Chapter 6: The Mate He Wouldn't Defend

Grace's POV

“Grace, wait. Please.”

Daniel followed me across the terrace. A moment earlier, I'd told him he couldn't touch me like his mate in private while refusing to claim me in public. He'd dropped his hand, but now he was following me toward the garden steps.

“I'm going home,” I said.

“At least hear me out.”

I turned. “Your mother told an entire room that I wouldn't be Luna until I gave you a child. Someone called me your breeder, and you stood there. What else is there to say?”

“I should have stopped it.” He glanced toward the reception hall. “Marcus is looking for any excuse to challenge my position. If I publicly dispute the succession rules—”

“Your cousin wasn't the one they were laughing at.”

Daniel fell silent. I could still hear applause from inside, and the sound made my cheeks burn all over again.

“I'll speak to my mother,” he said.

“You promised you wouldn't let her announce a wedding without my consent. Tonight she did worse.”

He stepped toward me. His scent, cedar and rain, reached me before he did, and my wolf stirred despite my anger. I wanted him to hold me. I hated myself a little for wanting it.

“Let me take you home,” he said.

“Sarah brought me. I'll go with her.”

He moved aside, but his expression stayed with me as I went inside.

Sarah was near the cloakroom. She took one look at me and reached for her bag.

“Are we leaving?”

“Please.”

We nearly reached the doors before Margaret stopped us.

“The reception isn't over, Grace.”

“I know. I'm leaving.”

Margaret lowered her voice. “The council needed to understand the arrangement. Veyrhold cannot afford uncertainty over its next heir.”

“Then you should have told them there isn't an arrangement yet. I haven't signed anything.”

Her mouth tightened. “The Heir Covenant has protected this territory for generations. Daniel's position depends on a legitimate successor.”

“Does that give you the right to discuss my body in front of strangers?”

“Marrying an Alpha requires sacrifice.”

“I know. You made sure everyone heard exactly what you expect me to sacrifice.”

Sarah touched my elbow. Margaret glanced at her, then back at me.

“You'll find that a public display of temper won't help you earn the council's respect.”

“Neither will standing there while people insult me.”

I walked past her before she could answer.

Once we were in Sarah's car, she said, “I've got a few things I'd like to tell that woman.”

“Save them. I'm too tired to enjoy it.”

“That bad?”

I watched the lights of the estate disappear behind us. “I kept waiting for Daniel to say something. Even after they started applauding, I thought he'd stop them.”

Sarah looked over. “You wanted him to stand up for you.”

“He's my mate. He knows it. But in that room, he couldn't even call me his wife without making it sound like a job.”

“Grace, you're allowed to be hurt.”

“I know.” My voice cracked. “I just wish I didn't still want him.”

Sarah pulled into a quiet side street and turned off the engine. She held me while I cried, without trying to make excuses for him. By the time she dropped me at my apartment, my eyes were swollen and my head ached.

---

Sarah came back the next morning carrying breakfast and a warning.

“Don't look at the pack social pages.”

I put down my cup. “What happened?”

She hesitated before handing me her phone.

There were photographs from the reception. In one, Margaret raised her glass while I stood beside Daniel, staring at the floor. Someone had circled my stomach and written, Veyrhold's future heir factory.

Another showed Daniel standing rigidly beside me as the guests applauded. He looked composed. I looked as though I wanted the floor to swallow me.

One woman wrote that Daniel should have chosen someone who wouldn't embarrass him in photographs. Another questioned whether a woman my size could produce a healthy Alpha heir.

I recognized a name among the comments. The woman had asked me about Rosewood last night and smiled while I answered.

“She's got a lot of nerve,” Sarah said.

My father used to complain that I spoiled family photographs. I'd spent years learning not to hear his voice every time I looked in a mirror. Now I could almost hear him again.

“Do you think Daniel sees me that way?” I asked.

Sarah frowned. “He hasn't said anything like that, has he?”

“No. But he won't acknowledge our bond. I keep wondering whether he's embarrassed by me too.”

“He should have defended you. That's on him, not your body.”

I handed back the phone. I wanted to believe her, but the image of Daniel standing silent beside me wouldn't leave my head.

At Rosewood, I tried to concentrate on the kitchen accounts. The supplier wanted payment before the next delivery, and the money left in our account wouldn't cover it. I'd persuaded him to wait once already.

Daniel called while I was checking the figures.

“Thomas has reported the abusive posts and altered images,” he said when I answered. “We're asking the page administrators to remove them.”

“Report the harassment, but leave the original photographs alone.”

“Why?”

“Because they show what happened. I don't want your family pretending last night was a lovely celebration.”

“That isn't what I'm trying to do.”

“Then make sure your mother doesn't do it again.”

“I spoke to her this morning. She won't announce anything else about us without our approval.”

Before I could respond, Laura's name appeared on my screen.

“My lawyer's calling,” I said. “I have to go.”

“Can I come by this afternoon?”

“Three o'clock. At Rosewood.”

Laura answered immediately when I switched calls.

“The revised agreement is ready,” she said. “I've checked the custody and medical provisions. The Carter custody clause is gone, no examination or treatment can be required without your consent, and there's no pregnancy deadline.”

I gripped the phone. “And Rosewood?”

“Once you both sign, the four hundred and eighty thousand dollars goes straight to the lender. The lender will confirm the debt is settled and release its claim on the property. The separate endowment is protected from your father's control, and you remain free to manage the home.”

I looked at the supplier's invoice. The relief was so sudden I had to sit back.

“The Luna title?” I asked.

“Still subject to council approval. Marriage alone doesn't grant it. Grace, these are the terms we fought for, but the decision to sign is yours.”

After the call, I watched Mrs. Walker help a little boy turn the pages of a picture book in the garden. My mother had built Rosewood so people like them would always have somewhere to belong. I couldn't let my father's debts take it away.

---

Daniel arrived at three in a plain shirt, his sleeves rolled to his elbows. He looked tired. I noticed anyway.

“Laura has approved the final draft,” I said as he sat across from me.

“My lawyer has too. Thomas is preparing the lender's payment for when we sign.”

I laid the unsigned agreement on my desk. “Does your mother understand that there's no wedding until I agree?”

“Yes. I've told her she won't make decisions for either of us again.”

“Did you tell her I'm your mate?”

Daniel met my eyes, then looked away. “I told her she had no right to humiliate you.”

“That wasn't my question.”

“I know.” He rested his hands on his knees. “If I acknowledge our bond publicly before the council accepts this marriage, Marcus will say I've put my mate ahead of the succession laws. He'll use it to challenge my right to lead.”

“Then let him argue with you. Why should I be the one who pays for his threats?”

“I don't have a good answer for that.”

His admission caught me off guard. I had expected another speech about duty.

Daniel looked at the agreement. “You shouldn't have to marry a man you don't trust just to keep Rosewood open.”

“But I do have to keep it open.”

“I know.”

Outside, two children raced across the garden, their laughter carrying through the window. Daniel followed my gaze, then reached for the agreement. He didn't touch it.

“There's one thing I need to ask before either of us signs,” he said.

I waited, my hands clasped tightly beneath the desk.

“If Rosewood were safe without this marriage, Grace, would you still choose me?”