Page 1 of Wild Wolf Betrothal

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Micah

“Stop that.” Lucy laughed as she slapped Micah’s hand. “Those are my chili cheese fries. If you want some, order your own.”

“I don’t want a whole big order. Besides, you can’t eat all of those by yourself.”

“Watch me,” Lucy said, smugly.

She signaled for the waitress to come over.

“My friend, here, would love to have hisownorder of chili cheese fries, please. Add onions, tomatoes, and bacon bits.”

The waitress smiled at Micah and walked away from the table. Micah and Lucy had been coming here for ages, and he suspected that the waitress had a crush on him, although she never did more than lightly flirt with him. The waitress probably thought that he and Lucy were an item.

They had grown up together and were very close. Micah appreciated everything about Lucy. She had a great heart. She had a wonderful personality and was sweet to everyone. It was nothing for her to walk by a homeless person and end up buying them a meal. Lucy also possessed an incredible sense of humor.

More than once, Micah thought about asking her out on a formal date, but he was afraid that it would ruin their friendship. Besides, that issue was about to come to the surface sooner rather than later. Micah was next in line to become the alpha of his wolf shifter clan. He and Lucy had been betrothed to each other when they were very young by their parents. Technically, she was his fiancé. He thought that they would get along very well together as a mated couple since they were such close friends now.

Lucy was thrilled about her day. Her dark amethyst eyes lit up and a huge smile crossed her face.

“The family had been struggling for a long time. The son was out of control and pretty much ruled the household with fear,” she said. “We’ve been working a long time on how the parents can set boundaries and for the son to understand that he needs to adhere to the boundaries. He is getting counseling for his anger control issues. I think they are going to be a success story.”

“That’s exciting,” Micah said.

“I love feeling like I can make a difference for other people in a positive way. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I’ve decided that I am going to go for my doctorate in social work,” Lucy said, excitedly. “I know that it will be a challenge, but I’m up for it.”

“I know that you will do great. Are you going to make me call you Dr. Lucy?” Micah teased.

“I just might do that,” Lucy said. “Although I love working for the organization that I’m with right now, someday I would like to open my own practice.”

She looked at Micah and asked, “If you could do anything in the world, what would you do?”

Micah shrugged his shoulders and said, “I really don’t know. I haven’t thought a whole lot about it. My life has been planned out for me since I was a kid. I’ve been groomed to take on the role of alpha of the clan since I was a teenager.”

“I would hate that so much. I need the ability to choose my own future and determine the course of my own life,” Lucy said.

Micah wondered if she even remembered that she had been betrothed to him and that someday, she would be expected to become his mate. He decided to keep his mouth shut and not remind her of that right now, though. That would be a very hard conversation for another day – one that he was not looking forward to.

They ended their evening with a chaste hug.

Micah thought about what Lucy had said. What would he have done if he had the power to choose his own destiny? He had always been interested in the military. Becoming a firefighter also sounded challenging and something that he would enjoy doing. Like Lucy, the idea of making a positive difference in someone’s life sounded good.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. Day dreaming did no good. He had a role to fill and he would do the best job that he possibly could.

A few nights later, Micah and Dean went to the club for drinks. Dean was a life-long friend of both Micah’s and Lucy’s.

“My father and the elders called a meeting last night,” Dean said. “They told me that the ceremony to make me the alpha of my bear shifter clan is going to happen in a month and a half.”

“Are you ready?” Micah asked.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Dean said, “I guess so. After all, just like you, I’ve spent my entire life learning about the laws, sub-laws, policies, and the other ins and outs of being an alpha. I know the duties and how to perform them.”

“But are you ready to take on that responsibility,” Micah asked.

“To be honest, I was hoping that I would have a few more years of enjoying life. But, when the elders and the current alpha speak, I have no choice,” Dean said, gloomily.

“I know what you mean.”

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