Page 3 of Her Bully Alpha (Honeycomb Valley Alphas #1)

I tugged at my tie, irritated. Why the hell did I have to wear this fucking thing? It wasn't like it would matter how I looked in the end. The marriage was pretty much chiseled into stone. I could look like I rolled out of bed, and she would still be stuck with me.

I could hear Henrik's words, though, repeating in my head. “You want to look good for your wife. Don't you want to impress her? This could be the first time you guys ever see each other, and she's going to remember this moment for the rest of her life. I'm sure she dressed for the occasion, and you should do the same.”

I rubbed a hand over my face not in the mood to face the entire Council. It was one thing for me to run into Ralph and Jennisa, but entirely another to run into the rest. Since each pack had two members of the Council that were designated to keep in touch with, I had figured out how to handle them, but I didn’t know how to with the entire group.

The door opened before I could tug the tie off. I shoved the tie into my pocket as I walked inside. I froze as my eyes landed on Sam sitting in a chair across the Council. My stomach dipped.

What the hell was she doing here? Did the lady at the front desk tell me to go into the wrong room?

I looked at the Council and then back at her. Sam looked white, ready to hurl her breakfast. Her eyes snapped away from mine and towards the Council. I watched her hands curl into tight fists and anger simmer over her face.

She made a laughing sound. "Jay? You're saying, I'm supposed to be married to him? This is a joke, right?"

I looked at the Council. She was who I was supposed to mate with? This was a sick joke, right? The point of this was to pick a strong human, and Jesus….Sam was not a strong human by any means. She was fragile and breakable.

Zillow yawned and leaned back in her chair. She and Zen were the ones that kept in touch with Frank. I only knew this because Frank complained about them all the time. "Yeah, it was a match made." She had a pinched face and years of stress written on her face. I could see why she annoyed Frank, she looked downright mean.

Sam laughed, but not because it was funny. "You said science made this? Well, it sure as hell did. Because there is certainly no chemistry here."

The Council scowled at Sam, but it wasn't like she cared. She looked too angry to care what the Council thought.

"Let Katie come in. She can explain the science behind this." The door to the right of them opened, and a large woman with dark brown hair entered. She smelt odd, like chemicals and spice. But she had pep in her step and stopped just at the end of the table.

She waved a hand at us. "Hello, I'm Katie Armstrong."

I scowled, crossing my arms. This chick was the person they thought would make a life-changing decision like this? She didn't look any older than me. I was expecting some old woman that was just as old as the Council, not some fresh meat that was probably just out school.

"Explain to them," Austin muttered, waving a hand. He and Olivia were wearing marching blue jackets. I recalled Aaron having a matching one as well. Maybe he’d gifted it to them in hopes to form a good connection with them. "In a way, they will understand," Austin added. “Dumb it down.”

Katie nodded. "I'm sure you've all had your basic science in school, and you learned about the different parts of bodies and cells and such."

"Yes," I muttered.

"Well, the virus is attacking your cells, but it seems to be only the female, and the target spot is the uterus. It thins the uterus wall and pretty much stops periods. Which is interesting because…"

"Katie," Ralph snapped her name, making her stiffen. She paused and frowned.

"Sorry….yes….so I used a mathematical algorithm in finding a perfect match for Jay. Everyone has sent a sample of their blood to the Council since birth, and I ran everyone's looking for the perfect ones to mix together."

I scowled. "So you just decided because our blood goes together, it's made?"

Katie shook her head. "There is so much more to it than that. Your white cells and red blood cells." Katie huffed, clearly having a hard time dumbing this down for us. "There is a lot more to it…but you're made. You guys were created almost perfectly for each other. And I highly doubt you would like me to get into the….sex part of this because I've seen your medical records."

Sam's mouth dropped open. "You've what? You looked through our medical records! Jesus, that's a huge breach of privacy!"

Katie continued to smile. "Wide hips, which are good for bearing children, and you have regular periods. Your last pap showed that you had a thick mucus..."

"Please stop," Sam pulled her hands up. “You’ve made your point.”

Katie looked towards me. "Your sperm count was high, and your sperm are all extremely healthy. You regularly exercise and eat healthily."

"I've heard enough," Sam said, waving her hands. “We’re healthy—that’s great, but that doesn’t mean we were made for each other.”

I stared at Sam, taking her in, really taking her in. She had changed a lot from the young woman I last saw.

She was wearing a long black pencil skirt and a white blouse. She had her light blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. A few strands fell free, framing her face. She was wearing some make-up, and she looked grown up. She looked so different from the little girl who used to cling to her brother and cry and the teenager who avoided people as much as she could.

I scanned her frame to see where Katie was coming from. I didn't have her medical records, but she did have wide hips. She looked healthy, which was good, but still, she was a human. She was weaker. They couldn't honestly think she was the perfect match for me.

Sam glanced at me for a moment, and I could see her eyes scanning me the way I had done her. She had dark chocolate brown eyes, and they looked sharp. There was no softness to them, no care hidden. They were different from the ones she had when she was younger. They used to be…hopeful almost. Like she was waiting for things to get better.

I looked back to Katie, who knitted her fingers together. She stood with her head held high, and I wondered what background she had. "Your compatibility has been made through science. It's just like when you are online dating. It scans through the database and finds what you're looking for. You have the same hobbies, and the same interests. You guys are both hyper-focused on work, and…"

"I don't recall signing up," Sam grumbled, cutting Katie off. She leaned back in her chair, her nostrils flared.

Katie gave her a nervous smile. “You didn’t. No one really did. I combed through thousands of people's profiles, none of them were matched like you guys were.”

“Maybe you should have kept combing,” Sam said with a scowl.

Katie shook her head. “The algorithm doesn’t lie. Sometimes the answer isn’t what we want but still what we get.”

I knew better than to say anything. I hadn't signed up for mating and didn't see the need to. If I had an urge, I would take care of it. There was a long list of women who were down with doing dirty things with no strings attached. Being an Alpha had its perks.

I'd only dated a few people when the sex was good, too good to just handle a one-night stand. But it was never for long. My main focus had always been on the pack, and I was raised to keep my attention on the pack rather than my baser urges.

But I couldn't ignore the pull I felt towards Sam. It was like electricity was fluttering through my body, and my eyes stayed on her. I swallowed, feeling my wolf growling and aching to have her. I wanted to know what she smelled liked and how her skin felt. I wanted to know what she had been doing for the last seven years and where she's been. Henrik didn't say anything about his sister, and I never asked.

I walked closer, stopping just next to the other chair that was settled next to Sam. "So, what you're saying is Sam is the only person that's matched for me? She's my mate?"

It was an honest question. There was science, and then there was nature. The two often didn't combine together. And while I might feel a tug towards her, that could just be my guilt getting the better of me from our past.

Katie nodded, and the Council followed along with her. "She is your mate."

I turned to Sam. While the Council had the say, I still needed to know if Sam agreed to this.

"And you agree with this arrangement?" I asked, keeping my eyes trained on her.

Sam smirked, but it was a sarcastic smirk as she tilted her head and looked at me. She raised a single eyebrow, looking dangerous for a split second. "How could I ever say no to an Alpha? I'm blessed, really," her words dripped with irritation and sarcasm. "I'm going to be the wife of an Alpha. The all-powerful, emasculate leader. Why wouldn't I agree?"

I couldn't help feeling a little surprised. I didn't recall her having a mouth on her when we were younger. She certainly had changed a lot over the years. The Sam I knew would never speak like this.

I looked at the Council, knowing I needed to get control of this situation. I didn't like this, but I didn't have a choice, and I didn't need to make waves with the Council about this. If she wasn't saying no, then we would be moving forward.

"Okay, then we will get married as soon as possible." I looked at the Council. "If that is all you need, we will be off."

I glanced at Sam, who looked irate. She curled her fingers into fists as she pulled herself out of her chair. She looked like she wanted to slap me.

I offered a tight smile. "We should have your stuff moved over to my place as soon as possible. I can make some calls to get it done. It could be done by tonight if you're okay with that."

"I can handle that myself," she said as she turned, heading for the doors. I followed after her as she headed into the hallway. The doors behind us closed, and I watched her march away.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Sam, I'm trying to help. The least you could do was not act like I'm the monster here."

She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me for a moment before she frowned. "I don't need your help. I needed you to tell them how idiotic this was. We are both thinking it! Jesus, they just tell us we get married and you agreed!"

I scowled, hating how quickly she was dismissing me. It wasn't like I asked for this myself. I never agreed to this. And even if I told the Council I didn't agree, they would still force our hands. What the Council said, went. As much as people wanted to act like the Alpha’s made the shots, the Council made the bigger ones.

Any natural disaster, we looked to them for guidance. Any huge problems with other packs, they dealt with. They were the rule maker and enforced them. People that went against them….well…you didn’t see them again.

"As mad as you are, I didn't know this was happening."

"You also didn't disagree with them!" she snapped back. "You just agreed that this doesn't change our lives at all! This is marriage, Jay! To death do us part!"

"It's the Council!" I growled, taking a few steps towards her. "I have no power! If they say something is to happen, it happens whether we like it or not!"

Her lips formed a line, and I knew arguing wasn't going to help us. We were both shocked. Neither of us knew this was coming. We might as well try to make our peace with this.

I took a deep breath in and sighed. "I'll have the moving truck there tomorrow. We can get you settled into my house as soon as possible."

She glared at me. "You don't know where I live."

I scowled at her. "I have connections."

She snorted. "Good luck with that." She turned, walking away without a word, and I frowned, frustrated.