Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 32263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
“What girls?” I ask.
She stares at me like I have lost my mind.
“The girls you summoned here,” she says, disbelief threading her words. “The ones you just dismissed.”
The truth strikes me with embarrassing clarity.
I had forgotten all about them.
Since the moment I caught my mate’s aroused scent, nothing else existed. No other women mattered. All of it had vanished from my mind.
The sheer gravity of her presence erased my mind of anything that wasn’t mate.
“They will be returned to their homes,” I say, my voice steady despite the storm raging beneath my skin. “With apologies. And compensation.”
“Tonight,” she says, crossing her arms as she glares up at me.
Gods, she’s fierce. I’m in love.
“Tonight,” I say with a firm nod.
“And lots of compensation,” she says.
My lips curl into a smile. “So much they’ll be running home with smiles on their faces.”
Some of the stiffness in her body eases. “I doubt that,” she says, although there’s less bite in her tone now. “They’ve been traumatized, the poor girls.”
And it was worth it.
To find this amazing woman.
It was worth it.
“It was not my first choice,” I say hesitantly.
“I should hope not,” she says, her chin in the air, staring defiantly at me. “It’s a barbaric custom.”
“I… apologize. I was desperate.”
“For what?”
I take a deep breath and my whole body softens. “For you. It was all to find you.”
“Me?” She puts her hand on her chest and steps back, those defiant eyes melting my soul. “And what makes me so special?”
“You’re my mate,” I say softly. “You’re our queen.”
She doesn’t move as she stares at me for a long moment, and then she bursts out laughing. “Your highness,” she says sarcastically. “I make candles. I don’t rule wolf kingdoms in far-off strange lands.”
I step forward and take her hand. Her laughter quickly fades.
“And I have been living without half of my soul for forty-one years,” I say, my voice low and firm. “I have struggled in loneliness. Nearly lost my wolf to grief. I was drowning without my queen and now my feet are on solid land. A lot has changed today.”
She stares at me as the weight of my words settles between us. For the first time since she was dragged into this room, I see uncertainty flicker in her eyes—not fear, but something quieter. Something deeper.
“I don’t understand,” she says softly. “Why you’re saying things like that. If you want to force me into your bed, you don’t have to pretend there’s love and… more here.”
I shake my head fiercely. “There will be no forcing anything. Do you not… feel it?”
Her inquisitive eyes look me over as her mind works. I wish I could read her thoughts and discover what she’s thinking. I want to feel her feelings and experience her thoughts along with her. I want to be a part of her in every way.
“What’s your name?” I ask when she doesn’t answer.
“Morwen.”
“Morwen,” I whisper, savoring the succulent name on my tongue. “Beautiful.”
“King Alaric,” she says, rubbing her thumb on my hand. It’s such a small gesture, but it makes my thick, powerful legs buckle. She can bring me to my knees with such ease.
“You’re ready to put a crown on my head and place me on that throne,” she says, motioning to the empty seat with her eyes. “When you don’t even know me?”
“I know you,” I say immediately. “Intimately.”
She scoffs. “You smelled me. That’s not the same thing.”
“To a wolf it is,” I say. “A wolf you woke from the dead.”
Her head tilts. “You lost me.”
“And you found me,” I say, holding her hand tighter. “You’re my mate, Morwen. And I’m yours.”
My wolf is pacing inside, rearing to get out and smell his mate in the flesh. I hold him back, not wanting to surrender my girl to him just yet.
My eyes drop to her luscious pink lips and I wonder how soon it will be before I can kiss those soft lips whenever I desire. Once I start, I may never stop.
“You are my mate,” I say, hammering it home. “Fate has decided on it. The Gods have decided on it. We are mates, and nothing in this world—or the next—is going to change that.”
“My opinion on the subject doesn’t matter?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “And neither does mine. You can ignore the yearning feelings surging through your body right now. You can flee our kingdom and scurry back home. You can run. You can hide. You can try to fight it all you want. But you will fail. The yearning will be too great. And you will return. Mates must be together.”
It’s not like I’d let her leave. I’d lock her in my castle if I had to. I’d follow her home. There’s no way my mate is going back into that dangerous world without me beside her for protection. She’s much too precious for that.