Page 9 of Wolf Traded
Uncle Mike’s eyes twinkle with humor as he shakes his head continuing his opening routine. I have made a mess of his daily ritual but I don’t even feel sorry about it because he helped me feel so much better as I continue to eat the meal in front of me.
The door opens and I turn thinking it’s Isabelle, the seamstress but when I turn it’s the last person I thought I would see.
“Why are you here?” Grayson asks looking between me and the back booth which has my brow lifting in question. He makes his way to me and bends to kiss my cheek. I let him because it’s not his fault the unmated females of the pack have made it their mission to destroy my day.
“Things aren’t going as planned and I needed to relax for a bit while my dress is fixed. Not to worry. Everything will be perfect for the mating ceremony.” I bat my eyelashes at him and he searches my eyes but whatever he’s looking for he must not find because he nods, kisses my forehead and walks to the back booth. What the actual fuck is going on with this pack?
Shaking it off, I continue to pick at my sandwich and dunk my fries in the ranch and barbecue sauce as I contemplate what to do next when Isabelle strolls in with a flourish and a huge garment bag in her arms. “It’s not exactly as we discussed my love, but I have mended the damage in the best way I could in such short time.” She grins and I wince knowing both the alphas in the room will have heard her.
“Damage? What damage?” I hear Grayson growl as he stalks forward. Isabelle’s eyes widen as she bows her head to the alpha.
“My shop was broken into, alpha. While there was quite the mess, the only dress ruined was Jara’s mating gown.” She says the words slowly her head never rising from the bow. I can sense her fear of the alpha and what he might do with hearing the news, but it isn’t Grayson who growls low and angry. It’s the ruthless alpha Archer who seems the most angered but he quickly curbs his outward anger and I wonder what the hell I just stepped into.
“Is the dress fixed?” Grayson asks with a frown throwing a sharp scowl at the other alpha. I wonder what their deal is. We have always been on decent terms with the Everette pack.
“It’s not the same as she wanted. Some places were slashed with claws.” If it’s possible it looks like Isabelle hangs her head even lower. I want to tell her that it’s okay that I will love the dress despite the damage but I wait for my alpha to respond.
“I want my future mate to have what she desires. Should we postpone the ceremony until the dress can be recreated?” Grayson asks in a tone that says he doesn’t want to wait anymore which seems odd to me since he was the one that had put the mating off.
“No, Isabelle is amazing. I’m sure whatever she has done will be perfect. Plus, my aunts have been doing what they can since there were other problems with the caterers and the florist. I don’t want all their work to be in vain. It will be perfect in its imperfection.” I smile up at Grayson who grimaces so briefly I almost miss it.
“Whatever you want, mate.” He wraps his hand around my neck stroking my cheek with his thumb. My wolf practically purrs which is strange since wolves do not purr.
“Everything will go ahead as planned.” I look around the room hoping for some insight as to what everyone’s thinking. Am I being crazy? Should I postpone even though my family is working hard and all the alphas are here? No. I know in my gut this is the right thing to do even if it doesn’t turn out as planned.
I grab my drink from the bar and down it in one go. The burn in my lungs makes me cough, but I feel it in my gut if this mating ceremony doesn’t happen as planned there is a chance it won’t happen at all and I cannot let that happen. I set down the empty glass and turn toward the door grabbing the dress from Isabelle with a smile and walking out the door. I have no idea what’s going to happen today but I have a feeling nothing will ever be the same.
5
ARCHER
Alow growl bursts from my chest and it takes every bit of will power to push my wolf down. The fact that her own pack is so malicious toward her that they would go to such lengths to ruin her mating ceremony doesn’t sit right with me. I hate the idea of her mating that egotistical womanizer, Greyson, but such disrespect to the future alpha female would not go unpunished in my pack.
It just shows what a weak leader the alpha is. He puts on a good show though. Pretending to be angry when I can practically smell the relief that rolls off him momentarily before Jara makes her decision to go through with the ceremony.
She’s a strong wolf. How can she not sense his deceit? It pours off him. I guess she’s blinded by the true mate bond. I shake myself internally to clear my thoughts. It doesn’t matter. They’re mates. I shouldn’t even be thinking like this. I turn my attention back to my food as Grayson let’s out a frustrated huff. The old man brings my food to my table and I sit watching Grayson
“Why are you always around lately, Archer?” Grayson glares at me hands on his hips. His posturing has zero effect on me.
“I was invited to a mating ceremony. I’m just here having lunch.” I shrug giving nothing away. It only seems to irritate him more.
“You know what I mean.” He growls each word angrily before glancing around to see if anyone is in hearing range. “Are you sniffing around my mate?”
“Why do you even care?” I raise a brow at him in challenge. His face turns an ugly shade of red as he takes a threatening step toward me. I smirk at him. He is such a weak alpha thinking he can intimidate me with his anger. He doesn’t even try to hide the bubbling rage that has surfaced.
“She is still mine unless I decide otherwise, Archer. Stay away from her.”
“I told you, I’m just having my lunch it made no difference to me that she was here also. I haven’t even spoken to the woman.” I stare him in the eyes. It’s a challenge and we both know it. He holds my stare for longer than I thought would be possible for him before looking away first and I think it pisses him off more.
My wolf howls in my head in excitement that we beat him in a show of dominance but I keep the mask of indifference on my face until he growls and stomps away. Finally, I let the grin split my face. The old man behind the bar shakes his head but lets a soft chuckle escape as soon as the door shuts behind the enraged alpha.
“It’s not wise to taunt the alpha that way. I can sense your strength but he doesn’t always play by the rules.” The old wolf whispers almost sounding scared that his alpha will hear him.
“That’s okay, I play dirty as well.” I wink at the old man before picking my glass up and taking a long drink of the whiskey.
The door opens and Angela saunters in looking amused. “What did you do?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I pick up my burger and take a bite. Angela’s grin broadens
