“Are you ready?” Sinclair asked, standing behind me in the mirror. I had to stop myself from staring at him. He was dressed down from his standard suit, but somehow looked even more gorgeous and intimidating than usual. In sleek black slacks and a simple white dress shirt, rolled up to his elbows and unbuttoned to his sternum, he looked powerful and relaxed at once.

“That depends. What do you think?” I replied, extending my arms to show him my dress. I was wearing a sleek velvet dress in ink-bottle green. When the dressmaker suggested velvet, I was skeptical, but now that I saw the finished product, I could fully appreciate her vision. It was simple but sophisticated, not to mention incredibly cozy.

“Hmm,” Sinclair replied, striding closer. “I think you’re missing something.”

“Like what?” I asked, turning back to the mirror. My makeup and hair were done; I’d found matching heels despite the challenges of matching uncommon dress colors, and I would wrap myself in my new coat (courtesy of Sinclair) before we left.

“Like this.” He beamed, pulling out a thin black jewelry box.

I looked down at it in surprise. “For me?”

“And just who else do you think I would be buying jewelry for?” he teased.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “For all I know, you have a girlfriend on the side.”

“Ella,” Sinclair’s impossibly deep voice sounded even richer than usual. “There isn’t anyone else.”

For some reason, this statement made me feel more uncertain. We weren’t in a relationship, nor had we discussed avoiding dating during the pregnancy to avoid scrutiny. It made sense that he wouldn’t risk the campaign by seeing someone else when he was supposed to be happily mated, but he’d expressly told me that everything would be different when he found his second-chance mate. It seemed strange that he should make such a firm assurance so intimately; it felt as though he was blurring the lines of our arrangement. My inner voice might not have minded, but my heart knew better—it wasn’t safe.

Too late, I realized Sinclair was watching me process these feelings, and he narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Nothing,” I replied simply, nodding towards the box. “Can I see it?”

“I shouldn’t,” Sinclair said cautiously. “I should make you tell me what you’re thinking first—but we don’t have time.” He sighed, flipping open the smooth black lid. Inside was a stunning silver necklace, dotted with diamonds and boasting a matching pair of earrings.

My jaw dropped, and I tried to cover my gaping mouth with my hand. “Sinclair, this is gorgeous. But it’s much too extravagant; I can’t possibly accept it.”

“Of course you can,” he insisted, turning me back towards the mirror. I don’t know why, but I was holding my breath as he draped the necklace over my collar and secured it at my nape. My fingers immediately fluttered over the opulent jewels. I’d never worn anything so fine in my entire life. “You see,” Sinclair said, beaming at my reflection. “It was made for you.”

“It’s incredible,” I answered honestly. “But I feel like an imposter.”

He frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“Maybe because I am one,” I replied, trying to tone down the sarcasm. He’d been so sweet and generous; I didn’t mean to take out my pregnancy angst on him.

“Ella, look at me,” he instructed, his tone gentle but firm. I didn’t really want to obey; I found Sinclair’s penetrating gaze far too observant, and sometimes I wanted to sulk without my thoughts becoming public. “Now, trouble,” he chuckled, seeing my reluctance.

I did as he said, lifting my gaze to meet Sinclair’s emerald irises in the mirror. I felt like I might become hypnotized, but his expression was warm and open. “You might not be a she-wolf, but you are carrying my heir, and you are my date for the festival.” He slid his strong arms around my waist from behind, still staring at me through the looking glass. “This is not a sham. This is right.”

Side by side, we made a striking couple. Sinclair was so tall and dark, rugged yet classically handsome—as if all his features had been carved from stone. In my heels, my head reached his shoulder, and though I looked very small and delicate beside him, the fine clothes and jewelry made me look like a woman deserving of all his strength and power, not just some pretty face in the crowd.

Again, I felt as though Sinclair was reading my mind. “Will you be upset if I tell you how stunning you look?”

I peeked up at him from beneath my lashes. “I don’t know. Why don’t you try and find out?”

Sinclair grinned, moving his lips to my ear and sending a shiver down my spine before he’d even spoken. He purred a laugh at my trembling, obviously amused and pleased by my response. “You look stunning, Ella, so stunning it’s very hard not to eat you right up.”

I shivered again, feeling heat pool between my legs and praying that his senses weren’t strong enough to pick up on that. I was beginning to think he liked getting me all hot and bothered, though it seemed terribly unfair of him to tease me this way. Of course, I knew Sinclair wasn’t completely immune to me either, and suddenly a devious idea sparked in my mind. I leaned back into his embrace, squirming slightly as if I were trying to get comfortable, and intentionally rubbed my round bottom against him.

Sinclair growled in response, but it wasn’t the dangerous kind he made when angry. This was low and sultry, and butterflies burst to life in my belly even before I felt him growing hard against my backside.

“I suppose I deserved that,” Sinclair murmured, grazing his lips over the place where my neck met my shoulder. “Such a mischievous little human.”

“We’re going to be late,” I answered huskily, trying to stay upright as my knees turned to jelly.

“I’m the Alpha; I’m never late,” he joked, though he released me at last.

“What, everyone else is just early?” I prompted, quoting one of my favorite romantic comedies.

He grinned, retrieving a glossy white coat and wrapping it around my shoulders. “Exactly.”

The Solstice festival was more beautiful than I could have imagined. It was only the first night, but it already seemed magical. I couldn’t believe it was going to get even more magnificent. We were standing at the top of a snow-covered hill, our bodies bathed in the glow of firelight. A huge bonfire was in front of us, but as I turned to gaze out at the sprawling city, I could see hundreds of smaller fires blazing through the pristine winter landscape. The shifter society had gone completely dark, cutting out all electric lights and replacing everything with lanterns and flames as far as the eye could see.

Music unlike any I’d ever heard filled the air, a blend of familiar and exotic instruments, set to tunes that felt older than time itself. Suddenly, it was painfully obvious that these people weren’t human; they were connected to their deity and nature in ways that defied logic and science. It truly felt as though I’d stepped into another world—one far too mystical for me to ever fully understand. I could actually feel the magic in the air, which was definitely something new to me.

Women and men, wearing sheer panels of cloth and painted with blue ink whorls, began some sort of ceremonial dance around the fire. They were holding torches and dancing with the flames as if they were lovers. I was completely transfixed, but soon the people gathered around the edges drinking mulled wine joined in, as an air of unbridled revelry took hold of the night. I’d assumed Sinclair and I would stay on the sidelines, but the next thing I knew, he was pulling me into the crowd of dancers.

“Just let me lead,” he teased, pulling me close.