“I’m trying. I could be way fucking worse.”

“— and I’m not complaining, because I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

He swallows. Works his jaw. “You’ve been through some shit. And I’m trying hard to seem more . . . evolved than I actually am.”

She stares up at him with so much pity, he knows how miserably he has failed.

“I assumed,” he continues, “that you didn’t want me to shred your skin and make you bleed and scar you purely for my own sexual thrill, and— ”

“Koen. My love.” Her hand comes up to cup his face. She’s clearly holding in laughter. “Could you please shred my skin and make me bleed and leave a scar purely for your own sexual thri— ”

The force with which he flips Serena onto her belly is not evolved, nor is the way he tugs at the thick hair at the nape of her neck. The thing is, it’s in the way. So is her underwear, which means that he has to tear it off, and— okay, maybe Serena has a point.

Koen enters her quickly, maybe too deep and too soon, no time for adjusting, but she can take everything he dishes out. He hears her gasp and regains a smidge of control, trying for slow, unhurried thrusts, somewhat managing. His knot is already pulsating, starting to inflate, pressing against the tight walls of her cunt. She’s warm inside, glowing with heat.

He would die for her, and he would kill for her. More importantly, he will live for her. She’ll be the purpose driving every second of his every day.

“I’m going to do it,” he says, licking up her spine, a promise. She’s already nodding, arching back into him, and when he opens his mouth, the skin of her gland is soft under his tongue, under the scrape of his teeth. “I’m going to mark you,” he tells her, because that’s what this is about, and he wants to make it clear.

She doesn’t reply. But he feels her come, clenching around his growing knot. When he can’t wait any longer, his teeth cut into her supple flesh. The iron tang of her blood is strong and sweet.

It tastes, Koen thinks, like forever should.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To start, I would like to acknowledge James Cameron: thank you, my good sir, for picking up Battle Angel Alita and changing the course of history.

Second (but really first), thanks to every one of you who read Bride. It was a departure from my previous books, and a bit of a gamble. As I was writing it, I knew that I wanted to give Serena a much-deserved happy ending, and it’s your support that made Mate possible. Once again, thank you for embracing the knot.

Many thanks, as usual, to: Thao Le, my agent; Sarah Blumenstock, my editor, and Liz Sellers, her assistant (and Cindy Hwang, her editor-mother); Kristin Cipolla, Tara O’Connor, Bridget O’Toole, and Kim-Salina I, for marketing and publicity; Jennifer Myers, my production editor; Christine Legon, my managing editor; Janice Lee, my copyeditor; my proofreader; Megha Jain, my cold reader; Daniel Brount, my interior designer; lilithsaur, for the best cover illustration; and Vikki Chu, for the cover design.

Also, my undying thanks to Claire, for being my cult consultant. To Jen, for making me write the bitey epilogue. To Alison, Becca, Christina, Danelle, Lauren, Leslie, Paola, Stephanie, and Susan, for immediately clocking the boobs situation at the Meet Cute dinner. To my family, and to all the people who I am lucky to call friends.

But above all: thank you, Dr. James Francis Cameron. The world is a better place because of you.

Justin Murphy of Out of the Attic Photography

ALI HAZELWOOD is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Bride and The Love Hypothesis, as well as a writer of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the US to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. When Ali is not at work, she can be found crocheting, eating cake pops, or watching sci- fi movies with her three feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).

VISIT ALI HAZELWOOD ONLINE

AliHazelwood.com

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