Sold to the Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 1)

“I don’t know… to get some sort of closure? I’ve been turning this over and over in my head for hours. I mean, what options do they have now that their Alpha is gone? Sabine didn’t only rob them of their freedom and normal lives, but she also made sure she became their only reason to live. It’s not like they have anything left to go back to.”

Max thought about it for a moment. He tried to put himself in these wolves’ shoes, understand what they were feeling, what they were going through. “They could, actually. They could just return to their families, invent some kind of story, and continue with their lives like nothing happened.”

“A decent option if controlling your animal side weren’t such a pain in the ass in the first couple of months. Without a good guide, it can take them even longer to le

arn to hide their physical strength and keep in check the explosive temper that comes in the same package with the werewolf DNA. Possible, but unlikely.”

Max shot Viggo an annoyed look. As always, the dragon-shifter was making some good points. “They could just drop everything and flee the country. Start a new life somewhere else.”

“Sure. Also, they could form their own pack, live somewhere secluded…”

“But why would they? They were the wronged ones in this whole mess. If there’s any justice left in this world, it should be on their side. Whether we like it or not, one of our kind broke the rules, killed innocent people, turned other innocents into shape-shifters against their will and, most importantly, against the peace treaty. Now we must all suffer the consequences.”

Viggo leaned back in his chair. He studied the afternoon sunrays reflecting in his glass. “You’re right, of course. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m really not looking forward to suffering the consequences for what some crazy ass bitch did.”

“It just struck me that we’re actually sitting on a time bomb. A time bomb that can easily start a second war between humans and shape-shifters.”

“And there’s nothing we can do about it…”

They let silence fall between them. It weighted on their shoulders, making both Viggo and Max slump imperceptibly. It was more of a mental slump than a physical one. They both knew the conclusion to their conversation, and it was so depressing and disheartening that there was really no use in voicing it. All they could do was wait and see what would happen. Max smiled bitterly, thinking how Dr. Stevens had told him to forget the past and focus on the future. How could he focus on something he had no control over? In fact, he could… if he wanted to be driven insane all over again. The present. The present was a safe thing to focus on.

“Have you decided when you’re going to Alma Venus?” asked Max, grateful he found a way to change the subject.

“Yes, right after I run this through the other members of the clan. I’m sure they will agree to buying Lily Harington for Eric, but it wouldn’t be fair to make such an important decision alone.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I should be thanking you. It was a good idea. Let’s just hope it works.”

“Lily will make Eric Drekinn come back from his slumber.”

Viggo smiled and drank the last drops of his whiskey. “It’s not that simple, but yes, it’s worth a try.”

They had nothing else to talk about, unless they wanted to go on and on in circles about the rogue wolves or the three-tailed fox. Viggo stood up, and Max did the same. They shook hands.

“Well, I should be going now,” said Viggo. “We’ll keep in touch.”

“Absolutely. Good luck.”

The dragon-shifter grabbed his jacket from the sofa, gave Max a one last nod, and left the office. He rather enjoyed the wolf-shifter’s company, but he had business to attend to. He had liked Maxwell Blackmane from the first day he started spying on him and his clan, so this unexpected alliance between Clan Drekinn and Clan Blackmane was a good thing. A powerful wolf clan and an ancient dragon clan… It sounded quite encouraging, if he stopped to think of it. If the whole Sabine Miller business came to bite them in the ass, they had a better chance of dealing with it together.

Max sat on the windowsill and watched Viggo cross the courtyard. When the guy’s dark blond head disappeared behind the gatehouse, he cracked his neck to relieve some of the tension in his muscles, then let his thoughts reach for Avelyn’s. He wanted to know if Rosanna was still with her, because if she wasn’t, Max really wanted to go upstairs and spend the afternoon and evening with his wife. Maybe they could watch a movie or a TV Show, do something normal and boring… why not? After so much mayhem, normal and boring sounded divine. The loud ringtone of his mobile phone snapped him out of his thoughts and brought him back to Earth.

“Oh… what now?”

Max took his phone out of his back pocket and looked at the caller’s ID. “Councilor Voinom? Well, that’s a surprise…” he thought. He set his glass back on the desk and pressed the phone to his ear.

“Hello, Councilor Voinom. How are you?”

“Max, hello. I’m not very dandy, but thank you.”

The man on the other line sounded much more than “not dandy”. He sounded furious.

“Is there… something wrong? How may I help you?”

“You may help me by explaining why in hell’s name is a young she-wolf with bright blue eyes in my office, telling me a crazy story about how a certain Sabine Miller kidnapped her, bit her, then forced her to attack a boarding school? Oh… and also: Clan Blackmane, silver dragon, battle, blood, a lot of dead wolves and… foxes? What the fuck is going on, Max?”

Max closed his eyes and tried to remain silent while some of the most creative curses the world had ever heard exploded in his mind.