It’s a customary practice for Snehvolk as a way for the single wolves to find their mates within the pack. It’s also the reason why I always avoided this scene, sticking to my cottage on the other side of the village.
Because of Brooks’s insistence, I’m here tonight, but I still feel highly out of place when the single wolves disperse from their groups, knowing that soon, Alpha Elias will announce that it’s time for the dance. I might be meant to be Brooks’s mate, but I have never felt more alone, especially when a particular she-wolf comes sauntering toward me.
Groaning, I muster up the courage and wit it takes to deal with Laura. Brooks and I already figured out that she and Emily set out to break me that day at the clinic, so I know she’s up to no good when she comes around.
“Laura.” I acknowledge her arrival with a curt nod even before she greets me.
“Ah, Rissa,” she chimes in a sickly-sweet tone. “Nice to see you around for a change.”
The blonde she-wolf’s presence brings about memories of the past—memories I’d buried deeply, when I figured that she was never truly a friend.
I know that she doesn’t mean what she just said, and I decide to take everything else she says with a grain of salt, so it doesn’t disturb my peace.
“I have to be,” I say boldly, holding my chin up high. “I am Alpha Brooks’s mate now.”
“Really?!” Laura chuckles sardonically as cocks her head to one side. “I don’t remember him announcing it to the pack.” She shrugs coolly. “I’m guessing that’s why I’ll be dancing with him tonight.”
I stifle the urge to roll my eyes at Laura, instead plastering a smile on my face. If there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that Alpha Brooks won’t be dancing with Laura tonight.
The Elders are present for the gathering, and he can’t do anything that will jeopardize our mate bond in their eyes.
“You must be mistaken, Laura, but—”
Just as I’m about to tell Laura that Brooks has already assured me that nothing is going on between them, Brooks appears, slipping his arm across my back.
“Hey,” he greets with a warm smile. “I hope I wasn’t keeping you too long.”
He keeps his eyes pinned to mine as if deliberately ignoring Laura. But of course, the she-wolf can’t handle anyone ignoring her existence, and clears her throat to get his attention.
The smile is instantly wiped off his face, his silver-gray eyes turning razor-sharp, and he glares at Laura.
“I thought I told you not to come anywhere near me,” he reminds her with a measuredly raised brow.
“I was having a chat with Rissa,” she defends, and I can feel Brooks getting tense beside me.
“Rissa is my mate, and that means she’s an extension of me. I don’t want you anywhere near her. In fact…” Brooks removes his arm from around my shoulders and takes my hand instead, then steps past Laura. Just as Alpha Elias is about to take the mic to announce the start of the dance, Brooks whistles out and calls his attention, simultaneously spreading silence over the meadow with the sound as everyone turns to him.
My heart pounds in my chest as Brooks nods to encourage me to follow him hand in hand toward Alpha Elias. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, and I keep my frown on Brooks to keep my legs steady.
What is he doing?
My frown deepens as Brooks takes the mic from Elias’s hand smoothly, as if this were rehearsed. He turns to me, still holding my hand for everyone to see, his eyes finding mine and holding them with a sincerity I’ve never seen before.
“To everyone gathered here tonight, I would like to make an announcement,” he says, squeezing my hand with reassurance while he stares into my eyes and addresses the pack. “Rissa Rudolph is my mate.”
He pauses for a deliberate moment as if to let it sink in, not removing his eyes from mine. Between the silver-gray pools, I see a flash of earnestness soften his eyes as he continues.
“Rissa is the purest soul I’ve met, and it’s an honor to be her mate. She has a heart of gold that perhaps I don’t even deserve, but I will do everything in my power to ensure thatI earn the right to be called this fiercely strong, kind-hearted she-wolf’s mate.” He turns to the gathering then, the bonfire’s crackling flames burning in his eyes when he says, “And that means that I will protect her against anyone who tries to do her harm, even if it’s with words. I know I was guilty of this in the past when I bullied her, but I am a changed man. I expect that change to echo through the rest of the pack. Rissa Rudolph is my mate,” he repeats, “and nothing will change that.”
Shocked by his admission and boldness in owning up to his past mistakes, the round of applause that fills the meadow is faint in my ears, drowned out by the torrent of emotions that suddenly overwhelm me as memories of the past come crashing in. I snatch my hand out of his grasp and spin on my heel.
My heart is pounding as quickly as my steps, taking me as far away from everyone as possible. I bolt for the closest building, which is the wooden, thatched-roof structure of the pack den, only covered in the moon’s light tonight.
I hurry over the front path and skip to the side, rounding the corner where I duck behind the wall and stick to the shadows. It’s only when I’m hidden from everyone’s prying eyes that I can breathe again, but my heart continues pounding.
It’s not like Brooks’s bullying was an isolated occurrence, and it happened so many times before graduation that I’d lost count. All those memories come crashing forward when he verbally ousted me because of my low standing in the pack’s hierarchy.
Why has he decided to change now?
