Chapter 164

Iris

How could he do this to me? To us?

He kissed her. He kissed Veronica. My cousin.

I can’t breathe. Can’t think. Can’t do anything but flee.

I rush out of the dressing room, barely remembering to grab my purse and jacket. Emi, who was leaning against the wall outside, stands at attention and looks at me with a furrowed brow. “Miss Willford—”

“I’m leaving,” I reply abruptly. Emi trots after me, confused, as I burst out of the back door to the building and into an alley.

“Why?” she asks. I don’t answer. Thankfully, as is Emi’s way, she doesn’t press again—just follows me loyally to the street corner, where I hail the first cab I see. The driver asks where I’m going, and I blurt out our address.

When I arrive home, I’m reminded that Miles is with my parents tonight. I’m grateful for that; not only is the quiet apartment a reprieve from the chaos that just happened, but I also don’t want Miles to see us fight.

And we will fight. I’m not leaving until I see Arthur, until I look in his eyes and show him just how much he has hurt me. Hurt us.

I end up in the living room at some point, sitting in darkness as the sun sets. I’m not sure how long I wait, and I’m especially not sure why Arthur is taking so fucking long to get home.

Is he with her, I wonder? The woman he once chose Selina over? When he comes home, is he going to try and lie his way out of this or is he simply going to tell me to pack my bags, that I am going to ruin his presidency, that I’m not cut out to be the Luna of Ordan and that I need to go live with my parents?

Finally, the front door clicks. I hear Arthur’s footsteps rush through the foyer. The living room lights flick on, and there he is, standing in the doorway. His face is drawn with worry, and his perfectly styled hair is ruined as if he’s been ripping at it.

“Iris,” he breathes. “Thank the Goddess you’re here.”

“Were you with her?” I blurt out.

His face falls, and I know he’s seen the photo. “It’s not what it looks like. And for what it’s worth, I went straight to the news office to make them take the picture down.”

“It never is ‘what it looks like’ with you, is it?” I hiss, suddenly furious. “Five years ago, it wasn’t what it looked like with Selina either. And yet here we are again.”

“I didn’t kiss her.”

“But you wanted to.” The words come out before I can stop them, and I know they’re true the moment I say them. It’s written all over his face. I know him too well to know otherwise.

Arthur moves into the room, sinking onto the couch beside me. I scooch over and fold my arms, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible. “I need you to listen to me,” he says softly. “Please.”

“I’ve spent an awful lot of time listening to you,” I mutter, but I don’t move to get up and leave. Deep down, I don’t want to. I want this all to be a mistake. I want him to have a good explanation.

“I went to confront Veronica about the charity,” he begins. “Ezra found some incriminating documents this morning, and I needed answers. But when I got close to her, something… happened.”

“What kind of something?”

He hesitates, then says, “I caught her scent. It was… it was like yours. But not quite. It did something to my wolf. Made him react in a way I couldn’t control.”

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

“My wolf recognized her scent the same way it recognizes yours,” Arthur says quietly. “As a mate.”

The words hit me like a punch to the face. I whip my head toward him. “That’s impossible. A wolf only has one mate.”

“I thought so too.” Arthur runs a hand over his face. “But it happened. I felt it.”

“So what, you have two mates now?” I stand up, unable to sit still with this new revelation. I feel like I’m going to crawl out of my skin, or worse: I feel like I’m going to explode and take this entire building down with me. That jealousy comes bubbling up again, even stronger than yesterday when I saw Veronica touching him.

“I don’t know how this happened,” Arthur says in a strained voice. “It’s extremely rare, but not unheard of. Typically, it only happens when one mate has died or been rejected.”

I pause, turning to face him. “I’m very much alive, Arthur. And despite everything, I haven’t rejected you.”

“I know. Maybe my wolf somehow became connected to her during the five years we were apart. Or maybe it’s something that went wrong when I was born. A mistake.”

“A mistake,” I echo with a scoff. “That’s comforting.”

The bitterness in my voice makes him wince. “Iris, please. I’m trying to be honest with you.”

“Honest?” I laugh outright this time. “You almost kissed another woman today. My cousin, no less. Perfect, illustrious, beautiful fucking Veronica. And now you’re telling me she’s your fated mate, just like I supposedly am? How the hell am I supposed to process that, Arthur?”

“I don’t know,” he admits. “I’m still trying to make sense of it myself.”

I turn away, wrapping my arms around my middle. I feel like I’m being torn in half. Part of me wants to rage at him, to throw things and scream until my voice gives out. But another part is terrified—terrified that this means I’m going to lose him again.

That he’ll choose Veronica this time, just like he chose Selina before.

Because why wouldn’t he? She’s everything I’m not. A true wolf with a powerful background of her own. A talented musician beloved by the public. A successful philanthropist with connections throughout Ordan’s elite. Hell, today she swooped in like my savior and handled the press with an ease that I could never possibly possess myself.

And if she’s truly his mate as well… What chance do I have?

“I understand if this changes things for you,” Arthur says after a long silence. “If you need space, or time to think—”

“Is that what you want?” I blurt out. “Space? Time to explore this… bond with Veronica?”

“No.” He’s on his feet now, moving toward me. He closes the distance between us in two long strides. “That’s the last fucking thing I want.”

Suddenly, he drops to his knees in front of me, taking my hands in his. “Iris, listen to me. Yes, my wolf recognized something in Veronica. But I’m more than my wolf. I’m a man who has loved you since the moment I met you. A man who spent five years in agony without you. A man who would sooner cut off his own arm than hurt you again.”

I look down at him, at those green eyes that have always seen right through me. “But she’s your mate,” I choke out. I hate how small my voice is right now. I hate the way my hands instantly stopped shaking the moment he twined his fingers around mine.

“You’re my mate,” he insists. “The only one I want. The only one I choose. I don’t care what my wolf thinks it sensed with Veronica. I don’t want her. I want you.”

“How can I believe that? When the same thing could happen again tomorrow, or the next day?”

“Because I’m telling you right now—I reject any bond with her. I don’t want it.” His grip on my hands tightens. “And I think you should keep your distance from her anyway. Both of us should. We still don’t know if she’s involved in the embezzlement scheme.”

That surprises me. “You still think your mate is stealing from her own charity?”

He winces when I call her his mate. “I don’t know,” he admits. “But the numbers don’t add up. And after what happened today… I don’t trust her. Even if I did, I wouldn’t want her. I only want you, Iris. You, and Miles, and the life we’ve built together, even if it gets a little messy sometimes.”

I’m not sure what to feel anymore. Relief that Arthur doesn’t want Veronica? Anger that he’s in this position at all? Fear that despite his words, his wolf might eventually override his desires?

“I need you to believe me,” Arthur pleads, tightening his grip on my hands. “I would never betray you like that. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

I glance down at our joined hands, then up at his face, looking for any sign of deception. But all I see is honesty—and fear. He’s afraid too. Afraid of losing me, just as I’m afraid of losing him.

“I… I believe you,” I murmur. “But I’m fucking pissed, Arthur.”

“I know.” He presses his forehead against our joined hands. “I’m so sorry. I never asked for this.”

We stay like that for a long moment, neither of us speaking. My mouth opens a few times, but no words will come. I’m not even sure what I would say if I could speak right now.

“I’m going to reject her,” he finally says, looking up at me. “I didn’t have a chance today—she left so quickly, and I was too stunned… But I’m going to do it. I just need to see her face-to-face and say the words.”

My throat bobs. “You promise?”

“Iris.” Arthur rises and takes me in his arms, pulling me close. My palms press into his chest as if to shove away, but I can’t find it in me. I want him to hold me, want him to comfort me. And as he dips his head toward me, I can’t help but tip my own back, lips parting, a silent invitation for my mate—my mate—to kiss me.

And he does. His mouth finds mine, gentle at first, then more insistent as I respond. My fingers move from pushing at his chest to pulling him closer by the lapels of his jacket. I want him. Need him. Need the sort of comfort that we both know best.

“I love you, Iris,” he murmurs into my mouth. “Only you…”