Lycan's Prey by Jessica Hall

Chapter 5

Gritting my teeth, I regain my composure and smooth back my hair, pasting a fake smile on my face. Thankfully, no one witnessed it, and I don’t want Rhett to worry about me. It’s probably nothing, come to think of it. The full moon is coming up, so it could be that. Not that I had ever suffered such effects from a full moon before. But there is a first time for everything, and I have found my mate now, so full moons will be more intense.

Passing one of Rhett’s friends who also works here, I wave as I usually do. Only instead of waving back, he glares. Him too? Did I kill someone’s puppy? Shaking off his strange behavior, I keep walking with my head held high. It’s the best I can do until Rhett tells me what has everyone so frazzled and unfriendly; surely it’s not all over this Lycan King coming here?

When his office door comes into view, excitement courses through me as I clutch the venue contract in my hand tighter, eager to show him the perfect place I found for our wedding. My fingers tremble, and I feel like all of the excitement is going to burst out of me. I know he’ll love the place I picked

out.

Bracing myself, I reach for the door handle to Rhett’s office and push open the door, ready to greet my mate, when the sickeningly sweet scent of cologne reaches my nose, making it burn.

I push the door open, eager yet apprehensive about presenting the wedding venue details to Rhett, especially now I know he is in a terrible mood and owes the King money.

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Chapter 5

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“I’m so sorry I’m late, you won’t believe what happened on the way here!” I exclaim as I turn and shut the door, only to turn back and have my heart seize in my chest. Time seems to slow down as I take in the heart–wrenching sight, my hands. trembling and my eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

The words die in my throat as my world shatters into jagged shards of betrayal, deception, and regret.

in the sight of Rhett at his desk, not alone but with a woman on his lap. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back, her red dress rucked up in a way that left nothing to the imagination. Her flushed face and intimate posture with Rhett shattered any illusions I

cheeks, and I can see her hand resting on Rhett’s shoulder, her fingers playing with his hair as she bounces up

perfume and the musky undertones of Rhett’s perfume throughout the room. But underneath it all, there’s a hint of something bitter and acrid, the smell of deceit and betrayal. Pain rips through

be here with him. Is this how he repays me? The sight unfolding before me is a living. nightmare, one that seizes my heart and refuses to let go. I stand frozen, unable to tear my eyes away from the scene. Those jagged shards splinter and pierce through the bond,

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Chapter 5

shimmering promises and the warm, electric thrum of the mate’s bond- Lured by pretty bright lights, the glittering attraction, and its warm and tingly feelings. The fairy tale was that he would love me in a way no one else could. What a

ever warned me about the dark side of a mate’s bond, the heartache, and the devastation that could come with it too. Mates are painted as sacred, bound by love, and destined to be together for eternity. But they never told me about the gut–wrenching

have a bug or something is wrong with me. Now, the pain. makes sense. It wasn’t feminine issues at all; it was the scorching betrayal

through the fabric of our bond with the precision of a well–aimed

as

scattering like the shattered pieces of my heart. I try to speak, to demand an explanation, but no words come out. My throat feels tight, and hot

my eyes.

doing here?” he replies, his tone

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