Page 30 of Alpha's Arranged Mate

Braxton’s stomach twisted painfully at that, and he shook his head. “I would never allow that to happen.”

It was then that Bailey shoved her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Having not embraced since they were children, Braxton felt oddly uncomfortable for a few moments before he finally wrapped his own arms around her and squeezed her back.

“Whatever you do, Brax, you’ll have my full support,” Bailey assured him.

“Thanks. I’ll do what I can,” he promised her in return. The lump in his throat grew larger as he spoke and he thought, I just hope that it will be enough.

Chapter 14 - Lottie

Braxton was unaware of the fact that Lottie had been standing just outside his guest room door throughout the entire conversation with his sister. And upon hearing his suggestion that their marriage was simply a means to an end, Lottie felt her heart breaking. More than that, she felt anger firing up deep inside her, like a wall of flame that threatened to consume her.

Angry beyond measure, yet still loyal to the alliance and her pack, she turned on her heels and stormed away from the door before she could burst through it and demand to know if that was how he truly felt.

After all they had been through, after the night they had spent together, she had hoped that something more had come of their situation. Had she truly been foolish enough to believe that they might actually be mates? Was it stupid of her to believe that their marriage might actually be a happy one, even if it had come out of necessity?

Her thoughts were whirling and whirling around her head as she stormed down the hallway, so much so that she barely noticed the werewolf who stepped out in front of her until she had practically walked right into him.

“Whoa! Hey, steady on there!” Ray exclaimed, even as he gripped hold of her to stop her from stumbling backwards. She practically bounced right back off his big, burly body, and yet the moment that she recognized him through the fog of her thoughts, she exploded into a rage.

“You!” she snarled at him. “Why couldn’t you just keep your big, stupid nose out?”

Ray, looking absolutely astonished by her sudden outburst, took a step backwards and released her arms.

It was only her anger that kept her on her feet as she realized she had been held up by his hands. She snatched herself backwards and glared at him.

“What are you talking about, Lottie? What’s happened?”

What was she supposed to say? That she was upset that she had just heard the alliance was nothing more than a business transaction to Braxton?

No, she couldn’t give him the emotional response. Instead, she snapped at him, “Why did you have to take it upon yourself to put my name in the box? It never should have been like this. Why did you have to go and set all of this in motion? Why couldn’t you just leave me out of it?”

She wailed on and on until she had no more breath left to speak.

Then, just before Ray looked as though he was going to respond, she sucked in just enough breath to add, “I wish you had never bothered!”

“Charlotte Silverdale, stop being such a spoiled, stubborn she-wolf!” Ray snarled back at her, squaring up, his gaze never leaving hers. “Jesus! You are so like your sister it is unbelievable. Why can you Silverdales never admit what you are truly feeling?”

“Excuse me? How could you possibly know what it is that I am feeling?” Lottie snapped back at him. She was stunned when he lashed out and grabbed hold of her by the elbows.

Holding her firmly in place, he met her eyes as he hissed, “I have seen the way you look at Braxton and I have seen the way he looks at you. That is exactly why I put your name in the box.”

“You have no idea what you are—” Lottie began, shaking her head. She looked away from him, unable to meet his gaze for a moment longer, scared that he might actually know what he was talking about.

“I know exactly what I am talking about, because I have been right where you are, remember?” Ray said, shaking her slightly, as if he wanted to shake the sense back into her.

“That is so not the same!” Lottie protested, but when she met Ray’s eyes again, she saw the truth of it.

“I am a McCormack, your sister is a Silverdale, and yet here we are. We’re married beneath the full moon, and she is expecting my pup,” Ray pointed out to her, and with every word that he spoke, Lottie felt the anger fading from her until she felt weak. “I know exactly how it feels to want someone you can’t have, but you can have him now, and you must. If you do not, you run the risk of the entire pack finding out what you did.”

“You wouldn’t—” she began, but again he cut her off with a shake of his head.

“I wouldn’t say a word, but you don’t know who else might. What if Braxton said something? What if one of his packmates overheard something that night? Anyone could blow this entire thing up, and if the pack learned of your betrayal, it might well destroy us all so soon after Dash’s father’s death. The pack is unstable right now. Do you really want to be the one to make it topple?”

Lottie's head spun all over again. Though she knew that Ray was speaking sense, she couldn't quite bring herself to admit it aloud. Snatching herself from his grip, she hissed, "Can you please just leave me alone? I want to be alone. Get out of here!"

Though she had no right to tell him to do so, Ray conceded. Lowering his gaze, he dipped his head and hissed under his breath, "Yes, princess."

Lottie cringed at that. She had always hated it when they were children. Ray had always called her and her sister princesses to point out that they had Silverdale blood and were direct cousins of the alpha. But now it felt like a real insult, and it took everything she had in her to remain still, seething in silence as she watched him turn and walk away.

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