Kira’s nostrils flared, but she gave one reluctant nod.
“I know the Elders have put us together to have children with each other. But I will not be doing that,” Joshua said, wincing at his own choice of words. He hurried to explain himself. “If you want children, then we’ll discuss options.”
“Options?” Kira repeated.
“I will financially support your children, and I’ll claim them as mine for their position in the pack if that’s what you want. But they won’t be mine biologically.” Joshua folded his hands over his desk, waiting for Kira’s response.
She didn’t respond. Instead, she stood and headed for the door. She didn’t look back at him. Joshua watched her go, suddenly feeling exhausted. But it was the one thing he absolutely had to stay firm on. Kira might be angry with him, but better to tell her now, rather than after the wedding.
The wedding.
Joshua closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair. It was going to happen soon. Then they’d be bound together—but he’d be able to protect her. And that was all he really cared about.
***
“Do you, Joshua Woods, take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?” Elder Priest Thera asked.
Joshua knelt next to the altar, his hands reaching over it to grasp Kira’s. He wore one of his regular suits while she wore a sleek white dress that she must have had in her closet. Or maybe she borrowed it. He didn’t know. He had sent Gwen with his credit card to Kira, so she could get whatever she wanted, but there had been no charges on it.
“I do,” Joshua said, speaking without hesitancy.
Kira let out a shaky breath. Her frizzy black hair had been gelled and swept into an elegant bun at the back of her neck.
Thera turned to her. “And do you, Kira Smithson, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?”
“No.”
Gasps rang out. The whole of the town was packed into the hall, everyone eager to be part of this sudden wedding. Joshua’s cheeks burned with heat as his mind processed what was happening—Kira had just rejected him in front of the entire town. She yanked her hands away and got to her feet, kicking off her high heels. She glared down at him.
“I do not take this man as my husband,” she said. She leveled her chin at Thera, who gaped at her.
“Kira,” Joshua croaked, scrambling to his feet.
Kira turned and stomped toward the back of the hall, where the back exit was. As everyone muttered to each other, Rafael quickly joined Joshua on the stage. Joshua didn’t wait to hear what he had to say; instead, he hurried after Kira. His mind whirled. She’d had plenty of time to tell him it wasn’t happening. She hadn’t been happy, sure, but she hadn’t said no!
Was this punishing him?
She attempted to slam the door behind her, but Joshua caught it and muscled his way through before she could.
“Kira,” he snapped.
“Leave me alone.” Her voice shook.
Joshua strode up to her and grabbed her wrist, jerking her to a stop. “Stop. What the hell was that about?”
Kira whirled. “That? That was me exercising my right to say no. Which you would have known would happen if you had bothered asking me instead of having the Elders try to muscle me into this sham of a marriage!”
She could have been snorting fire. And she had never looked more attractive. Her hands clenched into fists, her jaw hard and level. She stared at him as though daring him to try to change her mind. As though she’d start swinging if he did.
“They didn’t ask me, either,” he said.
“Then maybe you should have told them no. But oh, I guess getting married won’t change your ability to fucking up and down the coast, will it? They’ll just shake their heads and say Of course he’s still sleeping around, look at how undesirable his wife is.” Kira yanked her wrist away from him. “I’m not going to do this. So you can go back in there and explain how it wasn’t your choice but that you were too cowardly to tell a bunch of little old men and women no.”
Her lip curled back in a derisive sneer. Oh, she was not playing. Joshua ran a hand through his hair. This wasn’t exactly the spectacle he had been planning for today.
“It’s for your protection,” he reminded her.
“I can look after myself. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been doing it for a long enough time,” Kira answered sharply.
