Page 10 of Alpha's Arranged Mate

One called, "Who shall he marry?"

"I'll not do it!" one she-wolf snarled. She was silenced by a glowering look from the alpha before he cleared his throat once more.

"I have decided that it shall be you females who decide for yourselves," he explained, standing with his head raised and looking out over his entire pack. "You may come to me either now or later, if you wish to be put forward for the alliance. The she-wolf's name shall be picked at random at the next full moon."

Further murmurs of unease filled the room. The full moon was only a few days away. Lottie's stomach twisted painfully at the thought of those who might put their names forward. What would happen if nobody did? She didn't dare to open her mouth to ask the question, but her feet her itching to carry her to Dash's side, to offer herself up.

I cannot marry a demon wolf! she told herself firmly, but her wolf was clawing at her insides, pleading with her to take one for the entire pack, for herself.

"I wish for you all to know that your participation shall not go unnoticed, and your pack will honor and respect each one of you who chooses to accept this alliance in order to bring peace to our pack," Dash continued, as though he, too, was concerned that nobody would offer themselves.

Lottie took an instinctive half-step forward. She was stopped only by the fingers that wrapped tightly around her wrist. Glancing down, she followed the arm that belonged to the hand holding her up to her sister's gaze. The expression on Macie's face was a clear warning not to do anything she might regret.

It took everything Lottie had in her not to yank her hand free of Macie's grip and put herself forward for the alliance. Maybe later she would, but not now. She would not allow herself to look over-eager.

The smallest of voices in the back of her head still told her that she would be betraying her family if she did, but it was getting harder and harder to deny the feelings deep in her gut. She felt sick remembering her sister’s thoughts on the matter.

Her feet itched to move, the fingers on her free hand urging her to pry Macie’s away from her wrist, but she remained where she was as the murmurs around her died down, nobody else stepping forward.

Dash sighed, as if with disappointment, and again Lottie felt the urge to nominate herself. Maybe she would be seen as the savior of the pack. At least, that was what her wolf tried to tell her, but her human mind told her not to be so stupid. Her wolf wanted a mate, but was that truly worth being viewed as a traitor by many of her pack?

Chapter 7 - Braxton

For a man who had just days earlier promised himself for an alliance, Braxton didn't feel very respected as he was dragged from his cell, up the dungeon steps, and shoved unceremoniously to Dash Silverdale's office.

When he reached it, he held his head high, though he was forced to squint his eyes due to the sunshine coming through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind where Dash sat at an ornately carved mahogany desk.

It had been days since Braxton had seen light, save for the lanterns brought by the guards doing checks or bearing the meager portions of food that were barely sustaining him and his pack. Braxton would grit his teeth and bear all of that if it meant seeing his children again, if it meant saving those of his pack who could be saved.

"Do you know why I have brought you up here?" Dash asked once the door was firmly closed behind Braxton. A single, burly man remained, standing between him and the doorway as if he thought Braxton might attempt an escape.

Braxton struggled not to laugh. If he were to make an attempt, he would not go back through the manor; he would make his escape through those lovely wide windows behind Dash, who would likely not have the time to get up from his ridiculous chair before Braxton threw himself through one of the panes and into the bushes below.

But that would save only him, and only if he managed to get over the Silverdale Community walls for a second time. The first had hurt like holy hell, the magical wardings tearing at the flaming flesh of his demon wolf, almost ripping him to shreds in the process, but this time he would not have that luxury. He had no Silverdale she-wolf to undo his cuffs—at least, not yet.

"I suspect it has something to do with the alliance?" he ground out. Dash nodded, his raven hair falling forward before he brushed it back with pale fingers.

Even for a werewolf, Dash was exceedingly good-looking, and he made Braxton feel exceptionally self-conscious in his current dungeon dank state.

"Indeed, I have had you brought here to tell me," Dash said, pausing to clasp his hands on the desk before him. He looked at Braxton without blinking. "Will you honor your end of the alliance? This is your final chance to back out."

Braxton's heart clenched and his stomach constricted. A part of him wanted to blurt that he would not go through with it. How could he marry a stranger? Let alone a Silverdale stranger.

But when he closed his eyes, he saw his children's faces. They were not the only ones he saw; he saw the rest of his packmates, those not yet deemed evil enough for execution, and among them was another face, one that surprised him beyond measure. It was the face of the beautiful blonde Silverdale she-wolf who had attempted to help him escape. She had tried to give him the opportunity to see his children again, and for that, he cared for her deeply.

This alliance would not only mean his children would have a father where they had no mother, but his pack would continue. Not only that, but the Silverdale wolves would be safe, too. He had always heard of how honorable the Silverdale wolves were when it came to pacts, pledges and promises; even if his father had hated their guts and wanted every one of them dead, he had admired their determination, their strength, and the fact that they were worthy opponents when it came to pack wars.

Closing his eyes to picture all of their faces once more, Braxton sucked in a long and deep breath before he said, "I shall honor the alliance."

Dash's hands clapping together almost caused Braxton to jump out of his skin. After weeks of the cold silence of the dungeons, accompanied only by the groaning of the sore and starving and the constant dripping of water, hands clapping was akin to a bomb dropping beside a werewolf's sensitive ears.

"Good! The alliance shall be secured this evening beneath the full moon!" Dash announced, and when Braxton looked at him, he saw just how happy the alpha was. Yet as he watched, Dash's crystalline blue gaze darkened and he warned, "Go and prepare your pack. If there is any trouble tonight, so help me…"

"There won't be!" Braxton assured him. If so much as one member of his pack jeopardized this enterprise, he would rip off their head with his own bare hands as soon as leave them to the mercy of the Silverdale pack. He would drag them back down to the fiery pits of hell and have them tortured all over again if it meant his losing the chance to be reunited with his kin.

Bile rising in the back of his throat, Braxton asked, "What of my father and his commanders?"

Dash shivered visibly at the mention of the demon wolves’ previous alpha. The man who had only ever been known by his last name to all, even his own son, was one who struck fear into the hearts of many, though Braxton was surprised that Dash allowed it to show.

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