“Glad to hear it.” I ignored the way my instincts told me this wasn’t right. The same instincts that were stubbornly clinging to a mating bond that would never happen.
“So you’ll help me?” she asked quietly, a sad resignation in her eyes. “When the time comes, you’ll help me negotiate leaving the Alpha pack?”
I stared at where her hand rested over her heart.
“Yes, Rynn. I’ll help you.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Selene
I adored Remy. He was a wonderful and doting mate to my best friend Marie and had gone out of his way to help me. But that didn’t change the fact that sometimes he massively understated things.
They have a small amount of internal drama. It’ll blow over soon, he’d said. Things might be a little tense when you get there, he’d said.
As I took a sip of the sweet red wine Bastian had provided at the start of dinner and looked around at my new packmates, I was both annoyed and amused at how dysfunctional they were. Rynn and Cade attempted to make small talk with me, mostly asking about my travel here and my family. They clearly weren’t used to being the ones to lead the conversation though and were terrible at it. I wasn’t helping because I didn’t particularly want to discuss either of those things. When I’d broached the topic of their families, neither answered and instead finished their ales before pouring another.
So apparently family was a sore subject for all of us. Lovely.
Ryker had barely more than grunted at me all evening and had been focused on Rynn. For her part, she was stubbornly not looking at him, which was impressive, considering he was sitting directly across from her and had this whole presence about him. Like everyone in Lunaria, I’d heard the rumors about Ryker being rabid, but having been sitting with him for almost twenty minutes now, I was confident he wasn’t.
I absolutely understood why people said it though. There was something incredibly unsettling about him. My instincts very much wanted me to get up and slowly back out of the room, and had he been staring at me the way he was Rynn, I probably would have.
While I hadn’t met any of the Alphas in person before, I knew of them and had done even more research when Remy had told me about his plan. It was my understanding that Bastian was the most sociable out of all of them, which made sense since he was typically the one who traveled around the Velesian realm, visiting the various packs. But aside from a brief, polite greeting, he hadn’t spoken a word during dinner.
All of this left me unsure on what to say or do. Rynn was sweet and clearly trying to make me feel welcome, but there was tension between her and all the Alphas that I couldn’t quite decipher. It wasn’t outright hostility; that would have had me very concerned and probably plotting my exit. Not that I had anywhere else to go.
Things wouldn’t go well for me if I had to return to the Fervis Order. Again.
I broke off a piece of bread roll and chewed on it, hoping taking a smaller piece would help cover up how stale it was. Conversation once again stalled out, and an awkward silence filled the room. I was trying to figure out what I could talk about that would be a safe topic when Rynn sighed and shoved her plate forward.
“Alright, let’s get this over with shall we?” She looked at Cade. “Do you want to tell her or should I?”
“We both know if I attempted it, you would just cut me off and do it yourself.” He waved a hand at her. “So be my guest, Princess.”
My eyebrows rose slightly at the nickname.
Rynn narrowed her eyes at him before letting out a dismissive sound and turning her attention back to me. Her expression was mostly blank, but I noted the creases at the corner of her eyes and mouth. I was quickly learning that Rynn was a very direct person, something I found rather refreshing.
“Here’s the deal,” Rynn started. “On paper, you and I are members of the Alpha pack, but it’s not real. Neither of us will ever be a member of their pack in truth.”
Surprise flickered through me, but I kept it off my face as I glanced around the table to read the reactions of the Alphas. Both Cade and Bastian gave me a shallow nod, confirming Rynn’s words. Ryker’s jaw was clenched so hard, I wouldn’t be surprised if he cracked a tooth, but he didn’t say anything to contradict Rynn.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “So what does this mean exactly? Like what will be expected of me as a non-member of this pack?”
I controlled my heart rate as I flitted through the possibilities. Could I really be this lucky? Because if they didn’t expect anything from me other than keeping up appearances, this might be the best thing that had ever happened to me. A castle far away from everyone else, where I didn’t have to go through the rejections of yet another pack? Where I could just be left alone and fill my day with whatever I wanted?
Yes. Please.
“The only thing we require is that any time you appear in public with us, you act as though you are a happy member of this pack,” Cade said. “And obviously not share the specifics of our agreement with your family or anyone else. As far as the Dragomir pack—and Fervis Order—are concerned, you are a member of our pack. And any direct communication to them must go through me.”
I caught Rynn’s sharp glance at him and the way her mouth tightened.
“Outside of that,” Cade continued, “we don’t expect anything from you and will do our best to make your life comfortable here.” He paused, solemn brown eyes holding my stare. “But just to make sure there is no confusion: you are not a part of our pack in any way that actually matters, and you have to be content with that.”
Rynn’s gaze dropped to her half-empty glass. I got the impression she was not happy about this arrangement, which I found a little strange, because best I could tell, she didn’t exactly get along with any of the Alphas, so I didn’t understand why she would want to be part of their pack.
“I understand and accept so long as you do not expect me to become involved with any of you, romantically or physically,” I said evenly.
