Corinne was never the princess, just her stand-in, sent to marry Alpha Barrett Locke and end a war. 

The crown was fake, the vows were lies, but the mate bond that snapped into place the night he marked her was brutally real.  He knew she wasn’t the real bride. He claimed her anyway. 

When the true princess returned, he locked Corinne away to bury the scandal. She escaped carrying his child.

Six years later, she returns, not as a decoy, but a self-made powerhouse with an empire of her own and a five-year-old son who has Barrett's eyes.  She came for revenge. 

He sees his mate, his heir, and the bond that never died. 

This time, he’ll destroy anything to keep them both.
One deception started the war between them. One child will finish it.

I hadn't planned on buying the cupcake on my way home.


But I saw it in the bakery window, sitting all by itself, and couldn't help myself.


At the orphanage, all the children got a cake on their birthday. But never me. I don't know why I never got myself a birthday cake once I was on my own. Then, today, I was seized by the desire to celebrate my freedom.


I hike through the forest in the darkness, feeling like a massive weight is about to be lifted off my shoulders.


Perhaps Mary dreams of finding her fated mate one day. Not me, though. This party is going to be a very special sort of hell for me, but I'll just have to grin and bear it. And afterwards, I can be free of this place forever.


Chapter 130 - 7