Page 315 of The Blairville Legacies

“However, I don't know how long this will last, and I'd like to know the pack is safe.”

Who was he talking to on the phone?

“That's why I called you.” He cleared his throat. “To be more precise, to take you up on your offer.”

I listened intently. An offer? Then it could only be an Alpha... And since Father had been seeking a pact with the Russian Alpha foryears, I knew it could only be Dimitrio Rolanow.

“My daughter is old enough.” My breath hitched. “If your son wins the traditional games, he is worthy of her hand.” My heart stopped beating. “Yes, I'm sure of it.” My father's voice sounded more and more distant to my ears, and it was as if the strength was draining from my body. “My daughter is ready to be his wife.”

His wife?

With trembling knees, I slid down the door frame. Heaviness settled on my chest and pushed me further down until I was crouched in front of my father's office with my back pressed against the frame.

Glistening tears that I didn't know where they came from escaped my eyes, ran down my cheeks, gathered on my chin, and dripped down onto the olive-green blouse.

He wanted me to marry someone?Not just anyone butthe son of the Russian Alpha...The son of the most powerful Alpha in the world.

Overwhelm and confusion became a confused mixture in my increasingly heavy chest. It was as if someone who meant a lotto me had thrown me off a cliff and promised me that the impact wouldn't be hard. ButI fell, completely confused and powerless.

He hadn't even asked me...

I stared at my trembling knees, giving in to the increasingly heavy lump in my chest.

Behind the door, my father was talking to the Russian Alpha, but the content of his words no longer reached me.

Marriage... Me?How was I supposed to manage that? I didn't know how to love, and even less how to...

No. Stop.

I hastily wiped away my tears.

What was I doing here?

I had to be strong.I couldn't let this spark of selfishness get the upper hand now. I had to trust my father. He did everything for this pack. Just as I would do anything for this pack. There was a reason he accepted the Russian Alpha's offer. I was his key to an alliance, something that would help him against our family enemies, something that would save the pack from the Ruisangors.

Why was I even crying?

I stared at the family portrait in front of me on the hallway wall. That family picture from 1810, where Jeremiah Copeland had his hand around the shoulders of the first Esadowa woman to marry into this family.Tayen. In front of them, their five sons.

I stifled a sob.

Father had given me a job, and just as Tayen had probably gotten it fromherfather, to ensure the survival of the tribe and the survival of the Senseque, I would protectmyfamily and the pack from the danger out there, doeverything in my power.

Everything would be fine.

I would make Father proud. Finally.

Chapter 69

Mady

My headache was worse than it had been for a long time, and when I realized I was lying in my bed, I sat upright.

Memories from last night flashed through my patchy mind.Unpleasant memories.

I had listened to Miles and walked home. It had been raining, and the lanterns in our street had been broken. Probably a power cut.

I had been forced to climb through the kitchen window because Ezra had been working a night shift at Lola's Diner. In the process, I had left a mess in the kitchen.

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