Chapter 3 The Claiming

RAVEN

I was doomed. It was the only thought that ran through my head as the wolf locked eyes with mine. Could it smell my fear? Could it smell that I was lying about my identity? He was huge, easily reaching almost five feet.

It prowled towards me, gaze unmoving, I forced myself to move but my foot stayed rooted to the ground.

It growled suddenly, body jerking to the side, I noticed it had been hit with a dart. Another shot, and it jerked again, its descent slowing.

That was when I noticed the king holding a dart gun and a displeased expression on his face. He fired another and finally the wolf went down, its head hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Escort her grace to the prince's chambers." The king's voice rang out.

I flinched back in surprise as two men appeared before me.

"If you please, your grace." They gestured for me to follow. With one look back at the feral wolf laying on the ground, I turned and followed.

Was I a bad person if I wished for him to remain that way towards the foreseeable future?

The men escorting me stopped at a door after passing several in the hallway.

"This is the prince's quarters, your grace, please make yourself at home." One of them pushed the door open.

I took hesitant steps into the room as I admired the dark walls and the black leather chairs that adorned the living room, of course the floor was made of marble.

"Yes it looks depressing, but wait till you see his room." I flinched, jumping back in alarm as a figure emerged from behind me.

"Pfft, I'm not that scary am I?" A boy about the same height as me, stood before me, his pale gold eyes twinkling as he smiled.

He ran a hand through his hair and jumped on a couch. "I'm the one who's supposed to be staring you know." On instinct I tried to apologize. He waved it away. "It's nothing, I'm Denis."

He looked at me expectantly. "I'm Raven.' I said, trying to make my voice sound as feminine as possible.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business." His playful gaze turned serious.

"After the ruckus you experienced, you must have some questions so here's the run down. Yes prince Eilís has no control over his shift, yes he is locked up in the castle every full moon, and yes he might hurt you but not on purpose."

I just stood there, not knowing how to react.

"Prince Eilís will be back in a few hours after he wakes up and this is what is expected of the both of you. "He is to claim you...yes, that means bite you, don't worry you'll be okay and that's if you survive it, you're expected to consummate the marriage before you would be considered part of the pack. I'll leave you to rest, and by tomorrow morning I'll come to get you started on your wolf royalty training." He made air quotes. "I'll be your guide, your go to guy for any troubles you might have, I'm basically your wolf attendant."

I managed a thank you and Denis beamed. "I like you already, and I really do hope you survive." He waved his hand as he exited, the door clicking shut behind him.

The beast was going to bite me, he was going to claim me.

A shiver ran down my spine as the wolf's glowing eyes lingered in my mind, its hot breath still seeming to mist the air

EILÍS

As I pushed open the door to my chambers I was surprised to see it empty, after I had woken up from my forced slumber, I was told my bride was waiting in my room. I narrowed my eyes at the door leading to my bedroom, could she have run away? Did I terrify her that much? I walked towards the door and pushed it open, my breath hitching at the sight of her sitting on the edge of the bed, head lowered and hands held between her legs.

I frowned at her posture. "What are you doing?"

She flinched like she hadn't expected the sound of my voice. "I'm at your service my prince."

My frown deepened. "Why do you sound like that?"

Her hand went to her throat, coughing a little, she replied. "My lungs did not develop properly, my voice has been like that since I was little."

"Oh." I sighed, wondering how I was going to bring up the conversation of claiming. I had sent Denis here to prepare her as much as he could.

"I won't touch you without your permission, I'll only go as far as you allow, but you have to take the bite, it's no exception."

Her head snapped up at my words, the surprise evident in her gaze.

I couldn't help the disgust in my voice. "What? Did that come as a surprise? Not being the brute people assume I am?"

"No my-"

"It's alright." I cut her off. "I took no offense, let's just get this over with." I approached her slowly, feeling grateful when she tilted her head to the side. With my expression tight, I bent down and knelt before her.

She jerked back, eyes widening in alarm. "What are you doing?"

"This is part of the ritual." I answered.

"I submit myself before you Raven of Dierna now Raven Caravia and ask that you give me the honour of accepting both the man and the wolf before you as your mate and husband."

She just stared at me. "You're supposed to say you accept."

"I accept,"she answered.

I held back her hair as she tilted her head to the side.

I swallowed at the sight of her pale and fragile neckline, The scent of cedar wood and honeysuckle even more apparent, I resisted the urge to breathe in her scent.

I could feel her holding her breath as I bent my head towards her neck. "I'll try to make it less painful." I whispered as my fangs descended.

With no preamble I pierced her skin, not stopping until my fangs connected. She screamed, her body trashing as she tried to push me away.

I held her down using my other hand. "It hurts!" She cried. I ignored her getting lost in the feeling of her blood trickling down my throat as I accessed her memories. It was one of the main reasons for the bite, the power to enter the mind of one's mate, ensuring that mates couldn't keep secrets from each other.

I froze as I came across a memory of her -no, him, standing before his father and was told to take the place of his sister to become my bride.

The pressure behind my eyes pulsed - the familiar fracture spreading. I had seconds, maybe less.

I jerked back, my fangs releasing his throat as I took two steps backward, staring at him in disbelief. "You're... a boy,"I whispered, the words feeling like they'd torn their way out of my throat.