The Wolfless Contract Luna (Grace and Ethan) novel Chapter 23

**Glass Gardens Falling by George Orwell**
**Chapter 23: You’re My Mate**

**Grace’s Perspective**

A rush of heat floods my cheeks, igniting an uncomfortable warmth that spreads through me.

The memories come rushing back in a torrent—the cabin, Damien’s explosive fury, the searing pain that enveloped me. And just before darkness claimed me, I had uttered something. Something significant.

“I—” I swallow hard, feeling the weight of my words. “Did I say I would sign your contract?”

Ethan’s expression shifts, a wave of relief washing over his features, transforming the tension in the air. “You did.”

“I’m truly sorry if that was—I mean, I was barely conscious, but—” I force myself to meet his gaze, feeling the intensity of the moment. “If I said I would sign, then I will.”

The smile that breaks across his face is nothing short of devastating, igniting a flicker of warmth within me.

“Good.” He reaches for the bedside table, his movements purposeful as he pulls open the drawer. “Because I’ve been waiting.”

My mouth drops open in disbelief as he retrieves a document—a stack of several pages, meticulously bound together. The contract.

“You—you have it right here?” I stammer, astonishment flooding my voice.

“I’ve had it ready since the day after you arrived.” He flips to the last page, revealing his signature already scrawled across the bottom in bold, confident strokes. “I signed it then. I’ve just been waiting for you to wake up.”

A laugh escapes me, bubbling up despite the heaviness of the situation. “You’re really that eager?”

“Yes.”

His bluntness catches me off guard, and I find myself staring at him, at the contract in his hands, at the way he gazes at me as if I’m something precious, something to be cherished.

“I don’t understand.” The words tumble out before I can rein them in. “Why me? Why are you so insistent that I be your contract Luna?” My throat tightens, the weight of my insecurities pressing down. “I’m an incomplete werewolf. I don’t even have a wolf. And now I’m—I’m just an orphan who abandoned her pack.”

“Don’t.” His voice drops, sharp and fierce, cutting through my self-doubt. “Don’t talk about yourself like that.”

“It’s true, isn’t it? I’m not—”

“Because you’re my mate!”

The words explode between us, filling the space with an electric tension.

I freeze, my heart stuttering before it slams against my ribs with such force that it steals my breath.

“What?”

Ethan’s eyes burn into mine, fierce and unwavering. “You heard me.”

“That’s—” I shake my head, trying to dispel the ringing in my ears. “That’s not funny, Ethan. Don’t joke about—”

“I’m not joking.” He leans forward, his hands gripping the edge of the bed, his intensity palpable. “I have never been more serious in my life.”

“But you can’t—we’re not—” My hands twist nervously in the sheets, anxiety coursing through me. “You don’t know that. You can’t know that.”

“I knew from the moment I saw you.”

The sincerity in his voice cuts through every protest forming on my lips. He’s not smiling, not teasing; his gaze is steady, unwavering, and something within me begins to crack open.

‘Sign it,’ a voice whispers in my mind—soft, distant, but insistent. ‘Sign the contract. Now.’

My wolf. My dormant wolf, barely more than an echo, but she’s there, stirring within me.

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