Page 9 of Curvy Alpha Bride (Wolfshade Brides-for-Hire #4)

The moment I walk out of the cabin with Xavier, I feel exposed. Since waking up, I’ve felt an icy trickle on my spine, and the second we leave the cover of the house, I feel like I’m caught in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle.

I shove the feelings down, which doesn’t help the raging nausea in my belly. I don’t know if I have a real reason to be nervous, or if a cup of strong coffee poured into an empty stomach is responsible for the angry butterflies fluttering in my guts.

Xavier seems a little tense as well, and when his eyes scan the skyline, I see a hard edge to his jaw as he sets his teeth together. It worries me, because he only does it when he’s really stressed.

So many little things about him that I’m remembering now. It’s almost like we were never apart.

“Are you okay?” Xavier asks as he pulls out of the driveway and onto the dirt road.

“Not really,” I answer. “I’m tired, hungry, and a bit frustrated.”

“Understandable,” he says. “Don’t worry, we’ll be in town soon, and some breakfast will help you feel better. Remind me that we need some supplies from town, and I’ll stock up before we head back.”

“Wait, didn’t we get some gifts last night?” I ask, suddenly remembering. “Cakes, biscuits, and other homemade stuff?”

Xavier scoffs a little, rolling his eyes. “They are probably still in the trunk,” he mutters. “I completely forgot.”

I chuckle in spite of myself. “So did I. Oh, well, mark that up as a failure from both of us.”

Xavier tries to laugh, but it doesn’t quite come out right, and the tension in the car seems to get worse. I want to make a flippant quip myself, but I’m afraid it will fall flat. And I know exactly why both of us were so forgetful.

It’s not just that I’m completely distracted by him and struggling with my emotions. There’s something else, and I’m sure he can feel it, too.

When we turn into the parking lot at the hall, the others are gathered at the side door. All the elders wave enthusiastically to us, and two of the younger girls hurry over to me.

“Mabel!” Dove cries, hugging me. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

“You too, Dove,” I smile shyly, ducking my head away from her excited eyes.

Lyssa links an arm through mine, Dove wraps hers around my waist, and they march me towards the hall.

“Are you hungry?” Dove asks. “I brought food.”

“I’m starving,” I answer, letting the girls lead me inside. A long table is set with plates of cakes, pastries, and biscuits, with a fresh pot of coffee steaming the air with its rich scent.

“Help yourself,” Lyssa says, gesturing. “We usually put on a bit of a spread for a meeting, but we went to extra effort for you.”

“You didn’t need to do that,” I reply, stacking slices of cake on a plate. “I’m fine with whatever.”

“Let us take care of you!” Dove insists, taking my hand and squeezing it. “It’s been so long since we had a luna, and most of us thought we never would.”

I want to ask her why, but the elders call for our attention and gesture for me to come over. We all sit in a loose circle on comfortable deck chairs as we get our first meeting underway.

“This is our first council meeting as a full pack,” Serra says, smiling warmly. “Welcome, Luna Mabel, to our community. May your presence strengthen and guide us.”

The elders murmur their agreement, and it leaves me blushing a little. Luckily, the meeting immediately becomes less formal.

“Okay, Ivan,” Serra says, gesturing to him. “You’ve been working on opening trade routes to the other towns?”

“As much as I respect your authority, Serra,” Ivan replies, “shouldn’t the alpha or luna conduct the meeting?”

Serra turns back to me, her eyes wide. “I’m so sorry. It was a force of habit. By all means, Mabel, please proceed.”

“No, it’s fine,” I say quickly. “Just go ahead as you normally would, and I’ll follow along. I’m not familiar enough with the issues to lead the meeting.”

“Fair enough,” Serra agrees. “Xavier? What are your thoughts on this?”

“Building a road between us and Gryphon Eyrie is almost impossible,” he says. “It’s all wilderness, extremely rough country. We’re in the process of making a hiking trail. In time, we’ll be able to use it for transit, but it will be slow.”

“We have relays through there now,” Ivan says. “Vehicles go as far as they can, and then foot runners between the mountains. There is a workable supply route set up through there.”

“What about Cyan Lock?” I ask. “Are we importing through there, too?”

“We are,” Serra answers. “And we’ve made better progress on building a decent road that links to Lycan Pass, but we really want to solidify links with Gryphon Eyrie.”

Why isn’t there a direct road from Lycan Pass to Valentine Creek?

It’s the first time I’ve really thought of it, and now it strikes me as extremely strange. The Pass was built by our ancestors to link every town in Wolfshade, to keep the packs connected to each other and hopefully foster peace between them.

So why was Valentine Creek left out?

I remember every trip down here, and how the paved road from the Pass drops suddenly into a rough dirt track. I assumed it was a shortcut, a trail branching from the main road. Now I realize it’s the only road in—and it was recently made.

Why does this freak me out so much?

Chills run down my spine, and I have to put conscious effort into staying still and looking calm. From beside me, Dove reaches over and squeezes my hand, giving me one of her sweet smiles.

It’s almost like she knows what I’m thinking, and she’s trying to comfort me.

I tune back into the conversation. The others are talking about sending their wares further down the Pass to bring more money into the town. An idea occurs to me, and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it earlier.

“What about housing?” I ask, breaking into the conversation.

“If we are opening up the town, then people will be inspired to come here. That’s what we want, isn’t it?

I mean, it may take years, but population growth will be a wonderful thing.

We can modernize the town and have great diversity here.

And if people want to move, we’ll need local infrastructure. ”

The elders look around at each other, a ripple of disquiet passing between each of them. The discomfort even reaches Dove and Lyssa, sitting on either side of me.

“What did I say?” I ask softly.

“Nothing,” Serra says, waving her hand dismissively. “You’re absolutely right. We can’t discuss trade without also talking about the possibility of people coming to our town. It’s just… a new concept for us.”

Why?

Before I can ask my question out loud, Serra adjourns the meeting, and everyone breaks into casual chat. Dove hurries over to the table and brings back a few slices of strawberry marble cake, sitting close to me as we eat.

“What do you think, Dove?” I ask. “How would you like to get out into the world—see a movie, go shopping, maybe even go to college?”

Her eyes go wide as she swallows a mouthful of cake.

“I could never! I mean… leave Valentine Creek?”

“Sure. Why not? How about a short trip to take in some sights, and then come home? Like a little adventure.”

Dove’s eyes widen even further, big, golden brown pools shimmering with innocence. “I can’t. I’ve never left the town line.”

I look into her serious face, detecting just a hint of fear in her voice.

This is freaky as fuck.

“Dove!” Serra’s voice practically booms over my shoulder. “Can you go and help at the snack table, please? Thank you, that’s a good girl.”

Dove isn’t that much younger than me. Why do they treat all the younger women like children?

The sudden thought occurs to me that I haven’t even seen any children. My anxiety intensifies, and this time I don’t try to talk myself out of it.

“Mabel,” Serra says, pulling a chair around to face mine and taking my hands. “How are you settling in?”

“Really good, thanks,” I mutter. “Look, can you tell me why everyone’s so on edge about leaving town, or people coming in?”

I decide to be direct, but it comes out as overtly blunt. I have too many delicate questions to ask, and if I want truthful answers, I know I should be patient. But tact has never been my strong point.

“Oh, forgive our young girls their excitement,” Serra says, a bit too lightheartedly.

“It’s just an effect of being isolated—they don’t have much social conditioning.

Technology and internet connections only happened once the war broke out, so all of our young people are just very sheltered, I’m afraid. ”

Sheltered from what?

“I haven’t heard anyone talk about Gryphon Eyrie,” I say carefully. “After all this time, aren’t you scared to deal directly with your sworn enemies? You’ve been at war for generations.”

“The past is past,” Serra says, shrugging. “We have nothing to fear from the Eyrie.”

I narrow my eyes a little, feeling like her words imply there is something worse to be afraid of.

“Listen,” Serra asks, leaning forward. “I’d really like to know how you felt on your first night in town, especially out in the cabin. It’s far from town, and not at all what you’re used to.”

“Oh. It was nice. Why?”

“I just want to make sure you’re settling in,” she answers, smiling warmly. “You slept, okay? No strange dreams?”

“No,” I reply cautiously.

“And you felt comfortable in the cabin? Relaxed and safe?”

“Yes,” I answer, puzzled. Even though I’ve been on edge, there is nothing specific to mention, and I’d feel like an idiot trying to explain it.

It’s probably just stress from sleeping in the same bed with Xavier… and I’m not going to open up and tell her about that.

“Wonderful, my dear,” Serra says, giving me a hug. “If there’s anything you need, or you feel troubled, then please come to me. We value having you here, and I want to make sure all of this works out.”

“Okay,” I say. As I look away from Serra, I see that the other elders have been listening and are watching us with interest.

What the fuck is going on here?

Xavier is over at the refreshments table and hasn’t noticed the exchange. Even though the atmosphere felt tense for a few minutes, the moment passes, and I wonder if I completely imagined it.

“We might actually be able to stay outside through the night!” Rhiannon says, taking Eileen’s hand as she sits down with us. “I’ve always wanted to watch the meteor shower, but it’s only visible after midnight on a new moon.”

“Maybe we could have run on the full moon, too,” Hector replies. “The whole pack, running the mountain, just like we were meant to.”

“No more fear on the night of the new moon,” Rhiannon whispers.

I look over at her with some concern, and her drawn, tense expression makes my guts bubble with nerves again.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, alarmed.

“Nothing!” Eileen answers with a little laugh. “It’s all in the past now. Don’t worry about our silly little superstitions. They were handed down through the generations, and it’s time to put them aside. Don’t even think about it.”

Her smile is so warm, and her expression so genuine, I almost believe her. I desperately want to believe that we are safe, and the town is as peaceful and beautiful as it looks.

But the longer I stay here, the more I feel like the good cheer is forced optimism, thinly spread over a deep well of dark, terrible horrors.