Ben could see that there was a lot more to the story, and maybe one day he would hear it. The way his father made it out to be, it was a debt that made him marry Teri, not Fate. When Ben pushed to get his answer and was given that one, he didn’t know what to say or do.
“How many people live here?” Ben wondered.
Ross told him that it was about two hundred and Ben was amazed by all of the people and diverse faces he saw. It wasn’t at all like what he had back home. Everyone seemed happier for some reason, and while his eyes took on the people of his new wife’s town, he wondered where she was. Was she out there watching him? Ben hoped that if she was, she would like what she saw and come to introduce herself. How else would he get to know his wife?
When Ben didn’t see anyone right off the bat that looked like Teri, he tried to ignore the slight, even though he could thoroughly feel it. There wasn’t much to be said about the fact that his soon-to-be-bride hadn’t even shown up.
After a few minutes of walking through the small shifter village, he saw a reflection high up on a hill that caught his eye. There was a woman wolf staring down at the procession. She was a jet-black color, eyes a deep purple hue that took his breath away. Ben knew without knowing that was Teri. She was the one that he was to be mated to. He didn’t have to see her up close to know that she was the one whose beauty was talked about by all. He squinted to see more, but the wolf was gone once his eyes adjusted, and Ben was left feeling out of sorts. What did that mean? Did she find him lacking?
He felt the father’s large hand on his back. “Come on, I will show you to your rooms.” Ben agreed, though he wondered what the father knew. His eyes gave him away. He knew something. Ben had the urge to ask questions, but instead he waited until he was alone. His mind went to the wolf he’d seen and while he just knew that it was Teri, he still wondered when she was going to approach and come out of hiding. He’d never considered that his mate wouldn’t be happy to be so. He was going to be Alpha; she should be enthused. He was going to bring her family and her own rank up. Didn’t that mean something?
Why was Ben so bummed about it? It wasn’t like she had a choice; he didn’t either. They would work it out because they had to. That was the end of it.
Chapter 4
Teri
“Come on, Teri. You know that you have to go down there and meet him eventually.”
Teri agreed that she knew that she had to go down inevitably, but that didn’t mean that she had to go down there in that moment. She was just fine to stand up on the bluffs overlooking the small village she called home for a little while longer.
“Isn’t your father going to be mad that you weren’t there when he arrived?”
Teri scoffed. “I don’t care what my father thinks. I am liable to run away and never look back. I don’t care what Ashley says. Marriage is not something that I want. I just want to have fun, dance, be outside and feel the vibes of the world. Why do I need a man for any of that?”
Candace was Teri’s best friend and she had heard those sorts of questions for as long as the two girls had known each other. Even when Teri was little, when she found out that one day she would be sold off to some guy, she knew that she didn’t want it to happen. So to her, it didn’t matter who the guy was or what he looked like. He wasn’t what she wanted. The future that was forced on her was not one full of mystery and wonder. It was one that was full of obligation. Teri didn’t want to get married to anyone. Ben could have been great, but he was everything she hated about her people and the rules that governed her life.
“You know that it doesn’t matter what you want. They will find you and drag you to the wedding. It will be so embarrassing.”
Teri shrugged and said that she didn’t care, when in fact she did. It was easy to see that if Candace looked hard enough. She didn’t have to though; the girls were one in the same.
“I have to be there to mate him. It doesn’t mean that I have to be there all the time before. I know the rules, I went and looked them up. My parents can be mad about it all they want to, but there is nothing that says I have to go down there. I don’t have to do anything but mate with him. After that, it is all over and done for me. I have a couple of weeks of freedom, and I’m not going to waste them with Ben.”
Candance shook her head like Teri was being silly. They were distant cousins, thus why they had the same black hair and tanned skin. They resembled each other a bit, and Teri wondered how she would advise her if things were reversed. She couldn’t imagine and had nothing she could say.
“It happened too fast. I wish I had more time.”
Candace agreed. “I don’t have long either. We are all coming of age, but you are the only one of us that gets to marry an Alpha. He is hot too. Have you noticed?”
Teri said that she hadn’t. She was doing her best to keep her distance, though from far away he looked rather good. She wanted to keep any thoughts of the two of them together out of her mind for as long as possible. Soon, she wouldn’t have any freedom to speak of, and she didn’t want to jump any sooner into that boat than she had to.
“Come on, Teri, you have to lighten up. So many girls would gladly take your place.”
Teri didn’t want to hear how she was lucky. She felt like she was being coerced into something that she didn’t want to do. Nothing good would come out of it. She wanted to stay there in the village and just do what she wanted. Why did she have to be dragged away, to leave her family and everything she knew and loved behind? It didn’t make sense, and if that was her Fate, Teri didn’t want any part of it.
“They can take my place, then! If I could give away my place, I would.”
Candace shook her head. “You don’t mean that. I think once you get to know him, you won’t feel that way anymore.”
Teri said that she would always feel the way she did. It didn’t matter to her what Ben looked like. It wasn’t going to change anything. Teri wasn’t attracted to a guy enough to give up her freedom. She didn’t think that a man like that existed.
“I’m going to take off before it gets too late. Are you coming to the ceremony this evening?” Teri asked with hope. She wanted Candace to go with her, so that she would feel better about it being her last time to dance with the other women of the village as a single. She would have to leave as soon as the mating ceremony was over. Teri wanted to stay where she was happy at home, so the idea of it being the last time she could dance and sing to the night, made her sadder than she could have imagined. It was like everything that she had waited so long for was going to be over.
Candace said that she would be there. It was unsaid between them that it was the last time and everything was about to change. Teri didn’t want it to be true, but she knew that it was. The excited rumors of her new beau were already swirling around the village, as was her refusal to meet with him. Teri saw the looks she was being given, but it changed nothing. She wasn’t going to give in until she had to, which was when they got mated. Teri was going to avoid Ben and all of her duties as long as she possibly could.
“Good, I’m going to get out of here before my dad hunts me down.”
Candace told her friend that she was being ridiculous, but Teri didn’t care. She was worked up over everything that was going on and before she could really think anything through, she shifted to her true form and sped away from the village. The heat of the day was already starting to rise. She had to get to the canyons quickly, or she wasn’t going to make it out there long. Teri had all intentions of staying away all day, for as long as she could. It was only a matter of time before she would have to show herself and do her duty, but not yet. Teri wasn’t ready to give up her freedom just yet.
