10

The unrest between the packs did not inspire confidence. Dad was right when he said there was no way the Eleventh Pack could defend against a full attack by something like the Fourth or Fifth packs, or gods forbid, the First Pack. That thought sent a shiver of fear through me. I would do whatever was necessary to make sure we were strong enough to fend off an attack.

“Kira, sweetie, do you want to go practice on your hair and makeup for tomorrow?” Mom asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah,” Zoe said with a smile. “I’ve got some ideas. When I’m done with you, Jayson will want to rip your clothes off.”

Dad grimaced and walked away. “My cue to leave,” he said over his shoulder.

“Sure,” I said. “Let’s give it a shot.”

I followed my mother and Zoe back into my room. I wasn’t excited about the mating ceremony at all. Jayson was fine, but not who I’d have chosen for myself—not by a long shot. All I could do was put the worry out of my mind and let Mom and Zoe fuss over me. Tomorrow would be a big day, and I needed to be ready.

Chapter 4

Wyatt

Kolton sat across from me. He’d retreated to his room after his mother had started talking about the ceremony, and I’d joined him not long after. Even after three damn days, I was still stewing about that jackass Jayson. Kolton was working on a college assignment as a muted basketball game played on the TV. I was pretending to watch the game, but I was pissed as hell.

I prided myself on being able to forgive and forget. The past was the past. Mistakes happened. That was all fine and good, but Jayson’s selfishness and childishness when he’d seen Kira’s rubbed me the wrong way. She’d nearly bled to death in my arms. While she was crying from the agony of her forced heat and stab wound, all Jayson had done was bitch and moan about wanting to go home—and rage about me touching what was his. Like Kira was a car or a pair of pants that belonged to him.

He was a lazy piece of shit, a pampered rich kid—but what more could one expect from the spoiled son of the Ninth Pack’s alpha? Kira’s parents were excited about her being matched to him and strengthening their pack’s standing. I tried to be happy as well, but the guy had dragged his feet on setting a date for the ceremony. Five freaking years? Kira had done the mate-matching bloodwork and paired with Jayson half a decade ago, and he’d only now decided to have the ceremony. What sense did that make?

The day Kira had matched with Jayson, Kolton had told me. Apparently, she hadn’t been super enthused by the idea. Not even a little bit. Still, she’d put on a brave face for her parents because they were over the moon that their daughter’s fated mate was the son of a pack alpha.

After getting to know Jayson, I could see why Kira was emotionless about it. On paper, Jayson was a prize. In reality? He was the cheap plastic toy at the bottom of a cereal box. Pretty to look at but dull, spoiled, and boring.

Being a lone wolf gave me better insight into how our world worked. Most other creatures had a more romantic way of finding mates. Humans, fae, merpeople, and all the others? They fell in love, and that was that. It was much less pragmatic than the way wolves went about it. Blood shouldn’t direct the rest of your life. Getting stuck with a jerk like Jayson who couldn’t look past his own needs to see how much danger Kira was in the other day? It didn’t sit right with me.

In my opinion, a blood test was no way to find a mate. But who the hell asked me? The Tranquility Council wasn’t knocking my door down for suggestions. If they ever did, though, I’d give them an earful.

“Bro, you good?” Kolton asked.

Shaken from my thoughts, I looked up. He was staring at me with a look that bordered on worry and confusion. My internal thoughts must have shown on my face.

I gave a slight shake of my head. “Just thinking about how your parents are pretty much the only ones looking forward to the mating ceremony. I mean, if that’s the case, why don’t they call it off?”

Kolton barked out a laugh. “Good luck convincing Kira of that. Trust me, I’ve tried. We’ve talked about it. She’s not all starry-eyed about Jayson—I could see that from day one—but she’s so fucking stubborn. Initially, it was about going along with tradition, but she’ll do whatever it takes to make the pack and this family proud, especially with the building tensions of the last year. She wants our pack to be stronger so we can survive whatever fight ends up breaking out. You know how rare it is for inter-pack mating to happen. Kira sees this pairing with Jayson as a blessing for the Eleventh Pack, not for herself.” He shrugged in defeat. “It is what it is.”

His acceptance made me even angrier. I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. “Kira’s being unreasonable. You wouldn’t do something like this if you were in her shoes. Why can’t she see reason? She’s about to ruin her life and mate with a total dick.”

“I’m not saying you’re wrong, but she’s maniacally driven to prove herself and make something of herself in the pack’s eyes because she can’t shift. She’s got this chip on her shoulder, like she’s somehow lacking because of that.”

I kept my mouth shut. He had a point, but there were things he didn’t know, and it wasn’t my place to say anything. I looked down at his textbook, feeling a sense of pride in my friend. Kolton had been hustling his ass at a local community college with the goal of transferring to Talbot University in Fangmore City, the wolf-shifter capital of the world.