Page 7

My breathing stutters. "You belong in a psych ward. Fucking no. Get the hell out."

Soren is suddenly standing in front of me.

Did he move closer? I didn't notice him move.

A soft scent of winter, musk and citrus fills my nostrils.

"You don't have anywhere to go, Everly. I know you don't want to hear this, but your life is a mess.

Someone tried to kill you. You have a child coming, and no one cared enough to look for you and it's been three days.

If you had a better option, I'd tell you to take it. But you don't."

"I'm not interested?—"

His voice strains. "I could put you in a safe house, until you recovered, but how long till whoever did this finds you again? I let you go, but where? You have no family, no money, no allies. You don't even know who to trust. So tell me. What is your brilliant plan?"

My lips draw back from my teeth in a snarl. "Any that doesn't involve getting leashed to you."

Soren's eyes darken and his chest rises. "Security. A stable place to recover. A home to raise that child while you figure things out. You wouldn't have to worry for a single thing in your life?—"

"I'll figure it out! Myself!" I yell, tears brimming at the corner of my eyes because I'm so tired and angry at everything.

"If you had someone to call, somewhere to go, you wouldn't be here, looking at me like I'm your worst nightmare," Soren snaps back and I've never wanted to hit someone so badly before.

"The moment you step outside, you become vulnerable.

You can barely walk down a hallway without collapsing, and you think you can protect yourself and that child? "

An angry tear slides down my cheek and I wipe it away swiftly. "You don't know half the things I have fought, alone! I don't want your favor or charity?—"

"I need you, Seraphina!" He blinks when I fall silent and swiftly reiterates. "I need a wife. This isn't some charity case."

"Find someone else because I refuse."

Soren's fists clench and unclench. "It can only be you.

You have no family. No attachments. Your loyalties would lie with me alone.

You'll gain my name, wealth, and full rights as my Luna.

No one will dare harm you or your child under my protection.

In return, I meet the pack's demand for an heir without tying myself to the power-hungry daughters of Alphas who are all vying for control.

I have no interest in playing their games. "

I peer up into his face, at the desperation and sincerity in his eyes as they devour me and my adamant refusal gets stuck in my throat. Was his idea outrageous? Definitely. Do I want to? No. Did I have a better idea or even a plan? No. Still, I can't seem to give in to it. Him. "No."

Soren steps back and runs his fingers through his hair. "It's a contract, not a love story. We'll be married in name only. You don't have to like me and I don't have to like you either to make this work, but know that I do need you as much as you need me, in more ways than you'll ever understand."

He slips out a card from his pocket and hands it to me. "Think it over and call me when you change your mind."

"I don't need this," I say, but the man is already out the door, leaving me to crash out with my thoughts.

He was right, though.

I am discharged from the hospital in two days and with the scraps of cash I find in my bag, I go back to the Greyhound.

It takes me an entire week of being homeless, working hard enough only to be able to afford one meal per day, staying up all night doing overtime and nearly getting assaulted at a night shift to realize I can't risk a miscarriage and call him.

He arrives almost immediately outside the Treasure bar, as if he'd been waiting and I am ushered into the back of a sleek SUV.

Eric's in the front seat and spares me a quick glance before looking ahead.

Soren's eyes run over my frame clinically, taking in my disheveled hair that's been cut into a bob, my broken fingernails, my calloused palms, my ripped jeans and dirty sweater.

Before rising back to my face slowly. "Let's go," he says without looking away from me. "The priest is waiting."

I start, eyes widening. "What—now?"

He looks at me blankly. "A week was enough waiting.

You don't want to do this, step out of the car.

I'll have Eric secure you a nice job, a wonderful place to live, and whatever else you might need so you don't have to live like this.

..but somehow, I know you'll never accept my help because the idea of being indebted to me is inconceivable.

If you want to go ahead with this, we do it right now. "

He's not wrong. I would rather eat dust than take his freebies. Free things have never freed people. I raise my chin, shivering slightly. "How long would this contract last?"

"Until you regain your memories and are no longer in danger. Until you want it to end," he states.

I bite the inside of my cheek and let out a long, dizzying breath. "I'm going to need all that in writing."

"Consider it done. Anything else?"

I nod. "A shower."

An hour later, I'm clean, well fed and clothed in a short white dress and heels that cost more than anything I've ever held in my life, walking side by side with Eric into the balcony of a lavish hotel suite.

Soren is waiting inside with a short man in magnanimous robes of black and red that trail across the floors whenever he moves. Eric smiles at me reassuringly as he hands me over to his brother and I wonder why he is being so nice to me and lowers his head in deference when I speak to him.

The former watches me, noting my short hair, bare face, the pretty dress he'd somehow already gotten before picking me up—I'm unsure how to feel about it being my perfect size, down to the breast cups—and my legs.

His stare isn't uncomfortable or inappropriate.

It's that clinical look that tells me he's scanning me for injuries or checking if I'm alright.

I should be thankful that he's doing that, but I still don't trust him.

"It's nothing complicated," he says when I glance at the priest nervously. It all still feels strange and wild to me, but the thought of returning to the bar and asking for my pay after the manager groped my ass doesn't sit right with me and I force myself to breathe.

Soren's fingers tighten around mine. "Just repeat the things I say. Verbatim."

The vows are short and straightforward, and in a matter of minutes, I am no longer Seraphina Everly, but Seraphina Winter, bound to Alpha Soren for however long it takes to regain my memories and find who the real father of my child is. For however long I want this marriage to go on for.