Sold to the Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 1)

“Really? That’s fantastic! You have the most interesting hobbies I’ve ever heard of.” He had squeezed her into his strong arms to show her how pleased he was that she had found a new activity with which to occupy her time.

All the pieces had been folded, but Avelyn didn’t feel like sitting down to assemble the paper model. She eyed the book on the bed. No, “The Prague Cemetery” wouldn’t do either. She went back to the window. “God, how I’d love to go outside.” It was a beautiful day, and the sun was slowly rising higher above the trees. Through the open window, she could smell the pines, and each time the wind blew a bit harder, her nostrils were invaded by the fresh, earthy scent of the forest. If the circumstances had been different, she would have loved it here. She looked at the clock on the wall and sighed when she saw it was only 10 AM. She was growing impatient and more nervous with each passing minute. She knew she could call Christine and ask her to come up earlier to spend some time with her before lunch, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “No, not yet. I haven’t decided exactly how to tell her.” So, why was she feeling so impatient if she knew she wouldn’t call Christine earlier anyway? Could it be because Max had told her before he left that he wouldn’t be able to have lunch with her today? Avelyn slapped her forehead in frustration. “That’s stupid.” Missing him? Yes, that was, indeed, the stupidest explanation she could have come up with.

After her first night at the Schloss and their first morning together, Max had had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with her every day. Their first breakfast had been rather awkward and uncomfortable, with Avelyn keeping her eyes down on her plate, too embarrassed to look at Max from across the table. Each time her eyes locked on his eyes or his lips, images of his face being buried between her legs flooded her mind and made her cheeks grow hot. She needed time to get used to the idea that they had had sex that morning. However, the most difficult part was to accept that she had liked it and that her body couldn’t wait for their next passionate encounter. Then, things had started to get better. By lunch that day, Avelyn had made the last touches to her plan of seducing Max, which gave her hope and confidence. She had started flirting with him, and her smiles and sexy innuendos had made him so hot that he had been forced to endure a massive erection until late after dinner, when he could finally put his work aside and ravish his naughty bride.

That was how all her days looked like. She’d have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Max, take each opportunity she got to seduce him, and think about ways to please him in bed without going all the way. She had even resorted to watching porn clips online and reading about various positions and things they could do which did not involve penetration. She wanted to keep him interested. Interested, and horny, and mad about her. She needed to buy time because she had no intention of letting him take her virginity, which could eventually lead to pregnancy. Her plan had seemed quite clever and solid seven days ago, but Avelyn was beginning to understand it was not enough. No matter what she did, she seemed to be far from gaining his trust and convincing him to let her out of the room. A fleeting thought crossed her mind: “What if he’s doing it on purpose? What if he’s waiting for me to give in, thinking that if I carry his baby I won’t want to run away anymore?” As disturbing as that thought was, she had to admit it was sound. “Well, shit.” She cursed and turned away from the window. Suddenly, the cool air had made her feel cold, so she closed it and went back to her desk. “Why haven’t I thought about it before?”

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Instead of opening the browser, she stared at the screen until it went black. The time was ticking away, and Avelyn was growing even more nervous and irascible. “I have to ask her. I simply have to. Before it’s too late.” She covered her face with her palms, elbows propped firmly on the desk, her fingers massaging her temples. She had to find a way to voice her request without alarming Christine or determining her to go right to Max and tell on her. That was how the old woman found her later, when she brought her lunch.

“Miss Avelyn, are you all right?” asked Christine, pushing her colored paper aside and setting the tray on the glass table.

Avelyn turned around and smiled. “Oh, yes. I’m fine. Thank you.”

“You don’t look like it.” Christine touched her forehead. “Well, you don’t have a fever. Have you slept well? Your eyes are red and you’re as pale as a zombie.”

“Zombie?” Avelyn laughed, genuinely amused. “Christine, you’ve got the weirdest ideas.” She stood up and went to the sofa. She started arranging the pieces of paper, gathering the white and red triangles in a neat heap on a corner of the table. She sat down and lifted the lid off the huge plate. “Mmm…. Venison stew. My favorite! You must send Harold my compliments.”

“I always do, child. The cook already loves you even though he has yet to meet you. He keeps asking me about you and begging me to bring you to the kitchen so he can interrogate you himself about the foods you like.”

“I’d love to meet him,” said Avelyn, hope dancing in her eyes.

“Soon.” Christine sat down on the bed and watched Avelyn as she ate.

Avelyn chewed in silence for a few minutes, stealing glances at the old woman, wondering how she could start the conversation she had been dying to have with her.

“So, what’s new out there?” That was definitely not what she wanted to ask, but it was a good enough introduction.

“Nothing much.”

“What has Max been up to? It’s the first time he’s not having lunch with me.”

“Oh, that.” Christine’s wrinkled face stretched into a huge smile. “Now I understand. You’re like this because you miss him.”

“What? No!” Avelyn almost choked on her food. She immediately realized her mistake and smiled timidly, her eyes locked on her plate. “Maybe… a little…”

Christine clapped her bony hands and laughed wholeheartedly. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back before dinner, and you’ll get to tell him yourself how much you’ve missed him.”

Avelyn just kept eating, silently chastising herself for her impulsive reaction. “Idiot. Why do you keep forgetting you have a role to play?” On the other hand, yes, maybe she wouldn’t have minded having Max sitting across from her, eating his own lunch, squeezing her hand gently, yet possessively from time to time, his green eyes drinking her in as if she were a much delicious treat than the dessert Harold had prepared for them. She chased away the slight pang of… what was that? Regret? Longing? “Nonsense!”

“He’s been very busy lately. It’s a miracle he manages to have his lunches and dinners at the Schloss, and that’s entirely thanks to you. If you weren’t here, he’d most likely be gone for days. Like Jocelyn. She left with half of her pack the day you came here. That’s why there isn’t much activity in the courtyard and the castle.”

“Why did she leave? Anything to do with me?”

“Oh, no. Why would you think that?”

“They don’t want me here.”

“Who doesn’t want you, child?”

“The wolves…”

Christine hesitated for a moment. She watched Avelyn thoughtfully, unsure of what to say. She didn’t want to make her feel even more isolated and alone, but she didn’t want to lie to her either. It was true. The wolves weren’t very pleased with the fact that their main Alpha had decided to take a Vulpes bride instead of a Lupi one, who would have been educated to understand and respect their culture. They took anything that had to do with the foxes with a grain of salt. The differences between werewolves and werefoxes went back to ancient times.

“They don’t know you yet. We werewolves tend to be very traditional in our views. This is not always a good thing. Sometimes, traditional is uncomfortably close to narrow-minded.” Christine kept her voice warm, almost motherly. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Avelyn’s feelings. “Jocelyn left because she’s helping Max and Karl gather information about… about a matter they want to bring up to the Council at the annual meeting in December.”

That was enough to stir Avelyn’s curiosity. She had been trying to lure both Max and Christine into telling her more about the clan’s affairs and Max’s work. He was gone almost all day, and it drove Avelyn mad that she didn’t know why, that she was intentionally kept in the dark. Any information about the family business, about Karl’s diplomatic work in London, Jocelyn’s importance to the clan, and, eventually, the Schloss, could have proven to be helpful, or even crucial to her escape plan.