“Are you all right?” Maxwell asked me, scowling after him.
“I’m fine,” I assured Maxwell. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
He stuck his hand out, as I concentrated very hard on looking him in the eye and not noticing anything else.
“I’m Maxwell Battle,” he said. “We haven’t yet been formally introduced.”
“I’m Camille,” I muttered, unable to meet his gaze. All of a sudden I felt badly about lying to him.
He was still the jerk who had pretty much bought Camille without regard for her wishes, and he had just been fighting for me as if I were livestock, but he’d also just stood up for me against a very scary Alpha, and I was having a hard time hating his guts as much as I should.
Also I was afraid that I’d somehow complicated things with him. I hadn’t really given much thought to how my deception would affect Maxwell’s pack. Would the alliance be off? Probably. Would I somehow cause the packs to go to war with each other?
Hopefully the Renker family realize that it wasn’t Maxwell’s fault, and only be mad at me.
“So, uh, are you going to change into a tux?” I asked him.
He threw back his head and laughed, a warm, rich sound.
“You apparently don’t know that much about Timber Valley traditions,” he said. “We do things a little differently around here. I was wondering why you were wearing a wedding dress. It’s not really suited for the day’s activities.”
Interesting. What kind of activities could he be talking about? I wasn’t sure I liked the amused smirk on his face.
He grabbed me by the hand and led me out to the truck. He was still stark naked, but shifters are used to that. One of the men standing there raised an eyebrow, and reached into the bed of truck. He pulled out a pair of pants and handed them to Maxwell, who stepped into them and zipped them up. Shifters always carry spare clothing with them.
Now he was just standing there barechested, with that leather strip of a necklace and the jeans. His abs looked as if they’d been carved with a chisel. Looking at him sent ripples of heat through my body.
“Sounded like things got a little loud in there,” the man said. He was a dead ringer for Maxwell, but looked maybe a few years younger.
“He left with his tail between his legs,” Maxwell shrugged. I could see a truck driving very quickly off into the distance, followed by several cars; it looked as if Kray and family was leaving the property.
I imagined he’d brought his younger brother Kimball, who was always by his side and who also had a terrible reputation, and various cousins and uncles. Now that Kray was an Alpha, they all had started throwing their weight around, bullying other shifters and picking fights, from what I’d heard. Kray’s cousin Roberta, for instance, had a shoplifting habit, but whenever a storeowner caught her, she’d call them a liar and threaten that Kray would issue a death challenge to them and they’d back down.
The men looked me over curiously. “She’s not going to be able to run too fast in that getup,” one of them observed.
Run? Why would I need to run on my wedding day? I suddenly felt very out of place in my illusory gown and veil. I thought this was a perfect wedding day outfit. Should I have had the shaman conjure up jeans and a tank top?
“She’ll change later,” Maxwell said. “There’s been a change of plan. I’m taking her to the parson to be married right now, and then we’ll come over to the reception hall in a couple of hours. Don’t worry, we’ll be at the feast, and we’ll still do the Running and Claiming this afternoon.”
Running and Claiming?
I knew that every pack had their own unique wedding traditions, especially for their Alphas. I hadn’t bothered to study up on Timber Valley, because I refused to acknowledge this as a real wedding day. Maybe I should have done a little more research.
I barely had time to wonder what I’d gotten myself into, when all the other wolves threw back their heads and howled their approval.
“He can’t wait to get her back to the bridal chamber!” one of them bayed.
“Maybe she’ll outrun him. I’ll claim her any day of the week, if he can’t catch her!” another one howled.
“Watch it,” Maxwell growled at him. “And don’t worry, I will catch her and I will be Claiming her.”
The shifters kept whooping and hollering their approval. I blushed furiously as he held the passenger door open for me and helped me into the truck.
We pulled away, and he stuck his arm out the window and waved at his relatives, who were still baying happily. “Don’t mind my brothers and cousins,” he said. “An Alpha wedding is a big deal around here.”