Chapter 41 Do you want to marry me
Jeremy's POV
Three days passed.
Three long days since that kiss in the garden.
Since Margaret pushed me away. Since everything changed.
I couldn't stop thinking about her.
Every moment. Every breath. Every second of every day.
Her face. Her voice. Her laugh. Her touch.
Especially her touch.
The way it made me feel alive. Made my wolf howl. Made everything right.
I tried to focus on pack business. On my duties. On being Alpha.
But all I could see was her.
"Alpha, the northern border needs reinforcement." James said during a council meeting.
"What?" I blinked. Realized everyone was staring at me.
"The northern border. The report I just gave you." James looked concerned. "Did you hear any of it?"
"I... yes. Of course. Approve the reinforcements."
But I hadn't heard a word.
I'd been thinking about Margaret. Again.
The meetings became torture. Paperwork piled up. Decisions waited.
Because I couldn't focus. Couldn't think straight.
All I wanted was to see her. To be near her. To touch her again.
I went to the inn. Every day. Sometimes twice a day.
"Is Lady Margaret available?"
"I'll check, Alpha."
Sometimes she was. Sometimes she wasn't.
But when she was... when I got to sit with her, talk to her, be near her...
Everything else disappeared.
We'd walk through Lakewood. Through the gardens. Along the river.
Talking. Laughing. Just... being.
She told me more stories about the South.
About her life. Her dreams.
And I listened. Hung on every word.
"You're different when you're with her," James said one day.
"Different how?"
"Lighter. Happier." He paused. "More like the Jeremy from before. Before everything went wrong."
Before Zoe. Before the curse. Before I became this broken version of myself.
"Is that bad?"
"No. It's good." James smiled. "But Alpha... what about Mia?"
Mia.
My chest tightened at her name.
I'd been avoiding her. I knew I had.
Couldn't look at her without feeling guilty.
Without feeling like I was betraying her.
Even though we weren't really together. Even though I didn't love her.
But she'd waited. For three years. For me.
And now... I was chasing someone else.
"I'll talk to Mia," I said. "Soon."
But I didn't. Kept putting it off. Kept avoiding the conversation.
Because I didn't know what to say. How to explain.
That I'd found my second chance. My way to break the curse. My hope.
And it wasn't her.
...
Today, I was in my office.
Trying to work. Trying to concentrate.
But my mind was elsewhere. On Margaret. On that kiss. On her touch.
A knock on the door.
"Come in."
Mia walked in.
Her face was hard. Angry. Determined.
"We need to talk."
"Mia, I'm busy right now..."
"I don't care." She closed the door. Locked it.
"We're talking. Now."
I set down my pen. Sighed.
"Alright. Talk."
"What's going on with you?" She crossed her arms. "You've been distant. Distracted.
Avoiding me."
"I've been busy with pack business..."
"Don't lie to me, Jeremy." Her voice rose. "I know you. I've known you for three years. This isn't about pack business."
"Then what is it about?"
"Her." The word came out like poison. "Lady Margaret. You can't stop thinking about her, can you?"
I didn't answer. Couldn't.
"That's what I thought." Mia laughed bitterly.
"Three weeks. She's been here three weeks and you're completely obsessed."
"I'm not obsessed..."
"You are!" She moved closer. "You go to see her every day. You walk with her. Talk with her. Spend every free moment with her."
"She's just discussing possible alignments..."
"She's a distraction!" Mia's eyes filled with tears. "And you're letting her distract you from what matters. From us. From our future."
"Mia..."
"No. Let me finish." She took a breath. "I've been patient. I've waited. I've stood by you through everything. The curse. The assassin. All of it."
"I know..."
"But this? This is different." A tear fell. "You're pulling away from me. And I can feel it. I can feel you slipping through my fingers."
"I'm sorry..."
"Sorry isn't enough!" Her voice cracked. "I need you to make a choice, Jeremy. Me or her."
Silence filled the room.
Heavy. Painful. Impossible.
"I think..." Mia wiped her eyes. "I think we should go ahead with the wedding. Now."
"What?"
"Our wedding. We've paused it for too long."
She stepped closer. "Ever since the execution. Ever since everything happened with the assassin. We've been waiting. Delaying."
"Mia, I don't think..."
"No more waiting." Her voice was firm. Final. "We set a date. We move forward. We get married."
"But..."
"Unless..." She looked at me. Really looked at me. "Unless you don't want to marry me at all."
The question hung in the air.
"Do you still want to marry me?"
And I didn't know how to answer.
Because the truth was... no. I didn't.
Not anymore. Maybe not ever.
But I couldn't say that. Couldn't hurt her like that.
"I just need more time..." I started.
"Time for what?" She demanded. "Time to figure out if you love her more than me? Time to decide if you're going to throw away three years for a woman you just met?"
"It's not that simple..."
"It is that simple!" She slammed her hand on my desk. "Either you want me or you don't.
Either we're getting married or we're not."
I stood up. Ran my hands through my hair.
"Mia, please. Try to understand..."
"Understand what?" More tears fell. "That you found someone new? A replacement for Zoe? Someone your wolf calls mate?"
"How did you..."
"I'm not stupid, Jeremy." She laughed sadly. "I see the way you look at her. The way your whole body changes when she's near. The way you light up."
She moved around my desk. Stood in front of me.
"You never looked at me that way. Not once in three years." Her voice was barely a whisper.
"And I've been trying to pretend it doesn't hurt. That it's okay. That you'll learn to love me eventually."
"Mia..."
"But I can't anymore." She shook her head. "I can't keep pretending. Keep hoping. Keep waiting for something that's never going to happen."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying..." She took a shaky breath. "Either we move forward with the wedding. Set a date. Make this official. Or..."
"Or what?"
"Or we end it. For good." Her eyes met mine. "I can't live in this limbo anymore, Jeremy. I need a decision."
I stared at her. At this woman who'd loved me. Waited for me. Stood by me.
And I didn't know what to say.
Because my heart... my wolf... everything in me... screamed for Margaret.
Not Mia.
"I..." I started.
But Mia's eyes had moved. Looking past me. At my desk.
Her face changed. Went white.
"What is that?"
"What?"
She pushed past me. Reached for something on my desk.
Picked it up.
An earring. Small. Gold. Delicate.
A lady's earring.
"Whose is this?" Her voice was cold. Deadly.
My stomach dropped.