Claudius’ perspective
“That is what you need to do to save the breeder who had saved you from the brink of your death,” she said.
“You must mark her. Officially claim her as yours.” The Moon Goddess when silent for a moment. It felt like her keen eyes were watching every expression that flashed through my eyes.
“If you want to save her, you have to do that before sunrise.”
“By marking her, I could no longer be with my true mate, right?”
“Yes.”
“You want me to give up my true mate?”
“No. I am neither asking nor requiring you to give up your mate, Claudius. I am giving you options. You can make your own choice.” The Moon Goddess looked at me patiently as I got torn between the options.
“You haven't found your true mate, am I right?” It felt like my tongue went numb, and I could no longer say anything to her. Yet I still needed to give an answer to her, so I chose to nod my head.
“Very well. You can choose to save the woman that you are with now and make her your mate, or you can make your true mate find her way into your life and let your breeder die. It’s all up to you,” she said to me.
The Moon Goddess stood up from her throne. She made her way towards me, gracefully stepping down from the floor.
My lips froze, and I couldn't move as the Moon Goddess ran her soft hands against my hair.
“I hope you choose wisely, Claudius,” she said before covering my eyes with her hand and when I opened it again, I was back to the seashore where I cut my hand.
The first thing my eyes found was Eero still lying on the sand and Caspian warming her cheeks with his palms.
“Y-You're back. Did you manage to talk to the Moon Goddess?” Caspian asked anxiously.
I kept my mouth shut. My eyes were staring at Eero even when I could feel Caspian waiting for my answer.
“Did you find a way to save her? Did the Moon Goddess tell you anything?”
“Alpha Claudius!” Caspian’s shout snapped me back from deep thoughts.
I moved my head once in response to Caspian’s tons of questions.
“How? Is there something that I can help to save Eero?”
“What did the Moon Goddess tell you?”
I licked my lower lip and chuckled bitterly.
“I need to abandon and reject my true mate once she found her way to me.” Caspian’s forehead knotted, and I could clearly see that my beta was baffled.
“Why are you suddenly talking about your mate? What's that got to do with saving Eero?”
“The Moon Goddess said that the only way to save Eero is me marking her and claiming her as my second chance mate—”
“No! You can't do that. You cannot claim a breeder who was a daughter of an exiled rogue as your mate! And as if that insult weren't enough, she is just a second chance mate, Alpha!”
I glared at Caspian, but that was not enough to make him stop talking.
“Are you telling me to just let her die?”
“Alpha Ameo and his pack were the reason why this has happened. It wasn't our fault.”
“But I have a choice and a way to save her.”
“Yes! But in return, you will lose something so precious! And why are you suddenly acting as if you are the fairest Alpha ever?” Caspian roared.
I looked at Caspian straight in his eyes. I knew that he was holding back something. There was more.
“Say it. Say that one thing you have been meaning to say to me all these years, Caspian.”
“It's not like she will be the first innocent life that you will sacrifice to protect yourself.”
I looked away from him. I knew exactly what he meant. He was talking about his father whom we needed to leave behind, so that he can lure our enemy and I can save myself.
Caspian walked away from me, and I didn't mind stopping him. His feelings were caught in the heat of the moment. But knowing how loyal he was, I knew that he will come back after he cooled down.
I licked my lower lip and closed my eyes. When I opened them again and looked up, the sky had turned golden brown.
Howling at the top of my lungs, the sound echoed over the place. I looked down on Eero's neck to bury my fangs on it.
My fangs remained on her neck until I got all her memories and my memories became hers, binding us like we were just one person at the moment.
Of all the pain that she felt in the past, I felt them too. And when I pulled away after our bond formed, tears were falling on my cheeks.
“You have lived a very terrible life, my little wolf,” I whispered to her.
Eero gasped. She opened her eyes and her golden brown eyes welcomed mine too. Slowly, the colors of her eyes faded as the same thing happened to mine too.
We were sharing the same strength. It wouldn't be enough for me to fight with someone, but it was more than enough to keep the two of us alive until we made a full recovery.
“What did you do, Claudius?" Eero asked while she was holding her neck that I just bit.
I wiped her blood off the corner of my lips.
“You are my mate now. Setting you free… that's never going to happen now, Eero.”