Everyone, including the Alliance, would be forced to accept her if he claimed her properly. If he had to play elvish games to make that happen, he would do it.
But he had to do it fast.
“Tell me about how this works,” he demanded, rounding on Theodore.
“Well, typically a family makes a list of eligible partners and then they put out feelers to see if anyone is interested in discussing a possible union.” Theodore frowned, his distaste for the practice clear. “Obviously, word usually gets out unless things are kept firmly behind closed doors, and offers can be submitted to the head of the family for consideration. For instance, if you were an elf, this wouldn’t be that unusual. You heard Cammie is looking for a contract, so you petitioned the head of her family for a place on the list.”
He shifted so that Margot could lean her back against his chest. She looked up at him with big eyes, her expression intent. Obviously, she was just as new to this as Viktor was, and appeared just as eager to learn.
“After the final list is approved, a contact is made with each family. First in writing, to confirm that both parties are willing, and then in a series of meetings to negotiate terms and assess compatibility.” He paused, expression tightening. “It is considered deeply insulting to pull out of negotiations with any family before the final meeting. It is a sign of respect to give every family a fair shot. If everyone played favorites from the start, it would make the gene pool that much smaller — something we can’t afford to do.”
Viktor smiled thinly. “So if you approve my place on that list, shehasto meet with me.”
“Yes. Though, knowing Cammie, she will try to find a way out of it.”
He waved that thought away. Of course she would try to outsmart him. That was another thing he loved about her. She made himchase.“And what do these meetings involve? Do you have to be there?”
“No.” Theodore shuddered. “Gods help me, I don’t even have time in my schedule for that sort of thing. Three meetings with every family? I’d rather jump off the bridge.” He sniffed, clearly relieved that he didn’t have to manage Camille’s suddenly crowded social calendar, though Viktor might have felt better knowing she had her cousin there looking after her.
“No, Cammie is technically the head of her family unit. She took the dominant position when Marian passed. That means she is fully within her rights to negotiate her own union, so long as all assets brought to the table are in her name only.”
That, at least, he understood. The elves were very similar to shifters in their hierarchy. It wasn’t based on age or gender, but on the readiness and willingness to lead, to take care of those below you. Camille was strong enough to take over her small family, but nowhere close to dominant enough to rest control of theentireSolbourne family from Theodore, putting her neatly under his supervision.
In the same way, the families that made up his pack were tiny packs of their own, with their own internal hierarchies giving them structure and security. Those families ultimately looked to him for guidance, but they would always have a level of autonomy within themselves.
“The meetings are not terribly structured, but they tend to escalate in terms of contact and length as the negotiations progress,” Theodore continued. He began to tick points off on his fingers. “First, a brief meeting with the head of each family to discuss basics — major points within the contract like living arrangements, social obligations, young, and so on. Nowadays, this is typically done virtually. Second, an in-person meeting with the head of the family and the interested parties. This assesses compatibility.”
He briefly dipped his head to nuzzle Margot’s hair. Viktor watched, envious, as Theodore’s catlike pupils expanded in a rush, like even the scent of his consort was something intoxicating. “Finally,” he continued, softer, “the last meeting is the longest and the most private. It can be anything from the pair having dinner to spending a week together in a villa, assessing everything from routine compatibility to sexual attraction.”
Viktor tensed when Margot made a soft sound of surprise. “Wait,” she said, sitting up a little, “you mean ameetingcould be afternoon tea or a week-long sexathon? Withevery candidate?”
“The point, my love,” Theodore replied, “is not just about business or politics, but procreation. What happens if you contract yourself to someone, only to discover you can’t stand it when they touch you? Sure, you can attempt artificial insemination, but with odds already stacked against having children, it becomes nearly impossible to create a viable pregnancy that way.”
Viktor tried to breathe past the roaring fury currently tearing its way through his chest, but it was no easy task. The thought of his mate trying out every man on her list made him want to go absolutelyferal.
It wasn’t going to happen that way, he decided. He wouldn’t let it.
By the time it came to the third meeting, she was already going to be his. The time she spent with those other men would be perfunctory at best. In and out, with a cold rejection tacked on at the end.
He wanted the thought to cool his temper, that territorial rage that made him want to bite and claw until he was too exhausted to do anything but sink into blissful darkness, but the memory of Camille’s voice coming through the door wouldn’t allow it.
If you can even make it on the list, I’ll have to see how you stand up to the elvish men I have in mind. No promises, of course. I’m afraid I already have my favorite picked out.
Who? Who was her favorite? Was it someone she was already attracted to? Someone shewantedto spend a week in a villa with, “assessing their compatibility”?
It was enough to make any fevered shifter want to rip his hair out. Mates didn’t sleep around. Mates were sacred; the bedrock of the pack. They were loyal to one another above all things. To think thathismate might find comfort and pleasure in the arms of another was the keenest kind of agony Viktor could imagine.
He had to take several deep breaths before he was capable of speech again. “Put me on the fucking list, Teddy,” he growled.
Theodore arched a brow. “Yeah? And how do I know you won’t fuck it up again?”
“Because,” he grated, “by the end of this week, we’re all going to be one, big, happy family.”
ChapterTen
Viktor didn’t bother callingBenny for a ride. He was too keyed up to sit with his second and pretend that nothing was wrong, so he hopped on the m-lev and rode until he hit the boundary of the Merced territory.
Theirs was a small but beautiful enclave of greenery in the otherwise technologically advanced city. At its center sat Lake Merced, a marshy body of water with low, scrubby vegetation around its edges. Sturdy coastal trees clumped together in dense thickets, obscuring the homes of his pack members and the thin, winding trails they created. A long stretch of cold, windswept beach was only a short run away and closed off for the Merced pack’s use.
