Sold to the Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 1)

“Max? Your silence tells me more than you can imagine.”

“Councilor Voinom… This is a misunderstanding…”

“A misunderstanding? A misunderstanding?! Max, are you insulting my intelligence? I want to speak to you, Karl, and Jocelyn face to face right away. In fact, the whole Council wants to hear what you have to say. Let’s just cut this embarrassing crap and schedule a meeting, how’s that? Tomorrow evening.”

“Yes…”

“Oh, and I want you to bring your wife.”

Heat rushed to Max’s neck and face, his cheeks and forehead starting to burn as if he had a fever. It was anger boiling too close to the surface, his wolf thrashing inside him, eager to come out. He clenched and unclenched his free hand, trying to calm himself down. It was a bad idea to snap at the Councilor.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. My wife isn’t feeling well and the doctor advised she should rest. She’s having a difficult pregnancy, so I need to keep her away from any matters that might trouble her.”

There was a slight pause at the end of the line, and Max hoped the man was reconsidering his demand. He was wrong.

“You know, son, in normal circumstances I’d empathize with you, but these are not normal circumstances. So, let me put it this way: I don’t care. Avelyn Blackmane seems to have triggered all this chaos, so I want to talk to her face to face, see what all this fuss is about. You’re bringing her with you tomorrow evening. End of discussion.”

“Dimitri…” It was true that the Councilor was a rough man, but he was also a friend. He had been good friends with Nikolas Blackmane, Max’s father, when he was still around, and that was why he had decided to take Max and Karl as advisers.

“End of discussion.”

Max sighed. He needed to remember that while family and friendship meant a lot to Voinom, his political career meant everything. “I understand…” he finally said.

“This is bad. This is very bad. You two are my advisers. Do you have any idea how this makes me look?”

“I promise you, Councilor, this can be easily sorted out.”

“I sure hope so, Max. I sure hope so.”

Councilor Voinom ended the call without even saying “goodbye”. Max stared at his phone for long minutes, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he had just been summoned by the Council for a very, very uncomfortable discussion.

“Who am I kidding? This isn’t going to be a discussion. It’s going to be a trial.”

CHAPTER TWO

The Council

Avelyn was feeling slightly dizzy. She squeezed Max’s arm, leaning on him as much as she could, but when he threw her a concerned look, she forced herself to smile. She didn’t want him to worry. Karl and Jocelyn were ahead of them, already entering the tall, modern building where the Council held its meetings. Jocelyn was still weak, but she was holding herself straight and proud. Karl had been silent all the way from the Schloss to London. After Max received the call from Councilor Voinom the day before, he had gathered everyone in Avelyn’s bedroom and told them all the details.

“Do you know what this means?” Karl had asked. “It means my political career is over. It doesn’t matter if we convince them we never broke the peace treaty. It’s over.”

Since then, he hadn’t said anything else. Max and Jocelyn had tried to come up with a plan, but it was useless. Until they found out what the accusations were, there was nothing they could do. The smartest thing was to keep silent and give as little information as possible until they figured out where they stood.

Avelyn, Max, Karl, and Jocelyn stopped in front of the elevator, waiting for it to come down. Avelyn shifted from one leg to the other, trying to ease the ache in her feet. A day before, she had been sure she could do this. The doctor’s advice to stay in bed for a week sounded ridiculous anyway. Now she was realizing how unprepared she was, both physically and mentally. The black, elegant suit she was wearing didn’t help either, as it made her feel hot and uncomfortable. She had traded her usual high heels for a pair of black leather flats, and whenever she wanted to catch Max’s gaze, she was forced to crane her neck. The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside. Max pressed the button to the fourteenth floor.

“Everything is going to be fine,” he said. She looked up at him and he pecked her lips. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, don’t worry about me.”

“I’m sorry I’m making you do this…” There was real concern and regret in his dark green eyes.

“You’re not making me do this. I have to and I want to.”

Karl and Jocelyn didn’t intervene in their conversation and didn’t look their way. They were too absorbed by their own thoughts. When the elevator stopped at the fourteenth floor, they all took a deep breath and started walking down the hallway, towards the secretary. They didn’t even have to present themselves.

“Right this way, please.” The woman behind the desk stood up and motioned for them to enter a large conference room. “If you need anything… coffee, water…”

“We’re fine, Meredith,” said Jocelyn. “Thank you.”