Mate (Bride, #2)

by Ali Hazelwood

There has never been anyone like him. I could live a thousand more years, and there will never be.

“I hate it,” he breathes out. “What?” “How perfect you are. I spent the last twenty years hoping that if there was a mate for me out there, I’d never come across them. And then I found you, and, Serena…there isn’t one thing I would change about you. Or one single thing I regret about knowing you.”

“You can keep me forever,”

“My entire life is made of fucking lines. And you’re blowing past all of them.”

His nuisance. That’s what she is.

“Have they been over moonless planets yet?” “Yes.” “Can’t howl ’cause sound doesn’t carry?” “Yes.” “Pluto’s five moons?” “Also yes.” “The asphyxiation?” “Just now.” “Great. They must be about to wrap up.”

It’s odd, what her absence does to him. She is missing, but she fills and floods every part of his life.

This humor of yours, you get it from our side of the family.” “Actually, I get it from the need to proactively cope with a staggering amount of unprocessed trauma.

He is afraid—not only of what might happen to her, but also of what he might do to the world in retaliation.

There are more than half a dozen people in the room, but his gaze falls on me instantly, like I’m the center of mass of his universe.

Koen sits back. “Lady, fuck you and your tea.”

She is meant for him, but they couldn’t be more impossible.

“Thanks, Amanda, I really appreciate it. Are you okay, by the way? Was anything—” “Serena,” Koen grunts. “I swear to fucking—” “I’m going, I’m going.”

One stolen moment. And another. And another.

“If someone had given me a piece of paper and asked me to list everything I liked, everything I dreamed of, everything that I was sure would make me happy, you would have been the final product of it.”

“There could never be disappointment, because there were never any comparisons, or expectations, or hopes, or standards to meet. There’s only…” He casts a glance around the room, searching. Then his eyes settle on me. “There is only you, Serena.”

“How do you even know?” “I’m the Alpha of this pack. I know everything.” I squint. “What’s the square root of pi?” “Zero point nine.” “Okay, I should have asked you a question I know the answer to.

“While I’m widely known for my prankster personality and comedic timing, no. I’m not joking. Not about this.”

“Things—nothing has changed. You love the Northwest more than anything.” “Not more than anything, Serena.”

My eyes lock with his, willing him to understand. “You are the heart of this pack, Koen.” He nods. Even as he says, “And you are mine, Serena.”

“I don’t think I can go on without you. Above all, I don’t think I can go on knowing that you need me, and I’m not by your side.” “I’ll be fine,” I lie.

“I should have,” Koen mutters. In the sunlight, his eyes look darker than usual. “What?” “Chained you to my fucking radiator. I still could. I will.”

“Whatever you need, you have to come to me. It’s a fucking order.” His voice is strained. “I don’t care where you are. I don’t care what it is. I want you to promise me that for anything you—” “I promise, Koen.” He nods. Fills his lungs with air. Shakes his head. “Fucking nuisance,” he mutters, and then he’s walking, driving away.

So pretty, he thinks that if she were the last thing he saw, he wouldn’t mind. Not at all.

Also, Sparkles says hi.” I glance at Misery, who slowly shakes her head. He doesn’t, she mouths at me. He cannot

He sighs. Tightens his hold on me. “Such a fucking nuisance.” I wonder why it took me until this very moment to realize that it’s been his way of saying I love you all along.

but Serena…she feels like another part of him. His heart, in another body.

She is so enchantingly beautiful, sometimes Koen loses track of time and space.