My breathing was labored as I trudged up the third flight of stairs. Why the hell were my rooms so far from the ground?! Didn't they know this was a fire hazard? Was there even a fire escape? Couldn't they have an elevator? No, probably not. It would interfere with the classic beauty of the old wood, I bet.
Rhys led me into a dark hallway. It was too dark really. Gave off a murdery vibe. Would it kill them to turn on some lights? "Your rooms are here, next to the Alpha's." Rhys opened a large door. "There's a bathroom through there." He pointed at another set of doors. The room was humongous. White-washed wood walls and floor-to-ceiling windows made the space so bright.There was a bed near the windows. It was monstrous. It could easily fit several people. It was mounded with an obscene amount of pillows. There was a small sitting area with comfortable looking sofas arranged around a cozy fireplace. I scooted through the room to look at the facilities. "Are you freaking joking?!" My jaw dropped at the bathroom. A gigantic claw-foot bathtub dominated one corner. The other corner held a walk-in shower with multiple heads. There was a double sink, and a toilet in its own little closet. A set of double doors at the other end of the bathroom made me nervous. "Wait…am I sharing this?" "With the Alpha, yes." Rhys' voice was laced with amusement. I'm glad someone found my situation amusing because I sure didn't. I swept from the room and plopped on one of the overstuffed couches in my sitting area. "I'm going to need to work out a schedule with him so we aren't walking in on each other.""Why are you so upright?" Rhys dropped onto another couch across from me. "He will be your Husband. You will be sharing his bed. What would it matter if he walks in on you bathing?" The blood drained from my face. So I would definitely be laying with my Husband. Great. Fan-freaking-tastic. "It's not being uptight. I'm not at all impressed with being a Bride. I had plans for my life, Beta.""What were they? I'm sure the Alpha would be happy to indulge you." "Indulge me." I groaned, my head thumping back into the cushion. "The last thing I want is to be indulged." "Then what is it you want? Because from where I'm sitting, you're better off here than you ever were with your clan." "I want to make my own choices!" The truth burst from me. "None of this was my choice. I just happened to be compatible with your species, fertility-wise. It's not like I dated anyone or found love on my own!"Rhys shrugged. "It's the hand you were dealt, doll. Eventually you're going to have to get over it. Alpha Xander isn't a bad guy. You need to give him a chance." "I don't have to do anything but spread my legs and accept his seed. That is the extent of what I have to do." "That's a crude way to look at it." Rhys leveraged himself to his feet. "If you keep thinking this is a chore, doll, then it will be."He let himself out of the room quietly, leaving me alone with my thoughts.~*~*~*~*~*~I paced the room angrily. Days. It had been days! Alpha Cross had not summoned me. No one really interacted with me but Rhys. I had been stuck in my rooms and I was crawling the walls. Of course, I didn't want to spend time with the Alpha, but the least he could do is acknowledge I was here! I mean, I had been a tad snappish, but I was entitled to the way I felt. All of my choices had been made for me!A soft tap on my door was the only warning I got before Alpha Cross pushed his way in. He was as overwhelming as ever. Even though my rooms were humongous, it still felt too small when he was inside. "Madison, I would like a chance to talk to you." His rough voice scraped over my flayed nerves. I simultaneously wanted to rub myself all over him and push him out the huge windows. I flopped on one of the couches. "Sure thing, Husband. Let's have a chat."He stood awkwardly at the door, as if he were afraid I'd bite him. It was an odd thing, to see such a large man nervous all because of me. "I'm aware we didn't get off on the right foot.""A freaking understatement!" I snorted. His golden eyes narrowed dangerously. He stalked forward and I flinched back into the couch. I couldn't help it. He drew up short. "Do you think I would hurt you? You were hand-selected for me by the Goddess."I stood, hands planted on my hips as I glared at him. "I don't know what to think. I have waited the last two years to be claimed by you. I arrive here and I have been essentially ignored!"He stepped into me, his luminous golden eyes razing me with the stoked flames burning in their depth. "Madison, I want to love you. I have never wanted anything more than to love you!" His words were a fervent plea as he snatched my hand. "No, you wanted a Bride. A walking womb. Nothing more, nothing less." Ice settled in my chest. I could never love a monster that only wanted me for my ovaries. "So here I am, Husband. A ripe field to plow." He staggered back, my words cutting him as sharply as any knife. He turned his wounded gaze on me, but I steeled myself. I would not allow myself to believe this could ever be anything more than a business arrangement. I was a means to an end for the Weres. The continuation of their race. A broodmare."You don't have a very good opinion of me, do you?" He scrubbed his hand across his face in agitation. "I have done nothing more than request my mate.""And yet I did nothing more than be born." My voice was bitter. "I didn't want you. This. Or at least I wanted to choose it." "It is a full moon tonight, Madison. It would be best if you remained in your rooms once it is dark." He turned his eyes away from me."Why?" I knew why, I just wanted him to admit it. "Why do I need to stay here?""We don't have the best control during the moon-madness. It's also the only time a human is susceptible to our–" He trailed off, searching for the word. "Disease?" I supplied. Most Weres were born. However, there had been cases of humans wandering too close to packs during their moon-madness. One bite was basically a death sentence. Either the human died from the ravaging of the DNA change, or they woke up a little furrier. Neither of which I wanted. I was perfectly happy being human, thank the Goddess. "I suppose that's one word for it." He sighed. "I will see you in the morning, Madison." "I'll be here. In these rooms. Where you stuck me." He turned, stepping into me. I met his gaze again, throwing down my challenge. I wouldn't look away. He leaned closer, his lips ghosting across mine before he strode from the room. I pressed my fingertips to my lips, half-wondering if I'd imagined it. A blush crept across my cheeks, and I groaned. I was playing with fire now, and I was positive I'd end up burnt.I was bored. Heinously, utterly, completely bored. I threw my phone down on the couch next to me in disgust. There were only so many mobile games I could play before I went nuts. Moonlight filtered in through the large windows and I turned to them curiously. Other than watching the Alpha turn the day I arrived, I'd never seen any one else in their wolf forms. I knew what they said about curiosity. I knew it was a stupid idea, even as I plastered my face to the window. The lawn below me was silvered under the moonlight. There were dozens of wolves on the lawn in a variety of grays. Some tussled playfully, some ran in excitement, and even more just lazed around in groups. They didn't look mad to me. And I was bored. To death. That's why I found myself creeping out of my room. I edged along the dark hallway. I wanted to see the wolves up close. They looked so fluffy. Was it considered rude to pet them in their animal form? I tiptoed down the stairs. No one would be inside right now,
"Do something!" Someone roared next to me and I struggled to open my eyes. I managed to get them cracked. Bright light split my head wide open. Nope. I let my eyes flutter closed again. "Xander, calm down!" Rhys was here too. Someone moved my arm and a scream ripped itself from my throat. "It's okay." A soft feminine voice this time. "The muscles are torn but it will heal. The fever will take her soon though, so if you want to say something, now is the time." Fever? What fever? "We'll leave you alone with her Xander." Rhys' voice moved further away. Soft, cool fingers brushed hair from my forehead. His hands were more calloused than I expected. The pads of his fingertips scratched at my skin. "This isn't what I wanted, Madison. Why didn't you stay put?" His voice wrapped around me, anguish making him hoarse. We barely knew each other. Why did he feel so much for me? We only had two whole conversations in the last week. I wanted to snap at him, but his hands were blessedly cool a
"Oh, you're awake!" Someone jerked at the drapes around the bed roughly. Was I though? With a talking wolf in my head, the sense that I forgot something very important while I was dreaming, and the bright light of the room beyond the drapes…felt like I was still asleep. Rhys popped his head in the crack he had made in the curtains, cocking his head to the side. His nose wrinkled. "You need a bath, beautiful." "And you need better manners," I muttered. I flushed under his curious scrutiny. "What? Do I have snot on my face?" His lips hiked up in a half smile. "No. I can hear your wolf. It's kind of entertaining. Mostly child Weres haven't fully integrated with their wolves, so to have an adult wolf keeping a running commentary at the same time you're talking is hilarious." 'Shut the hell up Eclipse. You're making us a laughingstock.' 'He looks lickable. Can we lick him?' A wave of lust hit me so hard that I gasped. Rhys was attractive. But he was not my Husband. Now that I was par
I slid out of my room. I was tired of cutting myself off from my new family. Just because Xander was a jerk and only wanted me to pop out pups, didn't mean the rest of the pack would be so dismissive. If Rhys was any indication, then I might even be more welcomed at the pack house than I was in the human clan. I hadn't given anyone a fair shot, spending the last week in my rooms. Had it only been a week? It felt like a lifetime ago when I had been congratulating my best friend for getting into Brighthaven. I skulked down the stairs. The smell of bacon wafted up and my stomach growled. How long had it been since I had eaten? How long had I actually been gone with the fever? "I heard humans are prudes." The voice cut through the general din and I paused on the steps. "Do you think she's strong enough?" "She's a waifish little mite. I dunno that the Alpha won't break her in half." Someone answered, ton
I slammed out of the dining room, my thoughts a tangle of distrust and anger. If I was only to be returned to my genetic ancestors, then why hadn't anyone else in my family been chosen before? It didn't make sense. If I was not here to be a Bride, then what was I? What was the Bride program, really? I needed answers. I searched for the cinnamon and wood smoke scent. Xander owed me an explanation. Immediately. I couldn't smell him. What the actual hell? Did he just cease to exist?I barreled through the front door, flying down the steps of the porch and into the yard. There were people on the lawn doing drills. Wrestling and fighting. I saw him, not Xander but Rhys, leaning against a low wall. His eyes widened as I snatched his arm on my way by, dragging him along with me. I could hear the whispers following us, but I didn't care. Rhys was my first real acquaintance here and I needed the truth. I
When every girl dreams of their first time, it's romantic. Roses, dinner, a bed of flower petals. Slow and gentle lovemaking. Xander slid his hand down my side, his lips setting me on fire. We were still in the middle of the woods. Rhys was still prostrate on the ground in front of us. But I didn't care. I sighed against Xander's mouth as my body reacted on instinct. I softened against him, yielding to my Alpha mate. He nipped his way from my lips to my injured shoulder. The healed wound that made me one of them. Were.His hand slid under the hem of my shirt, his palm hot against the cool skin of my side. I shivered. "You deserve more than this right now." His words were whispered hoarsely against the fabric of my shirt. "But I need to claim you." Rhys groaned, and ice coated me. "You have to let him go." "He needs to know you are claimed. You are mine." I pushed at
Maybe I was the prick. My legs ached as I stumbled further into the forest. I'd been hiking for nearly an hour. No one had come to collect me, so I must still be on Wild Hearth land. I mean, I did tell Xander to claim me and then back out and flounce away like some romance novel heroine. Was I the prick? With all my bluster about not being forced, hadn't I forced his hand? Dangled what he most wanted and then jerked it away? Why did I have to be difficult? Why couldn't I just accept my place? Because it meant accepting I was only a womb. Not a person. I couldn't do that. Not and still be me. I missed my parents. Two years without seeing my mom's laughing face and my dad's smiling eyes. Did they still dance in the kitchen? Did they still spend every Sunday morning lazing in the family room, playing games and talking about the week? Now that I was claimed by my Husband, could I contact them? Why didn't Brides go home? Why mus
He pushed into the room, the scent of rot overwhelming me. Great. This whole having heightened senses was getting problematic. "Who are you?" I was proud of myself. My voice came out even. Not even accusatory. Well maybe a touch accusatory, but he did tie me up. "Tell me, she-wolf. Why were you out taking a stroll?" He settled his large form on the floor across from me. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Because I could? It's not like I expected to be chased, knocked out, and tied up." "Why don't you shift?" He leaned forward. His eyes were dark, but the shape was familiar. I blinked slowly. Where had I seen those eyes before?I didn't want to tell him that I didn't know how. He seemed like the kind of man that would take advantage of that knowledge. I slid my eyes from his and glared at the corner of the room. "Come on sweetheart. I won't bite. I can sm