The Hidden Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 2)

“Well, this isn’t bad,” she whispered to herself.

Her bedroom was not very large, but very comfortable and well organized. The bed was covered in thick blankets and two huge pillows. There was a big TV on the opposite wall, a desk with a computer by the window, and every inch of the wooden floor was covered with soft pelts. She could probably walk barefoot and her feet wouldn’t freeze in the cold winter days. But what she loved most about the room was the small fireplace on the same wall where the TV was. There was also a comfy armchair she could move in front of it, so Amelia immediately decided that was how she was going to spend the long Alaskan winters: curled up in the armchair, in front of the fireplace, with a cup of hot tea or chocolate and a book.

“If this is my room…” she thought out loud. “Seth said this is my room, he never mentioned anything about Blake. Hmm… I wonder how this will work.”

The moment she stepped into the bathroom, she almost changed her mind about the quick shower. It was hard to opt for the small shower cabin on the far wall when she had a rather large bathtub right in the middle of the room. But there was no time for a long, bubbly bath when she only had one hour before Seth came back up to show her around the estate. It would also make her sleepy when what she really needed was a lukewarm, invigorating spray of water to wake her up and energize her enough to make it through the day. Ekviknuna was 9 hours behind Myrtle Valley. If she were at Alma Venus right now, she would’ve just had dinner. Her stomach growled at the simple thought of food. She needed something more consistent than what she had had on the plane.

Amelia threw her worn clothes in the laundry bin by the door and stepped under the shower. She sighed and tried to relax her muscles. Her whole body had been so tense during the entire flight that all she could think of was how nice a massage would feel right about now. But then, what would be the use of it if she was going to get all stiff and tense the moment Seth would come to get her? “I really need to figure this out,” she thought. “This situation sucks so much.” Why did she have to fall so hard for the hot, hunky Yako? There had only been two days. All she could hope was for Blake to be even hotter, more interesting and intriguing than his Beta. Maybe what she had for Seth was silly infatuation that would go away in time. Maybe it was nothing to worry about. It couldn’t be love, right? People needed so much more to t

ruly fall in love with someone: physical attraction, yes, but also common interests, great conversation, the feeling that they belonged with the other. So far, Amelia couldn’t identify more than physical attraction between her and Seth. “It might not even be mutual,” she thought while working the shampoo in her wavy, brown hair. She decided to stop thinking about Seth and focus on her husband. She’d meet him soon, she knew that. Maybe Seth would take her straight to Blake. What was he like? Would he be kind to her? Would he like her? What if he didn’t like her? She had never heard of a shifter-bride being sent back to the boarding school, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. “In Miss Delacroix’s office I only passed the first and easiest tests. The one that really matters is about to come.”

She rinsed her hair and applied some balm, then quickly washed the rest of her body. She didn’t know how much time had passed. She turned off the shower and reached for the fluffy towel. She dried herself and put on her clothes as fast as she could, realizing she needed at least fifteen minutes to blow dry her hair and put on some make-up. She looked at herself in the mirror and cringed at the deep, dark circles under her eyes. “Blake can’t see me like this…” she told herself. Or was it Seth? She shook her head, smiled, then looked into her own eyes in the mirror. “Now, listen to me: stop thinking about the guy. You can’t have him. He’s just a Beta. You’re the bride of an Alpha, for God’s sake! Act like one!” There. The self-scolding should do the trick.

***

Roman Sylfur’s mansion was the largest and most imposing in Ekviknuna, but Seth didn’t bother to show her all of it. He vaguely pointed to the left wing, where the main Inari spent most of his days and where Blake’s room was, close to his father’s. Amelia threw a curious glance down the corridor, her perky ears trying to catch the slightest sound of movement. The utter silence made her shudder and wrap her cardigan tighter around her. That part of the house seemed dead.

“Neither of them goes out often,” said Seth.

“What is he suffering from? Roman, I mean…”

The Yako shrugged. “Exhaustion, old age… Our Inari has never been the same after the war.”

“It’s strange to hear about a shape-shifter being ill, suffering… dying…” whispered Amelia. She stole a quick glance at Seth, hoping her words hadn’t hurt of offended him. It was his Inari she was talking about, after all. “I always thought your healing abilities make things easier even in old age.”

“There are wounds which can’t be healed. Ever.”

Seth climbed down the stairs and Amelia followed him. He pointed towards the kitchen and the servants’ quarters, then they stepped out on the porch. Amelia breathed in the fresh, warm air and let the cool breeze play in her hair.

“Come on, you should get familiar with Ekviknuna.”

They went out the front gate and started down the street, towards the docks. Amelia looked around her at all the pretty houses and nice cars. The town looked like a bigger neighborhood where everything was the same, everyone knew everyone, and no one ever locked their front door.

“So, Ekviknuna belongs to Clan Sylfur.”

“Yes, but only four of our earths live here. The fifth one moved to Canada.”

They passed by a young woman with a toddler, and Seth greeted her. Amelia smiled and nodded. The woman studied her curiously.

“Any specific reason?” Amelia knew shape-shifters belonging to the same clan preferred to stick together.

“It’s a long story. Roman has four brothers, and things between them have always been tense. It’s hard to be the main Inari of such a big clan when you have four other Inaris who would love to take your place.”

“Wow! And here I was thinking you have a very tight and warm community.”

“It is. Since Roman’s youngest brother decided to take his earth to Canada, things have been better. He was usually the one who was trying to convince the other three they should challenge Roman.”

“Why would they do something like that?”

“Power. Influence. I can only speculate. I never knew what their exact plans were. They never challenged him because he is the only five-tailed fox-shifter in the world, and that makes him superior to all of them.” Seth stopped and turned to Amelia, fixing her with his intense gaze. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were hard. “Now, more than ever, we need to stay alert.”

Amelia looked around her, but there was no one in sight. She felt like Seth was finally about to tell her something important. He was finally treating her like the Vulpes bride she was.

“Starting tomorrow, they will all want to meet you. They will study you, ask you questions, try to gain your trust. They’re very careful not to show it, but they can’t be happier that Roman is so close to giving the lead to his son.”

“So, they don’t want Blake as their main Inari. Once Roman is gone, they will challenge his position.”

“Yes, I think they will.” For the first time, Seth’s lips curled up into a smile. It was a mischievous one. “They’ve no idea what they’ll be getting themselves into. They don’t know Blake. They don’t know who he really is and what he’s capable of.”