Bound
 
 73
 
 was a real, actual faery prince, and according to him, he was hers.
 
 Even after the way he treated her this afternoon, she wanted nothing
 
 more than to throw herself into his arms.
 
 She never, ever learned.
 
 “Did you leave a husband behind?” Beck asked. “Do you have
 
 babies who wonder where their mama is?”
 
 All she had to do was say yes, she realized. If she said yes, cried
 
 prettily, and talked about her sweet babies, he might try to get her
 
 home. She could say she had two, a boy and a girl. She could also tell
 
 him about the husband she loved more than life itself.
 
 “No,” she admitted quietly. “I’m alone.”
 
 He seemed confused by the statement and moved to sit beside her.
 
 He pulled the blanket up around her. Beck carefully placed his arm
 
 around her shoulder. “Did your parents die before they could find a
 
 husband for you?”
 
 Meg laughed abruptly at the thought. Her parents couldn’t be in a
 
 room together for more than two minutes before a war broke out.
 
 They hadn’t even attended her wedding, much less tried to advise her
 
 on who to marry. “No. My parents divorced when I was twelve. Mom
 
 remarried roughly six months later. She married the guy she had been
 
 having an affair with. Dad married his secretary, excuse me,
 
 administrative assistant, two months after that. Neither one of them
 
 wanted to deal with a teenage girl, so I got shuffled around. I’d stay
 
 with Mom until she got tired of me, and then I’d get shoved off on
 
 Dad. Casey, his ten-years-older-than-me wife, didn’t like me very
 
 much. They both had new children with their new spouses. Needless
 
 to say, everyone was happy when I left for college. So, to answer your
 
 question, no, they didn’t bother to find me a husband.”