“Yours.” Minerva takes my hand. “Always your side. Everything I’m saying is all for you. Because there is no way out of this. It’s done. By the next full moon, you will be married to Marcus Benyamina.”
“Min, if I marry him, everything I’ve done to make my father take me seriously as the head of supply management will fly outthe window, and I’ll be seen as nothing more than Marcus’s wife. The independence I fought so hard for will be gone.”
“You can still work at your father’s blood business when you’re married to Marcus.”
“Yeah, but you know he’ll have every right to attend all the meetings, which means he’ll have access to everything. He’ll know everything. My biggest rival will know all the company secrets. What’s to say he won’t sabotage us?”
“And the same will apply to you. You’ll know everything there is to know about him. Look, I’m sure he is just as unhappy about this as you are.”
My wolf snarls, urging me to shake off the excess energy all this tension has created, so I pace in front of the windows. This time, I don’t bother looking out at the gardens. This world has become my prison, no matter how pretty it is. I’m trapped.
“Min, I know you’re trying to help, but I need to be alone. I’m going to go for a run.”
“Let me come with you.”
“No, I need to think.”
She nods in understanding. “Be careful.”
I don’t know if it’s the stress of the day or if I’m finally losing it, but I start laughing. And hard. I double over, clutching my sore stomach muscles as I do. When I straighten, I wipe the tears that are streaming down my face.
Minerva looks at me like I’ve grown a second head. “What’s so funny?”
“You are.” I start laughing all over again, which only makes her frown harder.
“Care to enlighten me?”
I exhale slowly, forcing myself to stay calm as I walk over to Min and grip her biceps. “You’re worried about me running on my family’s land, yet in a month, I’ll be married to the manwho ordered the attack on our San Francisco branch—a raid that killed a dozen of our people. Honestly, I find it hilarious.”
Min shoves a stray lock of her red hair behind her ear. “He’s hardly going to assassinate his wife, now is he?”
I raise an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”
She hesitates.
“That’s what I thought. I’ll be back in an hour.” I kiss my friend on the head and make my way out of the room, taking care not to be aggressive with the door this time. I’ll preserve my energy for the walk. I don’t bother with shoes; I’ll be shifting into my wolf the moment my feet touch the grass anyway.
No one bats an eyelid as they see me race down the stairs and out the front door. I sprint toward the thick wooded area just beyond the landscaped lawn, and for the first time all day I feel like I can breathe. The cool breeze against my skin feels incredible but is soon replaced by a rush of heat as my skin tingles. Hair erupts over my body, and I crouch, relishing in the euphoria as I shift into my wolf. Not wasting a moment of the incredible feeling, I take off into the woods and give over to my wolf.
When I arrive back,Min is lying on the couch, reading a book. “Did the run help any?”
Good question. When I usually shift, I either remain completely in control, or I split control with my wolf, but this time I didn’t want to think or feel anything, so I handed full control over to her. I give myself a second to get my breath back, and then I take stock of how I feel. Thankfully, the urge to break everything in sight has gone, but now I have to fight back tears of frustration and grief for the life I will never have. Although I’mnot the kind of girl who planned her wedding and life down to the tiniest detail, the life I did envision consisted of freedom and choices. The freedom to choose who I want to marry and what life I want.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I don’t have the words for the emptiness I feel at the thought of my future with Marcus.
She nods as if she expected my response and walks over to the closet to take out my dinner outfit. I stare at it with disdain. Who am I trying to kid? I don’t have a whole bunch of control over my life as it is anyway. I have my own place, but here I am, staying over at my parents’ home the night I find myself betrothed, about to get dressed in one of the outfits my mother bought for me. “Really? Pink?”
“Your mother bought this for you a year ago and you haven’t worn it yet.”
“There’s a reason for that. I’m going to look like a giant vagina in that color and with all the ruffles.”
“It’s wearing this now, or later when you have to meet Marcus. I overheard your mother telling Samara that it would be the perfect outfit to meet him in.”
I huff out a breath and take the dress. Samara is my mother’s best friend, and once the two of them have made up their minds, it’s easier to tame a wood sprite than argue with them.
“What those two seem to forget is that Ihavemet Marcus, and I don’t give a shit about impressing him.”
“Well, then you should wear the vagina dress. You definitely won’t impress him in that.”
