Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 17 Nora POV I opened my eyes with a start, sitting up in bed with my he 1 pounding. I had a dream about Clara, a reminder that I need to get her back because I feel lost witho her presence, eve  stracted by Blake and my new life to notice. I jumped off the bed and began quickly getting dressed I need to go see Blake to try and figure out how we’re going to get Clara back because I miss her deeply me the way she was at she was stoler As I raced out of the room and next door to Blake’s room. I remember that it’s still early in the morning at the same time as I remember the k*ss from the night before. I covered my mouth with my hand, thinking about the way Blake’s l*ps felt against mine. At the time it had angered me but afterward, I couldn’t stop thinking of his hands on me or the way his l*ps felt. Although I came here to discuss my wolf, I decided I should confront Blake about the k*ss, see if he remembers it happening, and get it over with. We needed to put it all out in the open so we could get past it and start working on the contract we’d made. We had k*ssed in the past, but something about last night just felt different. I needed to know if anything between us has shifted between us because it didn’t feel like a k*ss for the contract. It felt way too real to make me think otherwise. Which is why I need to know if Blake remembers or not. As well as discussing my wolf and how to get her back. Sighing. I knocked anyway and tested the doorknob. It was unlocked and I let myself in. As I opened the door, I told myself I would ask about Clara first instead of the k*ss because after my dream last night, I needed to get to the bottom of what happened to her. But when I see Blake standing by his wardrobe, his hair damp from a recent shower and casually dressed in shorts and a t–shirt, all I could think about was the k*ss and any words I had planned failed me. “Good morning,” he said, nodding and offering a smile. “Hi. I cleared my throat, waving awkwardly. Blake arched an eyebrow at me. “It is early for a visit.” “After last night, I thought we should… talk.” I rocked back on my heels and clasped my hands together, looking down. “Last night?” Blake asked, cocking his head to the side. “Do you remember last night?” I chewed on my lower l*p. My stomach twisted uncomfortably. Last night. I’d hoped he would forget what happened. This morning, it bothered me that he might not remember. Blake creased his brow. “I remember drinking champagne at the reception. After that, it gets pretty hazy. He pressed a hand to his temple. “Oh I blinked. “Is there something I should remember?” he asked, grinning at me. I sighed and shrugged. He really didn’t remember k*ssing me or running his hands all over me. A shudder ran down my spine as I could practically feel his hands burning into my skin again. “No.” I shook my head. Blake shrugged and went to his bedside table, drinking the water I had left for him. It was probably better that he didn’t remember. That meant we could just move forward without any issues. But I still couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I shook the foreign feeling away. There was a soft knock on the door and a maid entered, carrying a covered tray. “I brought your breakfast, Sire,” she said, curtseying and setting the tray down. “Oh… I didn’t know you’d have a guest for breakfast. Should I bring another tray?” “Yes, please,” Blake nodded. The maid curtseyed again and left before I could protest. “Umm.. okay.” I muttered. Blake sat down and motioned to the chair across from me. I sighed and took a seat. He was courteous and waited until the maid brought a second tray before he started eating. The food in the castle was amazing. I had nearly forgotten what a good meal was out in the Rogue Zone and now I appreciated everything I ate all the more. “You seem to be adjusting to life in the castle well,” Blake commented as I dug in. “Being exiled made me appreciate what I used to take for granted.” I scooped a spoon of stew, “Eat slowly” Blake put down his utensil while watching me enjoy my food. What was that faint smile about on his face? We ate silently for a moment Blake suddenly set his fork down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He cleared his throat and looked at me with hardened eyes. “I’ve been thinking about our arrangement,” he said in a somber tone. I paused, my fork halfway to my mouth Swallowing. I set my fork down and wiped my hands on my napkin, trying to stick to the line dining techniques that Charles had taught me. “You mean our contract” Lasked “Yes. Now that we’ve completed the terms of my curse, it should be broken. I won’t be dying anytime soon,” he chuckled. “That’s good.” I said, nodding “What does that have to do with our contract?” “It is time to focus on finding out what happened to your wolf, getting her back.” he responded. “Is that possible?” I raised an eyebrow “There are some magical secrets that most werewolves don’t know about, like how to steal someone’s wolf. If a wolf is stolen, the mate bond can be too.” “Stolen?” I swallowed. I looked down at my lap, twisting my hands together. Clara, my wolf, had been taken from me. That’s why I couldn’t feel her anymore. Someone else had control of her. My mate bond to Jeremy had been taken too. That was why he turned on me. He couldn’t feel his connection to me anymore. But he could feel a connection to Helen. I gasped and clasped my hands over my heart. Had Helen stolen my wolf? How had she known it was possible?

“It is a rare bit of knowledge and not a lot is known about how it can be done,” Blake continued, his voice grounding me back. to the present “How do I get her back?” I asked, creasing my brow and still looking at my lap. “That, I don’t know yet. But I will find out.” Blake assured. “I didn’t believe you at first, that you’d help,” I admitted. “But you still entered into the contract.” He arched an eyebrow at me and grinned. I shrugged. “It was the best option at the time. And now, you’re making good on your promise.” I was still a little hurt that Blake didn’t seem to remember our k*ss from the night before, making me realize that I no longer wanted to be blinded by love and the prospect of it. At the end of the day. I entered this contract to get Clara back, so that was all I could think about right now. I couldn’t allow myself to be continually distracted by Blake. “Once we get my wolf back then we can end the marriage as both halves of the contract will have been fulfilled.” Blake snapped his eyes to me, appearing stunned by my words momentarily. It only took a split second for his mood to shift into one of coldness as if he was putting distance between us. Blake shifted in his seat before setting his eyes on me. “I agree,” he said, his voice cool and calm. “As you said, this is a contract and we can go our separate ways once the deal is completed.” I opened my mouth to say something–anything–but I quickly shut it when no words came out. I knew I was the one who suggested we get divorced, but I only said it because I was upset that he didn’t remember the k*ss and the shift between us that I felt last night. But hearing Blake agree to my proposal without hesitation had hurt me in a way I didn’t think it would, and I certainly didn’t understand why my b*dy was switching so quickly between wanting to get divorced and then being annoyed that Blake agreed to it so quickly as if what we had–what I felt last night–meant nothing to him. I don’t know why I feel this way and it’s beyond confusing. “Yeah.. okay,” It wasn’t like Blake had prefaced our arrangement by saying we’d only stay married until we both got what we needed. I’d assumed that was the way it would go but we hadn’t talked about it. But now that I’d put the idea out there, my b*dy and heart felt… weird and confused. “Are you not hungry anymore?” Blake asked after a long moment of silence, motioning to how I kept poking my food. “I guess not.” I set my fork down. “Is there something else on your mind?” he pressed. I cleared my throat and shifted slightly in my seat. “It seems very sudden.” “Perhaps. But that was how this was always supposed to end.” I nodded in agreement. It didn’t sit well with me but I wasn’t going to argue with him. “Now, tell me everything that happened in the days leading up to when you could no longer feel your wolf. Don’t leave out any detail,” Blake instructed. I quickly went over everything I could remember from the days leading up to when Clara vanished. I covered the details of my birthday, absently holding my wrist where the bracelet Jeremy got me used to sit. My cheeks stung as I talked about the mate bond and all the plans Jeremy and I were making together. It didn’t seem necessary but I didn’t know anything about how someone’s wolf could be stolen. As Blake said, he needed to know every detail. I wanted to know what happened too, so I wasn’t going to risk not figuring it out by leaving out details. Once I got to the part in my story where I couldn’t feel my wolf and Helen started accusing me, while also kindling a mate bond with Jeremy, Blake held up a hand to stop me. “Who is Helen?” he asked. “She’s my friend. Well, she was” I looked down and sighed. “I never knew so many people would turn on me that quickly.”  “I know the feeling,” Blake admitted. I looked up at him. His eyes were soft for the moment. Finally, we found some common ground. A moment of understanding. We’d both been turned on by our people and exiled. We finished eating our breakfast in silence. I wrestled with the thoughts that clamored around in my mind. I wondered if I’d started to care about him a little bit. He’d changed so much since coming back to his territory. I’d seen it happen and I’d even felt a little closer to him. He’d confessed information about Kelly and his other personal relationships. It didn’t make sense that he’d confide in me and then want to rush to end our wedding. I excused myself when the trays had been cleared. Returning to my room. I considered the things Blake had said about my wolf being stolen. If that was true, then Jeremy was just as much of a victim as I was because whoever had arranged it stole his mate bond from me. I went to my vanity and opened the jewelry box. The holly leaf bracelet that Jeremy had given me. The clasp was still broken so I couldn’t wear it but I still kept it as a reminder of what it meant to me. A reminder of what Jeremy meant to me. I held the bracelet against my heart. I hadn’t been able to throw it out, even though Blake said I should. “Once I figure this out, you’ll be free too, Jeremy.” I whispered to myself. Holding the bracelet made me feel like I was still connected to him. Our mate bond was gone but it was all temporary, from what Blake said. If I got my wolf back, our mate bond would be restored too. Helen was involved somehow. Blake hadn’t needed to say it outright. I’d seen it in his eyes when he’d asked about her. She’d either set this all up or had been involved. Either way, she was the one that managed to turn everyone against me. Jeremy was in her pocket. It wasn’t fair to him. I wanted to free him and expose Helen’s deceit. Clutching the bracelet tighter, I brought it to my l*ps and k*ssed it. It was a silent vow that I’d fix what had happened and help Jeremy. He didn’t deserve to be caught in all of this. Once I had my wolf back, it would be easy to expose Helen’s lies. I sighed and put the bracelet back in my jewelry box. Closing the lid, I ran my fingers along the edge of the box. Helen would pay for stealing Clara and my future with Jeremy.