Bride to the Alpha (The Wolf's Pet Book Two) (2 page)

“Thank you,” I whispered as she walked by. She sneered at me, a meaningful look in her eye.

Right
. Don’t act nice. Ever.

I’d already forgotten what she’d told me. It was hard to adapt to these new rules.

When she left, Alekk and I were alone in the tent.

I faced him directly, trying not to shift in my place as the pain from the brand itched. I wanted badly to scratch my shoulders where the burn had spread.

“You can speak freely now,” he said.

“Can I?”

“The guards outside—”

“I mean, can I really speak freely with you?” I asked softly.

He stared at me. His blue eyes shimmered in the low light of the lantern.

“You came here, didn’t you?”

“As a messenger.” I said the word with emphasis.

“I know your message.”

“Do you?”

“You came here to give yourself to me,” he said. He stepped forward, and my heart beat fast. His scent was powerful even now.

“Is that why you hurt me?” I asked. “Is that why you think you can strangle me?”

“I can do what I want with you, Princess,” Alekk said. “And if you didn’t know that was the bargain you struck, then you shouldn’t have come here.”

We stared at each other. I thought of the feeling of his fingers on my skin, his rough grip choking me. The way it struck thrills across my nerves. The way everything inside my body burned with longing when I felt it. A blush rose on my skin; I felt my cheeks prickling.

“I came with a proposal,” I said. “I came here to offer myself in marriage. I don’t want this war to—”

“Never mind that. We’ll tell my sisters later. It’s not the right time.”

“You’re lying to them,” I said, the question in my voice. I wanted to know why. Alekk, though, only shook his head.

“Not the right time,” he repeated. “I’m not sure our side is strong enough.”

“Your side?”

Alekk looked up at me as though he’d forgotten I was in the room. He frowned, his eyebrows slanting darkly over his brilliant eyes.

“Our
side, Princess. Don’t forget your agreement. You will do what I tell you to do.”

“When will—”

“Enough about that.”

He paced back and forth in front of the lanterns. His shadow moved on the walls of the tent. The fabric moved with the wind, and for a moment I thought of Blaise telling a story in front of the campfire.

“What were you doing when you came into our territory?” I asked, changing the subject only slightly.

“Delivering a message,” he said. “Just like you are now.”

“But you’re not a messenger,” I said impatiently. “You’re a prince.”

“And you’re a princess. Yet here we are.”

I crossed my arms.

“Do you accept my proposal?”

“Tell me the exact terms of your proposal, Princess,” Alekk said. “I’ve decided I want to hear your voice talk to me.”

He sat back on the pile of pelts, his hands clasped loosely between his legs. I licked my lips and stammered.

“Well—what we discussed before. Marriage to avoid war.”

“You want to marry me?”

His eyes were dancing as he looked at me. I bit my lip. Heat ran through me, but it was not the pain of the brand. It was a different heat, one that swirled between my legs and made my mouth go dry. Was he really my mate? Was I really Called to him? It couldn’t be. I was here as a sacrifice, not for myself.

“Will you be a good wife for me, little one?”

He was teasing me like I was a child. But I wasn’t a child.

“I want to avoid bloodshed,” I said determinedly.

“So do I,” he said. “That is why I came to your pack as a messenger.”

I thought about the night in the storage cabin, when I had fed him. His lips, moving against my fingers—

I shook the memory away.

“It was dangerous,” I said. “Coming into a neighboring territory to declare war? You could have been killed.”

I flushed. Here I was, scolding the Scarred Prince like he was a mere messenger. But he didn’t seem offended.

“Of course.”

“Then—then why—”

“Why did I put myself at risk?” His eyebrows lifted. “War is a messy thing, Princess. Messier than you know, even. I will tell you why later. For now, all you need to know is that an alpha must be willing to do anything for his pack.”

Alekk waved me forward. I stepped closer to where he was sitting. He reached out one hand to me. I took it.

“Ah!”

I yelped as he yanked me forward. His fingers had burned where they had touched my palm. I fell to my knees in front of him and he grasped me by the shoulders, looking into my eyes. Another fierce wave of heat swept through my body. I wanted to shift out of my pure human form. Despite my fear, I wanted to know what it would feel like if he touched me when I had all of my senses.

Then he let go of me and it was gone, only a memory that I could not believe.

His face was only inches from mine and for a brief moment the world around me spun. I could see nothing but his eyes, the dark pupils swallowing up the irises almost entirely.

I inhaled and steadied myself on my knees.

“Princess,” he said. “You are mine now.”

“What did you brand me with?” I asked.

“You haven’t seen our symbol?” He turned his head so that I could see his neck. A swirled pattern, like three claw marks, slashed in a curve. This was the brand on his neck.

On my neck, too. I swallowed. He had pushed aside his robes, and I could see the beginning of his scar. The white seam curved down under the black fabric. I thought about when I would see all of it, when I would see him naked. A flush rose on my cheeks, and I pushed the thought aside.

“It’s permanent?” I asked.

“Of course.”

“Why do you brand the shifters in your pack?”

“It represents the struggle we go through as pack members. I’m curious, Princess,” he asked, his voice changing tone, “how did you track me?”

I raised my gaze to his.

"By climbing trees."

He smiled. And oh, Lord, when he smiled at me my nerves rang out with tension. I could not trust him, and yet I wanted to.

"Clever girl, aren’t you?”

He looked at me with approval and my skin tightened at the back of my neck.

“I’m not that clever,” I said. “I only know the territory well.”

“That makes you a better alpha than most,” he said. Again I flushed with pride, then tamped down the feeling.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

"Let me see you as you really are, Princess."

I frowned.

"I'm really this," I said, not understanding.

"No, as a wolf. Change for me.”

I shook my head slightly.

I won't do it. I won’t shift.

I was scared he’d see too much of me.

And I was scared I’d feel the Calling.

“Alekk!”

A soldier called from just outside the entrance. Alekk growled, letting go of me. I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“What is it?”

The soldier came into the room, his head bowed.

“A question, sir, about tomorrow’s travel arrangements.”

“Ah, yes. Tell Rikash I will be there in a moment.”

The soldier nodded and left. Alekk turned back to me. There was a hint of softness in his eyes, but as he gripped my wrist it disappeared.

“You are one of my slaves now, Princess. Do not disobey me.”

“I can’t trust you,” I said, letting the defiance come out in my voice.

“Good.”

“Good?” I gaped at him.

“You’d be a fool to trust me after this. So I’m glad you’re no fool.”

“Why should I obey? You won’t even tell me— ”

“You don't have a choice. My sisters will kill you if you don’t obey me.”

“Then why are you protecting me?”

His eyes narrowed. He walked to the tent entrance.

“I cannot answer that for you, Princess. We will talk later. Sleep, if you can. It is a long day of travel tomorrow.”

Without another word, leaving me with a searing heat that swirled around in my body with nowhere to go, he left.

Chapter Three

I got woken up in the middle of the night. At first, I’d forgotten where I was. The back of my neck ached, and I reached back sleepily. When I touched the bandage, the sharp pain brought me out of sleep.

“Come on!”

I blinked in the darkness. There was someone else in the tent with me, shaking me awake. Slowly, my eyes refocused. My mind recognized the voice. It was the escort from before, the one who had put salve on my neck.

“Leah?”

“Come on!”

She jerked my arm and I stumbled out of the bed of pelts.

“What is it?”

"I found a way for you to escape. Quick. You must come with me.”

I resisted.

“Wait,” I said.

“There is no waiting. We only have a short while.”

“Hold on!” I said. I grasped her forearms. "I can't.”

“The prince has called his guards away to speak with them,” she said hurriedly. “If you were able to sneak into the camp, you should be able to sneak away from the camp. The scouts are not moving tonight.”

For a moment, I considered her plan. Her eyes were frightened. For me? I felt a thrill of fear rise in my chest. I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

“I have important work to do here,” I said carefully. “I must stay here."

"You'll be tortured. Stupid human, don’t you realize?"

She slapped her hand on my blisters. Pain shot through my shoulders and I cried out in pain.

"Do you think this is bad?” She leaned forward and stared into my eyes, grasping the sides of my arms. “This is only the first sip of pain. They'll drown you in it."

“I can’t leave him,” I said, swallowing hard. I had to stay. There was more to this than I knew. I had to stay here and talk with Alekk again. If I had to suffer to get that information, then I would have to suffer. I was determined to figure out Alex's secret. What I’d felt between us…

“You think he loves you?”

My eyes snapped to Leah. Her braids dangled in the dim light, framing her face like dark curtains.

“He doesn’t. He’s using you.” She explained it to me condescendingly. Slowly. Like she might talk to a child.

“I can’t leave him,” I said.

“You’re nothing to him. You’re a
human
.” She spat the word out like it was dog shit.

I stared up and spoke slowly, trying not to shift in my anger.

“I. Can’t. Leave. Him.”

“Did you plan to kill him? By walking into his camp naked?” Leah scoffed. “You’d have had a better time if you’d killed yourself at the edge of our army.”

“Why are you trying to help me?” I stared at her baldly. There was no reason an escort to the prince would be helping a human to sneak out. I wanted to know why she would risk her life by helping me.

“What? You don’t trust me?” Leah squinted at me.

“I didn’t say that,” I said. “I only want to know why you’re so willing to help a human prisoner escape.”

Leah leaned so far forward that I could smell her breath, the undeniable alcoholic scent mixed with juniper. In the chill of the air, it was white like mist. Her eyes gleamed with darkness.

“They do bad things in this pack,” she said. “The sisters, they’re the worst. You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

I swallowed hard.

“So you just feel bad for me? That’s why you want to help me escape?”

“Yes! If you don’t want to leave, then don’t!” She stared at me like I was insane for staying.

“Why don’t you leave?” I asked.

She looked at me for a moment, then pulled her skirts up. I gasped.

Her right leg looked normal. But her left leg was scarred so deeply that the flesh was puckered inward. It was a long scar that ran from her ankle up past her knee. The white skin shone even in the dim light.

“I tried once,” she said. “This is how they made sure I didn’t try again.”

My chest muscles tightened, and for a moment I didn’t breathe. Then I let out a shaky breath.

“You’re saying it yourself—they’ll hurt me if they find me. You want me to risk that to escape?” I shook my head, feeling the bandage over the brand irritate the edges. It hurt, but not nearly as much as what Leah had gone through.

“This is what they do to their females,” she said. “Have you seen what they do to their humans?”

“No,” I said. “I haven’t seen any humans in this camp.”

“And you won’t, either,” Leah said. “There isn’t a human that’s lasted more than a week in our pack without being destroyed. And I mean
destroyed.
Torn to pieces—”

She raised her head and sniffed, alert to some unseen threat. I sniffed too, by instinct, but I couldn’t smell anything in my purebred form.

“Your chance is gone,” she said, turning to me. Her shoulders slumped. “You’re stuck here now.”

“Stuck,” I agreed. Even if the coast was clear, I was stuck here. Stuck to Alekk.

Chapter Four

It was in the morning when I woke again, this time to a guard shaking me by the shoulder. I jolted upright with a start. I’d been dreaming of Blaise and Alekk fighting, their jaws locked at each other’s throats. An infinite circle of death…

“Up,” he said, thrusting a clump of fabric at me. “Here. Put this on.”

“What—”

“The prince will want to see you,” he said. “He’s been at work since nightfall. Up, I say!”

He smacked me on my ass, and I yelped as I leapt off of the be of pelts. I clutched the dress to my chest. I wanted to talk to Leah again. She’d helped me understand a few things about the pack. I wanted to ask her about the sisters, if they were as controlling as they seemed.

“Is Leah—”

“No questions,” he grunted.

Fine. Then he would be no help. I quickly put on the dress. It wasn’t even a dress, not by any reasonable definition of a dress. The scraps of fabric—soft pelts, I realized, probably deer—were triangles that covered less of me than it showed. By the time I’d adjusted the strapped leather, I looked like I was wearing a bikini version of a cavewoman’s outfit. Kind of like that old movie with Raquel Welsh. I could barely knot the leather strap around my waist.