Mate (Bride, #2)

by Ali Hazelwood

“Please. Let me make you pretty.” “I’m already pretty. I’m fucking stupendous.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say, relieved by the lack of handshakes. “No, really. I’m glad you came over. I’m even getting used to your junk just…dangling there.” Colin cocks his head. “Is it not supposed to?” “Maybe Human genitals are usually retracted?” Pavel suggests. “Ah, yes. In those cloacal openings.” Colin nods knowingly. “Like koalas and alligators.”

“Since you’re so sure that everyone here despises her, including me, let this be known: fuck with my mate, and I’m going to kill you so slowly, draw it out so long, tectonic plates will move and create whole new mountain ranges. And when the rest of your family comes to avenge you, I’ll do the same to them. And if your friends come, I’m not going to fucking stop. Not even if all that’s left of the pack is me and her. I will paint this entire territory green before I let anyone in the pack spill a single drop of red. Okay?”

The past doesn’t have to shape the future.

“You want her, but you are not worthy of her.” “Man, you don’t know me. I think I bring a lot to the table.” “Like several moldy unicorn waffles,” I mutter. In response, Koen playfully drums his fingertips over my stomach.

Koen’s hand shifts to my cheek. “Look at me.” I do. His eyes are dark and steady. Make me forget what led us here, and what’s to come. “Your name doesn’t fucking matter. You are my killer. Okay?”

Then, just a few feet from me, he turns around. “Killer?” “Yeah?” There is a false start. Like the words are too foreign to flow out with ease. But then he says, “Before I leave, I think I need to hold you for a minute.”

He easily resigned himself to a lifetime without her, but… Simply put, he is unwilling to contemplate a universe in which she no longer exists.

“Whatever you’re thinking about,” he rasps against my ear, “continue.” “Yeah?” He nods. “You smell incredible right now.” “Like…how?” “Like you’d let me keep you here and fuck you for the next six months. Like you need me to.”

“No, Serena. You can’t. But I can. I want you to tell me what you need, and I want the privilege of giving it to you. I want you to use me.” A kiss on my collarbone. “If you think there is anything I would like more than seeing my mate through her Heat, you are fucking wrong. If this is all I get, I’m going to make the most of it. Okay?”