My Convicted Wife is My Mate (Bella and Kane) novel Chapter 5

chapter 5
BELLA’S POV

For a moment, I couldn't breathe.

It's him.

The man standing before me—this impossibly gorgeous, dangerously magnetic presence—was my groom.

This wasn't the broken, disgraced old wolf everyone whispered about. This wasn't the exiled son I'd been warned I was being sold to.

It was him. The man from the alley last night. The one who'd saved me. The one covered in blood who'd looked at those thugs like they were insects.

He wasn't a monster. He was just like me—someone fighting to survive.

My heart hammered as my eyes traced over him again. I couldn't believe it. How could this man be him?

The hall hummed with whispers and gasps.

Damien looked at Kane.

Damien’s stare was hollow, like he was seeing something he couldn’t quite understand. For years, I had been the girl at his feet, begging for scraps of affection, taking blows in his place. Now, with Kane’s presence beside me, I saw it clearly: Damien looked small. And in that moment, he felt it too.

Kathy looked at Kane with desire in her eyes. I could tell she was jealous.

“If I had known…” she hissed under her breath. Her eyes basically devoured Kane’s broad shoulders, his perfect posture, his gorgeous face. “…If I had known he was this perfect, I wouldn’t have cared if he was rogue. I wouldn’t have”

“Shh.” My adoptive mother’s voice cut in. she rested her hand lightly on Kathy’s back. She smiled at Kathy. “Don’t be envious, dear. He may look appealing, but beauty means nothing without strength. His wolf is sealed. He’s useless. You already have Damien, the Alpha heir. What could be better than that?”

Kathy’s pout faded into smugness again, but I could still see the regret in her eyes.

Around us, the whispers began to spread, louder this time:

“A sealed wolf, pretending to be an Alpha. How shameful. It’s forbidden. He should be punished…” “Just look at him, dressing like nobility when he’s nothing but a criminal.” “Shameless. To stand here and accept greetings like he belongs among us.”

Their voices were cruel yet Kane… didn’t so much as blink. He wasn’t bothered by anything going on at all.

Instead, he turned his head toward me. His eyes softened enough that my heart twisted. The sight of him made something stir inside me. it made my body come alive in a way I couldn’t explain.

“Forgive my tardiness,” he said.

The room fell quiet. His words weren’t for anyone else. They were only for me.

I blinked up at him, startled. “It’s all right,” I answered softly. I smiled “You came.”

Something in his eyes shifted. For just a second, I thought I saw heat there. I couldn’t describe it.

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