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Kimber was willing to guess she looked guilty because her friends all scowled. “I told him my name was Hailey.”
The sound of vehicles on the drive brought everyone to a moment of pause.
“You gave him my name?” Hailey exclaimed, mortified. “Wait till your brother finds out this one!”
“Find’s out what?” Jagger’s voice asked from the threshold of the cabin.
Kimber turned to her brother, who stood with Xavier, Rourke, and Nicco. “Well, funny you should your inquiring mind be wondering.”
She hoped her brother didn’t kill her or the hot man she wanted more than anything to see again.
The real question was, did Mick remember her or even think about her? Kimber thought of him often and was reminded of what they had shared every day.
If only she’d stayed instead of letting fear have her leave.
CHAPTER TWO
Mikhail
“I refuse to marry Suzette,” Mikhail Donte stated and pulled his large frame up to his full stature as he looked into his father’s steel-blue gaze.
“This is not a debate,” his father, King Phillip Donte, boomed. Not only was his father the leader of the island country of Barrastu, but he was also the most revered royal wolf shifter.
Ever.
The Donte family had ruled the country since the beginning of time, and his father, like Mikhail’s grandfather, was a fierce protector of family, clan, and nation. The people loved him.
“Need I remind you, your marriage to Suzette was determined when you were both children?” his father stated with a tone that bordered on a growl.
“No, I don’t need a reminder; however, this brings me to my next point. I didn’t have a say,” Mikhail replied.
His father wasn’t getting his way.
A stern expression dusted the older man’s face. “I’m the king, you are my son, and you’ll do as I say.”
“Not this time,” Mikhail told him, refusing to back down.
His father shook his head. “Suzette and her parents will be arriving any minute. This intimate formal dinner is before us announcing your engagement to our country.”
“I don’t give a damn what this dinner is,” Mikhail’s temper rose to the surface.
“You cannot do better. She comes from a noble family, one of stature, and her shifter blood is pure,” his father continued. “Again, this is not up for question or debate.”
“I don’t love her, there is nothing there, and I can’t be bound to a mate who doesn’t even spark the slightest sexual chemistry,” he retorted.
Immediately, his mind went to Hailey and the night they shared. Every moment they’d spent together replayed in Mikhail’s mind. She was a shifter wolf, and the sex had been off the chart. Of course, it had been a full moon, which could have intensified everything.
Maybe.
“Suzette is beautiful,” his father retorted.
“And then she speaks and becomes the ugliest woman on the planet.” Mikhail had little care that his words were harsh. He spoke the truth.
Surprise washed over his father’s face. “That was cruel.”
“I’m taking leave tonight,” Mikhail stated. “I’m heading back to the United States to attend to something, which means I won’t be at Mother’s elaborate dinner with a family I have no intention of being a part of.”
“Do not embarrass the Donte name!” his father barked.
