“So, it’s like he has already postponed it once as a favor to you and his wolves, to give you a chance to know them better and give them some time to get used to you. Now, if everyone has accepted you as the Alpha bride, there’s no reason to wait much longer.”
“Couldn’t I just… I don’t know, go through with it and then run away?”
“Two problems here. One: if you attend the full moon celebration tomorrow night, then there’s no way we can run. You’ll be busy all day getting ready, then you’ll actually have to be there until morning. Two: once you become the official bride, running away can result in some ugly consequences. The clan can even start a dispute with the boarding school that sold you, or worse, bring the matter up at the Annual Summit and challenge the peace treaty. You see, a bride is like a tribute. Humans fail to pay the tribute, they’re screwed.”
“Shit. That has never crossed my mind. I thought it was just a stupid protocol.”
“It is, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be turned into something else. So no, going through with the mating ritual is not something I’d advise you to do.”
“Then what? I was stressed before, but now I have a feeling I’m going to lose it. Can’t take this anymore. The tension, the waiting. I want to be done with it and move on with my life.”
“Take it easy. Freaking out won’t help. Just let me think… there has to be something.”
“There’s no time to think.” Avelyn checked her phone again. “I’d better get going in the next ten minutes.” She heard Sabine fumbling with something. The soft click of porcelain on porcelain almost made her scream in frustration. “Don’t tell me you’re thirsty now.”
“I was just taking a sip of my tea.”
“Are you kidding me? Do you want to get me killed?”
“It helps me think.”
“That’s it, I’m out of here. I’ll figure something out, but, just so you know, it’s not fair to expect me to do all the work.” Avelyn made to leave. The pressure was too much for her, and at that moment she simply could not calm herself down and think clearly. She felt like everything and everyone was against her. To make things worse, the sensation that she was missing something, that there was a detail, a small piece of the puzzle, that didn’t quite fit had grown in the past few days. The last thing she needed was to realize she had been tilting at windmills.
“Wait! I know, I know!”
“What?”
“It won’t be easy to convince Max, but it might work. You have a fair chance if you play your card right.”
“What card? I don’t have a card.”
“You do. Just come over here. You’re making me speak louder than usual.”
“How in hell’s name does she know I stepped away from the door?” Avelyn thought. She looked down at her shoes. They were made of soft leather that barely made a whisper of a sound when they came in contact with the stone floor. Intrigued, she tested her theory by taking the three steps that separated her from the door. “For fuck’s sake. I can’t hear them, and I’m wearing them.”
“Good,” said Sabine. “Now listen: given that Jocelyn doesn’t particularly want you, which means that she’ll probab
ly never respect you as the Alpha bride, you can ask Max to give you a chance to convince her, to win her over. You tell him this means a lot to you, that you’ve come to love the clan and you can’t live with the thought that you’re not completely welcome among all the wolves.”
“How is that a new solution? I’ve tried it. Besides, there is no way I can win Jocelyn over. Not in a thousand years.”
“There is one: if an Alpha bride is pregnant at the moment of the mating ritual, then the entire clan thinks way higher of her. It’s not about acceptance anymore. She has already proved she’s the right one for the Alpha and his pack by bearing the first heir. Clan Blackmane is in dire need of an heir, and not even Jocelyn can deny that. If you gather all the wolves around you during the full moon celebration, right before the mating ritual, and you give them the news that you’re pregnant with their Alpha’s child, they will literally kiss your feet, believe me. Each and every one of them, including the Moon Children. Give Jocelyn the news that she’s going to be an aunt, and she’ll tear up and thank you for it. Heck! She might even take it upon herself to make sure you have everything you need during your pregnancy.”
“I… I really can’t imagine Jocelyn having that reaction, but… all right. Is that a wolf thing?”
“Yes. It’s not because only Alphas and Betas can take human brides in their tradition, but also because even with human females it has become more and more difficult to birth children. Two hundred years ago, a wolf-bride would give birth to five or more pups, one every year. For whatever reason, it seems that the rate has decreased.”
“I… had no idea about that.”
“Yeah, it’s something no shifter likes to brag about. You probably wouldn’t hear it in school.”
“So, what you’re saying is that I should lie to Max by asking him to postpone the ritual until next month because I intend to get knocked up and impress everyone?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time you lied to him.”
“No, obviously… But it seems so cruel to get his hopes up like that for something that is truly important to him and his clan.”
“Yes, it is important to him. So important that he locked me up because of it.”