Chapter 49

Chapter 49:

It was a gesture so primal, so raw, that it eclipsed every diamond or platinum trinket I had ever seen. The contract, the business arrangement, the logic — all of it crumbled under the weight of those eighty-dollar rings.

“Perfect,” I said, my voice low.

Adella blinked, her breath hitching. “What p>

I didn’t answer. I reached out and picked up the larger band. It was cold against my skin, heavy and substantial. I slid it onto my ring finger. It fit with a terrifying precision, as if the metal had been forged specifically for my flesh.

𝗬𝘰𝘂𝗿 𝘥𝗮і𝘭𝗒 d𝗈𝘀e o𝘧 nо𝘃𝘦𝘭𝗌 𝗈𝗻

I held up my hand, staring at the dark grey metal. It looked like a shackle. It looked like a promise.

“Dallas,” she stammered, her gaze darting nervously to the ring. “People will see. The press… they’ll know it’s not expensive. They’ll think p>

“Let them look,” I cut her off, my eyes locking onto hers. The weight of my Alpha command rippled through the air, silencing her instantly. “Let them guess. I don’t care what they think, Adella. I care that you bought this. For me p>

I lowered my hand to the table, my fingers brushing against the second, smaller ring. “Give me your hand p>

She hesitated for just a fraction of a second before extending her left hand. Her skin was soft and pale against the dark wood of the table, her pulse fluttering visibly at her wrist. I slid the matching band onto her finger. It settled against her delicate skin, marking her. Branding her.

“I will never take this off,” I vowed, the words tasting like iron and blood in my mouth.

Adella stared at our hands, side by side. The Prosperity and Fortune engravings were hidden against our skin — a secret weight binding us together.

But it wasn’t enough.

The table between us suddenly felt like a canyon. I could see her, I could see my ring on her finger, but I couldn’t feel her. Ragnar was clawing at my chest, demanding confirmation, demanding to close the distance the contract had artificially imposed.

I stood up. Adella flinched, her chair scraping against the floor as she started to rise, but I was faster.

“Come here,” I growled.

Before she could process the words, I reached across the corner of the table, gripped her waist, and pulled her to me. She gasped as I sat back down, depositing her firmly across my lap.

“Dallas!” she squeaked, her hands instinctively bracing against my chest. The heat of her palms seeped through my shirt, branding me just as effectively as the ring. “Mrs. Higgins… she could come back in p>

“Mrs. Higgins is gone,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around her waist and locking her in a cage of muscle and bone. “And even if she weren’t, you are my wife. You are my Luna p>

I buried my face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. The scent hit me like a physical blow — moonflowers, rain, and the sweet, grassy freshness of a meadow after a storm. It was intoxicating. Beneath it, I could detect the sharp tang of her fear, but also the undeniable, honeyed spike of her arousal.