Soul of the Wolves

Her face burned. Suddenly, a flicker of anger exploded inside her. “I don’t think I care for your tone. Who died and made you the boss of me?”

“Well, who indeed? You married an alpha of a direwolf pack; I’m the boss.” He gave her an indulgent smile as he rose, all six-foot five-inches of him, towering above her. “Clearly, my dear, you need to learn more about pack rules and dynamics. I will overlook this for now since you’re a human, but I expect you’ll adjust to our situation. Fast. After all, I’m your husband, your alpha, and this is your life from now on.”

He sounded so haughty Sookie forgot her fear momentarily. She very much wanted to smack him with her four-inch stiletto pump and wipe that arrogant smirk off his face.

He seemed to notice the defiance in her face and relished it. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

“Don’t bother,” Sookie barked indignantly. “I have a headache. I’m not in the mood. Good night.”

“I like that fire in you. Save some of that for in the bed,” he totally ignored her.

She watched him leave with her teeth gritted. When the door was closed, she sobered immediately. She couldn’t do this. She wasn’t ready. She wasn’t the type of woman who could put on a fake face and please a man like a who—

But Jesse…

Her anger died out as fast as it came. Heavy knots squeezed her chest. Jesse needed her. She wouldn’t get the antidote by being stubborn.

Sookie forced herself up and ambled to the mini bar. She needed some kind of courage. Something to dull her spirit. She grabbed a new glass and poured some vodka. She paused midway and decided to gobble the liquor straight from the bottle. Oh, yeah, she’d bed him, all right. He didn’t say she couldn’t do it shitfaced.

The vodka burned her throat.

She coughed badly as liquor made its way to her belly. She got heartburn instantly. No, not enough, I’m still angry. Fuck Cain. Fuck Ethan. Fuck all werewolves. I hope you all get mange and rabies! She drank some more until she noticed the ceiling started to spin. Staggering, she put the bottle back, not bothering to replace the cap, toward the bed. She kicked her shoes off and proceeded to yank down her gown. The beautiful silk dress Cain had chosen for her to wear didn’t even reach her ankles when she tumbled down to the mattress, passing out.

Chapter Two

As Ethan made his way to his guests in the ballroom, he kept thinking about her, couldn't get over his fascination to his new wife. She was amusing. Terrible liar, too. He could see the way she was terrified of him but she stood her ground like a good little soldier. That brave little kitten.

Where did Cain find a woman like her?

He didn’t quite understand why his cousin would choose Sookie as his accomplice. Ethan wasn’t stranger to professional grifters with beauty, silver tongues and knock-out bodies. He brushed up with all kinds of characters in the underworld. Cain could have hired some pro but he didn’t. Did Cain choose her because she looked innocent? Or because she was his type?

Or maybe because Sookie was his mate?

The thought made him pause.

Nah, he dismissed it quickly. Cain couldn’t possibly know that fact. And there was no reason to announce that yet. No. He’d better keep that discovery to himself.

Was this whole thing nothing but pure coincidence? And why was his mate a human? A wolf always found his mate with another wolf, it had always been so since the beginning.

Over the centuries, intermarriage between packs had caused the numbers of purebloods to dwindle. To keep their unbroken line pure from the First—their progenitor ancestors—House Hunter practiced some degree of consanguinity. Humans might call them immoral but then again werewolves were not humans, though they were bound by the laws of humans. A pureblood Hunter often forsook the call of his true mate in favor of preserving the bloodline.

Ethan had heard some endless tales of loveless unions in his family, often ending in doom. Like his parents’ marriage. His mother couldn’t even stand his own father. She drank herself to death before Ethan reached the age of ten. Being a Hunter wasn’t always an easy, happy life. His father, the previous alpha, was a cold-hearted wolf who was unable to show his love to anybody. For him, duties to the pack came first. He drilled that creed into his son’s head religiously. Ethan had never been troubled with the mate problem before. To him, all females were the same. Nothing but sexual partners. Never form an attachment. Definitely not love.

Until he met Sookie.

The wolf within him wanted to howl and shed his skin. An overwhelming urge to claim her, mark her and make her his forever roiled inside him, threatening to destroy his level-headedness.

So, this is what it feels like to be head over heels toward a mate, he thought. Love is a scary thing. It hits you when you least expected a

nd pulled you into a current of madness because logic and the voice of reason no longer mattered.

Even though she was planted by his cousin to deceive him, the thought of not being able to be with her made him irritated. She’s crazy if she thinks I’d let her go. What would Cain do after this? Would he lay low? Or would he prepare to rebel?

Ethan stopped before the double doors of the ballroom, hands paused on the handle. Shit, why did everything have to come at the same time? He had a lot to deal with already. Finding his mate was a distraction he didn't need. Nor one he could ignore.

With an inward sigh, he pulled the doors open and strode in. He made small conversation with a few guests before he announced that he'd be retiring for the night. He thanked everyone for coming to the party. His beta, Graystone, asked for his attention just when he was about to return to his chamber.

The investigator waited in his office. Jensen Weber was an invisible pack member, a spymaster who had served since the previous alpha. He was an old wolf with no remarkable features. His face and figure were so ordinary, he could blend into the wall and nobody would have noticed him. But Weber himself was intelligent, ruthless and dangerous. During his father's reign, Weber had disposed of countless enemies in the name of House Hunter and the pack. His service was invaluable.