Page 192 of Collared by the Vampire Prince

“The alphas,” Clara whispers.

I give her a puzzled look. “Mark is their leader.”

“Yes,” Susie agrees. Her hand closes around my wrist. “But it is a very large pack, and—oh, Kira. What exactly did they tell you?”

“That I have to submit to their alpha.”

Susie looks at me with naked pity. “Kira, you have to submit to all of their alphas.”

A cold sensation unfolds inside my stomach. “What? H-how many are there?”

“Twelve,” Harvey says without a trace of humour.

“Twelve?!” My voice breaks. “They expect me to have sex with all twelve?”

Nobody answers. Harvey rubs the back of his neck and looks away. Even Becky looks shocked.

“I really think you should reconsider,” Susie whispers.

I swallow. Perhaps I should. Perhaps this is a mistake after all. Yet even as Susie’s fingers tighten around my wrist, I know I am not going to change course.

It is one night.

One night, and afterwards I will belong to the most powerful pack in the Academy.

And if twelve alpha wolves cannot sever whatever still binds me to Nathaniel, nothing will.

Chapter 29

Nathaniel

“The roses are beautiful,” Victoria says, lifting them to her nose with a smile.

“I am glad you like them.”

They are the same red as every other bouquet I have given her. Expensive, tasteful and chosen by a servant who understands her preferences better than I do.

She arranges them in the vase beside her plate without looking at them, and I smile because her friends are watching. The gesture has always been theatre. Lately, however, these exchanges have felt increasingly uncomfortable and insincere.

My gaze drifts past her to the wolf pit, and Kira’s usual place among Susie’s pack is empty. It is not unusual for a student to miss dinner. There are any number of places she might be, none of which are necessarily my concern. Still, I have looked towards the doors often enough that I have lost count.

“Oh no,” Victoria says. “Is your venison overcooked too?”

I look down at my plate. I have pushed the vegetables and garnishes aside but have yet to eat anything.

“I don’t know.”

“Cut into it and see, sweetie. I swear, if the kitchen staff cannot be trusted to be consistent…” I tune her out as I draw my knife through the medallion. The centre is nearly cooked through, with barely a hint of pink. It’s much more to my taste.

Victoria clucks her tongue. “They’ve ruined it. I specifically asked for rare. It should be bloody.” She touches my sleeve. “Would you like me to order you another?”

“No, thank you.”

Her brows rise. “Are you sure?”

“It will suffice.” Given the choice, I prefer my meat cooked through, but Victoria orders both our portions rare whenever we dine together, and I have never bothered to correct her. I probably ought to do so eventually if we are to spend the rest of our lives together. If nothing else, it would spare our future household staff years of unnecessary criticism.

It is also probably time I decide which household that will be. It would be customary to bring Victoria to Wintermaw Keep, but the thought of living beneath my father’s roof again fills me with dread. I would prefer one of the country estates, where my father would have fewer opportunities to involve himself in our lives, but it would place me too far from court to be useful. Nor can I picture Victoria enduring the quiet without being driven mad. We could take a townhouse in the Capital instead. It would be practical, though playing house with Victoria in such confined quarters would no doubt drive me mad.