time to come to his senses," she says and both the ladies laugh at my expense. I chuckle at my mate's sweet taunt knowing that it's true. I took a hell of a lot of time to come to my senses.

Watching Catrina's face flush in happiness as she thanks everyone for their wishes, I can't help but wonder how she said yes to me. Sometimes I even wonder if she would've even looked at me had I not been her mate?

The question has reared its head in my mind since the day she said yes to me. She came with me, left her newfound family behind, yet I think that maybe she wouldn't have forgiven me for leaving her all those years ago.

Beside me, I feel her shifting closer to me as if knowing about my thoughts. She doesn't say anything just puts an arm around me and her hand slips in the back pocket of my pants. Her other arm comes around my front and rests on my chest, right over my heart.

"What is it, Solnyshko?" I ask since she has never really so openly displayed her affection. She loves me, I know that but she is still shy of touching in public. This must be the first time she has initiated a hug in public rather than responding to my advances.

"I miss Rieka. It's been too long," she whispers softly. Too long means it has been a couple of hours. Our pup is with Sierra, playing with Selene while we completed this ceremony.

"You want me to go get her?" I ask, not really wanting to leave her here but if she wants then I would surely go and search for Sierra.

"No. I know she's fine with Sierra but I get a bit restless when she's not around me," she answers and I totally get it.

I can't go on with my work without seeing Catrina for more than an hour. That's the main reason why I have shifted my office into the packhouse where the infirmary is located. That way I will be able to drop by whenever I want to meet Catrina, without having to walk from our home all the way to the packhouse. It's almost ten houses away. That becomes too much of a distance between me and my mate which is unacceptable.

"It's okay. She's fine and probably asleep otherwise Sierra would have definitely brought her out to meet you," I reply.

"Is it time?" she asks now that her anxiety about Rieka has calmed a bit. I nod in an answer and signal Yuri to lead all the humans out of this place.

"Come, let's go and sit for some time," I say and pull her with me towards the couch which had been placed here for this sole purpose. She sighs when her butt touches the couch and I smirk.

"Still sore baby?"

Catrina whips her head to look at me, her eyes narrowed as she struggles to not blush under my smug gaze. "Connor, there are people around," she hisses while scooting closer to me.

"I know, and I don't care. The ones who can hear us are strictly not listening," I laugh when she shakes her head at me.

"So, what now?" she asks and I know that she's anxious about the claiming ceremony.

"We wait for a few minutes till all the humans have left and then the wolves will gather here for our ceremony. We will exchange blood wows and be declared as mates and you the Luna of this pack, and then get privacy for you to claim me physically."

"Wow!"

"Yes."

"We are ready when you are, Alpha," links Yuri after some time, alerting me that the pack grounds are now human-free which means it is time to claim my mate officially.

"Come on, it is time for the ceremony," I tell Catrina and stand up to pull her to her feet. We both walk out of the packhouse and into the garden, right under the full moon where my pack members have gathered with our family to bless us for our life.

"Alpha, this way," Yuri guides us and we both walk to the centre of the garden and all our pack stands around us in a semi-circle, not bothering to sit since they'll be soon going on the full-moon run.

One by one all the elders come forward and stand beside me while Fenris and Sierra stand beside Catrina. Sierra says something in Catrina's ears which causes her to smile and nod her head.

"Alpha Connor," begins Elder Alarick and places the ceremonial knife in my hand.

"May the Goddess bless you Alpha Connor Lupe and his soulmate, Luna Catrina Lupe, with abundant happiness, fertility and health. May the Goddess acknowledge your good deed of adopting a rogue's daughter and bless you with all your wishes. Be blessed!"

Elder Alarick finishes his speech while all the Elders one by one make a cut on their palm and let their blood drip into the bowl, mixing their blood. Once it is done, that bowl is placed on the table aside, counting as the first selfless sacrifice in our mating.

It is a sacrifice to ask the Moon Goddess for true blessings for the newly mated couple.

"It's your turn now," says Elder Alarick and holds a bowl beneath my hands as I make a cut on my palm allowing the blood to drip into the bowl. After a sufficient amount of blood has dripped, I hand the knife to Catrina and watch as she mimics me, cutting her palm.

Her palm keeps bleeding refusing to close up but we knew that this would happen so Sierra's ready with a first aid kit to help bandage my mate's hand as I wrap her up in my arms and watch as our blood mingles together and sparks run down our spine. Like a fuse that goes off in my mind, I feel another presence, tentatively reaching out to me.

Knowing that it's my mate's hesitant behaviour and nerves speaking, I try mind-linking her.

"Mate," I growl the word in my mind, unable to keep the possessiveness from leaking into it. Catrina jumps in my arms, pulling her bandaged hand closer to her chest as she looks up at me in question and very ill-concealed hope.

"Yes, we can mind-link now Solnyshko," I reply to her unasked question and with great pride watch as she blesses me with that care-free happy smile, lighting me to my bones.

"Oh my god. I can hear you in my head, Connor!!!" she literally screams that thought in my head, making me chuckle unexpectedly at her excitement but on the outside, she appears so calm. No one would be able to predict that on the inside she's jumping in glee.

"Yes, we can mind-link," I link her and then turn to face Fenris who is waiting for us to settle in our new bond before making his blood sacrifice. A few beats pass by and I feel Catrina relax beside me, her smile looking a tad bit broader.

We both watch Fenris and Sierra make the royal blood sacrifice to ask for blessings and in turn blessing us with their approval to rule over the Blue Moon pack as the Alphas.

"May the Goddess bless you with abundant happiness and fertility." Fenris's voice booms around the garden and I watch as one by one all of our pack members go down on their knees to greet my mate and their Luna into the pack, officially.

A few minutes pass by and on Yuri's signal, all our pack members rise on their feet. Fenris comes to greet and congratulate us first followed by Sierra and then our families.

"I want to introduce someone to you," says Fenris when all our family goes back to have dinner.

"Who?" I ask, confused now.

Suddenly out of nowhere, cold wind bursts past us and I pull Catrina closer to me, while Fenris and Sierra stand by, unaffected. Through the mist of cold air, a figure materialises in front of us and beside Fenris. With her almost white hair and silver eyes, she looks otherworldly and completely opposite from Fenris.

Only the calm and collected look in Fenris's eyes is the indication that this girl is none other than his sister. He wouldn't allow any other witch female to enter my pack land without informing me, that too on such an occasion.

Beside me, Catrina shifts on her feet, probably nervous about this teleporting thing that these witches do. I squeeze Catrina's waist a bit in reassurance while she moves a bit closer to me, standing plastered against my body. Maybe she's recollecting the last time we saw this female. My wolf growls in my mind at the thought of Catrina's pain when she saw me take the hit for Fenris.

Shifting my thoughts from the past, I focus on the girl or woman, I can't really say because she really looks like a kid with her soft face and pale skin texture yet her eyes speak of the torture that she must have endured at the hands of Xanthos and possibly Xavier.

Her gaze roams over me and Catrina for a long moment before she bows her head in a regal gesture.

"Connor, Catrina; meet my sister Nikita Vlček. Nikita, Catrina's our cousin, Cayden's twin. This is Connor Lupe, Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack," introduces Fenris and it somehow tells me that Fenris is more anxious about Nikita's behaviour instead of our reaction to her. I do not let my uncertainty show on my face since I think this girl is more witch than werewolf. Her body language screams witch.

"Good evening. Congratulations on your Claiming," says Nikita, her voice also sounding different. It's different and it grates on my nerves, my wolf on full alert as we try to understand if she's sane enough to converse with.

But before I can thank her for her wishes, I am interrupted by Catrina who smiles at the witch as if she's her long-lost friend.

Damn!

"Thank you for coming here, Nikita. And thank you for saving my mate's life that day," she says and all the while I watch the witch trying to gauge her reaction.

The witch's mouth turns up in a slight smile as she nods slowly and then looks around us.

"Looks peaceful here," she comments and my mate, overly innocent and completely oblivious to witch nature, invites her to our place, to our pack.

"It is. You can visit whenever you want," she says, making my wolf growl in anger at such an invitation.

Fuck!!!

A witch, especially a witch who we don't know anything about shouldn't be invited to our home. My pack suddenly became an open nest for this witch to visit, hide, attack, invade, or whatever the hell she plans to do here in the future. No countermagic will be able to stop her from visiting this pack. And I am not sure if she's trustworthy, yet.

"It is a very huge thing for me, Luna. I'll always respect your invitation," says Nikita, making my hackles rise but before I can warn or comment about it, she just vanishes into thin air.

"Where did she go?" ask Catrina while I watch Fenris from over her head, my eyes narrow on him at his rather uncertain looking expression.

"She teleported. She doesn't like to walk or travel like us. But I promise she won't misuse Catrina's trust. I know she's unusual. But she's sane and she's pure," explains Fenris and at this moment I can sense his struggle. He's helpless, unable to bond with his own damn sister that's why he introduced her to Catrina, hoping that she with her eternal healing abilities might calm the flighty sister of his.

I just hope whatever it is, doesn't bring trouble to my doorstep.

"She was nervous, it seemed," begins Catrina to which Fenris nods, pulling his mate closer to him, seeking comfort just as I do from Catrina. "She'll be fine, Fenris. Please do let us know if we can help," she adds and we both say our goodbyes before we are left alone to think about the unexpected yet quite weird meeting.

"You should mind-link me the next time before inviting someone to our pack," I speak, unable to keep the growl out of it. I expected her to be sheepish about her rather untimely invitation but she just rolls her eyes at me.

"Connor, you fear too much. That girl struggles in this new life. Obviously, we are going to help her instead of watching her like she's a living time bomb," she explains while smiling and waving over at our packmates who are leaving for the night.

"She just might be a time bomb," I mutter, not at all happy but not wanting to spoil this night. She's finally mine, my Luna and I have the whole night to enjoy her. Might as well start from now.

"She's family," she whispers and I know what she's thinking. Going from having no family to having a bunch of people who would come running for you makes you want to return the favour.

Not replying to her, I just pull her close and kiss her on the mouth, effectively shutting down the banter about family and siblings. I get it, alright but not now. Maybe sometime later, much later.

Pushing away all those thoughts, I continue to kiss her, bringing her wolf forward, wanting her to mark me and claim me as hers. I just hope her wolf comes out now that our blood has mixed.

She moans and pushes against me, equally eager to claim me. Pulling back, I rest my forehead against hers and take deep breaths to think about it.

"Home?" she asks and I nod my head, picking her up and running all the way to home, not stopping until I reach the bedroom. We are fortunate that no one was in the way to greet us good night. That would have been a time waste and a complete turn off for my mate. I know she isn't so open about sex in front of our pack.

"Woah, that was quick," she exclaims as her feet land on the ground and she untangles herself from me. However, I am in no mood to converse so I just turn her around and devour her mouth slowly and steadily removing the dress that she paraded around in front of me almost the whole day.

"Wait, what about Rieka?" she asks while continuing to unbutton my shirt. I sigh and let her finish unbuttoning it before removing the shirt and throwing it out of my way. Carefully peeling off her cream coloured dress that had been giving me teasing glimpses of her breasts, I finally separate it from her body and place it on the chair, far away so that we don't stumble upon it. Yes, it's that long with a fucking trail which might just be the cause of my death.

"Baby, she's fine and Sierra's put her to sleep. She won't wake up for the next 4 hours, so can we please not waste any more time?" I ask, desperately conveying that I can't wait, brushing the thick mass of silky fiery red hair aside.

She laughs but then her eyes turn serious with a hint of gold peeking through the browns indicating that her wolf is on the surface. My wolf takes advantage of it and pushes to the surface hoping that she would come forward at least to claim me. No way can her teeth pierce into my skin, it can only happen if her fangs descend down and her wolf stays on the surface long enough for her to claim me.

Hoping to bring her closer to the surface, I pull her closer and sit on the bed with her in my lap straddling me. She's naked from the waist up, covered only in her panties which gives me more skin, to touch and arouse her.

Soon, fangs peek a bit from under her lips and she runs her tongue over them trying to get a feel of it. Unable to resist anymore, I slid into her while ripping off those annoying panties. The hot contact of her walls clamping down on me sends a shudder of pure pleasure run through my body and my wolf takes over, controlling my body and urging her wolf to come closer and claim us.

The pleasure becomes too much and just after a few strokes with her taking charge of making me come, I feel the build-up of an orgasm and the tightening of my balls. Unable to wait anymore, I find her clit with my fingers and push her over an orgasm, just before emptying into her hot body.

The next moment I feel a piercing on my chest, just above the heart and the pleasure adds to prolong our orgasms while we shiver in each other's arms. I growl at the feel of her fangs in my skin, holding on to me while her vaginal walls clasp around my cock, sucking off all the semen from it.

A few seconds pass by and she retracts her fangs from my skin, licking at the few drops of my blood, sending another wave of pleasure through my body. Growling in her hair, I pull out from her and lie back on the bed, taking her with me so she's lying on top of me, still straddling my waist.

"That was intense," she whispers after a few seconds, leaning back to take a look at the mark of her claim. I've never felt so happy before. My wolf is calm and sated in the back of my mind and one look at her tells me that her wolf is also resting. Her chocolate brown eyes look up at me, looking tired yet happy; settling me and my frazzled nerves a bit.

"Thank you, baby," I whisper, pressing a kiss on her forehead and shifting her so that she is lying beside me, our legs entangled and her face resting in the crook of my neck. I rest my cheek over her head and just bask in her love as she slips into sleep in my arms.

I am one lucky fucker!

~~~~

THE END!

Thank you for reading my book till the end. It was a very memorable journey for me. All my readers' comments and votes are a huge cherry on the top. Thank you everyone for your votes, comments, corrections, everything.

I will be posting an EPILOGUE in the next week. It is a bittersweet moment for me. I am sad because I won't be writing about Catrina and Connor anymore. But I am also proud that I finished this book. It took me more time for this one than for THE ROYAL ALPHA but I am just glad that it's finished in an acceptable period of time.

Thank you ArdenTownsend, olatunjiolatunji, Aprillaries16, cperl722, KimBowler, kendagan, shannonbrunet87, reader852013, Lucifer11223344, madmick, Tasheyke14, TiffanyMoore396, Sunaina2002, romichadwick for your votes, encouraging and supportive comments.

I apologise if I missed anyone. Some of you are still in the middle of reading it but I do hope that you all complete reading it till the end and leave a comment about your review. I will be immensely grateful if you do.

I am taking a break for some time, to think of a proper timeframe and plot for "MINE TO CLAIM". Hoping to start that book before the end of 2021 so please keep updated. I'll definitely put an announcement on my profile when I upload the first few chapters of it.