Page 4 of Claimed by the Wolf (Wild Fated Shifters #1)

Inherently, I know we’re approaching Emeric’s house, even though I’ve never been there.

My brother told me it was a sprawling ranch, extending almost fifty acres.

We’re not meeting at the packhouse this first time. I’m not “inner circle” enough for that yet. I guess I can mate with the Alpha, but not know where his packhouse is.

I don’t let the bitter, intrusive thoughts overcome me. This is how things are done, and the sooner I get on board, the better. I don’t need my brother or Nox to remind me that fighting isn’t going to benefit anyone.

“Are you sure you can do this, Brynn?” His voice brings me back into the car and out of my head.

I resist the urge to tell him to turn the car around, just for his reaction alone.

But truthfully, I really do want him to turn the car around and take me home, to the sanctuary of my house. Or better still, to last week, when I had been na?ve to the scheming behind my back.

“Nox, you need to stop asking me,” I snap irritably, and he stiffens in the driver’s seat, his foot inadvertently hitting the gas.

He slows. “We’re still your pack,” he tells me gruffly. “Me, your brother, all of us. That doesn’t change, even if you become Emeric’s Luna.”

Even if? He believes there’s a chance I won’t become Emeric’s Luna?

His doubt gives me more energy, but I don’t say anything as Emeric’s ranch house appears over a slight hill.

Admittedly, it takes my breath away. It reminds me of Nox’s place, and I wonder if all the Alphas have estates like this. It makes sense. It fits their power and status, even if they live alone. He undoubtedly has a house crawling with staff and pack members by his side day and night.

A pair of alpacas raise their heads as our entourage slides up the winding driveway toward the front door. Already, there are bodies lined up in anticipation in front of the stone-faced entranceway. My heart crashes down to my toes as I see how they’re looking at me.

None of them looks happy to see us. I fall back against the leather of the seat and suck in a breath, closing my eyes.

I’ve got this. I can do this.

“We’re here,” Nox tells me unnecessarily, stopping the SUV a few feet from the waiting pack.

They can’t see inside the tinted vehicle, and he makes no move to exit.

I peek my eyes open, and he turns and looks at me, his face etched with worry. “Brynn.”

“I’m ready.” My statement sounds far more confident than I feel, staring into the depths of his vibrant eyes. My pulse goes haywire again, and I purse my lips as his broad shoulders move to open the door.

He stalks away from the vehicle and disappears, leaving me alone inside. Desperately, I look around. In the distance, I see the Alphas talking. Nox gestures back toward the vehicle where I remain, and Emeric barely looks, the disinterest on his face obvious.

I study them side by side, comparing them physically. If Emeric is taller than Nox, I can’t tell. Their dark hair is almost the same shade of chestnut brown. From here, someone might mistake them for kin, not mortal enemies.

But are they mortal enemies? Isn’t that what I’m here to prevent?

A small shudder passes through me. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. My body is glued to the interior, and I wish the floor of the car would open up and swallow me.

The door opens, and one of my pack members summons me out.

I didn’t realize that Emeric had approached the car, but Nox is nowhere to be seen, and his absence makes me panic.

Swallowing, I take Connor’s palm and allow him to half-pull me out.

The heel of my boot touches the interlocking brick, and Emeric’s green eyes trail over me with muted interest. Through my peripheral vision, I see Nox reappear on the driveway, and his eyes gleam as he takes in my outfit from where he stands by the front door.

I exhale when I see him again.

Does he still think I look very nice? I think, gulping back the stone of nervousness in my throat.

Or is that my heart, threatening to leap out and onto the driveway?

My gaze darts around like a trapped animal, looking for one friendly face, but the rest of my pack is behind Nox’s vehicle as if keeping Willow Grove at bay.

“This is Brynn,” Connor introduces me. “Brynn, this is Alpha Emeric of the Willow Grove Pack.”

My eyes flicker back, and I rest on Emeric’s cold, green irises. His eyes rake over me slowly, taking in every inch of my body, and I begin to feel like a slab of meat in a butcher’s market.

A gleam of interest flickers in his eyes, and I offer him a taut, polite smile and extend my hand. “Pleased to meet you, Alpha.”

His gaze moves upward, his eyes locking with mine for a moment, but he doesn’t take my hand.

For half a second, I think he’s going to say something, his full lips parting into a half-smile, but instead, he flips his attention back toward Nox without a word.

He strides back across the driveway, leaving me where I stand.

Shame floods through me in hot and cold waves.

“Let’s talk inside,” Emeric tells Nox, leading the way into the huge house.

Rebuked and insulted, I look at Nox, but he doesn’t meet my eyes as he stalks after the other Alpha, our pack following.

For a minute, I don’t know what to do. Am I supposed to stay by the car or follow? I want to crawl into the backseat and hide, but Connor reads my confusion and takes my arm gently, propelling me along the driveway after the two Alphas.

I find myself swept up in the group, but for the first time in my life, I don’t feel comfortable among my pack, not in this territory.

“What’s going on?” I whisper to Connor as I hurry to keep stride with the others.

Connor presses his finger to his lips as the Alphas retreat into the house, and we find ourselves in a massive foyer, two long hallways branching northeast and northwest.

Emeric and Nox are long gone, leaving me baffled. I look around the lovely house, wondering what comes next.

Is this where I’m going to live now? Or is Emeric rejecting me?

I wish I knew what Nox and Emeric were talking about. Awkwardly, our pack stands in the entranceway, facing off with the other group, no one speaking a word.

Why did I even bother coming? Just so he could take one look at me and turn his nose up? Nox could have just as easily sent him a photo. This is just to insult me in person. Emeric doesn’t even want to negotiate an alliance. This was a complete disappointment, a total letdown.

My pack members stand on either side of me, but their presence offers no comfort. This is all posturing, superficial.

It’s getting hard to breathe. My hand flies up to the lace of my scoop-neck dress, but the gesture does nothing to calm me.

“The hospitality in this place is seriously lacking,” one of our shifters quips under his breath. “They must not be from around here. They don’t even offer us iced tea?”

I purse my lips together as the Willow Grove pack scowls deepen, but before anyone responds, a door opens in the distance, forcing everyone to stand upright respectfully. Nox reappears without Emeric, stalking back out the front door, not meeting any of our gazes.

I eye Connor, but he’s already following our Alpha.

I hurry to keep pace with Nox’s long strides, slightly breathless when I reach the SUV. He opens the passenger door for me, and I slip inside quickly. The silence stretches between us as he rounds the vehicle and slides into the driver’s seat, his jaw set in a hard line.

“What happened?” I breathe, collapsing into the SUV as he starts the vehicle. “That was so weird!”

He glances at me, but he doesn’t speak until he pulls out of the driveway and off the estate. Our entourage follows, and I wait impatiently for Nox to respond.

“Nox!” I grumble, unable to wait in silence any longer. “Did he reject me?”

“No. Not at all.”

That’s not how it looked on the driveway, but I believe him. His blue irises meet mine again before refocusing on the road ahead.

“Then why didn’t he say anything to me?” I’m still vibrating from the insult of Emeric ignoring me.

Nox’s mouth firms. “You have to understand that Emeric wants the union for political reasons,” he explains, and my jaw drops. “So, it’s going to be a bit of a process.”

I stare at him blankly. “What does that mean?”

“This union will just take time. He likes you. He thinks you’ll make an excellent Luna.”

“He likes me?” I can’t keep the disdain from my tone. “He didn’t even speak to me. He thinks I will make an excellent Luna based on my looks?”

Nox remains quiet for a moment. “Well, yes, he thinks you’re very attractive. But that’s hardly surprising. You’re beautiful.”

The unexpected compliment makes me pause, momentarily forgetting my retort. Nox has never told me I’m beautiful before.

“But I told him all about you, all of your best qualities. And that’s why he thinks you’ll make a great Luna.”

He told Emeric all about me? More than anything, I want to know what he said.

I’ve wanted Nox to see the good in me for so long.

Why am I only now discovering that he’s been paying attention?

Even if he could never want me romantically, knowing he had good things to say about me fills me with unexpected warmth.

Nox continues, “But like I said, he’s only doing this for political reasons.”

“If he doesn’t want to do this either, what are we doing?” I demand.

“He’s an Alpha, Brynn! He’ll do what’s best for his pack, just like I will, just like any good Alpha would do!” Nox cuts me off sharply. “That’s also part of being an adult, Brynn. We don’t always do what we want to do, but we do it because we have to.”

That’s Alpha Nox talking now, not the guy I’ve had a crush on since I was a kid.

His tone sets me back against the cool leather, and I clamp my mouth shut, my stare shooting down. I hate how he can make me feel ten years old with a simple flip of his tone.

“He might not want to mate with anyone, but he sees the benefit in unifying our packs, and he’s not opposed to doing that with you,” he continues, his tone softening slightly as if he reads the look on my abashed face.

Again, not the romance I’d hoped for my whole life, but who am I kidding? Nox is right. The chances of me finding my fated mate are rare at best, obsolete at worst. Even so, it would have been nice to feel something for my mate before agreeing to an arrangement like this.

I have to grow up.

“Okay,” I rasp. “I get it. I just want to know what’s going on.”

He drums his fingers over the steering wheel. “That’s fair, but I don’t know when you’ll be moving to his ranch.”

The words fall like a dead weight in the vehicle, and my chin jerks up again.

“What? So he did reject me?” My confusion flows back in a torrent.

“No. The deal is made. You’re promised to him. But he doesn’t want you moving onto the property… yet.”

“Then when?”

He exhales. “We kind of left things up in the air in that respect. It will happen eventually.”

I don’t know what to say. It will be arranged in every sense of the word. There won’t be any kind of courtship, of getting to know Emeric, or a hope of building a relationship with him. He’s looking for a full-on business transaction.

A fusion of dread and hope conflicts within me. Maybe there’s a chance he’ll still reject me? Can he still do that, even if they’ve made the deal? But do I want that?

“What does that mean? For the packs, I mean. If it isn’t official, and I’m not moving in or there’s no ceremony yet, doesn’t that mean…”

I trail off, unsure what I’m asking, really. Nox seems to understand, though.

“We’re in a good position for now. He’s agreed to mate with you.

The alliance is solid. There will be no fighting, and we can work on each other’s territories as it stands.

We have a pact. But for now, you’ll stay put.

When Emeric is ready, we’ll perform the ceremony, but I imagine you’ll end up over there before that happens. ”

Slumping further in my seat. “Why wouldn’t he want me to stay there now? I mean, if this agreement really is solid. I don’t understand.”

It leaves an uncomfortable feeling in my gut.

“That’s a good thing,” he offers optimistically. “You can celebrate your birthday with us.”

A blush of heat stains my face. “You remembered my birthday?”

He shrugs. “Sure. I’ve known you your whole life, Brynn. I know when your birthday is.”

I wrap my arms around myself for comfort. He’s right. It is a good thing that I can still go back to my pack for now.

At some point in the near future, I’ll have to solidify the relationship with Emeric. But for the time being, I’ve played my role. I can breathe for now, at least.

But the coming weeks are going to be the hardest, the not knowing.

I might as well enjoy the little bit of time I have left with my pack.