TRADING MY CHEATING HUSBAND FOR THE LYCAN KING novel Chapter 373

CHAPTER 299: EMBER’S SURPRISE

EMBER’S POV

Hundreds of soft, gold candles climb the walls in little glass holders. Overhead, string lights are looped through the vines like something pulled straight from a dream.

In the centre of the space sits a low table set for two, decorated with actual flowers. Peonies. My favourite. A detail I mentioned exactly once, in passing, on a plane.

Soft music plays from somewhere out of sight. A bottle of something is chilling in a bucket. A plush blanket is spread across the floor like the world’s most decadent picnic.

The whole room glows with a warm, intimate beauty.

I stand there, completely frozen, staring at the single least dangerous room I have ever been shoved into in my life.

And standing around the edges of it, beaming at me, are Marjorie and Hale.

And they are laughing.

Marjorie has both hands pressed over her mouth and tears in her eyes from how hard she’s laughing.

Hale is clapping, actually clapping, delighted as a child at a birthday party.

And Knox – I turn around, and Knox is grinning, the real one, the rare one, the entire controlled-panic act dropping off his face like a coat he’s shrugging off, and the gold in his eyes isn’t fury at all; it’s pure wicked

delight.

“You should see your face,” he says.

I cannot speak.

My heart is still trying to climb out through my ribs, and my brain is still three steps back, going Rafael, Rafael, the gate team, and this man, this enormous, terrible, beautiful man, is standing in a room full of

candles looking like the cat that got the entire dairy.

“You-” My voice comes out as a squeak. I clear my throat. “You pranked ine?”

“Comprehensively”

“There’s no – the gate team, the alarms-”

“All fine. All home. Ali in on it, actually.” He’s so pleased with himself I could throw something at him. “The east alarms have been off all night. The security team is asleep. The only thing wrong with my perimeter is that my fiancée nearly broke the sound barrier just now.”

“You said Rafael.” It comes out sharper than I mean it to.

Something flickers across his face, just for a second, an awareness that maybe that one landed harder

than he’d planned.

“I didn’t, actually. I said I didn’t know. You said Rafael.” He says it gently “But – fair That one I’ll wear”

Marjorie has gotten herself somewhat under control. She comes forward, wiping her eyes, still hiccuping with the occasional laugh, and takes both my hands in her small warm ones.

“I’m not going to apologise for the whole thing, because it was magnificent, and I haven’t laughed like that in ten years.” She squeezes my fingers. “But will apologise for my part in letting him drag me into it. He came to me last night with that face he’s had since he was a boy, the one that means he’s about to do something he knows is naughty, and I am ashamed to say I folded immediately.” She pats my cheek.” There’s pie, after. To make up for it. There’s always pie.”

“It was too good not to help with,” Hale offers, bright and unbothered from the corner, and I feel the small involuntary tightening in my chest at the sound of her voice, because I have not forgotten yesterday.

I have not forgotten her hand and her tongue and what exactly are you, Lady Ember.

But she’s just standing there in the candlelight looking pleased, ordinary-pleased, and there are other people in the room, so I let it go, for now.

“You really did look like you’d seen a ghost. I helped with the candles. I’m very good with candles.” She

finishes.

I’ll bet you are, I think, and don’t say.

“Everyone out,” Knox says, easily, his eyes never leaving me. “Show’s over. Thank you for your service. Marjorie, the pie can wait an hour.”

“An hour.” Marjorie gives him a look. “Optimist.”

But she’s already herding Hale toward the door, and the two of them go, Hale glancing back once with that bright birdlike interest before the steel door swings shut behind them, and then it’s just us.

Me, and Knox, and a hundred candles, and a heart rate that refuses to come down.

“So,” Knox says.

And that’s when I burst into tears.

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