by Dean Murray
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.
I sighed and finally tore my gaze away from my window. “Thanks, Regan,” I said.
“For what?” she asked, blinking in surprise.
“For always telling me the truth,” I said. “If we weren’t … If things were different, you’d be a cool sister,” I admitted, ignoring the pang I felt as I said the words aloud.
To my surprise, Regan’s eyes clouded. “Thanks. You too,” she whispered.
The silence felt awkward and I waited until Regan got ahold of herself, pretending not to notice when she used the corner of her sleeve to wipe her lids dry.
I cleared my throat. “So about that book,” I said.
“I’ll have someone bring it right up,” she said quickly, already edging toward the door. “See you tonight,” she added.
“See you tonight,” I echoed as she slipped out.
Chapter Ten
Regan
Brent’s expression as he came in the front door was sour—even for him. “Can you take this up to Charlie?” I asked, thrusting the thick volume into his hands as I walked out of the library.
“What is it?” He peered down at the weathered spine even though we both already knew. There was only one book that looked like that. The pack law book was thick and old. Maybe even older than Thill. Brent handled it carefully as he turned it over. “Why does Charlie want this?” he added.
“To play catch up,” I said, even though I already knew it was more than that. I’d seen it in her eyes when she’d asked me. She wanted to find a loophole to this whole contest thing. I couldn’t blame her. “Can you take it up to her?”
“I’m on my way,” he grunted, already heading for the stairs. One thing about Brent, he didn’t waste words.
I moved past him toward the front door. My job here was done, at least until tonight’s soiree. For now, I needed air. To be alone. And woods. My wolf needed to breathe.
My hand on the knob, I paused at the sound of Brent’s voice calling down to me. “You headed anywhere in particular?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Just out.”
“Do yourself a favor and avoid the back acre.” He grimaced. “It already smells like vermin.”
“Will do.” I saluted him in thanks. “Later,” I said and slipped out into the front yard.
The porch creaked in all its usual places as I bounded down the steps onto the grass. I turned away from the hillside with the view of town and took a right toward the forest.
Three steps in, I realized Brent was right. The air was ripe with visiting humans and the promise of vampires. A catering truck was parked behind our pickup, blocking me in. Just as well. I’d rather run. But with all these people around setting up for tonight, I needed to be discreet.
I slipped quietly between two dollies loaded down with champagne and coolers for the outdoor bar Dad had ordered. No one looked twice and even as the alpha in me bristled at being ignored, I was grateful for the anonymity that came with being a teenager in a world full of adults.
The air inside the forest was cooler and damp in the fading afternoon. Lengthy shadows ran like columns between thick redwoods. I inhaled the sweet scent of pine and wet bark and exhaled what I hoped was all the bullshit clogging up my normally clear head.
Dad hadn’t spoken to me since the council meeting. Not because he was ashamed or guilty for the blood oath. He was pissed at me for physically reacting—challenging him, he’d said to me on the way home last night. It was the last thing he’d said. I was too twisted up to care.
Part of me hoped Charlie did find something in that book to stop this madness.
Leaves crunched behind me, soft but loud enough for my heightened wolf senses to balk at. I whirled, halfway to shifting as I scanned for the threat.
“Relax, boss. It’s just me,” Carter said as he stepped around one of the larger tree trunks at the edge of the path.
My shoulders sagged and I exhaled, stuffing my wolf back inside. “I almost killed you,” I said as he came up beside me.
His mouth quirked. “You almost tried,” he corrected.
When I didn’t react to his humor, his smile faded and he bent closer, searching my face. “What is it?” he asked. “Did something happen?”
I shook my head at that. Something else. Because my mother’s murder, a duel against my sister, and impending nuptials to an abomination didn’t qualify. There had to be something else. But he was right. We were both sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead of answering, I turned away and kicked the tree, wincing at the throb it left behind. But I welcomed the pain—needed it considering the swirling mess of my insides.
“Regan, talk to me,” Carter said, stepping closer and reaching for my elbow. He spun me around to face him and I blinked up into his blue eyes, intent with worry. The familiarity of his gaze, of the scent of him—years of friendship and trust—made my throat close. Charlie hadn’t had any of this. Coming into the pack had been her first real shot at it. And here I was, basically taking it all away from her again.
She had no idea what she’d been thrust into—or what she was up against. And I couldn’t do much to help her either. Not while I fell into the category of her opponent.
“It’s Charlie,” I said and Carter’s grip relaxed by a few inches. Clearly, he’d been expecting something worse—whatever that was.
I slipped free and turned away again, kicking at the dirt as I wandered along. Carter followed behind me, but I didn’t meet his gaze. Some part of me was too embarrassed. He was right. There were much worse problems than Charlie’s adjustment.
“What about her?” he asked.
“She … she’s foreign,” I said finally. “Not an inch of experience or knowledge of our world. Her world,” I corrected with a frown. “She’s lived her entire life with humans, completely clueless that anyone else like her even existed.”
“And that bothers you?” Carter asked, his tone way too gentle and understanding for my liking. It only made my concern more real.
I huffed. “It’s going to get her killed. Or worse.”
“Worse?” Carter echoed.
I whirled, choosing temper over concern. “Apparently in all our instruction about the Rossi monsters, we failed to actually explain they were vampires. She was oblivious. Almost walked right into the party tonight unaware. She could’ve killed one of them if she hadn’t been on guard, prepared to restrain herself.”
“Shit.” Carter let out a low whistle. “We dropped the ball on that one.”
“How can Dad expect her to survive here, much less compete? She’s never even hunted before. She can’t win and it’s going to humiliate her and alienate her from the pack even more.”
“I’m sorry, Regan,” Carter
said. “What can I do?”
I look up at him, surprised. “You would help her?”
“Of course.”
“Why?” I asked, too shocked to put it more delicately.
“Because it would be helping you. You’re my alpha. The boss,” he said, attempting a joke. I half-smiled, but it disappeared too fast.
“Tonight. At the party, will you keep an eye on her?” I asked. “Make sure she doesn’t get into trouble with one of them. Or Dad’s agenda for her, whatever that is.”
“You want me to hang out with Charlie all night?” His brows crinkled and he pressed his lips together.
“Is that too much?” I asked.
“No, I just thought … I was going to offer to do the same for you. Escort you,” he added. A slight flush tinged his cheeks and I stared at it in confusion. Carter was embarrassed? For what?
“I think Charlie needs a babysitter more than I do,” I said.
“I wasn’t— I meant that you and I would … Yeah, okay,” he said, running a hand through his light hair until it stood up on end. He looked away, suddenly not meeting my gaze. Something felt off, though I had no idea what.
“Okay,” I echoed.
In the silence, Carter’s mouth thinned. “What is it, Carter?” I prompted when he only continued to glare into the trees.
“I hate that your dad did this behind your back. Or at all. Marriage? To a vamp? It’s …”
“Horrific, I know,” I said, watching the way his nostrils flared and his fists bunched. His form shivered at the edges, his wolf pressing up and out, and I knew he was seriously pissed. “Calm down,” I said. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so.” He grunted, muttering something under his breath that I missed.
“What did you say?” I asked.
“Nothing. Look … I’ve been thinking. We can fight this if you want. You have the support of the younger generation. Me, Bevin, Lane, all the others stand behind you. We’ll do what you say in order to change their minds.”
Alarm speared through me as I realized what he meant. “What? Like a rebellion or mutiny or something?”
“I wouldn’t call it that, but we would break away. Leave if we had to—”
“No.” I shook my head. “Absolutely not. We are not starting an uprising. Not now.” I looked around, half-terrified my father was standing close enough to hear this nonsense.
Carter wasn’t deterred. “Even Bevin agrees, if we work together—”
“Bevin still thinks Justin Bieber was the most influential figure of 2012,” I hissed. “We are not taking political or tactical advice from her.”
Carter sighed. “Fine. I just want you to know you have our loyalty.”
“As friends,” I corrected meaningfully. “But your ultimate loyalty is to the pack. Not one person, certainly not me. And I am not doing this. We are part of a whole. Without the whole, the part is only pieces.” Carter blinked and finally relaxed.
“Who said that?” he asked.
“My mother,” I said quietly. “And she was right. Please don’t bring that up again.”
“I won’t,” he said. “And your mom was right. But … Regan, for me, you are the whole.”
My heart thudded irregularly. “What does that mean?” I asked.
Again, Carter’s cheeks flushed pink. “Just that … whatever. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tonight,” I said slowly, still lost. Or maybe it was terror that sent my pulse racing as he shifted uncomfortably. I looked at the buttons on his shirt, unwilling to meet his eyes as the girl side of my brain attempted to decode his words. Did Carter mean more than just declarations of leadership? I’d thought he was speaking as a true beta, a supporter, a second in command. But something about the way he’d said it made me think maybe he meant more than that.
“See you,” Carter mumbled, turning on his heel and melting into the greenery until I was once again alone.
Chapter Eleven
Charlie
Daylight faded slowly until long shadows forced me to use the bedside lamp in order to make out the soft scrawls that filled the pages of the pack’s law book. Page after dusty page held handwritten notes scribed in varying versions of English from Olde to modern to legal contract language. The rules and customs of these people were endless and, at times, contradicting. But the running theme throughout was that the alpha was the final word. Every time. If I hadn’t seen a council meeting first hand and watched the alpha allow others to speak their minds—including disagreements—I would have been convinced this was a very oppressive dictatorship.
The more I read, the tighter my nerves twisted. Not only was there absolutely no sign of a loophole for this contest business, my future was about to become very different than my past. Regan had been right. It was normal for us to be taken from public school from high school on. Pack responsibilities came first. There were entire chapters dedicated to hunting and others to patrolling and what to do if a trespasser stumbled upon our side of the territory line. How to handle challenges to your pack position. Politics. Elections for elder officers. You name it, the book had it. All except the marriage thing. That had never been done.
But vampires. Monsters. Freaks of nature—the book described them as all of these—were not scarce. I lingered over that section, wanting to learn all I can, but it only listed the basics about their makeup: They drank blood to survive. Sunlight didn’t harm them but it did tire them more quickly. They were our natural enemy. Our wolves literally tasted the need for violence when we smelled their kind. It was built in to destroy them. Underneath that, the book laid out different ways to kill them.
I scanned those lines with a subtle sickness roiling my gut. I wanted to know but I also didn’t. That vampire in the woods had been my friend. Tonight, they wouldn’t be. But Regan had warned me against lashing out. Tonight we were here to make peace.
My eyes caught on the last line of every technique. Apparently, burning them was the only way to assure their destruction. Great, so Hollywood had at least gotten that part right.
At the sound of a sharp knock, I flinched and snapped the thick volume shut.
“Yes?” I called.
Brent poked his head inside, his eyes flickering from me to the book that lay on the mattress in front of me. Finally, I caught him check my bedside clock. “You should start preparing for tonight,” he said. “They’ll be expecting you soon.”
“Right,” I said, startled to realize how late it had gotten while I read. “I’ll be ready,” I added, shoving the book aside as Brent slipped out again.
I got up and went to the window, nerves tightening further as I spotted all of the foot traffic coming and going on the foot path that ran parallel to my side of the house. Carts and coolers and men in black pants and crisp button-ups trickled steadily back and forth toward what I’d heard them refer to as the back acre.
Dad was going all out for this thing. My engagement party. I wrinkled my nose and turned back, sighing as I went to the closet to retrieve my dress. A plum number Regan had brought up this morning. It wasn’t a color I would’ve chosen for myself. It suited her more. I suspected it might’ve once been hers.
My first hand-me-down, I realized with a frown.
I dressed quickly.
The moment it was dark, they would expect me to come downstairs, walk through the neighborhood under the scrutiny of dozens of expectant eyes, and meet the mortal enemies of a pack I didn’t want to have anything to do with. To prevent war, bloodshed, and the death of a hundred innocent lives, I reminded myself. Somewhere along the way in my reading, I’d realized how close to that we really were. Regan was convinced these monsters had killed her mom. The history in that book had taught me what a betrayal that was. Not just taking a life—the life of an alpha was precious enough to warrant swift and harsh retaliation. In fact, I was surprised they hadn’t done anything about it yet.
Maybe Dad was right; this marriage was the only thing holding th
e violence at bay.
“No pressure,” I whispered to my empty room.
That wasn’t even the thing that had me the most stressed, although I guess the whole war thing should have been the worst of my worries. The idea of death and destruction sucked. But more than all of that, I was breathless with the idea of possibly seeing my stranger in the woods again. Did he know anything about Regan’s mom’s murder?
I stood at the mirror toying with my hair and trying not to think about any of it. But the more I attempted anything fancy, the more nervous I became. I needed Mom. She’d always been my hairstylist. Finally, my hair fully rebelled and I gave up. I’d wear it down.
And maybe tomorrow, I’d finally call her. Let her explain herself. And find a way to tell her that despite being kidnapped and forced into this, I’d gone completely crazy and decided to stay. That last part had held me back from dialing her for days now.
I took a final look at my reflection, squaring my shoulders in an attempt at a power pose. I thought of Regan and how she didn’t need to do anything different to power pose. It was already built in somehow. At that, my shoulders slumped.
Someone moved behind my reflection and I whirled, eyes wide. Regan stood in my doorway, hand still hovering on the knob.
“Sorry,” she said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine, I was just … finishing up with my dress. It’s lovely,” I said.
She nodded but otherwise ignored the gift. “The alpha is an important figure in a lot of ceremonies. We had to make sure you looked the part.”
The part. I thought again of the power pose and noted how she stood naturally with shoulders back, chin up. Embarrassment washed over me. I felt as though she’d caught me dressing up in Mom’s clothes.
“You look great,” I said in an attempt to shift the spotlight.
And she did. My sister looked amazing—every inch the alpha. Her dress was practical. It had a scoop neck, lacing up the front, and a loose skirt that was made for movement. Sparkly gemstones were pinned to her short hair that matched the detail on her breast. The brown material should have made her look plain, but instead, it made her look mature and powerful.
