The Lunam Ceremony (Book One) (18 page)

This is the first I’ve heard about any deals. “Lowell and Conall made a deal? Does this mean they have agreed to let us brew?”

Dillan stands, his face twisted in anger. “If Cassie and I have a child, Conall agreed to merge the packs.”

Holy shit. That is huge. If Dillan and Cassie have a child, it will carry both bloodlines, and be able to lead both packs. That means I’m off the hook. But where does that leave my parents? “Does Monte know about this?”

“I don’t think so. My father told me not to tell anyone. Not even you.”

“Oh,” I say quietly. “I’m glad you did.”

“Look, Kalysia, I never planned to go through with it. I only agreed so they would let Cassie come here, for you. I figured I would get one of the other alphas to take my place. Conall doesn’t care about my bloodline; he just wants an heir for his family.” Dillan pulls me in his arms. “Lowell is the one trying to vie for power. He wants to push Monte out. If I have a child with Cassie, our baby will be the link to merge the packs. Only it will be his heir, not Monte’s.”

I don’t know Monte that well, but I know he is a good leader and he has a good heart. That is why he won the power to lead over Lowell. Being a shrewd businessman doesn’t make you a great leader. It also doesn’t make you a great father. Lowell is a money-hungry mongrel and now he is trying to overthrow Monte. If I never pushed for Cassie to come here, this would have never happened. “So, this is all my fault?”

“Don’t say that. If you want to blame anyone, blame me. I should have opted out of Lunam. I thought about running, you know. Then I saw you. You looked as scared as I was. I thought you might be running away too. Then you fell and, well, you looked as unsure of it all as I did. I thought, if I match with her, it won’t be all that bad.”

I remember the moment he’s taking about. I was running, until I saw him. He was the reason I went back. He was the reason I went to Lunam in the first place. He is my soulmate. “We were meant to be together, Dillan. In some way, it was our destiny. We can help each other. We will do it together.” I repeat the words he said to me at Lunam.

Dillan kisses my cheek and squeezes me to him. “I’d like that. I just wish your brother was as understanding.”

“Did you expect him to just jump at the opportunity to sleep with Cassie?” I’m proud of Rusty for having some self-respect.

“Well, yeah,” Dillan laughs. “Most males in his situation would. But he’s, uh,
different
.” Dillan raises an eyebrow when he says this.

“What do you mean,
different
?”

Dillan smiles and runs his hand over his head. “Um, Cassie isn’t his type.”

“I don’t believe that. Cassie is gorgeous.” A sting of jealousy stabs my chest when I think of her now.

Dillan paces the room. “I mean, Rusty doesn’t find Cassie sexually attractive.”

“Maybe he prefers blondes or something.” I don’t see why Dillan is so worked up.

“No, he prefers men.”

Being raised in the human world, you learn sexual orientation isn’t a personal preference, it’s something a human is born with. I’m not so sure how it works in wolf packs when our entire being is based on breeding. “Will he be ok?” I worry about the others and how they will react if they find out.

“I’m ok with it, so they have no choice. But it isn’t something that is normally accepted. If he were in another pack, they could do something drastic.” Dillan doesn’t have to elaborate. I know the kinds of things homophobes do.

“Well, we have to protect him.” I stand up, ready to take on the world. Dillan’s eyes glide over my naked body. I pluck his dirty shirt from the floor and pull it on. “I’m serious; we have to keep his secret.”

“I’m not sure Rusty wants to keep it a secret. He’s happy with who he is and he doesn’t really care what others think. But his partner does.”

“He has a partner?”

“Yeah, but he won’t tell me who he is or if he’s even in our pack. I suspect he is, which is why he wouldn’t agree to mate with Cassie.” Dillan’s walkie beeps from the living room and we both jump. It isn’t like they can hear us, but you never know.

It’s Drake asking if we are on our way to the party. Dillan looks at me for final approval.

“Fine,” I say and stomp to the bathroom.

We arrive at the lodge forty-five minutes before midnight. Clio’s eyes grow wide when she sees us hand in hand. Everyone is here, even most of the betas, except for the few that are with the children. Most of the females are dressed in snow pants and fleece—it’s too cold for formal attire. Leah and Patsy are in jeans with high-heeled boots. Leah is wearing a low-cut blouse that crisscrosses in the front, complimenting her already tiny waistline, while Patsy is in a red cashmere sweater that looks one size too small. I spot Rusty in the corner with Tripp and Ray, doing shots. I look around the crowd and wonder if his partner is here tonight. Sid and Carrick join the guys for a shot and Rusty moves away. I wonder if Carrick knows about him, and that’s why they don’t get along. It’s possible, but I don’t think Carrick is the kind of guy that would keep it a secret. Carrick wouldn’t pass up an excuse to tease or bully my brother. He is the reason I need to protect him. Without me, who knows what will happen under someone else’s rules. With Dillan and me in charge, he will never have to worry about who he loves.

“Have you had enough wine for the night or should I get you a glass?” Dillan whispers with a smile.

“More, please.” I kiss his cheek and take off my coat. I hang it on a hook as he heads to the makeshift bar the guys have set up.

As soon as Dillan is out of earshot, Clio rushes to my side. “Is everything, are you—” she stammers.

“It’s fine. It was a misunderstanding.” I glance around, looking for Cassie. “Is she here?” Clio tells me she left about thirty minutes ago. “Good.”

Dillan returns with my wine and says hello to Clio. She lowers her eyes and mumbles happy New Year to him before walking away. “What’s her problem?”

I shrug and take a sip of my wine. It doesn’t go down as smoothly as it did earlier. “I’m going to get a snack, are you hungry?” Dillan kisses me and says he’s fine.

Leah has a fancy spread of cheese, salami, olives, and crackers on the table. She also unwrapped some snack cakes we give the kids for dessert and placed them on a plate. The last New Year’s party I went to was with Layla and Miles. His company threw a big party at one of the Vegas hotels. I snuck too much champagne, and as the crowd counted down the last thirty seconds until midnight, I was puking in a potted plant in the back of the room. To me, New Year’s Eve marked one year closer to my inevitable destiny. I guess it was the same for everyone here. It’s finally up to me, to us, to make the best of the lives we’ve chosen. We may have been born into this life, but we went to Lunam willingly. We all want to be here. Even me.

“Two minutes!” Drake announces. He checks his watch with the large clock on the wall.

I scan the room for Dillan. I’ll be damned if I miss my first New Year’s kiss. I see everyone moving in the direction of their mates. Suddenly, the door opens and a gust of cold air invades the room. Everyone turns to see who it is. Cassie looks apologetically at the group and quickly closes the door. I used to feel bad when she walked into a room full of condescending eyes, but tonight, for the first time, I feel nothing. The urge to protect her is gone. She knows why she came here, and she let me believe it was for my benefit. She’s on her own now.

Dillan appears quickly by my side, with Clio not far behind him. “You ok?” he whispers in my ear then looks back at Clio. “Do you need something?”

“Uh...” She locks eyes with me. “Um, no,” she tells him then walks back to Tripp and the others.

“She’s acting weird, right?”

I tell Dillan she was worried about me earlier because of my cold. He lets it go as the countdown begins.

“Ten, nine, eight…”

Even I join in.

“Seven, six, five…”

I see Cassie cross the room to join us.

“Four, three, two, one!”

The room explodes with joy. Dillan pulls me into his arms and kisses me softly on the lips. “Happy New Year, Kalysia.” He pulls me into his arms and muffles the sound of the room. “I love you,” he whispers into my hair.

I pull back and say the first words that come to mind. “I love you.” Dillan’s eyes sparkle as he leans in and kisses me again. This is going to be our year. The year we decide our fate, our future.

The pack is hooting and whistling. Drake shoves a glass of champagne in my hand and we toast. “To family,” Drake says and clinks Dillan’s glass.

“To family,” the room echoes.

I turn to clink glasses with Leah and then Patsy. When I turn to my right, Cassie is waiting to greet me. “Happy New Year.” She offers me a one-armed hug. I don’t hug her back. Clio stands behind Cassie, watching my reaction. She looks ready to pounce on my command. It’s nice to know she has my back. All I have to do is say the word and Cassie is gone. But I won’t. Not yet.

“Happy New Year,” I tell her, and then turn to see Dillan watching our exchange. The anger I felt earlier has diminished. Watching Cassie give Dillan a hug causes something different altogether. Something worse than anger. Pain. Dillan is polite, but quick to move away. I’m grateful for his tact. I can’t be in the same room as her right now. I leave Cassie in the middle of Leah and Clio to get my coat. Dillan sees me and nods. He is saying goodnight to the others when Rusty taps my shoulder.

“Happy New Year, sis.” He hugs me and kisses my cheek. I pull him into my arms and squeeze him tight.

“Happy New Year. I hope you spend it with someone you care about.” Rusty looks at me strangely. I want to tell him I know and that I don’t care, but this isn’t the time.

“Hey Rusty,” Dillan interrupts. They shake hands and say goodnight.

Dillan helps me with my coat while Rusty opens the door. “I’ll walk you out. It’s pretty brutal out there.”

Dillan tells him we’ll be fine. “No, you stay, enjoy yourself. Make sure these guys don’t drink too much, they have work tomorrow.”

Rusty promises to wind the party down in an hour. “Have a good night you two.”

The door is almost closed when I yell, “I hope you enjoyed the wine!” I see a flash of fear cross Rusty’s face as he disappears behind the door.

Dillan and I hurry back to our cabin but neither of us is very tired, so we do what we do best. In between the insatiable bouts of sex, we have our first honest conversation.

“I’m trying to get this business up and running so we can leave. My parents left after two years because my father had money. I can do the same thing. I know I can.”

I figured we would be here at least five years. We are supposed to establish the business and solidify the pack before we leave. That is why we are so secluded. It’s not just to torture us, like Leah said. We’re supposed to form an unbreakable bond. I think about how close we are and it’s only been a few months. We are becoming stronger as a group, it’s the camp I’m not so sure about. It’s already falling apart.

“Once we get the brand established and start making money, we should have enough to leave and make it on our own. I want to do this without help from my father, not that he would offer any.” Dillan is so bitter when it comes to Lowell.

“We don’t need a lot of money.” I snuggle up to him.

“You say that now.” He kisses my forehead.