ce

users and a soft cashmere sweater. Changing into them felt like shedding a skin. I wa

the silent and efficient Leo. It moved through the night like a

sat beside me, his profile st

My voice was steady, cleare

, his grey eyes wa

was it. This was my chance

ship. An alliance. I am not your possession. I will no

tched in my hand. "The apartment is... generous.

h word, "I need to work. I need my own money, my o

esolve, "there will be honesty between us. No more secrets. No more lies." I

finished, a slow, genuine smile spread across his face. It tr

he sai

Authorize Ms. Green for access to

et mounted on the dashboard. He then passed the tablet back to

onded mates are held in common. It is as much yours as it is mine. Use it to

ver, ever hurt you. But there are things... things about me, about my situation, that I cannot tell you. N

for patience. For trust. After a day of nothing but decei

owly. "Okay

d garage of a sleek, modern skyscr

entrance to a VIP office wher

polished desk. "Once signed and witnessed, your scents will be permanently linked i

unbreakable. It superseded almost any other Pack law or decree. Once this was filed, not

op of blood from each of our fingertips. The drops mingled under a glass slide, and a screen on the d

clerk handed us an official certificate

fully inside the leather folder. A for

f relief washed over me. It was done. It was real. I was no longer Grace Green, the u

e in my expression. "Feelin

ded.

oice gentle. "Now, let

at him,

his tone deceptively mild. "It's time you col

ve mother, Debra Green and her daughter Kloe, of stepping back into

cause he reached out and covered it w

his voice a low promise. "