What the hell did he just say?
A mate?
The word jolted through me like a whip, leaving my skin prickling and my stomach dropping.
I must have misheard him, I convinced myself.
"You didn't mishear it," Leika said.
There was no way he could mean it. Not seriously.
My lips parted, my voice hoarse with disbelief. "I don't intend to play jokes with you, Alpha."
He regarded me in silence for a moment, his crimson eyes holding mine, amused.
Then, with maddening calm, he shook his head and lifted the wine glass to his lips.
"Do you think I am playing the jester here?" His mouth curved faintly as he sipped. "You think too poorly of me."
I stared at him, my heart racing so hard it hurt.
He couldn't be serious. He couldn't.
My father… My father wasn't perfect. He had been strict, harsh in ways that still stung when I remembered them. But I knew, deep down, I knew… he loved me in his own way. He wouldn't have sold me to this man.
But the Alpha's words came, breaking my faith.
