All Chapters of The Mate He Never Marked: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

(Peyton)The front hall of the Alpha's house is empty when I get home, which suits me fine.I don't cry. I don't scream either. Screaming takes air, and the pup is using most of mine.Instead, I call a number I haven't used in over a year, and the caretaker of my old cottage on Greyfell land picks up on the second ring."It's Peyton. I need the cottage opened up. Scrub it top to bottom, open every window, chase out the spiders. I'm moving back in by the end of the week.""About time," he says.Until then, any hotel beats one more night under this roof.Upstairs, I drag my old travel bags out of the closet. They came with me to every treaty table I ever sat at.Only the things I paid for get packed.The soft pastel maternity dresses stay on their hangers. I bought those to look like the sweet, quiet wife Cormac's family wanted.That woman retired an hour ago, in a healing center hallway.My favorite silk blouse is still in the laundry room.Two steps through the door, my shoe hits soap

(Peyton)The door clicks shut behind Cormac, and orange peel and cardamom fill the office.He stops when he sees me in his chair. A muscle jumps in his jaw, but he doesn't tell me to move.He stands at the edge of the desk and looks down at me instead."After the pup is born, we'll divorce."He uses the same tone on warriors who fail training.An hour ago that would've gutted me. Now I just shrug."Why wait? I'm ready today."He pauses. It only lasts a second, but I catch it. He expected tears, maybe begging. He didn't expect me to be in a hurry."No." The Alpha comes into his voice. "After the birth."A pregnant wife at his side until the heir arrives must look better to the Elders. Let him have his few weeks. They won't fix anything."Fine. Have it your way. I really don't care."His eyes narrow. Then he takes out his phone."Bring the car around. My wife is going home.""I drove here.""You're not driving in your condition." His eyes drop to my belly. "I won't have the heir put at

(Peyton)Walking into the Alphas' Ball feels less like a party and more like stepping into a trap with nice lighting.My hand on Ian's arm keeps me steady. My knee is strapped under the dress, and the healer's salve is doing its best.Every eye in the ballroom follows us in, and every nose catches it. The Alpha of Blackpine's pregnant wife is wearing another Alpha's scent on her sleeve.Whispers race ahead of us through the crowd.For any she-wolf, this is social suicide. For the quiet, obedient wife Cormac ordered for tonight, it's a slap in the face with the whole room watching.Across the ballroom, he freezes. His drink tips in his hand and nearly spills.For one second his wolf looks out of his eyes, and it's furious. Then the polite mask slides back on.He doesn't explode.Alphas who explode in front of Theodore Watson don't win alliances.He sets his glass on a passing tray and comes prowling through the crowd like a predator.He stops close enough to drown me in orange peel and

(Cormac)Silence stretches between us.She actually believes she can threaten my pack.Every wolf in this ballroom sees a female who washed out.One nice chat with Watson doesn't change that, and making him see it too won't be difficult.Peyton was good at the table once. If she were still that wolf, one pregnancy wouldn't have turned her into a tired housewife.It's time she remembered how things really work."You want to play games, Peyton?"I step closer, so she has to tip her head back to meet my eyes."Then prove you belong at the table. You want me to take you seriously? You want me to even discuss your terms? Fine. Get Theodore Watson to give Greyfell his word."Her eyes narrow a little. It's the only sign she's listening."Until you do, you're not a threat. You're a pest buzzing around my alliance."I look past her at Ian Blackwell.He's standing far too close to my wife, and his scent is still on her sleeve. My wolf wants to take his arm off at the shoulder.It has nothing to

(Peyton)Emerson's tall shadow falls across our table.Leilani trails behind him with her hand wrapped around his sleeve, like she's five years old.Then she sees who I'm having dinner with, and the smug look curdles. She forces a tight little smile."Brooke," she says, sweet as syrup. "What a surprise."Brooke doesn't even blink. She takes a slow sip of her wine and looks straight through her, the way you'd look through a window.Emerson clears his throat."Celebrating something, Ms. Knox?"It's polite, and it's fishing. I don't give him anything. I just lift my chin and smile a small, quiet smile.He stares at my face a second too long.Something crosses that cold expression of his. He blinks, and the sharp edge drops out of his voice."It's strange," he murmurs. "When you smile like that, you look just like my sister."I frown. His sister is standing right there, holding his sleeve. Why wouldn't he just say I look like Leilani?Before I can work it out, he's himself again."Enjoy y