Page 57 of Bride of Death

Cold.

Just like I’ve felt since the moment she left.

Loving and hating someone is complex. But with Persephone, I’ve mastered the conflicting emotions.

Because I adore her as much as I despise her.

Desire to both worship and destroy her.

Cherish her and punish her.

Kiss her and bite her.

So many convoluted needs that I’ve not even begun to bestow upon her.

Ignoring what I’ve said, she merely sighs and places her plant beneath a dull light bulb. “I’ll need to find a heat lamp,” she mutters.

I smile. “Good luck.” This kingdom is chilled to the bone for a reason. She can’t escape it. I’ve made certain of that.

Her shoulders slump a little, the action killing my mounting amusement.

I don’t want to hurt her. Not really. But she needs to repent for her wrongdoings, to acknowledge the past, toapologize.

Yet instead of owning her sins, she continues to claim she has no memory of them.

My jaw ticks again as I consider what it means if she’s telling the truth.

But I can’t embrace even the concept of it.Persephone lied to me. She broke my heart. She destroyed our world.

To give her even a speck of faith would be naïve on my part.

No. I can’t entertain the notion that she’s truly without her memories. I simply can’t.

This is my Persephone.

My mate.

My wife.

“You will walk down that aisle next week,” I tell her. “You owe me at least that much after everything you’ve done to me and our kind.”

Her shoulders stiffen, which is an improvement to the way they caved a moment ago. The relit fire in her eyes is even more enthralling.

“And stay away from Morpheus,” I go on, aware that he was here recently. I could feel his residual presence in the air, his scent one that made my nose curl. But he left before I could catch him in the act of talking to my mate.

A shame.

I would have enjoyed making him appear inferior in front ofmyPersephone.

“Don’t talk to him again,” I add, feeling the need to ensure she knows all my rules. I’m her Alpha. Herhusband. “You disrespected me in a way that’s unforgivable, Persephone. Don’t earn a worse punishment for yourself by making poor decisions.”

Her lips part. “Excuse me?”

“No,” I tell her, walking up to where she stands in the living area. “I won’t excuse anything you’ve done. Especially when you pretend not to remember a thing. This game ends now.” I take a final step to invade her personal space, but I don’t touch her.

Because if I do, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.

However, I do let her feel the weight of my dominance.