Chapter 0043

Noah’s jaw slackened as I pressed my left hand to his chest, the other working at his belt. His hands curled into fists around the sheets, just as mine had countless times. His arousal was evident, tenting the fabric of his trousers.

“But I want so much more than that,” I murmured, tugging his belt free and unbuttoning his trousers. “I want dates. Weekly dates. I want respect. I want to be showered not only with gifts, but with love, affection, and everything a wife deserves.”

Once his belt was free, I reached into my pants and grasped his hot, rigid length, giving him a few languid, teasing strokes that had him bucking into my touch with a strangled groan. “And I don’t just want to be your wife,” I continued. “I want to be your Luna, in every sense of the word. There should be no doubt, in anyone’s mind, that I’m wholly yours and you’re wholly mine.”

For a moment, I allowed myself to stroke the warmth of his cock, my fingers tight around his skin. I relished the sound of his strained groans, the sight of his clenched jaw. But then, I released him, leaving him panting, flushed, and teetering on the razor’s edge with no relief in sight.

“But you and I both know you’d never do any of those things, would you?” I hissed, striding to my robe and slipping it on. “You would never cherish me as I deserve. You would just rut into me with your eyes closed, thinking of someone else…”

My eyes met my own reflection in the mirror. My face was redder than I’d anticipated, and only then did I notice the tears misting my eyes. Behind me, Noah was fixing his belt, avoiding my gaze. But it was the diamond necklace around my throat that caught my attention. Seeing it made me sick, feeling as though it were constricting me, its sharp edges cutting into my skin.

Blinking away the tears, I turned and yanked the necklace off, breaking the clasp carelessly. Then, I hurled the glittering diamonds squarely at Noah’s heaving chest, relishing the dull thud as they struck home.

“You can take your pretty little trinkets and shove them, Noah,” I spat, the anger leaving my body in a hot, breathless rush. “I’m done pretending this was ever about more than just your…tics.”

Noah’s fingers curled around the necklace; his eyes finally met mine, filled with shock and anger. I lifted my chin, steeling myself against the doubt and heartache creeping in.

“Now get out,” I hissed. “Before I forget myself and do something we’ll both regret.”

For a moment, Noah seemed to hesitate. But then, slowly, he rose and strode to the door without a word. He left without looking back.

Only after he was gone did I release the breath I’d been holding. I sank onto the edge of the bed, clutching my robe closed with shaking hands.

Chapter 0043

It would all be over soon, I told myself. Soon, I would finally be free—free to put this pack and its heartbreaks behind me for good, and return to my own pack as the rightful Alpha.