he mark certainly looked real.


    I turned my head to the side, pulling my hair away to get a better view in the mirror. Lilith had done an excellent job on the makeup. The two crescent–shaped marks on my neck, meant to mimic the impression of Alexander’s upper and lower fangs, looked like they’d been there for years.


    She’d even added a subtle texture to make them appear slightly raised, like real bite marks would be.


    If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was looking at a genuine mating mark.


    But the sight made a bitter and hollow feeling curl in my chest.


    This was what I should have had five years ago. This was what should have happened on our wedding night, when Alexander took me back to our honeymoon suite and imed me as his. He should have sunk his teeth into my neck as we made love for the first time,pleting the bond that fate had started.


    Instead, he had simply walked me to the door of the guest bedroom all the way on the opposite end of the mansion, muttered a curt “goodnight,” and left me standing alone on my wedding night, confused and humiliated.


    irster, and here I was with a fake mark, getting ready to fool the world. To pretend, once again, that my marriage wasn’t a ete sham.


    Iwas supposed to be getting dressed for dinner. Alexander had arranged for us to eat at the most visible, public restaurant in town -a ce where we were guaranteed to be seen and photographed.


    It was the perfect venue to show off my “mark” and quell the rumors.


    But I couldn’t stop staring at my reflection. At the mark that wasn’t real. At the symbol of everything I’d been denied.


    Fated mates were supposed to be sacred in our world. A fated mate was the ultimate gift from the Moon Goddess. Wolves spent their entire lives searching for their mates, praying to find that one person who was destined for them and spend the rest of their lives together.


    And here I was, mated to an Alpha who couldn’t even bring himself toplete our bond.


    What was wrong with me? Why was I not good enough for him?


    I knew Alexander wasn’t gay, not after what had happened in the alley behind the bar. Not after I’d felt his hardness pressed against <b>me</b>. He <i>was </i>attracted to women. He was even attracted to me, at least physically.


    So why did he keep his distance? Why act like the very thought of making love to me and marking me was the worst thing that could happen?


    Was that repulsive to him? That unworthy? Was there someone else–Sophia, perhaps?


    With a heavy sigh, Hturned away from the mirror id wallowed enough for one evening. Alexander would be waiting, <b>and </b>we had a stow to put <b>on</b>.


    I slipped into the dress I’d chosen for tanight; it was a deep burgundy number with a low neckline specifically designed to draw


    16:34 Fri, 22 Aug


    Chapter 56.


    attention to my throat. The color made my pale skin look almost luminous, which made the fake mark stand out even more prominently against it.


    Perfect. Everyone would see exactly what Alexander wanted them to see.


    I was just putting the finishing touches on my makeup when a knock sounded at the bedroom door.


    59%


    “E? Are you ready?” Alexander’s voice called through the wood. “We need to leave soon if we’re going to make our reservation.”


    “Coming,” I replied, grabbing my clutch and giving myself one final look in the mirror.


    Well, even though I felt like garbage, at least I looked confident and poised–like a proper Luna with her mate’s mark on her neck. No one would know it was all fake.


    I opened the door to find Alexander waiting in the hallway, dressed in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit that made his red hair look even more vibrant by contrast. He looked devastatingly handsome, and for a moment, I allowed myself to imagine what it would be like if this were real. If we were a normal couple going out for a nice dinner together.


    His eyes immediately went to my neck. Something shed across his face, but it was so fast I couldn’t catch what it was.


    “It looks convincing,” he said calmly. “Lilith did a good job.”


    “Yes,” I agreed. “No one will be able to tell it’s not real.”


    An awkward silence fell between us. There was so much I wanted to say, to ask. Why won’t you just mark me for real? Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to deserve this?


    But I said none of it. Instead, I said curtly, “Shall we go?”


    Alexander nodded, and we walked together to the car waiting outside.


    As we pulled up to the restaurant a little whileter, I wasn’t surprised at all to see a crowd gathered outside. Alexander had made certain that our dinner ns were leaked. We needed maximum visibility for our little performance.


    The driver parked the car out front, and Alexander turned to me. “Ready?”


    15)


    No. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to go out there, to be scrutinized and photographed, to have my fake mark on disy like another fucking humiliation. But what choice did I have? If Alexander’s campaign didn’t go well, he might not divorce me. And he certainly wasn’t going to mark me, so divorce was my only option if I wanted to live.


    I nodded.


    Alexander got out and came around to open my door. The moment it swung open, the crowd surged around us, cameras shing, voices shouting<b>. </b>


    “Luna E! Is it true you’ve been marked all along?<i>” </i>


    “Alpha Alexandert Did you mark her recently?”


    “Were the rumors false?”


    I stepped out of the car and was immediately blinded by the shes. After a week in the hospital, my eyes were sensitive, and the sudden assault of bright lights left me stunned and disoriented. I raised a hand to shield my face.


    Then, before I could regain my bearings, Alexander was there. His arm slid around my waist, pulling me close against him. His other hand came up to cradle the back of my head, turning my face into his chest, shielding me from the relentless cameras.


    My eyes widened as his cologne washed over me, familiar and strangelyforting.


    For a moment, just a moment, I let myself melt into him, let myself imagine that this was real. That he was holding me because he wanted to, because he cared about me, because he couldn’t bear to see his mate in distress.


    “That’s it! Turn a little more to the right, Alpha!”


    “We can see the mark now! Perfect!”


    The shouts shattered my brief illusion before it could even fully form. I stiffened in Alexander’s arms, realizing that he wasn’t shielding me from the cameras. He was positioning me so they could get a better view of the fake mark.


    It was all for show. Everything was always for show.


    The bitterness I’d been trying to hold at bay all day quickly returned in full force. I pulled away from Alexander’s chest, my face carefully nk. He didn’t seem to notice the change in me, too busy smiling for the cameras to think about me.


    I said nothing as he ced his hand on my lower back. I felt nothing as he guided me toward the restaurant.


    I just wanted tonight to be over as quickly as possible.


    B


    AD


    Comment


    Send gift