Daylight faded slowly until long shadows forced me to use the bedside lamp in order to make out the soft scrawls that filled the pages of the pack’s law book. Page after dusty page held handwritten notes scribed in varying versions of English from Olde to modern to legal contract language. The rules and customs of these people were endless and, at times, contradicting. But the running theme throughout was that the alpha was the final word. Every time. If I hadn’t seen a council meeting first hand and watched the alpha allow others to speak their minds—including disagreements—I would have been convinced this was a very oppressive dictatorship.
The more I read, the tighter my nerves twisted. Not only was there absolutely no sign of a loophole for this contest business, my future was about to become very different than my past. Regan had been right. It was normal for us to be taken from public school from high school on. Pack responsibilities came first. There were entire chapters dedicated to hunting and others to patrolling and what to do if a trespasser stumbled upon our side of the territory line. How to handle challenges to your pack position. Politics. Elections for elder officers. You name it, the book had it. All except the marriage thing. That had never been done.
But vampires. Monsters. Freaks of nature—the book described them as all of these—were not scarce. I lingered over that section, wanting to learn all I can, but it only listed the basics about their makeup: They drank blood to survive. Sunlight didn’t harm them but it did tire them more quickly. They were our natural enemy. Our wolves literally tasted the need for violence when we smelled their kind. It was built in to destroy them. Underneath that, the book laid out different ways to kill them.
I scanned those lines with a subtle sickness roiling my gut. I wanted to know but I also didn’t. That vampire in the woods had been my friend. Tonight, they wouldn’t be. But Regan had warned me against lashing out. Tonight we were here to make peace.
My eyes caught on the last line of every technique. Apparently, burning them was the only way to assure their destruction. Great, so Hollywood had at least gotten that part right.
At the sound of a sharp knock, I flinched and snapped the thick volume shut.
“Yes?” I called.
Brent poked his head inside, his eyes flickering from me to the book that lay on the mattress in front of me. Finally, I caught him check my bedside clock. “You should start preparing for tonight,” he said. “They’ll be expecting you soon.”
“Right,” I said, startled to realize how late it had gotten while I read. “I’ll be ready,” I added, shoving the book aside as Brent slipped out again.
I got up and went to the window, nerves tightening further as I spotted all of the foot traffic coming and going on the foot path that ran parallel to my side of the house. Carts and coolers and men in black pants and crisp button-ups trickled steadily back and forth toward what I’d heard them refer to as the back acre.
Dad was going all out for this thing. My engagement party. I wrinkled my nose and turned back, sighing as I went to the closet to retrieve my dress. A plum number Regan had brought up this morning. It wasn’t a color I would’ve chosen for myself. It suited her more. I suspected it might’ve once been hers.
My first hand-me-down, I realized with a frown.
I dressed quickly.
The moment it was dark, they would expect me to come downstairs, walk through the neighborhood under the scrutiny of dozens of expectant eyes, and meet the mortal enemies of a pack I didn’t want to have anything to do with. To prevent war, bloodshed, and the death of a hundred innocent lives, I reminded myself. Somewhere along the way in my reading, I’d realized how close to that we really were. Regan was convinced these monsters had killed her mom. The history in that book had taught me what a betrayal that was. Not just taking a life—the life of an alpha was precious enough to warrant swift and harsh retaliation. In fact, I was surprised they hadn’t done anything about it yet.
Maybe Dad was right; this marriage was the only thing holding the violence at bay.
“No pressure,” I whispered to my empty room.
That wasn’t even the thing that had me the most stressed, although I guess the whole war thing should have been the worst of my worries. The idea of death and destruction sucked. But more than all of that, I was breathless with the idea of possibly seeing my stranger in the woods again. Did he know anything about Regan’s mom’s murder?
I stood at the mirror toying with my hair and trying not to think about any of it. But the more I attempted anything fancy, the more nervous I became. I needed Mom. She’d always been my hairstylist. Finally, my hair fully rebelled and I gave up. I’d wear it down.
And maybe tomorrow, I’d finally call her. Let her explain herself. And find a way to tell her that despite being kidnapped and forced into this, I’d gone completely crazy and decided to stay. That last part had held me back from dialing her for days now.
I took a final look at my reflection, squaring my shoulders in an attempt at a power pose. I thought of Regan and how she didn’t need to do anything different to power pose. It was already built in somehow. At that, my shoulders slumped.