Aysel's POV "Magnus... do you think I have crush on you?" I rolled my eyes, tail flicking beneath the covers of my wolfish instincts, amused by how often our conversations flirted along the edge of provocation. "I allow you to have small thoughts about me," he replied, his voice teasing, low and smooth like predatory silk. "I suggest you wash your mind clean," I shot back, teeth bared in mock threat. Even in private, our words never managed two minutes of straightforward seriousness. It was strange-two wolves, both known for their cold, controlled demeanor, somehow managing to be impossibly mischievous together. "Miss. Vale, you speak with half-truths. You tell me to leave, yet here you are, seducing me." I followed his gaze, and my stomach sank. My loose sleepwear, bunched awkwardly as I had sat on the rug between the tea table and sofa, my breast revealed far more than I intended. My heart raced, fur prickling along my spine-an instinctive warning-and I shot my hands up to cover myself. "You're yelling at nothing!" I exclaimed, cheeks heating like a bonfire. Magnus, sprawled casually on the sofa, leaned back and shrugged with that infuriating calmness of his. "You haven't realized yet? The whole neighbors knows. They think we're the perfect pair-Aysel Vale and Magnus Sanchez, the unmatched power couple of the Moonvale precincts." A scream later, and my palm connected with his chest in a sharp slap. "What rumors have you spread outside?" "I've merely done a small good deed," he said, eyes glinting. The Alpha scent that always clung to him-strong, commanding, metallic-made it impossible to deny that he enjoyed the chaos he'd created. I slumped, overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all. One day, I was a recovering single wolf of the Vale bloodline; the next, married overnight by rumor alone. "What if you leave after this is all settled?" My voice trembled with frustration, my claws pressing lightly against the rug beneath me. Magnus didn't dodge. Instead, he leaned in, wolf instincts coiled and teasing, the scent of him sharp in my nostrils. "The best way to silence the gossip is to confirm it," he murmured, low and dangerous.I lifted my head, fangs catching the light. "What do you mean?" His jaw flexed, eyes pinning me like prey. "Marry me. Aysel Vale. I need a mate worthy of Shadowbane. I think you are fit." "Why?" The word slipped out before I could restrain it, a defensive hiss in the air. He only smiled, wolfish and unreadable. "Because you need me as much as I need you. The Moonvale Pack has cornered you-taken your parents, your siblings, your legacy, even your grandmother's heirlooms. You don't hate her?" We sat at opposite ends of the sofa, the unspoken tension between us shifting like shifting shadows. The fleeting warmth and teasing flirtation evaporated; now it was strategy, predators circling each other. "You should know my history with her," I whispered, "I owe her too much." Magnus's gaze didn't falter. "Only fools believe a six-year-old can ruin a grown wolf's life. You've doubted her, haven't you? Even a little. And if you are so bound by hesitation, then look at the victim in the hospital-it shouldn't have been Celestine Ward lying there." I swallowed hard, sensing the weight in his words. His eyes drilled into me, sharp as obsidian claws. "You hesitate because you know: words and scratches are trivial. If you declared war, you wouldn't just face Celestine. You'd face the Moonvale Pack in full force. Take away her leverage, crush her pride-they won't walk away unscathed." I shivered under the precision of his gaze. "You're too calculating," I muttered, though my wolf understood his truths instinctively. "You're too soft," he said quietly, like a blade pressed to bare skin. "The sentimental lose more than the cold-hearted ever will." Magnus shed the playful Alpha I'd glimpsed before. Now he was the heir of Shadowbane, ruthless, deliberate, the predator who would stop at nothing. "Family is just a word," he whispered, voice a low, dangerous hum. "It doesn't guarantee worth. Aysel Vale, the chance is before you. All the things you cannot do, constrained by the Vale legacy, are yours for the taking if you nod once." His words were temptation, silky and dark as a moonless night. The Vale had loved me as a child, imperfectly but enough to bind me. But Magnus... Magnus had no such attachments, no sentimentality. His patience and ruthlessness were his weapons, and my hesitation was a weakness he could smell. "You only speak of what you can give me," I said evenly, forcing my claws to stay retracted. "What price do you expect?" He smiled, admiration flickering across his features. "Being Mrs. Sanchez is not easy. Life may not be calm. Danger may be constant." "And when your goal is achieved? Divorce?" I asked, voice steady, wolfish intuition coiling beneath my skin. "I'm not willing to risk my life for revenge alone. Marriage should be the union of two who love each other." He chuckled, dark and amused. "Marriage takes many forms. Yours is the most fragile." He leaned closer, voice low and teasingly insidious. "And what gave you the idea this is a sham? Even with an agreement, it's real. A shared bed, shared life-are you avoiding the duties of a mate?"