Mate.

Natasha's POV 

I woke to the loud sound of my phone ringing somewhere.  I tapped around the bed, blindly, still sleepy. My head is pounding loudly like a drum. With a groan, I forced my eyes open.  

The first thing that registered was that I was not in my room. The second was that… I didn't have a room anymore.  I lived with Matt. And Matt—the bastard— had cheated on me with my best friend.  

Anger burned through my veins but it dissipated when another question dropped into my head.  

So where was I? 

Good question.

I scanned the room. It was a hotel suite. A massive impressive one. There was no way I could ever afford this place. So how on earth had I gotten?  

Flashes of last night hit me.  MDrinks with Sofia. Sofia leaving me. Me feeling funny and then—

By the moon goddess.The hot man.  

The mystery man had brought me here.  

“Don't hold back.”

I slapped my palm over my face, gasping in shock. Had I really said that?! What the hell had come over me? Sure, he was hot as hell but that wasn’t an excuse.  

Still… he could kiss.  

My cheeks heated as I remembered his shirt ripping open, his chest—perfect, hard, beautiful—pressing against mine, skin burning against skin. 

I'd had sex with a stranger. And for some reason, I didn't feel bad about it.  

The shrill sound of my ringtone yanked me out of my thoughts.  

I scrambled off the bed and snatched my phone off the stool at the edge of the bed. 

"Sofia?" 

"Where are you?" Sofia asked, "Emily called and she keeps making snarky comments about you not showing up at the registry." 

"Shit, shit," I groaned, clutching my aching head.  "I... I'm on my way." 

"What happened last night? Are you okay?" She asked, worried.  

"I'm fine," I lied, my face burning red.  "I'll be there soon.  I'll tell you everything later." 

"You better," she muttered before hanging up.  

I dashed into the shower, yanked on my dress from last night, and slipped out of the hotel. The mystery man was nowhere in sight and I was grateful for that. I didn't want any of those awkward morning-after things that came with one-night stands.  

What was I thinking, anyway? I'd never had a one-night stand before.  

With a faint blush on my cheeks, I walked into the registry to see Matt and Emily waiting in the courtroom. 

"Why is she here?" I snapped, sliding into my seat before the registrar.

“Why else? To prove my faithfulness,” Matt said smugly. My hand twitched with the urge to slap him.

Fine. If he wanted to play dirty, I could too. I reached into my purse to pull out the recording of him and Emily when she beat me to it.

 “Matt is innocent,” Emily said smoothly, handing the registrar a file. “Natasha’s the traitor. She disrespected the marriage bond.”

My jaw dropped. “What the hell are you talking about?” I frowned, arching a brow at her antics. 

The registrar peered at me, flipping open the file. “Is this true?”

“Of course not!” I snapped. “Matt cheated on me. With her!”

He slid out a stack of photos and arched his brow in my direction. “That’s not what these suggest, Mrs. Langston.”

My stomach dropped. The pictures were of me at the bar. A man’s arm wrapped around me at the door. His face wasn’t visible, but mine was.

I crushed the photo in my hands. Emily. That snake. I could see it now in that stupid smile on her face—She’d set me up. Drugged me. And now I wondered—was the mystery man part of her plan?

"You did this," I snapped, rising on my feet ready to yank the bitch's hair apart.  

"Mrs Langston, sit down and respect the court." The registrar ordered, and I struggled to obey.  

Losing my temper would get me nowhere. I turned to the registrar. "If you would just look at this video, you'll see that Matt and-"

"Would you care to explain this picture first?" The registrar asked. "The man holding you isn't Mr Langston, is it?" 

"Look I-"

"It's a yes or no, Mrs Langston. Is that your husband holding you?" 

I swallowed the bile that filled my mouth.  "No.  It isn't." 

"Did you go home with this man?" 

"She did," Matt yelled. "She didn't come home last night, so she did!"

"Why would I come home to you, you bastard? So I can see you and Emily go at it like rabbits?" 

"I am just a good friend of Mr Langston," Emily scoffed.  

"Friend?" I said in a dry voice. "You were supposed to be my good friend. Instead, you seduced my husband and tried to make him yours." 

"Mrs Langston, calm down!" The registrar snapped. "There's no need to hide your wrongdoing."

My jaw dropped. "My wrongdoing? I'm the one who got cheated on. How's that my wrongdoing?" 

"The evidence suggests otherwise." 

"You haven't checked all the evidence!" I yelled, throwing the flash drive at the hard-headed man.  

Wrong move, because that made him angry and he lunged to his feet.  

"You, Natasha Langston, are guilty of cheating and disrespecting the marriage bond. You will be expelled." 

I looked from the registrar to Matt and realized I was done either way. I might as well just get this over with.  

"I also demand a financial settlement," Matt said, the smug look still on his face. "You have hurt me very deeply, Natasha." 

I gave him the middle finger while the registrar slid a new set of divorce documents towards me.  

"Sign here, will you?" 

Biting my bottom lip in pain, I reached for the pen, feeling defeated. 

The doors opened and the pen slipped from my hands.   

He walked in.  

My mystery man from last night.  His eyes scanned the room before eventually falling on mine and my breath seized.  

He was even more gorgeous up close.  

"I see you started the session without me, Matt.” He said, a stern look on his face.  

"U-Uncle," Matt stuttered, rising to his feet. Everyone bowed their heads while I stared in shock.  

The man I had slept with, the mystery man, was Matt's uncle? The Alpha of my pack?! 

Shit.  

I dropped my head in a bow when he approached me.   

"She's not going anywhere." He announced, cupping my jaw. My wolf purred underneath his touch. 

Hello, Mate.  

Wait, what?" 

"But sir, she disrespected the marriage bond.” The registrar complained.  

“I’ve seen evidence of my nephew cheating on Natasha with that woman,” he said, his voice dangerous. Then his gaze softened as it landed on me. “And besides… Why would I expel my Luna?”

My jaw nearly hit the floor.

“E-Excuse me?”

Alan  Blackwood knelt, pulling out a small ring box I hadn’t noticed before. He took my hand in his, those molten brown eyes melting me alive.

“Natasha,” he murmured. “Will you marry me?”