Chapter 25

Chapter 25

When we were finished reading over the diary, Hale put the files away, carrying them to his office and locking them up

himself.

“So… what now?” I asked when he came back out. He’d set me outside so I couldn’t see where he put the key. It was annoying, but I understood why he’d done it.

“Now, we take a break,” Hale replied, putting a hand on my lower back and steering me away from his office. We’ve been through all the papers. It’s nearly sundown. There’s nothing more we can do today.”

I craned my n*eck to look back at Hale’s office door. “But, maybe there’s something else in your father’s old files or- “Kora” Hale said tiredly. “Not today.”

“Oh, I responded, trying to suppress a frustrated sigh. He was right. We needed a break.

“Let’s………

for a walk. We have a lot to talk about.” Hale guided me with his hand back down the stairs and out of the castle proper, into the large, lush gardens the Luna Regent was so proud of.

We strolled down meandering paths, past colorful blooms, and I took a moment to see how many different types of flowers I could name, hoping it would help to calm my racing mind.

But it didn’t…. I couldn’t help but think about the problem at hand

“I don’t see how talking about what I think we need to talk about is going to be any less tiring than going through your father’s papers, I grumbled under my breath. But the setting sun felt good, warm, on my face.

And Hale’s hand felt the same on my back. Though I thought it might burn me through my clothes. “Stubborn,” Hale said, but he said it with a slight smile as he looked at me from the side of his eye.

“I don’t suppose that’s changed,” I pointed out. “Even your father called me stubborn back in the day.”

“True” Hale brought me to a small gazebo surrounded by crimson red roses. It even had roses climbing up its sides, creating a stunning view.

There was a chaise lounge at the center of it, clearly meant for taking in the floral panarama, and Hale pulled me down on it

next to him

-My thigh and hip tingled where we touched.

“I haven’t been here since we were children,” I observed nervously, gesturing around at the roses. “Your mother’s servants have really taken good care of it. I think there are even more flowers than before. It’s beautiful”

“Yes,” Hale agreed. “It is.”

I turned to face him, but whatever I was going to say died on my l*ps. He wasn’t looking at the roses:

“Mason?” I whispered.

“Why didn’t the Moon Goddess choose me first?” Hale asked, frustration deep in his tone as he looked at me. His hand came up and he caressed my cheek, running his thumb along my jaw. “I’ve wanted you my whole damn life.”

“I–I don’t know,” I replied honestly. My heart pounded. My tongue felt heavy as if weighted by a stone, keeping me from speaking. I felt scared, truly scared, of what I was feeling at that moment

“I would have liked to have been your first,” Hale said, his hand trailing down from my cheek to my n*eck. “I would never have rejected you. And I would never have played with your feelings.”

Pain knifed me in the heart “But you did reject me.”

Hale winced. “That was a mistake.”

I caught his hand. “Mistake or not, you did reject me.” I shook my head. “I keep waiting for you to come to your senses and reject me properly.”

Hale squeezed my hand. “Is that… what you want?”

The pain that stabbed me then was more excruciating. I gasped as though someone really had driven a knife through my

chest.

“What do you want. Koral”

do you want, Kora?” Hale asked, rubbing little circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.

1 swallowed. “It’s not fair when you do that.”

“What, this?” Hale stopped using his thumb and gave the back of my hand a slow k*ss instead.

“Y–yes. You’re using the mate bond to confuse me,” I panted.

“Are you confused?” Hale asked, raising an eyebrow.

roat was dry.

up as in

Its not that simple.

“It’s very simple,” Hale said, holding my gaze with his. “What do you want, Kora?”

Goddess save me. “You,” I whispered, the truth ripped from me by the intensity of his gaze.

Hale leaned over me until I was laid back on the lounge and he was cradled between my thighs. “That’s all that matters, Kora. That’s ALL that matters.”

While I stared up at him, Hale undid my braid, his fingers working behind my back and winding the plaits slowly around his fingers until the locks lay free in his hand.

I supposed it was also an opportunity for him to let his hand wander down over my back, and I took a deep breath, only to realize he’d rather slyly also undone my dress.

“Hey!” I protested, but Hale grinned unrepentantly.

“You had some doubt about where this was going?” he teased, brushing a light k*ss over my l*ps.

No. I’d had absolutely no doubt in my mind. Boldly, I slid my top down over my arms, exposing my breasts to him. I wanted to see him lose his hard–won control.

I didn’t have to wait long. Hale growled and captured one of my n*pples between his teeth, causing me to arch into him and moan. I held onto his shoulders while he feasted on my breasts. I may have begged, but my mind went very hazy very quickly.

“What the F*CK is going on here?!” a familiar voice screeched.

Hale paused and lifted his head as I turned my head to the side to see Giselle standing not ten feet away. He twitched my bodice back up to cover my breasts.

“Do you have a problem with a man making love to his mate, Giselle?” he grunted, his face impassive but his voice harsh

“I’ll say.

Where do I even begin-” Giselle started.

“Go. Away.” Hale’s voice was now a deep rumble.

Giselle was either crazy or stupid because she did not obey. She folded her arms over her chest and stamped her foot like a child. “Mason, I will not put up with this behavior”

“Alpha Hale,” Hale interrupted

“What?” Giselle replied.

“You will call me ‘Alpha Hale‘ from now on. You’ve lost the privilege of calling me anything else,” Hale snapped.

Giselle’s mouth formed a wide “O” of shock and indignation. “You know she’s still in love with her second mate, right? She was running away from the castle to go back to him. She’s not worthy of you, don’t you see that?!”

“And you are no longer welcome in the castle,” Hale went on, his voice low and menacing.

“Excuse me?!” Giselle said.

“GET YOUR SH*T AND GET OUT! Is that plain enough for you?!” Hale was now sitting up.

Giselle’s eyes welled with tears. “You’re going to regret this, Mason Hale”

Then she gathered up her skirts and ran away.