The Alpha's Other Woman by Vielle Nye (read a book .txt) 📗

She narrowed her eyes. "That's all just physical, chemicals, whatever."

"Really?"

Her glare deepened and her eyes burned with renewed rage. "Listen, you are not going to convince me to be some forced bride to some misogynistic werewolf cult. I've dealt with this sort of bullshit before—to a much less insane degree—and I am not going to fall into this again. I'm never going to just go along with what any of you want for me. You can keep me there forever, and if he tries to hurt me, I'll do everything in my power to kill him myself."

"I don't want you to just go along with anything, and neither does Porter."

She emphasized every word. "Then let me go."

"We will."

Her eyes were slits again. "What?"

"We've got a bit of a legal challenge going before the Alpha Assembly—"

"The what?"

"It's a united group of wolf packs. Kind of like the werewolf UN."

"Uh huh."

"And we can't let a human run around talking about werewolves, because they'll use it against us to try to make our pack look like it's irresponsible. We're really new and it seems they'll use any excuse to keep new packs down."

"So what if I promise to keep my mouth shut?"

I looked at her doubtfully.

"What? I can keep a secret."

"This from the girl who told me about every conquest the day after she went out during our breaks."

There was a growl from outside. "Shut it, Porter!" I yelled. "What she does is none of your business unless she decides that it is." Was he trying to make the situation worse than it already was?

"Yes, Luna."

"Luna?" Apparently the human's hearing was a bit better than I assumed.

"Jason and I lead this pack of werewolves. Most of us don't do well when we're isolated, so we form packs, led by the alpha and luna, and other ranked members. Porter is our beta."

"Of course he is. And you're saying he's my mate?"

"He is."

"I'm a human. Are you going to turn me into a werewolf so I'm stuck with him?" I felt bad for Porter having to hear this, but it was his choice to sit outside and eavesdrop.

I shook my head. "No, you can't become a werewolf."

"Good."

"And I'll make you a deal. Stay here on pack territory until we get back from the assembly, and then I'll tell you how you can break your bond with Porter if you still want to. You'll be free to leave, as long as you promise to say nothing. I trust you to keep my secret, because no matter what you're thinking, you're my friend."

"And if I break the bond, he won't want to bother me anymore?"

"Something like that." I wasn't going to explain how much it would hurt him.

She was quiet or an uncharacteristically long moment. "Okay. I'll stay here without fighting. But I need someone to pay my share of my rent." She cast an angry look at Lee. "I was forced to call work, and my roommates, and so on and claim that my grandma had a heart attack, but I still need money to get by."

"We'll handle it." It was another expense, but a necessary one. Maybe we could retroactively apply for a grant from the assembly after our challenge, since it wasn’t really our fault.

"Thanks." Her voice was begrudgingly sincere.

"I'll come back later, but before I go, I just want to say that I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I was. I was depressed back when we first met because I didn’t have a pack, but we aren't allowed to just randomly tell humans. I really am glad you know now."

She shrugged. "I sort of understand where you're coming from, but maybe Porter should have said something, if he really believes I'm his whatever-he-thinks. Was he just going to lie to me forever?"

"I'm sure he would have told you himself once he thought it wouldn't scare you off."

I stood up to leave.

"Hey, can I see you shift?"

I glanced towards Lee. "Could you show her?"

The door slammed open before Lee could do more than nod. "I'll do it," Porter said. "I don't want you to see him naked."

Amanda's rage grew again. "You can't freaking control me, asshole! If I want to look at a naked werewolf, I'm going to look at a naked werewolf, and I don't need your permission!"

"She's right. Stand down, beta." I walked to the door.

He sagged. "I know, Amanda, I know. But please."

I didn't stay longer to watch. Lee was there to intervene if necessary, but I really didn't believe that he would need to. Unless Amanda started tossing plate projectiles again.