Page 12 of Wolf’s Fated Bride

“I don’t care. I don’t love the Fireborn Alpha. I love my Sven.”

I sigh. There’s no arguing with Maren. I can tell by the way she talks about her man. “How is he going to join you?” Sven is Sören’s Regulator. He works in our pack.

“We’ll say I’m having trouble regulating my cycle and that I need an alchemist of my own.”

My cycle is irregular, and I have trouble going into heat. Maren’s cycle is more regular, but even hers doesn’t last long without an alpha male werewolf nearby who she finds suitable for mating. She doesn’t nest, and she hasn’t “invited,” meaning released liquid heat down her thighs so that the male wolf can scent her need. It’s all very primal, quite embarrassing, actually, so in a way, we’re lucky the nesting urge or inviting has never happened to either of us.

“Thing is that Regulators are assigned to elemental alphas, not omegas. And even if they’re assigned to an omega, it’s the humans who decide which Regulator goes where.”

Maren shrugs. “I’ll let Sven worry about the details.”

“I guess he could petition.” With their bureaucracy, that could take a year. I once asked our old Regulator to petition for me to enroll in human school so I could learn this alchemy of theirs and help my brother to regulate his element. Their denial took seventeen months to type.

In the letter, they explained that what I asked was forbidden. Only humans practice alchemy because alchemy is tied to the earth. They also told me I lacked the prerequisites required for admission to the university where alchemy is taught.

They’re not wrong. We don’t go to school to learn chemistry. Wolves don’t need nurses, pharmacists, or computer engineers. We need plumbers, construction workers, and welders to keep up with our infrastructure.

We rarely drive, preferring to run in packs. While we can cook, we can hunt too. Besides, our pack is allied with humans, and we don’t have a scarcity problem even this far into the frozen lands, where we can’t grow any vegetables or fruit. Humans supply us with everything.

I braid my sister’s hair. “You plan on living with your husband and your lover under the same roof?”

Maren hesitates. I pause, terrified of the answer.

“Maren?”

My sister turns, tears in her eyes. “How will I marry a wolf I don’t love?”

“Awwww.” I hug her.

“I don’t love him, Runa,” she sobs. “He doesn’t love me either.”

I rub her back. “Maybe he’ll find himself a girlfriend.”

Maren pushes at my shoulders. “Brilliant. You have so many great ideas. I hadn’t thought about that. What if he already has one? Oh, I bet he does. He’s handsome enough. Not sure why he shaved. They said he’s bearded.”

“If he grows one, maybe you’ll turn your eye to him.”

Maren shakes her head. “Not my type.”

“How so?” I think he’s devastatingly handsome, or I wouldn’t have bet our housekeeping staff on working their morning shifts. Crap, I can’t sleep till dinner. My shoulders slump at the realization.

Maren reaches back for her braid and slides it in front of her. She continues braiding it herself, a dreamy look in her eye. “Maybe he has a harem. Maybe he and I will come to an agreement.”

I bite my lip, wondering if I should bring this up when my sister is emotionally fragile. “The point of this marriage is to produce heirs.”

“Which is why Sven’s request to help me regulate my cycles will be approved.”

“Did he come up with the idea to move with you to the Fireborn territory tonight or some other night?”

“Tonight. His original idea backfired.”

To detect a lie, I watch my sister carefully. “Do you know what his original plan was?”

Maren shrugs. “No, he just said he’d deal with our problem.”

Let’s be clear on this: I have no confirmation that Sven tried to kill Maren’s fiancé, but I trust my instincts. Nothing good was going to come out of Sven’s bag. The flash of silver metal that I believed was a gun couldn’t be ignored. I’m sorry if I was wrong, and Sven meant to pull out a really thick pen or something.

I figured it was better to be sorry than to cry over the ashes that used to be my home the fire elemental destroyed after he survived the assassination attempt. During the signing of a peace treaty, no less.