Chapter 1
The Bureau assigned me a shifter husband.
He had silver hair, wolf ears, legs for days, and washboard abs.
Too bad he was mute. We were married for three months without him speaking a single word to me.
My best friend insisted shifters were just naturally aloof and that I needed to make the first move.
So I bit the bullet, bought some black lace lingerie, and snuck into his room that night.
He was just stepping out of the bathroom and drying his hair. The second he saw me, his wolf ears snapped to attention.
I braced myself and flipped my hair. "Look. The government issued me a mate. Might as well get my money's worth, right?"
He stared at me for ten solid seconds. Then he suddenly pinned me against the wall.
His voice was incredibly rough. "I have been waiting for you to say that for ninety-one days."
Wait a minute. I thought he was mute!
*****
I stared at the match results on my phone screen. My head was spinning.
[Match: Wolf Faction Shifter, Neo Vance.
[Compatibility: 99.7%
[Directive: Mandatory Bonding. Registration must be completed within three days.]
There was an ID photo attached right below the text.
He had cropped silver hair, grayish-blue eyes, and features sharp enough to cut glass.
The craziest part was the pair of fluffy wolf ears on top of his head. Even in a tiny photo, he oozed untamed energy.
My best friend Sadie Clark snatched the phone out of my hands. Her eyes went wide. "Holy crap! Look at that face. And that body! The government finally did you a solid."
"A solid my ass," I groaned, collapsing onto the couch. "This is a mandatory match. Mandatory. Do you get it?"
"Obviously. The system probably saw you being single for twenty-six years as a public nuisance and forcefully shoved a hot guy into your lap."
Sadie zoomed in on the photo, clicking her tongue. "Look at those collarbones. And that jawline. Man, his ears look so soft. I kind of want to pet him."
I grabbed my phone back, feeling completely dead inside.
The Shifter Bonding Act passed three years ago, and the matching system was basically a giant lottery.
Some girls hit the jackpot with gentle feline boyfriends who treated them like absolute royalty.
Others drew hot-tempered tiger shifters and ended up having screaming matches every other day.
And me? I drew a mute.
Well, a suspected mute, anyway.
On the day we got our license, Neo Vance showed up wearing a sleek black tactical uniform.
He was at least six-foot-three, standing outside the Bonding Agency looking like he belonged on a runway.
I handed my paperwork over with trembling hands.
He took it, signed his name, and pressed his thumbprint. He did not look at me once, and he did not say a single word.
he clerk was clearly used to this exact scenario.
She smiled warmly and handed over our marriage certificates. "Congratulations. With a compatibility score this high, you two are going to be incredibly happy."
Neo took his copy and turned right around to leave.
I jogged to keep up with him, trying to test the waters. "Hey. So where do you live? I haven't moved my stuff yet."
He stopped walking. Those grayish-blue eyes swept over me.
I shut up instantly.
In the end, his assistant was the one who drove the car and dumped me and my luggage into a high-end penthouse.
The assistant was a fox shifter with a permanent smirk. "Mrs. Vance, Mr. Vance doesn't talk much. Please cut him some slack. Here is your keycard, and here is a joint credit card. The pin is your birthday."
I clutched the cards, watching Neo walk straight into the master bedroom without even looking back. My heart totally sank.
Cutting him some slack lasted for three whole months.
Three months!
We lived under the same roof, and we had not exchanged more than ten sentences.
Even then, it was mostly me saying things like "dinner is ready," "the electric bill is paid," or "bring your laundry in." He would just reply with a grunt, a nod, or a simple "leave it."
After hearing my sob story, Sadie slapped the table and laughed hysterically. "So you guys still haven't slept together?"
My face burned red. "Sleep together? Are you kidding me? He takes the master suite, I take the guest room. We mind our own business."
"What a total waste, Rhea." Sadie looked genuinely heartbroken. "You have a god-tier man in your house and you are treating him like a piece of furniture? If you won't sleep with him, let me!"
"Take him. He is all yours," I said, throwing my hands up. "I am going to draft my separation papers right now. Whoever wants this mute husband can have him."
I talked a big game, but I never actually wrote the papers.
It was not that I couldn't bear to let him go. I was just scared.
Neo might not talk, but his presence was overwhelming.
Every time he walked past me, that crisp scent of cedarwood made the hair on my arms stand up.
Not to mention his wolf ears gave him terrifyingly good hearing.
Once, I was in the living room secretly muttering about the "stupid mute."
He had just stepped out of his room, and his ears immediately swiveled in my direction. I almost dropped my phone in sheer panic.
"If you ask me, you are just being a coward," Sadie advised over the phone. "Shifters respect dominance. You need to go on the offensive.
"Wear something sexy to his room tonight and just tackle him. Once you seal the deal, let's see if he can keep playing the silent game."
I gripped my phone, my palms sweating. "What if he literally throws me out?"
"Then you cry! Tell him he is not fulfilling his conjugal duties and threaten to report him to the Bureau."
Sadie was getting way too excited. "Besides, you guys have a 99.7 percent match, girl. Your physical chemistry is guaranteed to be off the charts. Trust me, if you make a move, there is no way he can hold back."
After hanging up, I sat in the living room until midnight.
Two little voices were fighting inside my head.
One said, "Grow a spine, Rhea! He is just a shifter! Jump him!"
The other said, "But he looks so scary when his ears go up. What if he bites?"
Finally, I gritted my teeth, opened an app on my phone, and ordered the black lace lingerie I had looked at a hundred times but never dared to buy.
Next-day delivery.
When the package arrived, Neo happened to be home.
He glanced at the box, then glanced at me.
I hugged the package like it was a live bomb and sprinted into my room.
Ten o'clock that night.
I stood outside Neo's bedroom wearing a nightgown so sheer it barely counted as clothing. My legs were shaking like leaves.
I took a deep breath.
And then another.
You could do this, Rhea.
The government gave you a mate.
You might as well use him! Even if you got thrown out, at least you tried.
I raised my hand and knocked.
No response.
I twisted the knob. It was unlocked.
Pushing the door open, I found the bedroom empty.
But the sound of running water was coming from the en-suite.
He was taking a shower.
I instantly wanted to bolt, but my feet felt glued to the floor.
Sadie's voice echoed in my head, reminding me that our physical chemistry would be off the charts.
The water stopped.
The bathroom door opened.
Neo walked out drying his hair, wearing nothing but a towel slung low around his hips.
Drops of water trailed down his abs, tracing the V-line of his torso before disappearing under the terrycloth.
His silver hair was damp, and his wolf ears were slightly plastered down with moisture.
He saw me and completely froze. His grayish-blue eyes widened.
And then, right before my eyes, his ears shot straight up.
My mind went totally blank, and my mouth acted faster than my brain. "Look. The government issued me a mate. Might as well get my money's worth, right?"
The second the words left my mouth, I wanted to slap myself.
What kind of completely unhinged garbage was that?
Neo stared at me.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Just when I thought he was going to ice me out and point to the door, he moved.
One step.
Two steps.
He shoved me against the wall, his knee parting my legs.
The towel looked like it was one breath away from dropping.
The heat radiating off him mixed with his cedar scent and completely enveloped me.
He lowered his head and leaned close to my ear.
His voice was incredibly rough, carrying the heavy friction of someone who had not spoken in three months. "I have been waiting for you to say that.
"For ninety-one days."
I was completely dumbfounded.
Wait a minute. I thought he was mute!