GWEN
Did I hear him well?
Mate? MATE!?
Is he kidding me?
That one word, Mate. Hung in the air like a curse, sharp and heavy. My heart was beating painfully against my chest as I stood facing Archer.
His smirk hadn’t changed. Still the same cocky, arrogant lift of his lips that used to make my stomach turn. But this time, it wasn’t nerves. It was disgust, and anger.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to look him in the eye.
“Archer,” I said, voice calm, even though my wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin.
He leaned a bit closer, clearly trying to intimidate me. “Didn’t think I’d ever see you again. But here you are. Dressed like a princess, standing beside a man who isn’t your mate.”
My jaw clenched. “That’s none of your business.”
He gave a low chuckle. “Isn’t it? You’re mine,
