Oh, the heck with it. I shifted back to human form and pulled my clothes on, as he sat there with the truck idling, waiting.
As I walked towards him, he leaned over and pushed the passenger door open.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.
“What do you mean? Why are you letting it go this far? Are you trying to make some kind of point?” I demanded, struggling to blink back tears. Any minute now, I expected him to start mocking me. Laughing at me.
He shook his head, frowning at me. “What kind of point would I be trying to make?”
“You know, it’s not just me that’s affected by this,” I said. “Just be honest, for God’s sake. Tell everyone that this marriage was a sham.”
“Is that what you want?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter what I want!” I didn’t know what I wanted any more. “What matters is doing what’s right. Going through with this marriage isn’t right. Come on, you just met me. You can’t say you’ve fallen in love with me.”
I realized that part of me desperately wanted him to argue. He didn’t.
“An Alpha marries for the good of his pack; he’s lucky if loves come into the picture as well,” was all he said.
“Then there’s no reason for you to marry me. I’m no good for your pack. I carry no political advantage whatsoever,” I told him.
“You underestimate yourself, Josephine Southpaw Battle. You’re also not thinking this through. Your friend ran away, but she’s not safe yet.”
That got my attention. “What do you mean?” I asked uneasily.
“Her uncle would be within his rights as pack leader to track her down and drag her back. He’ll keep hunting and hunting until he finds her. Do you know what would prevent him from doing that?”
“What?”
“If she mates during the full moon.”
Well. That was true. If she mated during the full moon, she would definitely conceive. However, the full moon wasn’t coming for several weeks yet.
“If he doesn’t know to look for her, then that would buy her enough time to conceive,” he said. “If he finds out what happens, he may be able to track her down and bring her back.”
“Won’t he find out on his own?” I asked. “His pack lives what, like, an hour from you?”
“Not necessarily. Nobody in Timber Valley talks to anybody from his pack. When he inquires about the alliance on Monday, I’m certainly not going to say anything.”
“That would require carrying on this charade for three more weeks,” I said.
He nodded, as if the matter were settled. “Yep. So do you want a ride back, or do you plan going back the way you came?”
Oh, heck. I climbed into the truck. I’d had my fill of running for the day. My paws were getting sore.
We rode back to the property in silence. I sat there trying not to be turned on by his scent, and the sheer masculine presence of him, but it was impossible. I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat until we pulled up in front of the wedding lodge.
He held the door open for me. The perfect gentleman…until he ran his hand down my back and over my backside as he followed me in.
I shivered and choked back a moan of frustration, biting my lip and moving out of reach of his hand.
I needed to summon all of my willpower. If I had sex with him, it would be addictive. Three weeks would roll around, I’d have to leave, and it would be devastating.
“Since we agree this is just a fake marriage, I should probably sleep in another bedroom,” I said firmly.
“Of course. No problem at all.” He had that gleam in his eye again. “Of course, there’s always the issues of the bedclothes.”
“The bedclothes. What about them?”
“You don’t have the traditional scenting of the bedclothes in your pack?’
My, my, this pack was full of interesting traditions. “Ah, no. Do please explain.”
“The morning after the wedding, the bedclothes should be saturated with the scent of sex. That is how the Alpha proves that he has claimed, and satisfied, his bride. We hand it out the door to one of my brothers. He cuts it up into pieces, and hands the pieces out to the assembled single male and female wolves, who scent the material, and then there is a mating frenzy. Big ole orgy right there”
“Seriously?”
He burst out laughing. “You should see your face right now. You’re red as a stopsign.”
“So…you were kidding?”
“Oh, hell no. If there’s no bedclothes handed out…well, it’s never happened. The pack would question my virility. I probably couldn’t be Alpha any more. I’d never be able to start my own pack.” His face had taken on a mock tragic expression.