Page 55 of Forced Alpha Bride

“It’s okay,” she giggles. “I’m pretty shitty at this, too. I’m from the wrong side of the tracks, brother, and I can pick another Povo at a country mile. You’re uncomfortable in that suit, huh?”

“Fuck, yes,” I grumble. “It’s not that it’s tight—well, that’s part of it—but I just feel so stupid with all this pageantry.”

“I know,” she answers, nodding. “You’ll get used to it. How are things with Winnie?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” I reply. “We seem to have great chemistry, but I’m not sure she wants to fulfill the contract.”

“Worry not.” Lexa gives me a wink. “Iris knows what she’s doing. It will all work out.”

“I wish I believed that,” I said glumly.

“Put your game face back on,” Lexa says. “Here come the big guns.”

I look over to see Alpha Galen, his mate Clara, and a tall, elegant woman approaching from across the yard. Winnie grips my arm.

“Don’t let your guard down because they’re family,” Winnie says. “Mom is really serious about tradition. She didn’t even introduce herself to her grandson at the first meeting because it was in front of the council.”

I frown. “Sounds mean.”

“Yeah, well, she can be. She killed someone in the back alley, not long after Galen and Clara got married. He was a bad guy, but it was pretty full-on.”

“Remind me not to piss off your mom,” I mutter.

“Alpha Damon,” the tall woman says, taking graceful strides towards me. She holds out a hand and curtsies, so I wrap my fingers around hers and try to bow like I’ve seen others do.

“Elder Ramses,” I say. “So pleased you could attend.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” she replies.

My irritation spikes as I realize I’m going to speak the same words over and over and hear the same responses.

How does anyone get through nights like this without dying of fucking boredom?

Suddenly, there is a loud boom from the direction of town. Brent Manor is some distance away, so a sound that loud had to be an explosion of decent size.

Enough to take out a whole building! This is serious!

I let go of Winnie’s arm and run to the front gates. I can see others doing the same, while most of the people just make shocked statements and look around in confusion.

Call yourselves wolves? You might as well be fucking sheep.

A big plume of black smoke is rising from the town, and I’m really starting to worry about this being a serious attack. Then there is another boom, even louder, and the column of smoke gets bigger.

All around me, screams and cries fill the air as everyone runs in different directions, the formal evening descending into utter chaos.

Chapter 17 - Winnie

The first boom is merely a sound, a brief glow, and smoke. The second is so powerful, the ground shakes, and Brent Manor shivers from her towers all the way down to her deep dungeons.

What the fuck was that?

Damon races away from me, heading for the gates. I can see a few others following him, but everyone else is just running around, screaming like crazy.

“Stay calm!” Clara yells. “Everyone, please, don’t panic! Follow me to the back of the courtyard.”

“No running,” Lexa calls. “Don’t push! We need to get clear of the buildings in case it was an earthquake!”

That was no earthquake.