Page 6 of Wolf’s Fated Bride

My father has worn a fur coat made from the hides of the Fireborn werewolves he skinned on the battlefield to the signing of the treaty that will end in his daughter’s marriage to his enemy. I don’t think he has the right to ask us to behave.

Sören bumps my elbow. “Don’t forget our dear mother.”

“Not tonight. I want to drink too.”

“Do as your brother asks,” my dad says as the Fireborn Alpha stares. Is he not going to come over here? Are we walking over to him? What’s the protocol? I don’t think anyone knows, or better yet, I don’t think we have one.

“Mother should be allowed to do whatever she wants,” Maren says.

“And ruin our chance at peace after all the work I put into this?” Sören says. “Not a chance. She behaves, or it’s the dungeons for a year.”

“Careful, son. You overstep.”

“You guys owe me.” I kiss my sister on the cheek. “Do your best, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

Maren cups her mouth and says in my ear, “What if he wants to bed me tonight?”

I return the whisper the same way because our hearing is great and most wolves can read lips. “There’s a protocol for that. He can’t bed you until the wedding, and it has to be during a full moon, during which you nest for him. It’s a whole event, and the pack participates in the mating ritual.”

“Oh no, we have to have an orgy?” Maren shouts.

People turn toward us. Our father’s cheeks color with embarrassment and anger.

“Shhh,” I whisper to Maren. “The people have their own nests, but it’s all part of the elemental mating ritual. It’s supposed to unite the pack and bless the females with fertile wombs during the mating.”

Maren stares. “How do you know so much about rituals?”

“I read those forbidden books, remember?” Regulators are studious people. They love books and reading. They’re particularly interested in werewolves, and they go around our territories looking for any books that survived the fires and wars. When they find them, they’re not allowed to take them out of our territories by themselves.

The humans send a military unit to guard the books all the way back to the capital, where they store them in their libraries for safekeeping. But it can take days, sometimes weeks, to get the unit out here to our remote castle.

The Regulator with us works in the lab and travels with my brother, and before the military unit gets here, I’m able to read any books he finds.

Werewolf heritage is fascinating. The moon rituals and the romance between couples in particular. The stories are so romantic. It’s like reading fairy tales. I love it.

My mother’s loud laughter saves me from having to greet the Fireborn Alpha.

I join my mother at the table, where she’s flirting with a Fireborn wolf about my age. My dad doesn’t care. He quit visiting our mother’s chambers many years ago.

The Fireborn Alpha approaches my sister, and the room goes quiet. He’s over a head taller than her, even though Maren is five eleven like me. Maren looks pale and sickly. She might faint. I swig from my mother’s glass, then elbow her so she’ll pay attention.

“What, what? Oh. About time,” she says.

The Alpha extends his hand for Maren to shake. She does, and everyone sees how she’s trembling. My poor sister.

“You are even more beautiful in person,” he says, then sniffs her hand before he lets go of it.

Off to a good start, we are. He finds Maren pretty. If he grows a beard, she’ll find him more handsome, and lo and behold, we’re saved.

Maren blushes. “Thank you. Are you finding everything to your liking?”

The Alpha glances in my direction, and my pulse picks up. He won’t say we’ve met, will he? My friends will tease me at first, but because of Maren, they know not to gossip about our bet. I lost the wager and have to do all their chores. That’s settled.

My dad sits where the Fireborn male sat. These are the territorial games alpha wolves play. Sören shakes his head and approaches the fire wolf. They’re about the same height.

My brother leans in and whispers something into Ash’s ear, to which the other male nods. They make their way to the table. My father seems agitated that the Fireborn wolf isn’t sitting closer to him at the table, which wraps around the entire room. Our guest sits away from my dad. He’s chosen to join my brother, who acts like he’s Maren’s escort.

From across the room, Maren waves.