Page 28 of The Alpha King's Mate

Ours, he rumbled, and it carried.

The window glass fogged with her breath.

We could feel Zira within. See her in Aliana’s eyes.

One more day.

Chapter 13

Aliana

Zira pressed against me, and I couldn’t fault her for the visceral reaction. I was breathless myself after such a fierce display of hand-to-hand combat. The way Sorin’s muscles had flexed, the speed he’d moved—it reminded me of the morning he caught our scent. He’d become a blur, shifting mid-air to claim us.

My life had never allowed the luxury of time for trivial matters like attraction. But looking into Malakh’s red, glowing eyes, I wanted to throw caution to the wind and give in to Zira’s nature.

Sorin was the only wolf to claim those eyes. Red was nature’s warning. Even Zira had reacted to it—by trying to shift and kill him. I’d panicked at feeling her bloodlust without fully understanding it.

Zira snorted.

The crowd was dispersing.

Malakh hadn’t moved. He slow-blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Heat pooled low.

Zira shifted restlessly.

Sorin’s words came back to me. My wolf deserved her happiness, and a clean slate with Malakh. For her sake, I could try to manage my temperament.

Not too much, she murmured.I like how he reacts when you toy with him.

Yeah, I did too.

? ? ?

“Oh,” I gasped at the dress Ember produced.

She tugged the sleeve free to reveal the sparkling gold trim at the hem of the ivory dress. A traditional mating ceremony dress. One my mother would have adored.

My eyes went to the veil. The material was so delicate that the matching gold trim seemed impossible for such delicate fabric to hold.

“You’ve not seen the best of it,” Ember said, and the sheer excitement in her voice set off butterflies in my belly.

She lifted the lid of the box and drew out a crown.

“This will raise your veil. And hopefully add a few inches to your height.”

My eyes flicked to hers and I giggled.

“We can’t all be leggy blondes like you.”

She grinned as she handed me the crown.

I raised it and it caught the light, scattering it. It would sit like a sunrise glowing over me. The stitching and beadwork on everything were astounding.