Chapter 184

Arthur

I don’t know how many days have passed. Two? Three? Five? All I know is that my mind is a blur, that I’ve lost all control. My wolf took over that night when Veronica beckoned to me, and I haven’t come out of that haze since.

Veronica is all I am. Her scent. Her touch. Her voice.

“Mate. Mate. Mate.”

The word pulses through me in tandem with my own heartbeat, drowning out everything else. Rational thought. Responsibilities. Promises.

“Iris.”

Her name flickers occasionally through the fog in my brain, but it’s quickly smothered by my wolf’s insistence that Veronica is my true mate, my only mate. Iris is a fake, a false mate, a liar.

“No… She would never…”

“She would. She has. She pretended to be our mate, tried to keep us from our true love.”

“Arthur? Are you listening?”

I blink, and the room slowly comes back into focus. Veronica is perched on the edge of my desk. We’re in my office overlooking the city. I don’t recall coming here—it’s all such a blur. My mind is half-primal. All my wolf wants to do is shift and mark my mate.

“Sorry,” I slur, shaking my head to clear the fog to no avail. “What were you saying?”

She smiles, and the sight of that beautiful smile makes my wolf howl with joy. “I asked if you wanted to play hooky again today. Maybe take me shopping…?”

“Yes,” I say. “We can go shopping. Whatever you want, my…”

My voice trails off. My love is what I was about to say. But I wouldn’t say that to her—never to her. I only have one love, and it’s—

Veronica’s lips curve and she leans in to kiss my cheek. Her scent washes over me again, and whatever thoughts I was about to have—whatever name was on my lips—are gone.

“You’re too sweet to me,” she coos, smoothing the stray curl away from my forehead. Her eyes narrow with frustration as it pops back into place, and she licks her thumb, forcefully putting it back. This time, it sticks. “Always taking time off work to spoil me. Buying me so many pretty things.”

“I just want you to be happy.” My eyes flick to the beautiful pearl necklace at her throat. It cost a small fortune, but she insisted on it, and how could I say no to my mate?

She beams. “And that vacation you promised…”

Right. The vacation. She wanted me to take her overseas, somewhere tropical, somewhere that we could just be us. “Of course,” I say. “We’ll go as soon as…”

My voice trails off again. As soon as what?

Veronica tilts her head, eyes flashing. But then the door bangs open, and Ezra strides into the room.

“Alpha,” he says without waiting for an invitation. “We need to talk.”

“Ezra.” He looks upset, but I couldn’t fathom why. “What is it?”

He glances at Veronica, who smiles serenely back at him. “Alone,” he adds pointedly.

“Anything you have to say can be said in front of my mate,” I hear myself say, although the words feel strange in my mouth. Like they’re not quite mine.

Ezra’s jaw tightens. “Fine. The police are asking questions about the poisoned sapphire. They want to know where it came from.”

Something about this penetrates the fog. The sapphire. From Iris’s necklace. Poison.

“What have you told them?” I ask.

“Nothing yet,” Ezra says. “But it won’t be long before they make the connection.”

Veronica’s hand comes to rest on my shoulder. “I’m sure it was just a terrible coincidence,” she says smoothly. “Someone trying to frame poor Iris, perhaps.”

Her touch sends a wave of her scent washing over me, dulling the momentary clarity I just felt. My wolf rumbles contentedly as I place my hand over hers. “Whether they make the connection or not is of no consequence to me. If she was the one who poisoned my mate, then she deserves the repercussions she’ll receive.”

Ezra stares at me in disbelief for a moment before he barks, “Arthur, what the fuck is wrong with you? Iris could be implicated in an attempted murder, and you’re sitting here with her in your lap?” He gestures sharply to Veronica, who stiffens.

My Beta’s uncharacteristic insubordination snaps me back to reality for a brief moment. He’s right… What am I doing?

I begin to rise, pushing Veronica away, but she clicks her tongue and smooths her hand over my hair. “Don’t listen to him, darling. He’s just jealous. They all are.”

“What are you? Some kind of witch?” Ezra growls, stepping closer. “He’s been shirking his duties for days now. What are you doing to him?”

My wolf bristles at his words. “Watch your tone, Beta.”

“Or what?” Ezra challenges, lifting his chin. “You’ll replace me? Go ahead. At least then I won’t have to watch you throw away everything that matters for a woman you barely know.”

Veronica’s scent shifts, taking on an edge of anger. “I think you should leave,” she says coolly. “Arthur doesn’t need this stress right now.”

“Arthur doesn’t need a lot of things right now,” Ezra retorts. “Including you.”

I rise to my feet. “Enough, Ezra. You’re out of line. Get out of my sight. For good.”

Ezra looks like he’s been shot. “She’s manipulating you,” he says. “Can’t you see that? Go back to Iris—do the right thing. Snap out of it.”

“I’m not going back to Iris.” I tighten my arm around my mate. “I love Veronica now. Iris was the one who manipulated me into staying away from my true mate.”

Ezra stares at me for a long moment, disappointment and fury warring in his eyes. Then, without a word, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small velvet box. He throws it onto the desk, then tears the small silver badge off his shirt marking him as my Beta and throws that down next to it.

“The jeweler finished your ring yesterday,” he says. “I picked it up this morning, thinking you might want to give it to your actual mate. The one you’ve loved since you were twenty. The mother of your child. But clearly, I was wrong. I think we’re done here.”

With that, he turns and strides toward the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. “You know where to find me when you come to your senses, Arthur.” His eyes narrow as he glances at Veronica. “If you come to your senses.”

And then he’s gone, the door slamming behind him. I look down at the box, and it’s in that moment that something tugs at me. Slowly, I open it.

The ring inside catches the light, sending prisms dancing across the ceiling. It’s exactly as I commissioned it—a platinum band inlaid with tiny diamonds, surrounding a yellow center stone the color of Iris’s favorite cardigan.

The jeweler has even engraved the inside of the band with the words I requested: “My mate, my heart, my home.”

My breath catches. Iris. My mate. My love.

The fog in my mind begins to clear, my wolf retreating just enough for me to think. Something is wrong. Deeply wrong. This obsession with Veronica, this overwhelming need to be near her—it’s not natural. Not even for a mate bond.

I think back to the poisoned sapphire. The hollow space inside it. It was all so contrived, so perfectly staged to make everyone pity Veronica and hate Iris. It was the perfect scenario for Veronica to kiss me publicly, keep me close by so she could “recover”, and make the public adore our little love story.

The clarity feels like a sudden slap to my face. I need to reject her. I need to break this false bond before it’s too late. I need—

“Arthur!” Veronica squeals, throwing her arms around my neck. “Yes! Yes, of course I’ll marry you!”

Before I can react, she’s pressing her lips to mine. When she pulls back, she plucks the ring from the box and slides it onto her own finger.

“Oh, It’s beautiful,” she breathes, admiring the way it catches the light. “A bit too large, but we can have it resized. And I’m not a fan of the citrine—it’s cheap and tacky—but surely we can switch it out for a larger diamond…”

“No,” I try to say, “that’s not—”

But she’s kissing me again, and her scent—Goddess, her scent—it’s everywhere, flooding my senses, drowning out my thoughts. The brief moment of clarity I’d found slips away as her arms pull me closer.

My wolf surges forward once again.

“Mate. Mate. Mate…”