The sickened luna’s last chance

he mark certainly looked real.

| turned my head to the side, pulling my hair away to get a better view in the mirror. Lilith had done an excellent

job on the makeup. The two crescent-shaped marks on my neck, meant to mimic the impression of Alexander's

upper and lower fangs, looked like they'd been there for years.

She'd even added a subtle texture to make them appear slightly raised, like real bite marks would be.

If I didn’t know better, I'd think | was looking at a genuine mating mark.

But the sight made a bitter and hollow feeling curl in my chest.

This was what | should have had five years ago. This was what should have happened on our wedding night,

when Alexander tookback to our honeymoon suite and claimedas his. He should have sunk his teeth

into my neck as we made love for the first time, completing the bond that fate had started.

Instead, he had simply walkedto the door of the guest bedroom all the way on the opposite end of the

mansion, muttered a curt “goodnight,” and leftstanding alone on my wedding night, confused and

humiliated.

irs later, and here | was with a fake mark, getting ready to fool the world. To pretend, once again, that my

marriage wasn’t a ete sham.

Iwas supposed to be getting dressed for dinner. Alexander had arranged for us to eat at the most visible, public

restaurant in town -a place where we were guaranteed to be seen and photographed.

It was the perfect venue to show off my “mark” and quell the rumors.

But | couldn't stop staring at my reflection. At the mark that wasn’t real. At the symbol of everything I'd been

denied.

Fated mates were supposed to be sacred in our world. A fated mate was the ultimate gift from the Moon

Goddess. Wolves spent their entire lives searching for their mates, praying to find that one person who was

destined for them and spend the rest of their lives together.

And here | was, mated to an Alpha who couldn’t even bring himself to complete our bond.

What was wrong with me? Why was | not good enough for him?

| knew Alexander wasn’t gay, not after what had happened in the alley behind the bar. Not after I'd felt his

hardness pressed against me. He was attracted to women. He was even attracted to me, at least physically.

So why did he keep his distance? Why act like the very thought of making love toand markingwas the

worst thing that could happen?

Was that repulsive to him? That unworthy? Was there someone else-Sophia, perhaps?

With a heavy sigh, Hturned away from the mirror id wallowed enough for one evening. Alexander would be

waiting, and we had a stow to put on.

I slipped into the dress I'd chosen for tanight; it was a deep burgundy number with a low neckline specifically

designed to draw

1/3

16:34 Fri, 22 Aug

Chapter 56.

attention to my throat. The color made my pale skin look almost luminous, which made the fake mark stand out

even more prominently against it.

Perfect. Everyone would see exactly what Alexander wanted them to see.

| was just putting the finishing touches on my makeup when a knock sounded at the bedroom door.

59%

“Ella? Are you ready?” Alexander's voice called through the wood. “We need to leave soon if we're going to make

our reservation.”

“Coming,” | replied, grabbing my clutch and giving myself one final look in the mirror.

Well, even though | felt like garbage, at least | looked confident and poised-like a proper Luna with her mate's

mark on her neck. No one would know it was all fake.

| opened the door to find Alexander waiting in the hallway, dressed in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit that made

his red hair look even more vibrant by contrast. He looked devastatingly handsome, and for a moment, | allowed

myself to imagine what it would be like if this were real. If we were a normal couple going out for a nice dinner

together.

His eyes immediately went to my neck. Something flashed across his face, but it was so fast | couldn’t catch

what it was.

“It looks convincing,” he said calmly. “Lilith did a good job.”

“Yes,” | agreed. “No one will be able to tell it's not real.”

An awkward silence fell between us. There was so much | wanted to say, to ask. Why won't you just markfor

real? Why do you hateso much? What did | ever do to deserve this?

But | said none of it. Instead, | said curtly, “Shall we go?”

Alexander nodded, and we walked together to the car waiting outside.

As we pulled up to the restaurant a little while later, | wasn’t surprised at all to see a crowd gathered outside.

Alexander had made certain that our dinner plans were leaked. We needed maximum visibility for our little

performance.

The driver parked the car out front, and Alexander turned to me. “Ready?”

15)

No. | wasn't ready. | didn’t want to go out there, to be scrutinized and photographed, to have my fake mark on

display like another fucking humiliation. But what choice did | have? If Alexander's campaign didn’t go well, he

might not divorce me. And he certainly wasn’t going to mark me, so divorce was my only option if | wanted to

live.

I nodded.

Alexander got out and caround to open my door. The moment it swung open, the crowd surged around us,

cameras flashing, voices shouting.

“Luna Ella! Is it true you've been marked all along?”

“Alpha Alexandert Did you mark her recently?”

“Were the rumors false?”

| stepped out of the car and was immediately blinded by the flashes. After a week in the hospital, my eyes were

sensitive, and the sudden assault of bright lights leftstunned and disoriented. | raised a hand to shield my

face.

7/1

Chapter 56

Then, before | could regain my bearings, Alexander was there. His arm slid around my waist, pullingclose

against him. His other hand cup to cradle the back of my head, turning my face into his chest, shielding me

from the relentless cameras.

My eyes widened as his cologne washed over me, familiar and strangely comforting.

For a moment, just a moment, | let myself melt into him, let myself imagine that this was real. That he was

holdingbecause he wanted to, because he cared about me, because he couldn't bear to see his mate in

distress.

“That's it! Turn a little more to the right, Alpha!”

“We can see the mark now! Perfect!”

The shouts shattered my brief illusion before it could even fully form. | stiffened in Alexander's arms, realizing

that he wasn’t shieldingfrom the cameras. He was positioningso they could get a better view of the fake

mark.

It was all for show. Everything was always for show.

The bitterness I'd been trying to hold at bay all day quickly returned in full force. | pulled away from Alexander's

chest, my face carefully blank. He didn’t seem to notice the change in me, too busy smiling for the cameras to

think about me.

| said nothing as he placed his hand on my lower back. | felt nothing as he guidedtoward the restaurant.

| just wanted tonight to be over as quickly as possible.

3/4

B

AD

Comment

Send gift

Share to your friends