Chapter 23-Amrin #2
Because suddenly Gunner no longer looked obsessed with insulting me and fighting Menon.
Instead he looked deeply irritated by centuries of supernatural baggage and two manipulative parents attempting to arrange a mating contract behind his back.
Honestly?
Relatable.
“Father, I am not fighting over a woman who already chose someone else,” Gunner said finally, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Especially not after finding out our parents turned this into some creepy arranged mating bullshit.”
Relief flooded me so hard my knees weakened slightly.
Menon immediately steadied me.
Always.
His hand slid firmly against my lower back while his tail tightened around my waist protectively.
Mine.
The bond purred the word warmly.
“Amrin, I sincerely apologize,” Gunner added stiffly, glancing toward me. “I genuinely thought you hated me because of him.”
“I thought you hated me because of him,” I admitted honestly.
We stared at each other for a beat.
Then simultaneously:
“Huh.”
Dr. Childs sighed loudly.
“Finally. Emotional intelligence.”
The older woman sounded deeply exhausted by all of us.
Fair.
My mother suddenly looked older somehow.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Tired.
“Amrin, I don’t know what to say. I handled this badly,” Evelyn admitted stiffly.
Understatement of the century.
Still, hearing her say those words at all felt monumental.
“I just wanted your future to be secured. I wanted you safe,” she added more quietly.
Emotion twisted painfully inside my chest.
Because maybe she meant it.
Maybe love from women like Evelyn Cordoza simply came sharpened by politics and fear and generations of coven expectations.
Not gentle.
But real anyway.
Arthur McFadden snorted harshly beside us.
“She would’ve been safer with Wolves than that fucking moon-spawn.”
Everything happened very fast after that.
Gunner turned first.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he snapped at his father.
Arthur rounded on him instantly.
“You will watch your tone, boy.”
“No,” Gunner snarled, shoving a hand through his hair violently. “You manipulated both of us! You shoved me toward a woman who clearly didn’t want me because you thought mating contracts mattered more than actual consent!”
The Alpha’s eyes flashed gold instantly.
“You are a McFadden. You will obey your bloodline.”
“Fuck my bloodline!”
Oh.
Oh this was escalating quickly.
Nearby students had fully stopped pretending not to watch now.
The tension thickened sharply as Wolf energy rolled off both males in aggressive waves.
Arthur stepped forward threateningly.
“You shame this family.”
Gunner shoved him back.
Hard.
“I’m not your fucking pawn!”
The shove detonated the situation instantly.
Arthur shifted partially with a roar, claws ripping through his hands while massive Wolf energy burst outward violently enough several lanterns exploded overhead.
Students screamed and scattered.
“Oh gods,” Dr. Childs muttered.
The Alpha swung first.
A brutal, clawed strike aimed directly at Gunner’s face.
Gunner blocked it barely before both Wolves slammed into each other with enough force to crack the cobblestones beneath them.
The sound was horrifying.
Snarling.
Bone.
Magic.
Years of resentment exploded all at once.
Gunner hit back hard, fist cracking against Arthur’s jaw before the Alpha tackled him bodily into a nearby game booth.
Wood shattered everywhere.
“STOP IT!” I yelled.
Neither listened.
Of course they didn’t.
They were Wolves.
Meanwhile Menon went utterly still beside me.
Too still.
Moonlight rolled off him in violent waves now.
The celestial markings beneath his skin glowed blindingly bright while his expression shifted into something ancient and terrifying.
Not merely angry.
Royally angry.
Then Arthur snarled something vicious beneath the chaos—
“That Witch should’ve been an easy target even for you! A fat, powerless abomination.”
Menon moved instantly.
One second he stood beside me.
The next—he crossed the distance in a blur of silver-blue power.
The punch landed with a crack that echoed across the entire midway.
Arthur McFadden flew sideways hard enough to take out an entire fried dough stand before collapsing unconscious in the rubble.
Silence.
Absolute stunned silence.
Even Gunner froze.
Menon flexed his hand once slowly before speaking in the calmest voice imaginable.
“You insulted my mate after I warned you.”
The entire festival seemed to hold its breath.
Then Gunner looked between his unconscious father and Menon.
“That was… Damn.”
I stared at my celestial mate wide-eyed.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
Menon turned toward me immediately.
The terrifying killing aura vanished the second his eyes landed on my face.
Softening instantly.
Gods.
The emotional whiplash.
“Yes,” he said simply. “I did.”
His hand cupped my cheek gently.
“He insulted my mate. And no one is allowed to do that, Luna.”
The possessive certainty in his voice sent warmth spilling through my chest despite the literally unconscious Alpha currently lying in broken carnival debris behind him.
Somewhere nearby, Serena’s voice carried over the chaos.
“Raven! Twenty crowns says Professor Kenna appears in green smoke again!”
The Draugr sighed deeply.
“Your gambling problem concerns me.”
And right on cue—green smoke exploded across the midway.
Silence followed the impact.
Not true silence.
The festival still existed around us somewhere beyond the chaos.
Music drifted faintly through the night.
Students whispered in stunned disbelief.
But at the center of the midway—everything had stopped.
Arthur McFadden lay unconscious in the shattered remains of the fried dough stand while powdered sugar drifted slowly through the air like snow.
Gunner stared.
Dr. Childs stared.
My mother stared.
Honestly, I stared too.
Meanwhile, Professor Kenna materialized directly between the broken booth and Arthur McFadden’s unconscious body with all the exhausted irritation of a woman who had absolutely had enough of supernatural nonsense for one evening.
The professor stared at the scene.
The destroyed game booth.
The unconscious Alpha.
The celestial moonlight still crackling faintly around Menon.
The scattered carnival debris.
The witnesses.
Then she closed her eyes briefly.
“What,” she asked wearily, “is happening now?”
Everyone immediately started talking at once.
“It wasn’t my fault—”
“He attacked first—”
“Arthur half-shifted—”
“The Alpha insulted his mate—”
“There was a mating contract—”
“Someone exploded the lanterns—”
Professor Kenna lifted one elegant hand.
Silence slammed down instantly.
The woman weaponized disappointment better than most Monsters weaponized claws.
“Marvelous,” she muttered flatly. “Another Equinox catastrophe.”
Her sharp green eyes swept over the scene once more before settling fully on Menon and me.
On our joined hands.
The glowing celestial mate marks beneath my skin.
The lingering silver-blue blessing still shimmering faintly around us from Máni himself.
Something softened briefly in her expression then.
Not surprise.
Not even concern.
Recognition.
Like she’d expected this all along.
“Well,” she sighed after a long moment, “at least this particular disaster appears legally and magically binding.”
I snorted unexpectedly.
Menon made a low, amused sound beside me before pressing a kiss softly against the top of my head.
The simple affection nearly undid me.
Because no one had ever chosen me publicly before.
Not fully.
Not without conditions.
Not without trying to reshape me into something easier to love first.
But Menon?
Menon looked at me like I was the answer to a prayer he’d stopped believing in.
And gods—I felt the same way about him.
“Amrin, are you certain?” Mother asked.
“Yes. I love him, Mom. And I’m safe with him,” I said quietly.
The words left me before I fully realized I meant to say them aloud.
But they were true.
Terrifyingly true.
Menon’s arm tightened around me instantly.
Protective.
Possessive.
Certain.
Mine.
Across from us, my mother looked suddenly tired.
Not angry.
Not cold.
Just… tired.
Years of rigid control and coven politics seemed to weigh visibly heavier on her shoulders now beneath the floating festival lights.
“I know that now,” Evelyn whispered softly.
The admission stunned me more than the fight had.
Because for the first time in my entire life—she looked at Menon not with suspicion or disdain.
But acceptance.
Real acceptance.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Nearby, Gunner groaned and rubbed both hands over his face.
“I’m going to need several drinks after this.”
“You are also going to apologize to the maintenance staff,” Professor Kenna informed him dryly. “And possibly the pastry vendors.”
Gunner glanced toward the destroyed fried dough stand.
“That’s fair.”
The Draugr folded his massive arms across his chest beside Serena.
“Technically,” he rumbled thoughtfully, “Menon only destroyed one stand. The Alpha destroyed the others.”
Professor Kenna blinked slowly.
“You are not helping,” I whispered.
Serena immediately pointed at Raven.
“He’s right though, Professor. The Alpha instigated everything.”
“Serena, it’s okay,” Draugr murmured.
“What? Justice matters!” The Necromancer shouted.
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
Right there in the middle of the wreckage and magical chaos and emotional fallout.
And maybe that was the strangest part of all.
Not the moon blessing.
Not the celestial matebond.
Not even Menon punching an Alpha unconscious for insulting me.
Nope.
The strangest part was that despite the disaster surrounding us—I felt happy.
Completely.
Overwhelmingly.
Wildly happy.
Because Menon still held me like he never intended to let go.
Because the bond between us glowed warm and steady beneath my ribs.
Because somewhere along the way, without even realizing it, I had stopped feeling like too much and started feeling wanted instead.
Professor Kenna sighed the long-suffering sigh of a woman who managed Monsters for a living.
“Very well,” she announced finally. “Mr. McFadden will be taken to the infirmary and once he regains consciousness he will be billed for the damages. The rest of you will kindly refrain from triggering any further mythological blood feuds before midnight.”
“No promises,” Menon muttered.
The professor pointed sharply at him.
“You, especially.”
A smile tugged unexpectedly at his mouth.
He was beautiful, my mate.
Terrifyingly beautiful.
And all mine.
The realization settled deep into my bones while the moonlight shimmered softly across the midway around us.
For the first time in my entire life—I truly felt chosen.