C5

“But I still think this marriage is the best thing for the Blackmoor Moonfang Pack and my family. I have a wolf's honour, Lamia. I want my brother to be happy with his true fated moonmate, vt I will not let my pack ruin your name. It is not right. I do not even care about the Alpha title. I only want it so I can protect Rham and Christine from the pack elders. I will make Rham do all the boring pack work anyway. But this? You and me? I really think we can rule well together.”

He looks like he means it. His dark eyes do not leave my face. He places his large hand over my knees. The silver ring sparkles in the firelight. He strokes my leg gently, his touch sending a sudden jolt of electricity straight up my spine. I do not pull away.

The truth is very scary. I have thought about being close to Clay for a long time. But I never thought about this. I never thought about being his wife.

I look down at the most dangerous, lethal wolf I know. Marriage to Clay Jasperfang could be the loneliest thing in the world. He runs around the territory with every pretty girl, a notorious playboy who leaves a trail of broken hearts behind him. If he gets bored with me, if he leaves our bed to find newer, shinier toys in the pack, the loneliness will kill me.

Rham was always my shield against Clay. Being picked for Rham meant Clay could not touch me. I could flirt with him at the Blood Moon celebrations and dance with him in the woods because I was safe. I was untouchable.

But now Rham is gone. My alliance is broken. I am completely touchable, and it makes my wolf want to run and hide.

“The news will still look terrible,” I say. I try to make my voice sound strong like steel. I try not to sink into his hard, muscular frame, but his lap is dangerously comfortable. “The pack historians will write nasty things about me.”

“That,” Clay says, and he gives me a sharp, wicked smile that shows a hint of his white teeth, “is where my brain comes in. I have a story that will leave everyone speechless.”

I shake my head, but I am smiling a little bit now. “Tell me then, smart wolf.”

“Listen to this,” he says. He moves his long, strong fingers up my leg, his touch making my skin burn. “We tell the Grand Wolf Assembly that I am madly in love with you. That I have loved you my whole life. I watched in deep sadness,”—he makes a fake sad face—“as your wedding day got closer and closer.”

He is really enjoying this play.

“I was running wild with other girls just to forget my pain,” Clay continues, his voice dripping with a dark, magnetic charm. “But I could not live without you. So, on the darkest night, I could not take it anymore. I threw myself at Rham's feet. I begged him to walk away from the throne and from you. Because I knew I could not give you the royal life you were promised unless I took the Alpha title. So he gave it to me for love.” He shrugs his broad shoulders. “And here we are.”

My jaw drops open. “You are crazy! You want to tell that giant lie to the whole territory?”

“They love a big love story, Lamia. All they need to know is that two brothers fought over the most beautiful girl in the Moonshadow Dominion. I won the fight. And you will be the most famous Luna in history. The girl who broke the royal family.” He looks down at my lips with a wicked smirk.

“Oh my Goddess,” I whisper. I try to stay smart, but it is hard when Clay is talking like this, and I am sitting right on top of him, feeling the intense heat of his chest. But he is fixing the problem.

“Is it brilliant or what?” he asks.

“It is a little bit evil, yes,” I say. I take a breath. “But what about Rham? If the elders see him with Christine Thornfield in the rogue territory, they will know we lied.”

“They won't see them,” Clay says easily. Everything is a game to him. “I will tell Rham and Christine to stay hidden in the Whispering Moon Woods for a few moons. By the time they come out, you and I will be old news. Nobody will care about Rham because the shock of me taking your hand at the altar will be too big.”

He is right again. The rogue prince is masterminding a public relations trick. But my body still remembers the pain from yesterday. I am so tired from not sleeping. Does he really think I can just jump up and marry a completely different, massive wolf in four days?

“I cannot decide this right now,” I mumble. “It is too fast.”

“I know it is a lot, love,” Clay says. His voice drops low and soft, vibrating against my chest. He stops playing. He rubs my upper arms with his large, warm hands. “And I do not want you to say yes just to save the ceremony. If you want to cancel everything, I will stand by your side and help you fight the elders. You are a strong wolf, Lamia. You will survive.”

My chest feels tight. My stomach is doing flips like a pup playing in the dirt. “When do we tell the pack elders? Today?”

Clay smiles a bad, fun smile. “If we go ahead, we do not tell the guests anything before the day.”

I frown at him. “What?”

“We keep it a secret,” Clay says. “We only tell the Moon Ceremony Keeper, Elder Lamont Darkhowl, and our parents. That is all. Then everyone shows up at the Sacred Moon Temple expecting Rham. Before you walk down the aisle, the elder will make the announcement. We don't let anyone know until the doors are shut. Otherwise, wolves will freak out, people won't show up, and it will be a mess. We don't need any drama when we are trying to seal the bond.”

I stare at him. He is totally mad. “We don't tell them? Everyone comes for Rham, but you are standing there instead?”

“Yes,” he says.

“They will be trapped inside the temple,” I say lamely.

He shrugs his heavy, muscular shoulders. “Exactly. What are they going to do—leave?”

I try to imagine it. I try to think about walking up the stone steps of the temple and seeing tall, dangerous Clay waiting for me instead of lean Rham.

I grew up knowing Rham was my Chosen Alpha Candidate. It was like having a brother; you just don't question it. I always thought the Silverclaw Throne was worth the sacrifice of a loveless life. But I never, ever pictured Clay at the altar. I only pictured him in... other ways. Darker ways with fewer clothes.

What would it be like to belong to Clay? To know he is waiting to say the pack vows to me for the rest of his life?

My head is spinning. This is the craziest thing that has ever happened to me. But I have to make a choice. Celia Moonblossom, the ceremony keeper, is waiting for me today.

Clay holds the ring up to my eyes again. I love that moonstone so much. He steps closer and puts his big, warm hand around the back of my neck. His skin is so hot it makes me shiver. I look up into his dark, piercing eyes.

“Before you say yes,” Clay says, and his voice gets rough and serious, “I want you to hear this clearly. You know my reputation. I run around with a lot of females. But if we do this, if we walk into that temple on the Blood Moon Celebration, that life ends. I will never make you look stupid, and I do not want a fake marriage. I like to joke, but this is real. I want a true mate bond. In every single way. Do you understand me, Lamia?”

He rubs the small hairs at the back of my neck. My whole body trembles from his touch.

A real marriage. With Clay Jasperfang, the biggest player in the territory, whose skills in the dark are famous among every pack.

I have to choose right now: lose my pride and let the whole world laugh at me, or risk my heart with the most dangerous, alluring wolf I know.

Oh, my Goddess.

I look at his warm lips because I am too scared to look at his eyes.

“So, tell me, Lamia,” his fingers move softly on my neck, pulling me closer until I can feel his breath on my face, “what is it going to be?”