Marry Me Again, Mate!

a

p shaking as I stared

w me somethi

ungs were burning, but I couldn't look away

faint but unmistakable, cutting

od," I w

to the bathroom counter. I grabbed the edge of th

preg

ntment after disappointment, it had final

ch

go. Clause Two was burned into my memory: The Luna agrees to produce one pure-blood heir within rea

And I... I'd been despe

ut the contract right now. I wasn't thinking abou

nking abo

the dark afterward and he'd trace patterns on my shoulder with his fingertips. About that one time he'd carried

omething too. Maybe this bab

red to myself, wiping my

it? Even if he'd loved someone else before me, even if this marriage had

n, clutching it like pr

tell him.

through my veins. Would he smile? Would he pull me close? Would those ice-blue

e marble floors as I headed toward the Alpha's quarters on the opposi

o happy. I know he

n the corridor,

pillar, whispering in that urgent way people do wh

she just showe

Luna even

he supposed to compet

orce her? Now that Miss

me like a p

aph

moving. Everythi

out Seraphina, Mason's first love. The woman he'd wanted to marry before his fath

Mason that if he really loved her, he'd reject his mate and choose her. Maso

'd left

she wa

eathed. "N

e way I'd come, making sure the maids didn't

my lungs were screaming and my vis

ow? W

oor and slid down to the floor,

bstacle between them had died three months ago. Mason had been sworn in as A

nd now she was here to claim what she'd a

as being crushed. I cou

y tears spilling down my che

e One: This marriage is one of convenience and obligation. Nei

t somewhere along the way, I'd let

ashing down around me

nscious thought, pressing against the f

do?" I whispered. "Wh

upposed to hand it over and disappear from Mason's life. W

n't want fre

nted

on the door

ough the wood. "The Alpha has req

mach d

. Thu

eek we were supposed to try for an heir. He'd always treated it like a business meeting on his ca

ere in a few minutes

ootsteps

eyes were red and puffy. My hair was a mess. I looked exac

ther. You c

my dress, I couldn't shake the ter

ast time Mason and I w

was about

-

en, but somehow it felt like I was walking towa

my knuckles barely making a

mbled from inside, deep, smoo

had never sai

oor open and s

es that screamed wealth and power. Everything about it was des

er a stack of papers, pen moving across one of them in q

stood there, drinking

wline, high cheekbones, ginger hair that was always just slightly too long. He looked

. A tension in his shoulders. A distraction in the w

er, I realized with a

own, my hands folded in my l

oday," Mason said suddenl

napped up

usinesslike. "Your mother asked for more. Something

my cheeks. "I

inally setting down his pen. "It's fine. I promise

ailed

we d

etween us, unspo

t now and get it over with. But my throat had closed up completel

tion burst out of me b

ine, one dark eyebrow risi

hina real

the room dropped

but something flickered behind h

?" he sa

That's all

w

eached across the r

do you care? Or so what if she is

nothing came out. Wha

ot really. That's what the contract was for, to make sure nei

nd started unbut

," he said, his voice brisk and eff

rly. I bet Seraphina's waitin

back on the bed and closed my

where his touch made my breath catch. For one year, I'd memorized every

s differen

ry kiss felt

him thinking about someone else

top myself, before I could think about

should get