“Charlie.” She mumbled the correction almost to herself, but made no move to alert Sheridan or the rest of the room. Probably a smart move right about now.
“We welcome you to the pack, Charlotte,” Sheridan said to Charlie, a plastic smile frozen to her lips.
“Yes, welcome,” Al said. He smiled with what seemed genuine friendliness, but his glittering teeth were a little scary no matter what. Charlie shrank back a little beside me.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Sylvia Lantagne said with a nod.
“Thank you,” Charlie murmured. I elbowed her and she straightened and cleared her throat. “Thank you,” she said again, louder now. “I’m glad to be here.”
Sheridan nodded as if satisfied and turned back to the rest of the group before continuing. “As a result of the tragic death of Myra Vuk a few weeks ago, a new alpha must be chosen. William Vuk has been gracious in filling in during this difficult time, but it’s a temporary fix. As you all know, the role passes to the ruling female of the household. Up until now, we thought that was Regan.” She aimed a nasty slip of a smile at me and I blinked, carefully expressionless.
“But we’ve since learned that Charlotte is only a few months younger than Regan. Close enough to be equals in the eyes of the pack law on inheritance and alpha leadership. A decision must be made. The law states that in the case of siblings, especially so close in age, a competition shall be held to determine which sibling shall serve.”
“I thought the alpha role passed to the eldest living daughter, no exceptions,” Carter’s dad said. I studied him, trying to read his motivation for asking a question he already knew the answer to, but his calm expression gave away nothing.
“John, you know as well as I do there are provisions in place for twins and the like. While these girls certainly aren’t that, their birth dates are close enough to qualify.” Carter’s dad opened his mouth to argue, but Sheridan cut him off. “Thill and I have already done the research into the archives to determine how this must be handled. We are following the letter of the law.” Sheridan shifted again to include the entire room in her response as she said, “We are nothing without our traditions, are we not?”
No one argued.
“Now then, we will welcome Charlotte as a member of the pack. Afford her the same courtesy and respect we do one another. Make her feel at home. She is, after all, one of us,” Sheridan finished.
A few pack members glanced at me, but mostly everyone stared at Charlie. A murmur of voices went up. Sheridan managed to quiet them all with a look. Beside me, Charlie kept her eyes on the floor.
“Also being discussed is the agreement made between William, our acting alpha, and Blaine Rossi, regarding the arranged marriage of Blaine’s son, Owen, to the new Vuk alpha, whomever that may be.”
The room erupted in the sound of exclamations and questions. Sheridan didn’t bother trying to quiet them now. She was looking across the table at Dad with a smug expression, and I realized this was the first the pack was hearing about Dad’s arrangement.
Temper flared and I leaned forward and hissed at him, “You told us this was a decision agreed upon by the entire Council of Elders.”
He twisted in his seat. “Not now, Regan,” he said, his voice tight.
“You lied—” I began, too angry to stop now.
He twisted more fully so that our eyes met. His were stormy, holding all of the tension and irritation that his words and body language hid so well. “We will discuss it later. You know all you need to for now.”
I sank back against my chair, heat flaring against my cheeks and throat as I realized he’d been holding out on me. Around us, other pack members cried out in protest. I folded my arms, reassured by that. It made me feel a little better that everyone else thought it was just as crazy. Not that any of them could talk him out of it. I knew that look he wore. But I also knew the one Sheridan had aimed at him just now. If anyone could make him change his mind, she had the best chance. She might’ve been wound too tight, but Dad listened to her.
The room quieted as everyone’s initial outbursts faded. Now, the elders took turns voicing their opinion of the deal.
“That’s insanity,” Al said, bumping his large fist against the oak table in front of him.
Al was a hulking guy with dark skin. His ancestors had come from Europe so his werewolf blood was a little different than ours. His temper was bigger and he could shift quicker than anyone I’d ever seen. The kind of guy you wanted beside you—not opposing you—in a fight.
“You can’t just do that without consulting the rest of us,” Sylvia said. She tossed her golden hair over her shoulder and shot a look at my father. Sylvia taught dance for the local high school and private lessons for various members of the pack. Her slight build and slender frame were deceiving, though. She could dodge blows faster than any wolf I’d ever seen.
“I can and I did,” Dad said calmly. His normally reserved demeanor was even more closed off than usual. I wasn’t sure anyone else noticed but I did in the way his rigid shoulders and broad chest didn’t even contract with his breathing. He sat perfectly still, a statue of uncompromising authority.
“Wait. He’s making his own daughter marry one of them?” Lane’s voice was full of disgust and disbelief. She’d been leaning against the wall, slouching shoulder to shoulder with Ronnie, but now she straightened and planted her feet. Her dark hair fell in front of her face on one side, not quite covering the scar that marred her cheek.
The wolf inside me felt a twinge of blood lust every time I saw it, a burning desire for revenge against the ones who’d done that to her.
A few chairs down from Charlie, Bevin stuck her finger in her mouth and made a choking sound, like she was pretending to throw up. Some of the other teens laughed.
“William,” Sylvia began, her voice lowered to sound reasonable—or to deal with someone she obviously assumed had lost his mind.
“Don’t, Sylvia. It’s already done,” Dad said. Something about the way he’d said it made my breath catch.
“But there was no discussion. No vote,” Sylvia said, huffing.
Dad didn’t bother to answer her.
Across the table, Sheridan was fiercely intent on the scene but, so far, she remained silent. Beside me, Charlie looked terrified. I couldn’t blame her. This wasn’t exactly the most pleasant pack meeting, and being her first, I wouldn’t be surprised if she bolted soon.
Other pack members chimed in after that, but I noticed none of the other elders did again. They all sat with arms folded and glared down the table at Dad. “What do you mean it’s already done?” Sheridan asked, her usual high-pitched voice deadly low.
Silence fell. Someone gasped. My skin crawled as I realized something had happened. Something we couldn’t take back.
Thill—the oldest living member of the pack—rose from his seat next to Sheridan and pointed a gnarled finger at Dad.
“You sealed it in blood, didn’t you?” The old man’s voice was raspy and deep so it was hard to hear from where I sat, but his words hung and seemed to echo in the silence that followed. I felt myself scooting closer to the edge of my seat. I held my breath and crossed my fingers.
No, no, no. He didn’t. He wouldn’t have…
Dad cleared his throat and met Thill’s gaze head on without flinching. “Yes.”
There was a collective gasp. I let my shoulders sag and for once I didn’t care about holding in my emotions. I dropped my face into my hands and squeezed my eyes shut. There would be no convincing him to change his mind. Not even Sheridan could take this back.
How could he?
“What’s the big deal with the blood?” Charlie whispered.
Slowly, I raised my head and looked at her. Her expression was curious and confused. She didn’t yet understand there was no hope. The deal was done.
“A blood seal. It’s unbreakable. If Dad goes back on it now, they have the right to attack and execute every single one of us. Whether we surrender
or not. It’s like a death sentence for breaking the law. The council will never go back on a blood deal.” I knew my voice sounded bleak. I didn’t care. Charlie needed to fully understand. When I was finished, Charlie’s expression matched mine.
“Oh,” she said.
I felt my chest grow heavy. This was really happening. I was going to get married. To a vampire.
“I can’t believe I might have to marry a complete stranger,” Charlie said.
Her words startled me.
Did she really think there was a chance it would be her? Did she honestly think she had a shot at beating me in the competition? She knew nothing about being an alpha. Or vampires.
Looking over at her, seeing her misery, I made a decision. I was going to win this competition and save Charlie. I could imagine no fate worse than marriage to a vampire—an immortal, blood-sucking, soulless monster. But for Charlie and for my pack, I would do it. I would be the leader I was raised to be.
And when the competition was over, and I was alpha, I would find a way to save them and destroy the vampires once and for all.
Chapter Nine
Charlie
I stood stiffly in the center of my room, feeling my trepidation rise as the sun set. I’d spent most of the day to myself. Running—again. For the first hour, I’d pretended I wasn’t hoping to see him, but by the end of the second hour when he still hadn’t shown, I couldn’t hide my disappointment. Out of an entire town full of werewolves, the only person I wanted to spend time with was a vampire; a creature that some innate part of my wolf wanted nothing more than to take a bite out of. Obviously, that feeling had been mutual, probably why he’d continued to stay away.
Still, a friendly face this afternoon would’ve been nice. Tonight’s party loomed like a dark cloud. Inescapable and heavy with expectations. They hadn’t asked me to speak at last night’s council meeting but Sheridan looked ready to put me on the spot before that argument had broken out over the marriage.
Even as I thought the word, I shuddered again.
The council meeting had been hell. The air in that roomful of werewolves had become stuffy almost immediately—they’d all stayed in human form, thank goodness—but when their tempers flared, their animals pressed out against the edges and I had felt their strain. After that, I’d purposely kept my eyes away from the door and walls so that I couldn’t imagine them closing in on me.
I remembered one especially big guy with dark skin, an elder who made me nervous. His arms had rippled with muscles even when he was sitting still. On top of that, his biceps were larger than both my legs put together.
But then the old man had asked Dad something about sealing the marriage agreement in blood. The silence while they waited for him to answer had been deafening. I’d heard Dad say yes and then the room seemed to tilt. Regan dropped her head into her hands. I watched people’s expressions go from angry to resigned to fearful within a single blink.
A sharp knock sounded and before I could pull myself out of my thoughts, Regan pushed through the door. “You okay?” she asked, catching sight of my expression.
“I’m fine,” I lied, still distracted.
Regan stepped inside and frowned. Her jeans and boots were all scuffed and muddy. I wanted to ask what she’d been doing but it felt nosy somehow. Even though we lived together, it was all formality. I wasn’t actually invited into her life. Better to always remember that than be hurt over and over again.
Regan’s boots shuffled against the hardwood and her hands moved as if they were unsure of where to go. She hooked her thumbs in her pockets and stood straight. “Are you nervous about tonight?” she asked quietly.
“Actually, I was wondering about your pack rules and traditions. Are they written down somewhere?” I asked.
“You mean like our law book?” she asked, brows crinkling.
I nodded. “I’d like a copy to read if you have an extra.”
“Sure. There’s one in the library downstairs. Dad keeps it out for easy reference. The large end table in the back,” she said, a distinct note of suspicion lacing her words. Or was it simply curiosity. I couldn’t tell with her. “Anything in particular you want to know?”
“There are a lot of things happening here that I don’t understand,” I said, waving a hand to keep it vague. “It’s all so fast paced. I’d like to catch up.”
I didn’t want to admit that, along with everything else, I was still trying to accept that I actually had the chance to be married at all. I’d convinced myself long ago that marriage and relationships weren’t an option for me. And I hated to admit that part of me was glad to know I’d been wrong. Still, if there was a way out of this blind-betrothal mess, a pack law book might hold the answers.
“Uh-huh,” Regan said, clearly unconvinced. Fine, she wanted to know my questions, I’d ask them. Regan was probably safer than one of the others.
“For example, what’s the big deal with the blood agreement thing Dad made?” I asked.
Regan’s eyes flickered with something, but it wasn’t surprise. Loathing. Resignation maybe? She hesitated and, for a moment, I wondered if she was even going to answer me. Finally, she sighed and dropped her hands. “It’s called a blood seal. Sort of like an oath. It’s a way to make an agreement official and binding,” she said, and her mouth twisted on the last word. “Anyway, once it’s done, it’s unbreakable. You can’t go back on it if you wanted to.”
“Not for any reason?” I asked, hope plummeting a little at that.
“Not unless you feel like dying today,” she said with a shrug.
“Wow,” I murmured. Regan muttered an agreement that sounded slightly more colorful than mine.
I bit my lip, trying not to drown underneath the reality of my situation. I was going to be forced to compete with my new sister for the title of alpha and then marry another werewolf I’d never met before. All to seal a peace treaty that would guarantee a cease fire for a pack I’d never even met until recently. It wasn’t even my war.
“But … isn’t that happening anyway?” I asked almost to myself.
Across from me, Regan looked up and blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Well, isn’t this whole marriage idea a way to bring peace between your families?” I asked. “To end some ongoing feud you have with them?” I tried to keep my voice light. I knew this was a sensitive topic for Regan but I honestly just wanted to understand what I’d walked into the middle of.
“It’s more than a feud, Charlie,” Regan said. She spoke slowly, as if talking to a small child, and I bristled.
“Then maybe you should spell out exactly what it is,” I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest. “You walk around spouting a bunch of crap about how the Rossi family is a bunch of monsters, but no one has offered proof of this. I still don’t know—”
“Proof?” She straightened, her shoulders stiff and hands balled at her sides. “Proof? No one owes you a damn lick of anything, the least of which is proof. The Rossi family and all of their kind are nothing but … unnatural monsters.” She snorted. “I don’t have to prove that. Your body will do the work for me.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, more confused than angry at her cryptic explanation. Why would she call her own kind “unnatural?”
“It means get within six feet of one and your wolf will flare up, ready to kill, faster than you can say Regan was right.” Her lip curled into something menacing and I wondered if she meant it for me or them. “Our wolves come with a built-in vamp sensor. You’ll understand tonight. It’ll be all you can do to keep your wolf tucked away inside your gown. In fact, do that, and then find me tomorrow and we’ll—”
“Vamp?” I repeated. “Did you just say vamp?” I grabbed at the windowsill to steady myself and tried to clear the dizzy spinning in my head.
“Of course I said vamp. What else did you—oh.” She stopped, her eyes widening, and stared at me with her lips parted. “Do you mean none of us … We failed to mention that tiny
detail, didn’t we?”
I nodded, a hand pressed to my stomach to calm the swirling nausea. The Rossi family … the monsters who killed her mother … the unnatural creatures that sparked an automatic kill order in our werewolf side … and my new friend in the woods—all the same.
One of us was going to marry a murdering vampire.
“The Rossi family is the royal family of the vampires—and our future in-laws,” she explained.
“I see.” I straightened and found Regan watching me closely, as if waiting for something.
Her head tilted sideways in curiosity. “Did you think the engagement was between another wolf?”
I nodded again, this time reddening from my embarrassment. “Sorry,” Regan muttered and blew out a breath.
I focused on breathing too but only until I couldn’t hear my pulse roaring in my ears.
I straightened and met Regan’s concerned gaze. “You good?” she asked.
I waited a beat to be sure and then nodded. “Really glad you cleared all that up for me before tonight’s soiree,” I said when I found my voice.
Regan snorted and slowly, our mouths broke out into matching grins. “Right. That would’ve been an awkward reaction as you shook hands with the future in-laws.”
I giggled and there was something half-mad about the sound. I wondered if I’d just reached some sort of breaking point in what I could handle. And if so, would that make things easier or harder from now on.
“Tonight’s going to be hard,” Regan said, her smile finally diminishing into something that looked an awful lot like concern.
My own humor died instantly. I looked away—back toward the view from my window where caterers were setting up for what my dad had officially labeled the engagement party. I stared down at the string lights and tin lanterns being hung from tree branches until the weight of Regan’s stare prompted me to break the silence.
“Will we have to say anything?” I asked. “Tonight, I mean. In front of everyone.”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “Dad will probably make a speech. Maybe Mr. Rossi. You’ll have to make small talk with them. And you’ll have to keep from killing them all even though you’ll want to,” she added in a wry voice.
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