Chapter 1
She lay beside him staring blankly at the ceiling. The deed was done. They were mated. It didn’t matter that she had no love for him nor he for her. Political alliances were more important than feelings, or so she had been told. That fact was cold comfort right now as her heart broke within her.
Beside her, he stirred and she sensed him rolling over, his amber eyes staring at her. She made no move to look at him and instead tried to steady her breathing. It was no use. As she inhaled, her breath quivered betraying her emotional state. Despite blinking rapidly, a stray tear trailed down her cheek.
The covers rustled beside her and then she felt his finger move across her cheek catching the tear. “I’m sorry, Elise.” Kane’s voice was deep yet gentle.
“It doesn’t matter.” She answered quietly, still staring at the ceiling. What he was apologizing for she was unsure. For mating her? For the inevitable pain the first time brought? For the fact that she was now bound to him for the rest of her life, despite her love for another? Perhaps he was sorry for all three, yet they were as beyond his control as they were hers. She swallowed hard. “It couldn’t be helped.”
“No, it couldn’t,” he agreed, sighing heavily. His arm slipped around her waist and drew her closer. She let her cheek rest against his muscular chest, too spent to protest; the sound of his steady heartbeat was faintly comforting. “I wish I could have given you more time to get to know me before we mated, but the Elders are awaiting proof of our union .”
She felt heat flood her cheeks at the thought of the stained sheets being examined as proof of her innocence. It was so old fashioned, but it was how things were done to ensure the blood lines between the packs were truly mixed. Heaven forbid she’d come into the relationship tainted with another male’s pup in her belly. Well, there could be no doubt now that Kane was her first and only mate.
Tradition or not, it still didn’t lessen her embarrassment. All her friends and family would see and know the intimacy that had occurred between her and Kane. Worst of all, Bryan—the one she loved—would know as well.
Closing her eyes, scenes from the past day flashed through her mind. She’d just returned from a run with Bryan where they’d frolicked and played in the cool shaded woods that surrounded her home. He’d been her best friend since they were pups and recently the friendship had grown into something more. Bryan had hinted that he would ask her father for permission to become her mate and she’d been thrilled at the idea. Many of her friends were already mated and, as her nineteenth birthday approached, she was becoming restless, eager to experience bonding with another.
Already, she’d gone through several heat cycles, but her father had held off choosing her a mate. Elise had naively thought he was waiting for her to find someone who suited her. Ruefully, she now acknowledged that was never the case. While her father loved her, he was first and foremost their Alpha and had to put the well-being of the pack ahead of all else. Her older brother and sister had mated with packs to the north and south. With the sea at their back, it was only to the east that an alliance was needed. When Kane became the new Alpha of that territory, the Elders determined that a mating between the packs was needed to ensure continued stability.
That day, as she returned laughing at something Bryan had said, Jake, her father’s Beta, had greeted her at the door. “Elise, you’re needed in the assembly room.”
Something in his tone of voice warned her that all was not well. With a slight wave to her friend, she followed Jake curious as to what could possibly require her presence. The assembly room was used on occasion for general pack meetings, but usually her father and the council of Elders dealt with all important issues.
As she pushed the door open, a cacophony of emotions hit her. Excitement, worry, curiosity... She was sensitive to moods and puzzled over the strange mixture. Scanning the room, she noted those who were present. The Elders appeared both excited and pleased as they conversed with another group of older persons, all of whom were strangers to her. Her father had a serious expression on his face and was talking to a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. Elise hadn’t encountered him before and she took a moment to study this new arrival.
The man was taller than her father, at least six foot four, and powerfully built. His shoulders were broad, muscles rippling beneath his shirt as he gestured to make some point. Dark, faintly messy hair topped a pleasing face, with sculpted cheeks and a full bottom lip. Possibly sensing her inspection of him, he glanced towards the door and his amber eyes locked on hers. There was a hard edge about him, a commanding presence that made her feel as if she were pinned in place. Slowly he studied her from head to foot, his gaze lingering on her breasts and then her hips, before returning to her face. Elise felt herself flush under his scrutiny. As he flashed a brief smile at her, she thought she caught a glimpse of softness in his eyes, but it was quickly gone. He looked back at her father and continued their conversation. She sulked. For some reason his apparent dismissal of her rankled.