บททั้งหมดของ His First Love, His Last Chance: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

I went outside until I could breathe without shaking.When I returned, Adrian was coming down the stairs in a burgundy suit. The color looked almost red where the light struck his shoulders.“I thought you hated red.”“People change, Mara.” He adjusted a cuff. “Besides, I'm helping a friend choose an outfit for his public vow ceremony. I ought to make an effort.”Vanessa Vale loved red.Since she'd returned to Blackthorn territory, burgundy shirts had appeared in his wardrobe. A red scarf. A tie he'd once have called vulgar.I had washed them. Folded them. Put them away.“I'll drive you,” I said.He stopped on the last stair.“No need.” His smile came quickly. “It's a men's afternoon. You'll be bored.”“I don't mind.”“Come on, sweetheart. Let me handle it.” He kissed my forehead, already looking past me toward the door. “I'll bring something back for you and Finn.”For one foolish second, I wanted to catch his sleeve. Make him stay. Give him a chance to tell the truth before he left m

Adrian tried to catch my chin.“What's this face?”Once, that touch would have undone my anger before I'd worked out whether I wanted it to. Tonight, I felt only his thumb against my skin.“Lily seems to get rewards for breathing.”His hand stopped.“She has a new piano. A tablet. Apparently, the best daddy in the world.”He stood so abruptly the cushion shifted beneath me.“Why are you comparing our son to someone else's child?”“I'm comparing what you say with what you do.”“For God's sake, Mara. Do we have to turn one forgotten present into a trial?” His voice carried the edge he used in council. “Is Finn upset, or are you?”I looked at him.He held my gaze for a few seconds, then looked away.“All right.” He exhaled. “His birthday's in two days. I'll do something special. A real surprise. Happy?”“Will you be here?”“Of course.”He said it too easily.“Now stop worrying. Get ready for Norway. I arranged the whole thing so you could relax.”As though I were being difficult about a g

“My mark is disappearing!”For a moment, he sounded genuinely shocked.I looked at my son. He was carefully coloring outside the lines, making the wolf’s fur bigger.“I’m leaving you, Adrian.”“Don’t be ridiculous.” Denial came fast. “I’ve been working all week. Did you not see my posts? I go home, I fall into bed, and you can’t even send a message.”“You’ve been home every night?”“Yes.”“Then how did you miss the separation papers on the dining table?”Nothing.Not even the sound of him breathing.“Mara.”I turned to the witness. She nodded once.“The renunciation has already been entered into the bond ledger,” I said. “And as of today, I resign as Luna of the Blackthorn Pack.”The fading mark beneath my collar burned as the final thread of our bond unraveled.Adrian made a choked sound.“No. You can’t—”The witness stated her name, her office and the time, formally closing the record.I pressed my palm flat against the table and let the pain pass through me.My wolf shuddered. Then

Vanessa stared at him as though he'd spoken another language.“We agreed,” he said. “One ceremony. A few days. You said you needed closure.”“And you promised it would feel real.”“You said it wouldn't interfere with my family.”She gave a short laugh.“You sent your family out of the country so you could stand beside me in front of witnesses. You transferred shares to me. What exactly did you think you were doing?”“It wasn't a bond.”“No. You kept your precious mating mark covered and called the vows symbolic. Does that make it better for her?”His wolf pushed close to the surface. His eyes flashed gold.“Don't talk about Mara.”“Why? Because she's finally stopped doing whatever you tell her?”He struck her.The sound cracked through the hall.Vanessa held a hand to her cheek. For a moment, neither moved.“You hit me.”Adrian was breathing hard.“She loves me. You don't know anything about us.”“Then why was I in your bed?”He struck her again.This time, she caught the wall and stay

Mara saw him in the water and ran down the bank.She called for help. Caught his coat. Stayed with him until the rescue crew reached them, her fingers locked around his wrist even when she could barely feel them.Afterward, an infection kept her in the infirmary for nearly two weeks.Adrian visited because he owed her. At first, that was all.He never told her why he had gone into the river. She never demanded it.She talked instead about ordinary things. The terrible infirmary soup. A book she wanted to finish. The first clear morning after a week of snow.Little reasons to stay long enough for the next day.He began to look forward to seeing her.When he asked her out, she blushed. He remembered being pleased by how easily he could make her happy.His father objected. Mara had no lineage worth mentioning and no alliance to offer. An Alpha needed more than a kind woman beside him.She waited outside Magnus's office through an entire night because Adrian had asked her not to give up on