Page 3 of Claimed by the Wolf (Wild Fated Shifters #1)

brYNN

H ow can they do this to me? They’re supposed to protect me.

It’s a song I’ve been playing in my head, one that kept me up all night.

And now the refrain continues as I get ready to meet Emeric on his territory.

How can anyone prepare for something like this?

How does someone even get ready, mentally, let alone choose an outfit, for the occasion of being accepted or rejected as a mate one doesn’t even want?

The thought of it brings a fresh bout of tears to my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I won’t give my brother the satisfaction of seeing me cry, even though I want to scream in his face and hurl accusations at him.

But what would be the point? He’s under orders, too. Just like me.

It hurts me to think that Nox could give me away like this. Deep down, somewhere in the bottom of my heart, I’d always secretly hoped he might learn to see me as something other than Brax’s kid sister.

What an idiot I am.

“So, you’re not going to talk to me?” Brax asks as I throw a stack of pancakes in the middle of the breakfast table and turn back toward the stove.

“I’ve been talking to you,” I snap. “Even though you don’t deserve it.”

My brother doesn’t respond, but I see my brusque response hurt his feelings, and a pang of guilt shoots through me.

He’s not entirely wrong.

I can’t look at him when I speak to him.

I’m still shaking inside, even though I’m doing everything in my power to stay calm.

Since our meeting yesterday, I wanted to pack a bag and leave.

But where would I go? Brax is the only family I have, and he’s already proven he won’t watch out for my best interests.

What chance do I have out there on my own?

The truth is, I’ve become spoiled, complacent in this life they provided for me. And now I have to pay for it.

I glance at my brother, more shame washing over me. He would never forgive himself if I left. Nox would hold him accountable, and he would become a pariah in the pack.

Why should I care? It’s not like he’s being sold off. They’re the ones doing this to me!

I slump against the granite countertop and bite on my lower lip.

“Brynn, it won’t be so bad,” Brax insists.

“How the hell do you know?” I respond curtly.

I catch the look of worry on my brother’s face, and I realize that he doesn’t, not really.

I change my tone. “Are you sure this guy isn’t some kind of bully, someone who abuses women?” I ask in a meek voice.

Brax’s head jerks up. “Nox wouldn’t do that to you, Brynn,” he promises. “He cares about you.”

I snort loudly and spin back toward the stove, stabbing into the bacon with too much force. The fork grates against the cast iron, wearing on my nerves more. “Yeah, okay.”

“He does!” Brax insists. “He trusts you! That’s why this has to be you and only you. Who else could he enlist to do something like this?”

I cast him a sidelong look and consider his question carefully. He does have a point. The idea of mating with the Alpha of a rival pack is a delicate task, and I can’t think of a single suitable replacement. I still wish they’d asked for my input before deciding for me.

Brax’s eyes narrow as he sets his fork down, mid-bite. “If he ever treats you badly, all you have to do is tell me. And I swear to all the gods that our pack will make the entire Willow Grove pack pay in blood.”

“I know you’d protect me.” My voice cracks with emotion.

“But this union… It’s for the good of the pack.”

Brax’s statement makes my skin crawl, even though he’s said it at least a dozen times since yesterday. I get it. I do. But it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.

I suppose I should appreciate the honesty. Brax and Nox aren’t bothering to dress this up as anything romantic.

This is what’s happening, and if I refuse, the fate of the pack is on me.

No pressure at all.

“I know,” I grumble, turning off the stove. “I said I’d do it, didn’t I?”

My big brother visibly relaxes as I slap the bacon in front of him, but I don’t join him at the table. Instead, I retreat to my room.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Brax calls after me.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Brynn…”

I stand in the hallway, but I don’t return. “I need to get ready, don’t I? Or should I go to meet the esteemed Emeric in my pajamas?”

He’s not amused. “Brynn, come here.”

Gritting my teeth, I pivot and return to the kitchen to stare balefully at Brax.

His hazel eyes are shadowed with regret. “You know you don’t have to do it if you really don’t want to.”

I laugh humorlessly. “Oh yeah?” I ask sarcastically. “Where was this support yesterday? I didn’t hear you utter a single objection.”

He grimaces. “It goes without saying.”

“No, it doesn’t. You heard Nox. It wasn’t a request.”

“You know how he is,” Brax mutters. “There’s a certain persona he has to put on as Alpha. But if you really don’t want to do it, he’ll figure something else out.”

I grit my teeth. He’s probably right. If I put up a big enough fight about it, Nox will find another solution. He’s not going to handcuff me, and if what they’re saying about Emeric is true, the Willow Grove Alpha isn’t going to want an unwilling mate either.

But if not me, then who? If no one from our pack does it, what will that mean for our pack?

The whole point of this union is to give us stability.

And I don’t want to disappoint Nox, even if he doesn’t want me and never will.

I have to stop thinking like a child if I don’t want to be looked at like one.

I need to put aside my personal feelings and do what’s right for the greater good.

This is bigger than me, and I need to remember that.

It’s not like I have anything going on here, anyway.

It’s not like I’m dating anyone. I’m just sharing a house with my oversexed brother, who has a new female over every night of the week.

Maybe this change will do us all some good. At least if Nox is out of sight, I won’t have irrational thoughts about him.

Still, I’m nervous about this Alpha, especially given the history between our packs.

The feud started twenty years ago when wildfires destroyed the old boundary markers between our territories.

Since then, both packs have claimed the same border areas, leading to constant accusations of trespassing and territorial violations.

With this mating, both packs are willing to call the land in question neutral ground.

I’ve seen Emeric from a distance, and he’s handsome, I’ll give him that. But beyond that, I don’t know much about him. Even an online search didn’t tell me much, except what I already heard in passing. There are some friends I could reach out to with connections to Willow Grove.

The twins have cousins in the pack. But I don’t want to invite more questions, especially not from Sierra and Sienna, who can’t be trusted to keep their mouths shut.

Not when I don’t know what’s going to happen.

For all I know, Emeric might reject me, and then I’ll just come home completely humiliated.

The thought gives me a modicum of hope, though.

“I’m doing it.” But it’s more for my benefit than Brax’s. “I’m going to meet Emeric.”

Relief sweeps over my brother’s face. “I’ll make this up to you.”

I hear the regret in his tone. He’s carried a lot on his shoulders since our parents died, and I know I should be grateful for all he’s done over the years, but it’s hard when I look at my ultimate fate.

Have they been planning this for years? I can’t help but question all his moves now.

“There’s nothing to make up, Brax. I’m a grown-up. I can make my own choices,” I say stiffly, even though I don’t mean it.

I turn, walk down the hallway to my room, and close the door.

Then I open my small closet and dig through the potential outfits for the meeting with Emeric. I'd better make a good first impression, or Nox will assume I sabotaged the whole thing deliberately.

And maybe he deserves that. But I put that thought aside.

I feel Nox watching me, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of meeting his eyes. I wish he’d stop staring at me and keep his eyes on the road. My nerves are too shot, and I’m afraid I might back out under the slightest provocation.

Brax hadn’t been allowed to come. Nox wouldn’t let him.

Only Nox and his top enforcers were allowed to attend, because the Alpha feared my brother’s emotional influence would complicate the negotiations.

“He’s your Beta!” I complained when Nox told me. “The only person in the pack who has more power is you!”

“He’s not coming,” Nox insisted. “I’ll be there.”

I suppose it’s basically the same thing. They had both sold me out.

“You okay over there?” Nox asks, willing me to look at him.

“Yep.”

He continues to drive, a fact I find curious. He has another car following us and two bikes flanking us toward Willow Grove territory, but we’re alone in this vehicle, without a driver. I wonder if it’s because he wants me alone, to give me last-minute instructions. Or orders.

So far, he hasn’t said much, but those startling azure eyes keep peering at me when he takes his eyes off the road.

“Why do you keep looking at me?” I finally ask in exasperation. “If you have something to say, please just say it.”

He chuckles. “You look nice.”

I roll my eyes. “Gee, thanks,” I retort sarcastically. “You sure do know how to make a lioness feel special.”

His grin broadens, his blue irises sparkling. “You look very nice?”

I can’t help but snort now, a genuine smile touching my lips despite the circumstances.

He might be the Alpha now, but he’s still the same guy who holed himself up in Brax’s room during high school and played video games until three a.m., the same jerk who drank the last of the orange juice.

When he shifts into his ruthless Alpha mode, I can barely recognize the person who used to joke around with my brother.

I flick my eyes back out the window toward the passing Texan landscape, trying to ignore the increased pounding of my heart.