Page 8 of Bound to the Dragon
I find myself getting a little excited at the idea of making children with this feisty spitfire, despite her manners.
She doesn’t respond to my question, her eyes averted as if she’s again wrestling with her innermost thoughts, and her silence irks me as much as her answers possibly could.
The swinging doors from the kitchen open, and the chef brings two cloche-covered plates out. He nods at us in greeting before setting my meal in front of me first and rounding the table to serve Madison her dinner. A scowl forms on her face as she’s served second, and I catch it before she can hide it.
My hand tightens around my fork. “This is my house. I am the Alpha.”
“I didn’t say anything,” she protests, her luminous dark eyes widening innocently. Her feigned guilelessness only angers me more.
Our eyes clash across the table, neither one of us yielding as the chef stands next to the table, waiting for us to sample his dish.
“Er…” He clears his throat delicately. “Tonight’s dinner is a honey-glazed salmon, lightly dusted in smoked paprika and fresh garlic.”
Grimacing, I take a bite of the fish and allow the velvety texture to melt on my tongue. “It’s good.”
The chef grins with relief and glances at Madison, who bobs her head approvingly. “It’s very good. Thank you.”
The chef appears surprised by her expression of gratitude. “I’m glad you like it. It’s my job, Miss.”
“Not everyone does their job well.” The underlying jab doesn’t go unnoticed, and my appetite depletes entirely.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Again, Madison disregards me, like I’m not even sitting at the table, and my temper flares.
“Are you suggesting I don’t do my job well as Alpha of Shadow Pine?”
Through thick, black lashes, she stares at me. “I never said that!”
Heat rises up my neck and ears. I don’t need this, not from her or anyone else.
“Bring my dinner to my study.” I stand and stalk out of the dining room as Madison gawks at me.
“You’re really just going to leave me here? After I got all dressed up?” And she has the audacity to sound shocked.
“I was prepared to have a nice dinner and get to know you, but obviously, you have another agenda.” I stomp out of the dining room without waiting for a response and head back down the hall toward my study.
I half expect her to follow and apologize for her behavior, but by the time I reach the double doors of my office, her footsteps are nowhere behind me.
This was a mistake. I should have taken the time to get to know Madison before agreeing to this mating. It’s too late to do anything about it now. The ceremony is in three days, and both our packs will be in attendance. I can’t put off mating any longer, not when we’ve already given the land to Granger, who will undoubtedly keep it and demand I mate with this wretched crow anyway.
But am I going to be able to handle a lifetime with that female and her attitude?
I guess I’m about to find out. I just need to keep my eye on the prize. Heirs. That’s what this is all about. The good of thepack. That’s what my father would say. I can do it for the benefit of something bigger than me.
CHAPTER 3
MADISON
Virginia places a decorative pearl comb in my hair as I stare dully at myself in the mirror. I barely see my face. My entire line of sight is blurry, like I’ve had too much to drink and can’t focus my eyes. I haven’t. There hasn’t even been a mimosa to take the edge off this ceremony, although I’m half-tempted to ask my friend to find me one.
The room is abuzz with activity, members of my pack making themselves busy with idle preparations. My mother is conspicuously removed from the situation, placing herself at the far end of the suite, as if she’s purposely trying to keep her distance from me. The last conversation I had with her still echoes in the recesses of my mind and boils my blood.
“Your father would be proud of you,” she said without a hint of irony.
I scoffed in her face, and she merely stared at me like she didn’t understand why her words could be so offensive at a time like that. But she knows enough now to keep her distance, so she can’t be totally clueless. She just wants to pretend none of it happened.
She knows what my father and Granger did. But she’s ignoring the past, hoping it won’t blow up in our faces. It’s likethe less she and Granger talk about it, the more they think it will go away.
