“Agreement or Not”

Bridgette’s POV: 

        I stared out of my window, silently watching the misting rain drizzle lightly against my window. The sun hidden under a blanket of grey clouds making the rich green of the forests and grasslands emerald and vibrant. I leaned against the cold stone window frame and stared into the wilderness, lost in thought. My father was planning another party for me tonight, something I was dreading. I kept trying to assure him that in time I would find my mate, that it was destined and that the Moon Goddess wouldn’t have it any other way. I was only 22 years old for crying out loud, but I could hear his voice echo in my head. 

        “Britty, every wolf needs a mate, fated or chosen, and you are not getting any younger. Even your little sister has found her mate.” I sighed and crossed my arms across my chest. You would think I was an old maid by the way he spoke. It wasn’t that I cared much anyway, I was quite content in being alone. I didn’t need a mate, and I refused to be controlled by one. I was my own person, educated and with a career. Additionally, my father was a Lycan king, not just some simple werewolf. That’s right, I am a Lycan, of ancient blood. I had always been proud of my heritage. 

        And that was indeed the problem. My father was insistent that I find a mate and settle down just as my two brothers and one sister had done.  I was the oldest, my father’s heir, and the only one of the siblings yet to find their mate, which was making my father extremely anxious. 

        So, he began hosting parties and throwing extravagant balls on my behalf, at first locally, then within our country, then the entire island of Wales. This particular party, he had invited Alpha’s from all over the world, and I had been firmly instructed that I would be choosing an acceptable male this time, fated or not. 

        I felt my shoulders shutter, a chosen mate, how abhorrent is that? How barbaric, they might as well sell me to the highest bidder. I knew my father was interviewing men on my behalf and the concept infuriated me. He had a fated mate, why would he believe that I should be different from any other wolf? I deserved time to find my soulmate, my other half and I simply refused to settle for the first Alpha with a large checkbook and a title.  

        A sound suddenly startled me from behind, catching my attention and my little sister Oliva came bounding into my room. She was only 16 years old, but she was a rare beauty, nonetheless. She had raven black hair and the same electric blue eyes that my father and I had. She smiled sweetly and plopped down onto my settee. 

        “So, you are pouting then.” There was a hint of humor in her voice, and I couldn't help but glare at her. 

        “You would be less than pleased if father was telling you who to be mated to.” I snapped quietly, returning my attention out of the window. 

      “Aye, I’d be that. Finding Jack was a stroke of good fortune for me. Son of father’s Beta, who would’ve thought. It was an easy transition for us to go from friends to mates, we talked near daily anyhow.” I couldn’t help but shake my head at my little sister’s dumb luck. Only Olivia would end up with her best guy friend as her mate. She discovered him less than a week ago, but the mating ceremony was already being planned, and why not, he was a good wolf, from good family, and his father was a Lycan, just as we were. 

       I turned to face her, crossing my arms with annoyance. I looked at her smiling face before I resorted to go and sit across from her. My fireplace was crackling, flames gently rolling behind the black screen, directly across from the horsehair styled chair I had chosen to settle in. For being early Fall, mid-September to be exact, it had a formative chill in the air. 

       “Not everyone ends up having their best friend as their mate. I have looked, so has father, and what bothers me most now is that he is demanding I choose a bloke. I mean, finding a soul mate is not the same as finding a pebble on the beach.” I watched my sister frown, wearing a long grey wool skirt and a black tunic top that clung to her curves, curves nearly as good as mine even for as young as she was. Not one of the Ryan ladies were lacking in curve appeal as my mother often joked. She clasped her hands in front of her and smiled to me warmly, I could tell she felt for me. 

       “Maybe he will be among the Alpha’s father has invited?” her statement was more of a question, and I simply leaned back into my large antique chair and huffed. 

        “Unlikely.” I growled. “I wish I could just travel this world for a wee bit ya know… explore, find myself before I settle down.” Oliva frowned and leaned forward uneasily. 

        “I heard father tell mum that he was leaning towards you accepting Ludwig, the Alpha from Germany. I believe he is a Lycan also and very wealthy.” My sister informed me quietly. My brows furrowed and I pursed my lips. 

         “He is an arrogant ass.” I muttered. Oliva nodded in agreement. It was a well-known fact that Ludwig believed he was superior to all beasts and men. The only souls he felt were an equal to him was the handful of Lycan Kings that still reigned around the world. I sat up slowly, my eyes widened and a smiled graced my face as an idea floated defiantly within my head. 

        “I could tell father that I have to travel somewhere for business. That I am needed to a consult for a historical building somewhere?” My brain was beginning to wander as a plan filtered within my head. I just needed some time to myself, a place where I can unwind, and think. 

        “Well, you are a historical architect, it is possible. But where would you go that father would not recognize a building you were supposedly going to work on?” I leaned forward, my hand holding up my chin as I pondered. 

        “America.” I mumbled after a few moments. Oliva shook her head and feigned a hiss of disdain with a wave of her hand. 

        “What would they know of truly historical building?” Another smiled graced upon my face as I retorted my sister’s hiss. 

         “Of course, sister! That would be why they would need my expertise.” I rebutted quickly, a smiled casting onto my delicate features. 

        “I am not so sure of this. Father will find out. One tea with William and it’s over. Your boss will never keep a secret from our father, and his King, sister.” I could sense Oliva’s unease, as she shifted in her seat across from me, yet I simply smiled as I began working out the plan in my head. 

        “Simple, I call William hence and inform him I have been contacted by an American company to assist with the restoration of a castle on the east coast. I will tell him they offered me a very generous compensation package and I simply cannot refuse it. That way, I can get a couple weeks off from work for the “consultation” and then, that will get father off my back. It’s perfect.” I smiled as though my plan had already succeeded, however Oliva frowned at me while handing me my phone from the heavy walnut coffee table in front of us. 

        “I think you are crazy, but I have to see this.” I took the phone out of her hand, looking at the black glass hesitantly for a moment. My idea was great in my head, and now putting it into action, I was cautiously hesitant. 

        “Well, here goes nothing.” I muttered as I slowly opened my screen and searched for William’s number. Upon finding it, I tapped on the number and listened for the ringing. 

        “Yes?” a gruff voice answered on the second ring, causing me to hold my breath for a moment. 

        “William?” I responded. Another pause lingered until the older man on the other end of the line realized who was speaking and I distinctly heard a smile radiate through the line. 

        “Britty! How delightful to hear your voice. Are you excited for the ball your father is putting together for you tonight? I know myself and Miss Kate are eager to attend.” The old man did sound relatively excited, the entire pack loved when my parent’s hosted balls and parties. They were always the toast of Scotland. I felt my heart drop in my chest, I personally hated them. I always felt like I was a showcase of beef on display, and frankly that was always how my father made me feel, regardless of if he meant it that way or not.

        I was the oldest of four pups, I was 22 years old, my brother Angus was 21, Jonathon at 18 and my sweet Oliva at 16. All of them had found their mates, all but me. And I was the oldest, I was destined to be my parents’ successor, my mate and I that is. The fact was, I didn’t want it, far from it. Although I loved my home and my family, I loved my career even more. I didn’t want to run a pack, and my brother Angus was kind, noble and a perfect Alpha. I had always felt, even since we were children that he should have been born first, that he was the true future Lycan King, and the rightful heir. 

        “That is what I was calling for. My father doesn’t know it yet, but I will be flying out tonight for the Americas. I have received an offer to consult on a castle in Pennsylvania for renovation. I will not be attending the party and I wanted to let you know that I would be out of the office for a couple of weeks.” My voice was calm as I boldly lied to my boss, I could see in my mind his wrinkled old brow shutter over his heavy eye lids as he processed what I had just told him. He was a kind old man and frankly responsible for getting my father to allow me to have a university education. I had graduated from Cambridge at the top of my class only a year ago with a Masters. Yes, I was young for a Masters, however I had started my college career when I was only 16 years old.  

        “Britty, you could find your mate here darling.” The old man pleaded with me gently. However, I had seen the guest list in my father’s study, and I knew every single boring aristocrat coming, I had already met them, and I knew none were my fated mate. 

        “Hardly William. I know all on the list, and trust me when I say, I will not be missed. I would much rather be locked away in a library alone for eternity.” I could hear a chuckle in the phone, and I sighed with relief, knowing that he was bowing to my wishes as he nearly always did. I loved the old man dearly. He was only half wolf, his mother being human. He had been raised in the human world, but had come back after he graduated from Cambridge, the same school I attended, to help my grandfather do some restorations to the castle. He then found his mate, a darling she-wolf named Kate, which prompted him to purchase a small cottage within the pack grounds, and never looked back.

       “Alright lassie, you just better be makin us some good money, that’s all I can say.” He grumbled; but I knew he loved me like a daughter. 

        “Of course, William darlin. I will see you in a fort night.” I answered as I stated my goodbyes and sighed deeply as I set my phone back onto the table in front of my sister. Oliva sneered at me and leaned back in her chair, crossing her long lankly legs. She ran her hand through her long ebony hair and twitched her nose. Her deep blue eyes challenging me for the next factor in my escape… my father. 

        “Pfft, you may have fooled William, but father, that’s a whole nother matter.” I frowned, but in my heart, I knew she was right. 

        “Then I mustn’t tell him.”