Chapter 11
“Looks like you have no reservations, huh?” Tristan teased, his thumb brushing lightly over my jawline, savoring each of my trembling breaths.
“Are you sure, Princess?”
My heart seemed to skip a beat. I opened my mouth, hesitated, and then managed a shaky
laugh.
“I… maybe I shouldn’t have said it like that. Let me rephrase-I’m willing to do anything for you, as long as it doesn’t compromise my dignity or humiliate me. I won’t be your toy.”
His deep chuckle reverberated in my ear. He leaned in closer, his nose gently grazing my
temple.
“Oh, Bella… That’s the last thing I want you to be. Besides—” He stepped back, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “Do you think I’d waste ‘anything’ on trivialities? No, darling. What I’m asking for… is for you to give me an
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Alpha heir.”
My mouth dropped open in shock, wide enought to fit an egg. “An heir?” I choked out. “Are you serious?”
He raised an eyebrow, his smile mocking. “Why the astonished look? Of course, I’m serious. Haven’t I been patient enough? I need an Alpha heir for the Silver Moon Pack. And I want you to be my Luna, the mother of the heir.”
Heat surged to my cheeks, accompanied by a twisted nerve inside that made my stomach. churn. “Tristan… Do you really think we can succeed? Us? This-” I gestured between us helplessly. “This has always been a business. transaction, hasn’t it? Always. You’ve always
tried to outdo me, to prove you’re better than
me.”
His laughter was low and his eyes sparkled mischievously. “You really think that’s all there
is to it?”
I crossed my arms, trying to salvage any remaining dignity. “Don’t tell me it’s not true. You’ve always wanted to compete with me. At
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Chapter
Alpha training camp. In the pack’s business dealings. Every time my name is mentioned, you show up and try to prove something. So what-marrying me is your ultimate victory, your final conquest?”
His smile faded. For a fleeting moment, het just looked at me-really looked at me, as if deciding whether to let his guard down. Then he smiled again, gentler this time, almost
boyish.
“My moon goddess, you are stubborn. Do you know why I do all that?”
I frowned, responding cautiously, “Because you
hate me.”
“No,” he murmured, moving closer, his breath lightly brushing my cheek. “I don’t hate you. I can’t stay away from you. That’s why I compete
with you, why I need to be by your side. It’s the only way to catch your attention.”
I blinked, “You disrupted my exhibitions just to get me to notice you?”
“Otherwise, you’d never notice me,” he retorted
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Chapter 11
+5 Points
with a sly grin. “Remember when I bought that art gallery you’d been saving up for? You nearly threw a bottle at my head.”
I half-laughed, half-scolded, hitting his shoulder lightly. “That wasn’t funny at all! I spent weeks negotiating that lease!”
He grasped my wrist, his thumb lazily tracing circles on my skin. “Do you remember how you looked when you stormed into my office? Your eyes blazing, your lips trembling with rage. That expression-”
He leaned down, his lips delicately brushing against the corner of my mouth. “-the curve of your eyes when you’re angry? I’ve never desired anything more.”
I hated that my wolf betrayed me, trembling so violently within that I was sure he could feel it. “So you tortured me for years just because you liked my angry face?”
“Pretty much.” His grin grew more mischievous.
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t suppress a slight smile. “You’re impossible.”
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“You already belong to me,” he countered, that possessive light making my stomach twist. “Say you’re mine.”
“You’re delusional—”
Before I could finish, Tristan suddenly dropped to his knees, so swiftly that my spine nearly hit the wall in shock. He knelt there, his eyes bright
with mischief and something genuine that
terrified me beyond words.
“Bella Clayton,” his voice was steady and warm, “I’ve spent half my life fighting you and the other half finding excuses to be by your side. Now, I don’t want to fight anymore. So marry me. Officially. Be my mate. Be the mother of my heir. Be my Luna. This time… let’s win together.”
My chest tightened with countless memories flooding back-every shout, every intense elders’ meeting, every time he was the most unlikely savior… yet the only one who ever saved me.
“You’re serious,” I whispered. “You won’t mock me for asking you to return?”
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His smile softened, becoming something real. “If you leave again, I might laugh at you. But this time… you won’t leave.”
I laughed, the sound fragile like glass, unable to stop the tears from trickling down. “Alright. I’ll marry you.”
He didn’t wait for me to say it again. He sprang to his feet, cupping my cheeks as if to imprint his breath upon my lips with every kiss. His lips tasted like whiskey, old grudges, and newly made promises.
When we pulled apart, his forehead rested against mine, both of us breathless. “Say it again, Princess. For me.”
I suppressed my laughter. “I’ll marry you, be your mate, Alpha Tristan Phelps.”
He kissed me again, stars twirling behind my closed eyelids. For the first time, my wolf didn’t feel like she was losing herself. She finally felt like she had come home.
