"You know what this is," the lead goddess said. She stood closest, naked body glowing, fingers lazily tracing circles around her own nipple.
"The Moon Goddess requires this test for every heir couple. We ensure the bond is strong enough to produce powerful pups for the pack. Pass, and the union is blessed. Fail… the match is dissolved."
Daciana swallowed hard. The incense was already coating her tongue, sinking into her skin. It made her nipples tighten against the half-open dress, made heat lick low in her belly. "Dissolved how?"
The goddess smiled "No wedding. But don't be scared, bride. But don't worry, bride. Most pass. Especially when the wolves want each other this bad."
Rodrigo's eyes were black "We don't have a choice," he said quietly. "The ritual's started. If we stop now, it's recorded as a fail."
Daciana glared at him, but her thighs clenched anyway, heat pooling between her legs. The incense was doing its job—her wolf pacing inside her, whining for more. "And if we 'pass'? What then?"
"The result goes in the pack registry," another goddess said, spreading her legs a little, fingers circling her clit. Her moan echoed off the walls. "Official. Legal. Under your name as bride."
Daciana's stomach dropped. Under the bride's name. This is gonna be a mess. But the thought faded as the heat built, her nipples hard against the dress fabric. "Fine."
The first goddess nodded. "Stage one: scent bonding. The groom must inhale the bride's deepest scents. Neck. Wrists. Stomach. Inner thighs. To awaken the wolf bond."
This is fine, she told herself. This is circumstance. This is the mission. Rodrigo Westmont is the enemy and I am a professional and—
He walked to the table.his hands gentle as he lifted her onto the table. He leaned in, nose brushing her neck first. Inhaled deep. "Fuck," he muttered, voice rough. "You smell like mine."
She shivered, her body arching without permission.
—and he's very close now and the incense is doing something genuinely criminal to my nervous system but I am FINE—
"Relax," he said quietly.
"I'm relaxed."
He ignored her, lips grazing her skin as he breathed her in again. "Your wolf says different." His hand slid to her wrist, lifting it to his mouth, inhaling there too. The goddesses watched, one fingering herself faster, gasping. "Look how her pulse jumps for him," she whispered. "Perfect response."
Daciana bit her lip to stop a moan. The incense tasted stronger now, making everything hotter. Her wolf made a sound she was taking to her grave.
"Strong initial response," one of the goddess wolves said. Writing something down. "Subject attempting suppression."
"I'm not—" Daciana started.
"Unsuccessful," the goddess wolf added.
Rodrigo's nose trailed down to her stomach, pushing the dress up just enough. He inhaled deep, his breath hot against her skin. "Here too. Sweet. Ready." His eyes flicked up to hers, dark with need. "You're dripping already. I can smell it."
"Liar," she snapped, but her hips lifted a little, betraying her. she thought. $340. Press release. Eighteen words. Callum Westmont. Focus.
Lily. Eighteen—
His breath hit the skin just below her ribs and she forgot the rest of the sentence entirely.
"Remarkable mate response," the goddess wolf noted. "Alpha restraint holding. For now."
For now, Daciana's brain repeated. For NOW—
The goddesses nodded to each other. "Scent bond complete. Stage two: touch assessment. The groom must check the bride's response to his hands. Skin to skin. To confirm the physical match."
"You're enjoying this."
"I'm completing a ritual."
"You're enjoying completing a ritual."
Rodrigo's hands went to her dress buttons again, popping the next one open. "You okay?" he whispered, voice surprisingly soft. His fingers trembled a tiny bit—caring, like he was handling something fragile.
She blinked, surprised. "Why do you care?"
"Because I do." He opened another button, exposing her breasts to the air. The goddesses moaned in unison, one spanking her own thigh lightly, the sound sharp. "Her nipples are so hard for him already," she said. "Look how they pebble."
Rodrigo's palm covered one breast, thumb brushing the peak slow. "Feel that, Dacy? Your body's begging."
She arched into his touch despite herself. "This is the incense. Not me."
He pinched lightly, rolling the nipple between his fingers. "Then why are you moaning?"
She bit her lip hard. "I'm not—"
He leaned down, took the other nipple in his mouth—sucked gentle, then firmer. She gasped, hand flying to his hair. "Rodrigo…"
He pulled back just enough to speak against her skin. "Say my name again."
"No."
He bit lightly—sharp sting that turned into heat. "Say it."
"Rodrigo," she breathed, hating how needy she sounded.
"Good girl." His hand slid down her stomach, under the lace panties. Fingers brushed her clit once—light, teasing. She bucked hard.
"Look how her hips chase him," a goddess moaned. "She's dripping onto the table."
Rodrigo circled her clit slow, watching her face. "You like that, baby?"
"The goddesses leaned in, one tracing her own thighs. "Her skin flushes so pretty for him. Spank her again — see how she drips."
"Stop… calling me baby," she panted, but her legs spread wider.
He spanked her inner thigh—light, playful sting. "Then stop grinding on my fingers.
"Alpha restraint," one of the goddess wolves said from her clipboard. Then a pause. "Abandoned. Proceeding to accelerated stage two."
Her mission brain made one more attempt. Eighteen—
Then nothing. Just her wolf saying yes again. Quietly. Like she'd made her peace with it.
Rodrigo did — another light slap on her inner thigh. "You like that?" His fingers slid higher, brushing her soaked lace panties. "Yeah, you do. Wet as hell."
She moaned, hips bucking. "Stop... talking."
He chuckled low, fingers dipping under the lace, circling her clit once. "Can't. You need to hear it. How perfect you feel. How much I want to bury my tongue here."
The goddesses gasped, one biting her lip as she fingered herself deeper. "Their thighs are trembling together. The bond is strong."
Daciana's wolf howled mate, claim me. Shut up! she thought back. He's the enemy. But her body didn't listen — she ground against his fingers, chasing the pleasure.
Rodrigo's eyes were locked on hers, caring under the heat. "You're doing good, Dacy. Just let go a little."
Her wolf said yes before Daciana opened her mouth.
Her brain said: we are going to have the longest conversation about this later and I have a LIST—
"Compatibility confirmed," the head goddess wolf said. She wrote something. Showed it to the other three. They all nodded. "Recording in the pack registry under—" she checked her notes, "—the Westmont heir's intended. First stage passed. Proceeding to full claiming."
Full claiming, Daciana's brain said. FULL—
"The claiming requires—" the goddess wolf began.
"I know what it requires," Rodrigo said.
Now the final trial: full claiming. The groom must enter the bride, knot her, to seal the bond."
Daciana's eyes snapped wide. "Wait—"
But the incense surged again. Her body throbbed, desperate. The goddesses chanted soft, their moans filling the air. One spanked her own ass. " She's ready for him."
The goddess wolves were saying something about the next stage.
His hands moved and she made another sound and her wolf was absolutely delighted and completely unhelpful and her brain tried one more time—
Lily—
—and then his mouth moved to her throat and she lost the thought entirely and—
The door burst open.
Zarek walked in first, holding some kind of costume. Took one look at the room—Daciana spread on the table, dress torn open, Rodrigo beside her.. "Well," Zarek said, grin spreading slow. "This is thorough."
He looked at the costume in his hand. Set it on the chair. "The disguise you suggested for getting her out of the estate. Seems less urgent now."
I am going to need significantly more therapy than I originally budgeted for, she thought.
Kruze walked in behind him.
He stopped.
Not long. Half a step. Half a second. The kind of pause that wouldn't mean anything to someone who didn't know him.
His eyes found her before they found the room. Before they found Rodrigo or the goddess wolves or the candles or any of it. Just her. Like his wolf had already located her before his brain caught up and his body had simply followed.
.Looked at the room. Looked at Rodrigo. His thumb went to the band immediately.
Then: "Leave, You All."
"Goddess wolves," Zarek said pleasantly. "We'll take it from here. The he turned and said
"Neither of you,look like you needed saving."
Daciana sat up.
She came here to destroy this family.
She was going to need a minute.