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She gives me a bright smile and turns excitedly to the remaining boxes.

One contains a pair of beautiful heels, similar to the ones I bought her before but nicer, more expensive.

The final box holds a small purse with jewelry—a bracelet that looks like diamonds and a necklace with a blue ruby shaped like a spider.

Her lip trembles, eyes welling with tears as she looks at me. “I would have gotten you earrings,” I tell her, “but I noticed your ears aren’t pierced. We’ll take care of that later.”

I approach her and take the necklace from the box, pressing my lips to hers. “Don’t cry, baby. This is supposed to be a happy time.”

“They are happy tears!” she snaps, and I chuckle at her outburst.

“Pull your hair up and turn around,” I instruct. She does, gathering her braid in one hand, and I fasten the necklace around her neck. She turns back around, fingers running over the spider ruby.

“Get dressed,” I tell her. “I’ll be downstairs waiting for you.”

She blushes and heads for the bathroom. As I turn to leave, I catch a glimpse of her pulling her shirt over her head, and I force myself to walk away before I lose all self-control.

Downstairs, I pace the living room floor, thinking about how I’m going to approach her moving into the new home I’m going to have built for her.

A palace on a piece of land located just a few miles from the community, fit for a queen.

My coven is en route to Wintermoon, our new permanent home, and I’ve got another gift for her when we return—one I’m sure she’ll appreciate, though I’m not certain how she’ll feel about what I did to make sure she received it.

Either way, my mate’s happiness is the most important thing in the world to me.

And I’m excited for her to meet her new children, the Medina Shadow Coven.

They will honor her, treat her like the true queen she is.

And they won’t give her problems about our spider children; they’ve been accustomed to Kemnebi since I started my own coven.

He was part of the deal, and every member of my coven that I turned understood that.

I walk over to my laptop and open it, checking my email for any updates from Bobby. I grin when I notice an email from Alexis and open it.

I take it this was your way of declining my date. All is well in love and war, Amari. You’ll be hearing from me soon—a lot sooner than you think.

Best, Alexis

I chuckle and close the email. Then I open Bobby’s message and start downloading the attached data, but I don’t look at it.

I’ll examine it later. I smile when I see another email about the sale of some of my properties that I need to sign off on.

I don’t need them anymore—I’m not leaving Wintermoon, not without my woman and children.

And if Carla and our spider children can’t be accepted in the outside world, then this is where I’ll stay.

Carla comes down about thirty minutes later, the sound of her heels clicking against the wood steps.

I immediately close my laptop and stand, adjusting my suit.

My breath catches when she comes into view.

She’s stunning, the dress fitting her exactly as I’d hoped—her curves spilling out of the tiny fabric, her fingers tugging at the hem as she tries to pull it down.

I know I’m in for a long night. Carla’s going to find out just how beautiful she is to a world that doesn’t want to admit it, and I’m going to bend her over, pull that dress up over her ass, and fuck her right here on this sofa when we get back.

I walk to the bottom of the stairs and help her down the last step, then watch her giggle as I lift her arm, getting her to twirl so I can get a better view of her ass. She catches me looking when she finishes her spin and faces me. She grins, then tugs down her dress with innocent eyes.

My gaze shifts, and I lick my lips, staring at her like a predator ready to hunt.

I’ve been holding off feeding on Carla because she can’t feel the mate bond.

Her blood would taste so much sweeter and become an obsession for me if she could.

So I’ll wait, drinking the disgusting after-hours blood that’s been siphoned from humans’ bodies, warmed in the microwave just to be tolerable. I nearly gag just thinking about it.

I slowly approach her, grinning down at those beautiful innocent green eyes.

“Ready?” I ask, and she nods. “You look lovely, Carla. More beautiful than I imagined.”

She blushes, and I lean in to steal another kiss. I take her hand and lead her to the door, helping her into her jacket. I make a mental note to get her a longer coat, then open the door and help her out.

“Where are we going?” she asks as I walk her to the SUV.

“The tourist island,” I answer, helping her inside. “I’ve got something special planned for you.”

She starts to say something—I know it’s a protest—but I quickly shut the door and round the vehicle, climbing into the driver’s seat. I grin at her, and she immediately drops the subject. Smart woman.

I start the engine and pull away from the cabin, Carla’s scent filling the SUV. I reach across the console and take her hand, bringing it to my lips for a kiss. Her fingers tremble slightly against mine, a mix of excitement and nervousness that makes me smile.