Page 143 of The Wolf King's Mate

He strode back into the room with a tiny gift bag in his hand.

I lifted my eyebrows. “You got me a present?”

“Of course I did.”

My gaze grew skeptical.

“I planned it last week, Princess. I was never going to miss your birthday.”

“Even when you were being a jerk?”

“Even then.” He put the bag on my lap.

There was no tissue paper, and it was taped shut.

“Do you want me to wait? I didn’t even get Fletcher a present,” I admitted. “I always get them the day of. I’m the worst.”

“I got one for him too. We can claim it’s from both of us.”

My eyes widened. “You gotmybrothera present? Who are you, and what happened to the bastard who choked a bunch of guys for seeing my tits?”

“I would still choke any men who saw your tits. Open it.”

He set his hands on my knees.

He wasn’t great at resisting his urge—or need—to touch me. And I was starting to realize I didn’t mind that at all.

I carefully pulled the tape off, and opened the bag.

My breath caught when I found a small, black box. It was bigger than a ring box, so I knew it wasn’t that, but it was obviously something important.

“Enzo,” I warned.

He pulled the jewelry box out when I didn’t make a move to grab it.

I watched closely as he opened it, revealing an inch-wide silver crown made entirely of diamonds. It was on a chain that wasn’t quite dainty, but wasn’t chunky either. The crown didn’t hang down, but instead followed the natural curve of the necklace.

“A ring would get beat up when you shift,” he explained. Jewelry stayed with us in both forms, if it was big enough not to break off or injure us during the shift. “With this, you’re marked as my mate in the human way. Or as close to it as we can get without a ring. It’s protection as much as it’s decoration.”

I couldn’t lie to him. “It’s beautiful.”

“Will you wear it?” His gaze met mine. It was a question. Not a command. He was sincere, and if I said no, he would respect it.

I nodded. “But I’m going to be annoyingly careful with it.”

His lips curved. “I had it made with moissanite so it’s cheap to replace if it breaks off when you shift. I have a diamond one inthe nightstand, but I thought you’d rather look at that one than wear it.”

I laughed. “You thought right.”

He carefully pulled it from the box, and I gathered my hair so he could fasten it around my neck.

“Are we going to ignore the fact that it looks like a crown?” I asked, my voice soft but playful.

“No. You’re going to be the Wolf Queen in a few days. It was this or a tiara on the back of your neck permanently.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t just book the tattoo.”

“I hadn’t seen your new ink yet, or I probably would’ve.” His fingers brushed the back of my neck lightly before he pulled my hair from my hand, letting it fall loosely over my back.

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