Page 13 of Alpha's Arranged Mate

Her mouth dropped open, her stomach bottoming out, and when she looked at Macie standing beside her, she felt as though she might scream.

The horror on her sister's face was gut-wrenching. But it was Ray's expression that caught Lottie's eye past her sister's head. Focusing on him and the smile that spread across his face, she thought she might have imagined the wink he had given her. But then he met her gaze and dipped his head in an almost respectful manner and her skin started to tingle with realization and anticipation.

Other than Macie, Ray was the only one who had known about Lottie's helping Braxton in his escape attempt.

And if she had put her name forth and Macie looked horrified at her name having been pulled out then there was only one other explanation. Ray McCormack had sealed her fate for her.

Even as Dash spoke up, Macie's grip tightened on Lottie's wrist. "Lottie, come on up here!"

"Don't!" Macie hissed under her breath, but it was Ray who stepped between them and removed Macie's grip from Lottie's arm.

"Let her go," he said softly, taking Macie into his arms.

Though Macie looked exceptionally unhappy above the situation, she did not speak up, likely knowing that it would mean speaking out against her own alpha in the process.

The crowd before Lottie seemed to open up like Moses parting the Red Sea as she took her first step forward.

And again, Braxton's gaze met hers. She half-expected him to smile, but his expression remained stony.

Was he not pleased? Lottie's throat constricted and she was careful not to let her mixed emotions show upon her face.

Reaching the middle of the clearing, standing opposite Braxton, she had no idea what to say. The entire world seemed to grow silent, as if even the trees were holding their breath in anticipation of what came next.

What happens now? Lottie wondered, imagining that she was suddenly standing at her wedding altar. Would they be joined in alliance right there and then? Even though she had never had any foolish notions that she would have a pink, frilly princess wedding like humans did, she had expected that her parents would spare no expense when the day finally came.

This most definitely was not at all what she had imagined. And yet, somehow, her heart soared to be near the demon wolf. Even the scent of brimstone and burning that came from him no longer offended her nose. In fact, her she-wolf seemed to revel in it, and she longed for his hellish touch to warm her chilled body.

As though Dash sensed her thoughts, he called, "The choice has been made. We shall celebrate and revel beneath the full moon."

He threw his hands up, gesturing for the pack to separate, to transform and frolic as they did every full moon. But before he stepped back to join them, he moved up and took hold of Lottie's hand.

"We shall give you both some time alone to get to know each other," he announced, glancing between her and Braxton.

The demon wolf's lips quivered and for a second Lottie imagined he was about to say there was no need. Would he truly give her away so easily now that the choice had been made?

But when he finally spoke, she breathed a sigh of relief. "I would appreciate it. Thank you."

The way he met her gaze without any hint of emotion, the stoniness of his expression, his tense body—all of it frightened Lottie. Was he not at all as kind as he had once made himself out to be when he had managed to convince her to help him escape?

It was too late to find out now. She was already set to marry the man, to be mated to the demon wolf. And life would never be the same again.

***

Almost the moment that they were left alone, Braxton approached Lottie with open arms. She in turn stepped back out of reach, and the demon wolf's hands dropped to his sides. Suddenly, she wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that there was nothing left to stop them from being together or the fear that she actually wanted to be.

"I am relieved to see you looking so well," Braxton stated, taking another half-step toward her. Unable to bear looking him in the eye, Lottie turned her back on him.

What the hell just happened? she thought. The sheer weight of what that meant was only now landing upon her as she was left utterly alone with a man who had once been thought too dangerous to even release from the dungeons.

Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the disgusted expression of her sister, a constant reminder that even though the alpha had approved the match there were still those who would see her as a traitor for lying with a demon wolf. She saw all too well how the other demon wolves already within the pack were tested and ridiculed at every turn if they so much as let their guard down. Could she really live the rest of her life faced barely veiled hatred?

"Lottie?" Braxton said, his voice little more than a whisper. She felt his hand slip into hers from behind and her hackles started to rise. Though her human mind told her she ought to pull away, her wolf heart would not allow her to.

This was a dangerous game she had been brought into. Yes, her marriage to the demon wolf would solidify an alliance between their packs, but surely if she accepted such a thing too readily people might begin to wonder. Would she still be permitted to marry him if anyone realized it was her who had helped him to escape? Would she not be considered a traitor? How could a traitor form an alliance with the leader of the pack she had been trying to help when she betrayed her own family?

So many thoughts and feelings whirled through her mind she was unable to think straight. At the back of her mind was the very real, very constant fear that maybe, just maybe, everything might actually work out. What if it at the very last moment, right when everything was falling into place, it all went to hell? And not in a good way.

And yet, Braxton's hand in her own, warm and rough as it was, felt so good. She wished she could simply lose herself in his touch, and yet she was all too aware of the rest of the pack still prowling through the trees all around her. The full moon had encouraged them all into wolf form, and several howls filled the night air as the silver moon beat down upon them.

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