Chapter 0042

Hannah

I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh at Noah’s ridiculous request. “Call off the divorce?” I echoed, shaking my head slowly as my amusement faded into disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

Noah’s jaw clenched, his gaze hardening. “I am completely serious, Hannah. This divorce could jeopardize everything for Nightcrest—our chances of hosting the Lunar Festival, our alliances with other packs, our reputation… our entire standing as a pack.”

I shot to my feet, my silk robe swirling around my ankles as I whirled to face him. “Are you honestly telling me the only reason you want to stop this is for political gain?” I demanded.

Noah flinched almost imperceptibly at my venom, but his tone was measured as he responded. “It’s our pack, Hannah. It’s our duty to consider what’s good for Nightcrest.”

I strode forward, jabbing my finger into his chest. “And pray, tell me, how staying in a miserable sham of a marriage would be good for Nightcrest? Besides, you could just marry Zoe once I’m gone; it won’t be your reputation that suffers, thanks to you and your star-crossed lover.”

Before I could blink, Noah’s hand whipped out to clamp around my wrist—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to pin me in place as his tall form crowded over me. I sucked in a sharp breath as he pressed me back against the wall, the hard planes of his body caging me in.

“Watch your tongue,” he growled in that same low, dangerous timbre that used to light my chest on fire—only this time, there was no stirring of desire in my heart. Just seething anger and bitter resignation.

“Or what?” I shot back, jutting my chin out at him. “You’ll keep going on as you have been? Bedding me once a month like a little doll to keep on the shelf, sleeping in your office, treating me like a stranger whose only purpose is to provide you with an heir?”

Something dark and feral flickered across Noah’s expression—gone in a heartbeat. When he spoke, it was through gritted teeth, each word measured and precise. “If it’s more sex you want, I’ll take you to bed every night and have you screaming my name until dawn.”

White-hot rage lanced through me, replacing any hint of desire. How dare he reduce my needs to nothing more than extra sex?

With a snarl of outrage, I shoved Noah off me hard enough to make him stumble. Then, with an exaggerated roll of my shoulders, I let the robe slip completely, pooling in a puddle of crimson silk at my feet. I stood there, my chin held high, my spine straight, my nudity on full display.

“Is this what you want?” I spat, gesturing toward my naked body with bitter disdain. “Because you should know by now, Noah, more sex isn’t anywhere near enough for me. Not anymore.”

Noah swallowed hard, his green eyes wide and darker than ever as he took in the sight of me. He opened his mouth to retort, but then snapped it shut and quickly looked away.

“Get dressed, Hannah.”

“No.” I strode forward, my hands curled into white fists. “If you truly want me to stay, Noah, you’re going to have to do a hell of a lot better than sticking your cock in me every now and then.”

I took another step, forcing him to backpedal until his calves hit the edge of the mattress. Then, with one harsh shove, I sent him sprawling back onto the sheets—leaving me towering over him in all my furious, naked glory.

“For starters, you’ll need to make me come over and over again until I’m so breathless I’m on the verge of passing out,” I said, my voice low and biting. “And you’ll need to stick around afterward to hold me, adore me, treat me like the wife you claim to want instead of the vapid little bedwarmer you so clearly see me as.”