Page 3 of Alpha's Unwilling Mate

Chapter Two

Raina

Ivy hit the bar while I grabbed a table. She joined me with two bottles of beer, a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses.

“This calls for tequila,” she stated as she thumped everything down then filled the cups.

I grabbed mine and tossed it back, enjoying the burn of alcohol down my throat. Ivy wasted no time topping them off again. After our third shot, I picked up my beer and took a long pull.

“Seriously, Raina,” Ivy said, reaching for my hand and giving it a squeeze. “I see the wheels spinning. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I don’t know what to think,” I admitted.

“I’m sure your dad hit you with the ‘it’s your responsibility to do as the elders request’ with a reminder of your place in our society and how all us young impressionable youth look to you for inspiration on how to behave.” Ivy’s tone went from a deep mimic of my father’s to a high-pitched girly sound complete with batting eyelashes.

I laughed. She’d nailed it.

“Oh, I know I’m right.” She waved away any comment I might have made. “Sometimes, I’d really love to smack your dad upside his head and make him really see you.”

“Ivy,” I whispered.

“I know you love him, Raina. At times, I question it. Especially, when he agrees with something this stupid.” She leaned toward me once more, her hands cupping mine and squeezing again. Ivy was big on touching. It was one of her main forms of communication. “Honey, Rowan wouldn’t want this for you. You know that. Don’t let your dad and the elders manipulate you into something you don’t want.”

Those words from anyone else wouldn’t have carried the same weight, but Ivy had known my brother as well as I did. At one time, I’d wondered if there had been something between him and Ivy. Neither had ever admitted anything, and despite what some still thought, I believed them. If Ivy had set her sights on Rowan, he’d have been hers. It would have been the same for Rowan if he’d decided Ivy was his. They’d been close, extremely so, but I didn’t think there had been anything romantic between them.

“God’s truth, I don’t know what I’ll do,” I admitted.

“You’re planning to run, but I’m not sure you can run fast enough. Bastion James is known for getting what he wants.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I make it my business to know everything that will play a role in my sister’s life. As soon as I heard the elders had approached him and his pack, I began researching. They get what they want. Period. Which means if one of them has decided they want you, there’s no place you can run that will be safe.”

Ivy’s sister was eight, a late-in-life pup for her parents. Ivy’s mom hadn’t wanted Jasmine and had abandoned the baby shortly after birth. Ivy had stepped in as mom and big sister. The little girl looked like a miniature version of Ivy, and those who weren’t in our community often mistook her as Jasmine’s mother.

“I seriously doubt any of them decided they want me. Hell, Ivy, they don’t even know me.” So maybe, I needed to run before any of them got the opportunity.

“I think your best chance is to confront James. Let him know where you stand on this. Tell him you’ll challenge him.”

“After what you just told me, you think my best chance is to challenge him?”

“I think it’s something to ponder,” Ivy assured me. “I get the impression he might respect someone who stands up to him.”

“So meet him, and let him know I’ll choose my own mate when I’m damn good and ready?”

“Why the hell not? Why is he any different from Rowan? Isn’t that what you told your brother?” Ivy demanded.

“It’s different because Rowan loved me,” I whispered.

Ivy reached across the table and took my hands with hers. “No matter what you decide, I’m with you. I’ll stand beside you, or Jasmine and I will run with you.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not. I’m telling you,” Ivy countered.

“Another beer, ladies?” the waitress interrupted, and I gave a nod.

“Another bottle of tequila, too,” Ivy added.

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