Run-away mate

She will

*Tia*

In horror, still reeling from Killian’s proclamation, I watch as he turns to Marsden. “I assume you have no objections.”

The Alpha prince smiles. “None whatsoever. I was rather hoping for this outcome when all

was said and done.”

Killian turns back to me. “What say you, Tia? Much better to be my mate than my mother, don’t you think?”

“No.” The word comes out harsh, abrupt, but inside I am screaming, No, no, no, no, no! I cannot marry the Young Prince. Absolutely cannot. I am here to marry the Alpha prince. An old man who thinks he needs an heir when he already has one.

Not his strapping son, who causes my insides to flutter every time he looks at me, my body to warm when he touches me, my entire being to dissolve into a heated puddle when he kisses me. I cannot, will not, marry him.

“No,” I repeat with the authority of my conviction.

With a cluck of his tongue, he tosses the papers onto my lap and settles against the sofa in an insolent lounge, his arm resting along the back of it, his fingers tapping merrily. “Then the contract is null and void and we are done here.”

“No.” I look imploringly at Marsden. “You and I are to marry. That is what we agreed to.”

He gives me a sad smile, the wrinkles shifting over his face. “That’s what we discussed in our correspondence, but the contract is worded a bit differently. It states you must provide me with an heir.”

“I can’t provide you with an heir if I’m not married to you.” I try.

“You provide him with an heir by providing me with one,” Killian says, his voice teeming with arrogance.

Jerking my attention to him, I want to snatch that smug, self-satisfied smile right off his gloriously handsome face. He thinks he has won, when he doesn’t even know what I am battling for, what is at stake. If I tell him… dear Goddess, if I tell him he won’t be sympathetic, he won’t understand. He will cast me out as brutally as my own family has.

“The contract states that you marry and provide the Alpha prince of Evermarsh with an heir. It doesn’t specify whom you marry. If you give me a son, you have in essence provided him with his heir. And actually much tidier. If you give my father a son, you have merely given him a spare. Who may or may not inherit. Give me a son, and you have provided the next heir apparent. Honestly, Tia, I don’t understand why you are not throwing yourself at me. That’s what you want, isn’t it? A son who will inherit titles, estates, power, wealth. Is it that you object to being merely a princes rather than a Luna princess? The Luna title will come eventually, but perhaps not soon enough for your aspirations.”

I hear the disgust, revulsion in his voice. How can marriage to him be pleasant when he hates me before the vows are even exchanged?

But if I say no, where will I go? What will I do? How will I survive? I cannot return to what my life has been. It would destroy me. He would destroy me.

I rise to my feet and turn to the fireplace. Cold, so cold. I wish there was a fire, but I doubt even that would warm me, as I am chilled to the very marrow of my bones. I need to find a reason for him to cast me aside while ensuring that Marsden will still want me. “But surely you want a High ranked she-wolf, someone with a proud lineage to stand by your side.”

“It wasn’t one of my father’s requirements. No need for it to be one of mine.” He says.

“He is a good man, my son,” the Alpha prince says. “You couldn’t want for better.”

Killian grins, “Oh, I suspect she could. Why don’t you go outside and see if you can catch sight of the vicar arriving? Tell him we need a little more time?”

“Jolly good idea. Give you two a moment alone to sort things out.” The Alpha Prince says.

I hear the creak of his bones as he gets up, the shuffling of his footsteps as he makes his way out. I don’t want to be alone with his son. Never again do I want to be alone with him.

I am acutely aware of Killian suddenly standing beside me, the heat and power emanating from him, even though he isn’t touching me. Why do I have to be so blasted aware of him?

“You judged me correctly, Tia, when you said I wanted to protect my father. I will do whatever necessary to shield him from anyone who would dare to take advantage of him or wish him harm.”

I shake my head, “I have told you that I don’t wish him harm. I will provide him with companionship, another child, an absence of loneliness.”

“I don’t trust you not to take advantage of him. As you saw, he is not always in his right mind.”

I face him, my heart pounding in my chest. “So you will marry a she-wolf you detest?”

He shrugs, a dismissive gesture that makes my blood boil. “I have no interest whatsoever in love. I never have. I watched it drive my father insane. I will not follow that path. But I do require an heir. I could hardly do better than a she-wolf who is willing to let me take her from behind, on her knees, or upside down.”

I slam my eyes closed, trying to suppress the wave of revulsion that washes over me. I had hoped to shock him, to put him in his place, to make him reconsider. That approach certainly hasn’t produced the results I wanted.

He touches his finger to my jaw, and I open my eyes only to jerk back at the unexpected contact.

He angles his head, mockingly lifting a corner of that wicked mouth. “Not exactly the response on the terrace.”

“Damn you.” I huff.

“You can’t deny there’s an attraction between us, so we will have that at least. I can assure you that within my bed you will find pleasure.” He says softly.

I huff again, “Not arrogant, are you?”

“I have traveled the world. I have learned a good many things. You will benefit from the knowledge.”

“And outside of the bed?” I ask.

He shrugs, “We will be polite to each other. Respectful. The day will be yours to do with as you please. The night will belong to me.”

The way his eyes darken with the last few words tells me exactly how the night will belong to him. I don’t dread what he might do to me; I dread that I might not be able to resist falling under his spell. Once before, I have tumbled head over heels for a man who exhibited confidence, boldness, assertiveness, but every aspect of him pales in comparison with Killian. He not only knows his place in the world, but he owns it, commands it. I am drawn to that self-assurance like a moth to a bright flickering flame. He could destroy me so easily if I weren’t careful. But without him, I haven’t even a glimmer of hope for survival.

“Will I have an allowance?” I ask, trying to shift the focus.

He grins darkly. “Naturally, my little mercenary.”

“How much?” I ask.

“What would please you?” He shoots back.

I give him my sweetest smile, “A million quid a month.”

He laughs, a deep rich sound that circles around me, through me, and takes up residence in my soul. “Five hundred.”

“One thousand.” I counter.

“Sevenhundred and fifty.” He says.

I can make do with that, set aside enough to ensure I will never be penniless again, and won't be totally dependent on his kindness.

He cradles my face, and this time I stay as I am, giving him leave to touch me. “You will never suffer at my hands. I can be quite generous.”

I almost scoff. I have heard that before, lies painted so prettily, only then I had been young and naive enough to believe the falsehoods, to embrace them, to pin all my hopes and dreams on them. Never again will I fall under any man’s spell to such an extent that I lose sight of myself.

“Then, in case you need a reminder, there is always this.” He purrs.

He blankets my mouth with his, urging my lips to part, then his tongue is slowly stroking mine, creating sensations that I want to deny bring me any sort of joy. But what is to be gained?

I have already lost my advantage. He isn’t going to step aside and allow me to marry Marsden. And I can’t risk leaving here with nothing. He is suddenly my only hope. If I don’t anger him further, if I please him as a mate, perhaps he will protect me with as much vigilance and determination as he does his father.

So I rise up on my toes, wrap my arms around his neck, and flatten my breasts to his chest. He knows me to be a widow. There is no sense in playing the shy virgin. I know how to pleasure a man. It will certainly be no hardship to be intimate with him.

With a growl, he crushes me to him, angles his head slightly, and takes the kiss deeper. Hunger thrums through him. Need. He wants me. I can feel just how badly he does pressed against my belly. I understand it’s reckless, dangerous to accept his terms when I know so little about him except for what I have heard from the gossips. But he is the lesser of two unfavorable choices.

Drawing back, breathing heavily, he skims his thumb over my swollen, tingling lips. “Take a day to think about it. It’s worth the money to me for you to be sure.”

With that, he releases me abruptly, causing me to stagger back, and heads for the door. For some strange reason, his words erase all my doubts.

“I don’t need a day.”

That stops him in his tracks. He swings back around, surprise flashing in his eyes. “You have made your decision?”

I had made it the moment I answered the advert. I have no choice. I have never had any choice. “I will marry you.”