Page 43 of What a Wolf's Heart Decides

“He always has an excuse,” Ben said. “One time he said the couple didn’t know each other well enough.”

Glenna snorted. “Like he’s any judge of romantic relationships.”

“Another time,” Ben said, “the female’s parents didn’t approve of the match.”

Well, that one Haley could understand. Alphas had to protect their pack. If Bard let lovers elope to his territory against their families’ wishes, he could possibly provoke a war.

“Excuses, excuses,” Glenna said, her tone dismissive. “Well, things are different for my Ben.” She gestured around the cafe. “I worked hard to build this business, and my husband’s family owns half the mountain. This is Ben’s home. He has a right to settle here with a family of his own. I don’t care what Bard Bennett says. Ben’s not going anywhere.”

Easier said than done. Haley clamped her lips together so she wouldn’t say it. Werewolf packs weren’t democracies. Far from it. Alphas might not wear crowns, but they might as well be kings. And overthrowing one was a risky, messy business.

For one thing, it involved murder.

Sabine, who’d been focused on Glenna, took a sip of water. As she drank, her dark eyes met Haley’s over the rim of her glass.

The hair on Haley’s arms lifted. Sabine swallowed, her long neck working as she lowered the glass. A drop of water dotted her full lower lip, and she darted her tongue out and caught it.

Haley looked away. The water was an insignificant thing. A silly thing. So why was a chill sliding down her spine?

She dared another look at Sabine, but the other woman was staring in Glenna’s direction.

The chill vanished, as if it had never been.

Before Haley could ponder it, Glenna leaned forward, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “If you ask me, Bard Bennett doesn’t want to rule. He cares more about gaining prestige in the human world than—”

Ben straightened and cleared his throat. “Mom.” He spoke quietly, but there was a warning in his voice.

Annoyance flashed across Glenna’s features, but she covered it so quickly Haley couldn’t be certain she saw it. “Anyway,” Glenna said. She gave Haley an assessing look. “Now you understand why it was so important to me that you come. Our family could use an ally like Maxime Simard. Rumor has it he treats you like a daughter.”

If Haley had been swallowing a bite of pancake, she would have choked. As it was, she barely managed to squeak out a reply. “Max doesn’t think of me that way. I mean, I can’t bring you any sort of alliance.”

“We don’t expect that,” Ben said, tossing an aggravated look in Glenna’s direction.

Really? Because it sure as hell sounded like it. Pieces started to fall into place. Ben’s former latency and the rareness of his Gift meant his marriage prospects were limited. And his family was clearly at odds with the Alpha.

The solution? Find an eligible female from the most powerful territory in the country. They were obviously banking on Max to support a marriage if Haley wanted one.

The big variable in that was “if.”

Everyone at the table watched her, their expressions expectant.

Tough room.

She made her voice light. “You all assume I’ll like it here. New York isn’t the Cascades, but it has its benefits. What if I get homesick?”

Sabine traced an elegant finger around the rim of her glass. “We all make sacrifices for love.”

Unable to stop herself, Haley looked at Ben. His cheeks reddened, and he lowered his gaze.

Glenna leaned forward. “You’re a foster. How could you be homesick when you’ve never had a home of your own?”

“Mom!” Ben’s face deepened a few more shades.

Glenna ignored him. “Besides, the lux catena takes care of all that. It’s the great gift of our race.”

Gift. Haley’s stomach clenched. Genetics were a funny thing. What would happen if she and Ben had a child with no Gift? Glenna might pretend she didn’t care, that she just wanted her son to stay in Elder Lake, but it was hard to imagine someone so ambitious being content with an imperfect grandchild.

Haley the Giftless.

---