Bonded in Silver

Ivy's POV

I still can't believe it.

I'm Nathaniel's mate.

I'm still getting used to seeing all the pack members bow and address me. They've been doing it over the past few weeks and honestly, it continues to baffle and wonder me. I'm mated to not just a royal, but the future king of our race.

Nathaniel has completely gone back to the endearing, loving and sexy man that I'm used to, and thank God because now that I know we're mates, I can't keep my hands off him. We've been spending every waking moment together between his work and he's been showing me around the packlands and allowing me to help him with his pack work in a more official capacity considering it's now my pack too.

We've briefly discussed making a trip out to the witches' coven to see about getting my cuffs removed and accept our mate bonds once they're off, which I am extremely excited for. These cuffs have been the biggest burden and hurdle for me in terms of coming back into myself and the woman I know I can be.

I'm currently sitting in Nathaniel's office, going through some paperwork of his when he enters the room. I look up at him and he smiles at me.

"I have a surprise for you, songbird. Someone is here to see you."

I tilt my head in confusion, not quite understanding who may be here to see me, but I stand anyways and follow him out to the front foyer of the packhouse. Nate grasps my hand tightly as we approach the front door and I see Evie and Kane standing at attention. I look to their faces to get some sort of hint as to what is happening, but I get no such flicker of knowing in their eyes.

I look at see a tall black hooded figure standing in the middle of the foyer, with three white robed figures around them. The figure turns and I inhale sharply as I'm met with lavender purple eyes under thick lashes.

"So, this is her. Beauty of a mate, Alpha King." Her voice is melodic, smooth. I glance at her in wonder, her sculpted features accentuating her tan skin. She lowers her hood and long blond hair flows out in waves underneath it. She approaches me and reaches her hand out, grasping mine lightly.

I'm confused and fearful. Why is everyone else so calm?

"No need to fear me, Luna Queen. My name is Althea. I am one of the witch coven leaders. Specifically, the largest coven located close to Alpha Nate's packlands, called Rayndelle."

My eyes widen in realization. "Witch coven? As in who can remove my cuffs?" She nods and smiles widely. "One and the same."

"I thought that we were going to plan a trip?" I look to Nate, and he shrugs. "We were, but I told Althea about you and your situation, and she decided to come here instead."

"Can you really take them off?" I ask, the nervousness in my voice highly apparent. She squeezes my hand and proceeds to pull both of my hands up to inspect the cuffs that adorn them. "I'm confident, but what worries me is how long they've been on. The silver doesn't affect you anymore, correct?"

I nod my head. "They burned me for the first year. After that only minor discomfort, but in the past year they haven't hurt at all. It's as if my skin is numb."

"That's what I thought. Seems like I may have my work cut out for me, but I'm happy to assist. My associates and I will get settled, and then we will get started on the process to remove them. You have a large area in which I can cast if needed Alpha King?" She questions Nate and he nods.

"Anything you need, Althea. Thank you."

"My pleasure. See you both soon." She says and turns to walk away with Tobias leading the way into the guest wing.

I turn to Nathaniel. "You could have told me." He smiles. "I like surprising you. Althea is one of the best."

Here's hoping she can actually remove them.

Nathaniel's POV

I know she's worried simply by her body language as she stands in front of me in the far side of the training grounds in my packlands. The sun is only starting to set, but I watch as my mate paces back and forth. Althea had asked us to meet her here, wanting to not waste any time in removing the spells that bind her cuffs to her.

"Baby you're going to run a hole in the grass."

She stops to look at me, her red hair flowing slightly in her face, still having momentum from her movement. "Sorry." She says quietly before approaching me and wrapping her arms around my waist. I wrap my own arms around her and squeeze gently, resting my chin atop her head as she sighs.

"I'm just nervous. What if they don't come off? What if something goes wrong? What if..."

"Stop worrying about what might happen, songbird. We will deal with it. I know you're worried, but I'll be here, and Althea is sure going to try her hardest to remove you of this burden."

"You bet I am." Althea's melodic voice graces us and I see her walking towards us in stride. Once she's beside us, she sets a small bag down and starts pulling out items from it. A large blanket, herbs and containers with tinctures and some small alchemy equipment.

"Could you please lay out this blanket, Alpha King?" I nod and take it from her and walk a few paces away, laying it flat out in the grass. Althea follows behind me, setting up all her equipment while Ivy watches intently.

"Okay Luna Queen, let's get to work." Althea says with a smile.

Ivy's POV

I sit in front of Althea and her equipment, my body on edge. I have no idea what is going to happen, and to say I'm nervous is a major understatement.

"Alpha, could you sit behind Ivy?" I turn my head to see him nod and settle in behind me, giving me a small peck on the shoulder. I feel his warmth and it helps settle my racing heart. I smile and turn my focus to Althea who pulls my wrists into her hands to inspect them again.

"I'm going to do a basic incantation to test the degree of enchantment that are on these. That will give me a baseline to start at with everything else. They may get uncomfortable and burn as I investigate the binding magic. I wish it didn't cause pain, but unfortunately, it's unavoidable."

"I can handle it, Althea. Believe me."

"I've no doubt, just warning you." I nod and she lowers her head slightly and begins chanting her incantation. After a few minutes I feel the metal heat up and a tingling feeling arises on my skin. It's only mild for a moment before the pain sears and shoots up both my arms into my shoulders. I grit my teeth and try to keep my breathing even as I work through the pain that continues in waves up my arms.

I feel Nate wrap his arms around my torso, supporting me. "Are you okay?" He asks quietly in my ear, and I nod. "I can feel the pain you're experiencing but only at a mild degree. Let me know if it gets too much."

"I will, Alpha. Promise." He kisses my shoulder again. Soon the pain subsides, and Althea looks at me, puzzled. "These are interesting. The enchantment is there, but it's been weakening over the years. I think the caster meant for them to come off eventually. Whether your previous Alpha knew that or not, is up to speculation."

"How long was the enchantment meant to last?" I ask and she shrugs. "I'm not sure." She lets go of my wrists and stares blankly for a moment, clearly in deep thought.

"Does the silver burn you Alpha King?" She asks Nate and he shakes his head. "I've touched them, and they don't affect me at all." She looks up and locks eyes with me and smirks. "I think they're linked to your mate, Ivy."

"What? How is that possible?"

"A fated mate bond is earthly magic from the Moon Goddess that even we as witches still don't fully comprehend. In saying that, there are some enchantments that can be based around a mate bond, and only allow your mate to break them."

"So, you think Nate is the key to removing the cuffs?"

"The spell of them, yes, but first we need to weaken the metal." Althea grabs some of her herbs and begins to grind them up and mixes them with other items that in all honestly confuse me, but I know she's the expert and I let her do her work uninterrupted.

"Alpha King, I need some of your blood." She says a few moments later and he moves from behind me to beside me on the right side of Althea and she hands him a small knife. "Nate, you don't have to – "

"It's only blood, songbird. I'm okay I promise." He interjects me and I sigh and watch as he slices his palm and raises his balled fist above Althea's bowl, blood trickling into it.

Althea says another incantation and then smiles. "This should do it. Nate's blood will help release the enchantments and what I've mixed here should weaken the metal so they can be removed. You ready?" She looks at me and I nod. "Never been more ready." Althea moves closer as I hold my wrists out, and she pours the contents of the bowl onto the cuffs and they immediately start smoking. I gasp in surprise as Althea begins to chant again, louder this time, obviously working on breaking the enchantment using Nate's blood to help her.

I feel the same pain as before, increasing in intensity. I close my eyes clench my jaw to keep myself from crying out.

Ivy.

Ivy, can you hear me?

I'm still here, warrior.

My eyes shoot open, and I gasp, tearing brimming in my eyes. I look to Nate, and he looks back at me with concern.

"I heard Seles. She's still here. She's still here in me."