His voice wobbled, half laughter and half relief. "Prince Marcus, congratulations. "You're officially married." Finally. Maybe now, with luck, he'd stay far away from Frostveil forever. Marcus blinked again, his body stiff as stone. He lifted a shaky hand toward Roshivo. "Did you bring the wedding gifts?" "Yes! Yes, of course!" Roshivo stammered, fumbling with the papers. He thrust the list into Marcus' hand like it was holy scripture. "Everything's here, my prince. Are you pleased with it?" Marcus opened the list and scanned it lazily. He gave a small nod, looking somewhat pleased. "Guess my old man finally did something right."The words hit like a rock thrown at glass. Roshivo's face twitched hard. "The King said you must stay with your huntress, my prince. Live well with her. No more running off." Marcus shut the list and slowly lifted his eyes toward him. "Where is my huntress?" Roshivo immediately pointed straight at Emma. "That distinguished and beautiful lady—Ms. Emma Tibarn—is your huntress." Emma was still reeling from his line.. By the time she processed it, Marcus was already looking at her. Then, to her complete disbelief, he began crawling out of the crystal coffin. Literally crawling. His movements were so slow and heavy that it looked like he was dragging himself to his own funeral.Emma's mouth twitched. Marcus finally stood—barely—and shuffled toward her, his steps weak and unsteady. Then, with a shaky breath, he dropped to one knee. He held out the dowry list with both hands. "Huntress," he said faintly, "can we talk?" Emma frowned. "Talk about what?" Was he trying to negotiate a way to dissolve the match? That would've been perfect. Marcus' tired voice softened, but his words were deadly serious. "Marry me," he said, "then cut open my beast mark and kill me." Emma just stared. "You're insane." Across from them, Drake gave a disgusted snort. His gaze dropped to Marcus like he was staring at something rotten.Marcus turned his head toward the sound. His voice was weak but sharp. "Yeah, I'm sick. So what? You think you can fix it? Then come kill me." Emma blinked, speechless. Drake stared back, just as silent. Marcus' lips curled faintly. "Don't act tough, lizard. I already gave you a chance, and you couldn't even kill me." Drake's jaw tightened. Marcus let out a humorless laugh and rolled his eyes. "Pathetic." Drake glared and turned to Emma. "Emma, this wolf's lost his mind. Don't agree to anything he says. If it's the gifts you like, I'll give you more. Twice as much." He hesitated, then added quickly, "No, three times. Four, if you want." Marcus groaned and gave Drake a look full of disdain. "I'm trying to give my huntress her gifts. What are you doing here?"He waved a hand weakly. "You're just another work-obsessed beast. You wouldn't understand. Go back and conquer your precious stars or something. And if you can't manage that, just drop dead and stop bothering me." The guy was interrupting him and his huntress. He turned back toward Emma, dragging himself around in a half-circle until he faced her again. "Huntress," he said slowly, "have you thought about my offer?" He gave her a small, crooked smile. "I don't look bad. You don't have to treat me like your mate. Just think of it as… hiring a guy for one night." No one who fought him had ever managed to kill him. They wouldn't dare. He couldn't die on his own either. If his huntress broke his beast mark, his power would collapse, and his mind would go with it. It was the only clean way out. For both of them."Huntress," he murmured, "sleep with me once. Everything in that list will be yours. You're getting a hell of a deal." Marcus sprawled across the floor, whining about wanting to die like it was his favorite pastime. Emma just stared. She'd seen plenty of weird things in her life, but this one topped the list. Still, his offer was strangely tempting. She crossed her arms. "Why are you so eager to die?" Marcus didn't even lift his head. "Because being alive is pointless." Emma blinked at him. That was… quite possibly the most ridiculous answer she'd ever heard. Lucien looked down at the pitiful sight, then turned to her. "Emma, are you actually thinking of saying yes to that?" She paused for a second, then nodded. It was a bad idea. But also a really good one."I think I will," she said calmly. If she cut his beast mark, he'd die. She wouldn't even get hurt. And honestly, he was too handsome for this to feel like work. She had nothing to lose. Lucien smiled faintly. "Then, let me handle him, alright?" If Marcus wanted to stay, that was fine. If he wanted to bond, fine. If he wanted to die, even better. But no one in this house got to sit around doing nothing. Emma nodded. She understood. Marcus wanted to stay, so he'd have to play by their rules. She turned toward him. "I'll agree. But if you're staying, you do what Lucien says. And about this whole bonding thing—it's not happening right away. If you're willing to wait, then stay." "No problem." Marcus shot up like he'd been resurrected.