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    I


    Iran through the forest, the leaves and trees blurring past as I raced toward my mate, I felt no fatigue, no pain. My heart pounded, not from fear or exertion, but rather excitement.


    My mate ran beside me, also in wolf form, chestnut fur catching the light of the full moon. We locked gazes for a moment, and I could practically see his smile. I looked down, and saw not two feet but four, not pale skin but instead gleaming, silky fur


    My wolf had returned.


    We came to a stop beside a babbling brook and shifted,ughing. We fell back onto the soft grass, arms outstretched, the moon hovering above us like a disk in the sky.


    Warm fingers intertwined with mine. When I looked over, Alexander’s skin was bare, and so was mine. Still smiling that same handsome, ethereal smile I’d seen in the hospital, he rolled over me, positioned himself between my legs, and…


    “E…”


    “E!”


    I jolted awake to the sound of shouting, andmotion and someone calling my name, I blinked, confused, Was I still dreaming? Was I back in the forest with Alexander, making love beneath the moonlight?


    But no. The smell of cleaning solution and the sound of beeping monitors quickly reminded me that I was still in the hospital. The shouting, however, was real.


    “You can’t be in here! This is a private room!”


    “Just one photo! The public has a right to know!”


    I sat up, blinking the sleep from my eyes just as a man with a camera burst through my door, followed closely by two more. The sh went off, momentarily blinding me so that I had to lift my arm to shield my face.


    ????


    “Luna E! Is it true you’re not marked? Has Alpha Alexander rejected you?”


    What the fuck? “Get out!” I yanked the nket up to my chin. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”


    More shes. More questions being hurled at me. The room seemed to shrink as the photographers surged around me.


    “Have you been lying to the pack all these years?”


    “Is your marriage a sham?”


    Before I could respond, hospital security rushed in, physically removing the photographers despite their protests. De Evelyn followed, face beet red with anger


    “I am so sorry, Luna E” she said, shutting the door firmly behind thest security guard. “They somehow snuck past the front


    desk”


    My hands were shaking as Flowered the nket “What was that about? Why were they asking about my mark?”


    Dr. Evelyn’s expression shifted “Ah. You haven’t seen the news, then” She hesitated, then pulled her phone out of her pocket and


    16:34 Fri, 22 Aug


    began tapping on the screen. “I’m afraid someone leaked some… personal information about you.”


    She held her phone out toward me, and I took it with shaking hands. The headline on the screen made my blood run cold. “ALPHA ALEXANDER’S Secret shame: LUNA ELLA REMAINS UNMARKED AFTER FIVE YEARS?”


    The article beneath it was filled with spection and “anonymous sources” iming that Alexander had never marked me because he didn’t truly ept me as his mate. There were quotes from supposed “close friends” of the pack saying that our marriage was purely political, that Alexander was in love with someone else, and that I was essentially just a ceholder until he could divorce <ol><li>me. </li></ol>


    That,bined with the gossip surrounding ourst scandal, had created the perfect storm.


    “Fuck,” I whispered, scrolling through the article with growing horror. There were even side–by–side photos of me in various outfits over the years, all carefully chosen to show that my neck had never borne a mating mark.


    “Is there anything I can do?” Dr. Evelyn asked gently.


    I shook my head. “No. It’s… it’s toote now. The damage is done.”


    And what damage it was. In werewolf society<i>, </i>an unmarked mate was practically unheard of, especially after this many years of marriage.


    The mark was sacred–it wasn’t just a physical symbol of the bond between mates, but it quite literally locked in the mate bond. Marked mates could speak via Mindlink, could feel each other’s pulse, could sense the other’s emotions.


    It was supposed to be given during the wedding night.


    For an Alpha <i>to </i>not mark his mate… it was a scandal of the highest order.


    This would destroy Alexander’s campaign. His reputation. Everything we’d been working for.


    “I’d like to be discharged today,” I said, handing her phone back. “I need to go home.”


    Dr. Evelyn frowned. “Are <i>you </i>sure? After what happened yesterday-”


    “I’m fine,” I insisted. “My vitals are stable, right? And I feel much better.”


    It was a lie. Despite the surge of energy I’d feltst night, I was exhausted and in pain. But I couldn’t stay here, not with the paparazzi breaking in. It was better to go home.


    After some debate, Dr. Evelyn reluctantly agreed to discharge me early, but only after running a final round of tests to ensure 1 wasn’t in the danger zone.


    By early afternoon, I was ready to leave, dressed in the clothes Lilith had brought for my discharge. I slipped Alexander’s sweatshirt on, but only to appease the paparazzi that I knew were waiting outside. At least, that was what I told myself as his faint scent washed over me.


    Lilith and I exited through the back of the hospital to avoid the paparazzi, although they had surrounded the entire ce. Thankfully, Liam was waiting right by the door with his car, engine running.


    Alexander wasn’t with him. Of course. I didn’t expect him toe for me today, even if I had turned my feet raw and bloody from running after himst night.


    “<i>Quick</i>,” Liam said, opening the passenger door for me. “Get in before they realize you’re here.”


    16:34 Fri, 22 Aug


    I slid into the seat, ducking low as Liam hurried around to the driver’s side. As we pulled away from the hospital, I caught sight of a group of photographers rushing toward us, cameras shing. Thankfully, we were already elerating down the street.


    “How bad is it?” I asked, finally sitting up once we were safely away.


    Liam grimaced. “Bad. It’s all anyone’s talking about. I don’t know who leaked it, but they did a thorough job.”


    I leaned my head against the window, watching the town blur past. Would this impact Alexander’s campaign? Most importantly, would it impact our contract? If he didn’t make it through the election, would he refuse to divorce me? I might as well die now if that were the case.


    When we finally pulled up to the mansion, I expected chaos. Shouting matches between Alexander and Gabriel. Frantic phone calls to PR teams. General panic.


    What I didn’t expect was to find Alexander calmly sipping coffee in the kitchen, reading a newspaper as if it were any other day.


    He looked up as I entered. “Wee home.”


    I dropped my bag on the floor and stared at him, bewildered. “That’s it? ‘Wee home‘? Have you seen the news?”


    “Of course I have.” He carefully folded the newspaper and set it aside. “I’ve been dealing with it all morning.”


    <b>“</b>Dealing with it? How? Our marriage is a sham, Alexander. Everyone knows it <i>now</i><i>. </i>Your campaign is over.”


    lexander’s lips twitched, almost forming a smile. “Don’t be so dramatic. This is a minor setback, nothing more.”


    Couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Everyone knows you haven’t marked your mate! There’s nothing ‘minor‘ about that!”


    “I have marked you,” Alexander said calmly. “And we’re going to prove it.”


    1 folded my arms across my chest. “Now you’re just not making any sense. You haven’t marked me.”


    Alexander stood. “No, I haven’t. But they don’t know that; which is why we’re going to give you a fake mark and go out tonight to


    show it off”


    田


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