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What happens when they leave?
That question is on my mind when I step into the hall, where dozens of wolves have already gathered, loading up their plates at the buffet. A lavish buffet, too, with a series of long tables stretching from one wall to the other, covered in chafing dishes and bowls and multi-tiered stands full of food. I wasn’t all that hungry before, but the aromas are enough to make my stomach growl in anticipation.
Unfortunately, along with those delicious aromas is another scent that insists I notice it. Hannah. When I pass the table where Wilde and Forrest sit with their father and other members of their pack, the strength of her scent almost knocks me over. I knew they would both end up fucking her—I don’t know how I knew, it’s just one of those things I was sure of.
Still, smelling her on them stirs an ache in my chest. I don’t know who I’m more disappointed in. Maybe myself for caring so much.
“Hey, Lili.”
I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone until I heard my name. It’s Hunter, a member of my pack, and he’s standing surprisingly close to me. We’ve never really exchanged more than a few words in passing—he’s the son of another council member, and our parents are close as a result, but he always seemed more interested in Emma than in me. For obvious reasons.
Now, he’s towering over me, almost protective, despite his smile and the warmth in his dark eyes. “Hi,” I murmur, confused. Did he mistake me for my sister? No, because he used my name.
“I’ve been looking around for you, but you’re tough to pin down.”
No, I’ve just been spending time in my room, afraid everybody will know how hopelessly horny I am all the time. When it’s clear he’s looking for an answer of some sort, I offer a shrug. “I’ve been pretty busy. I hope things quieten down a little bit after this.”
“Yeah, but then we have a whole other set of problems to deal with.” His heavy brows knit together like this conversation isn’t going the way he hoped.
“That’s true. Hopefully, with everybody working together, it’ll come to an end soon.” This is bizarre. I hardly know what to say. Why is he going out of his way to chat with me all of a sudden?
“Lili. I was hoping you’d give me a dance last night, but you ran off before I could ask.” Pete, another male, almost elbows Hunter out of the way. Granted, he makes it look like he’s going for a pile of bacon to drop on his plate, but it conveniently places his tall, muscular frame between Hunter and me. “What were you in such a hurry about?”
Okay, now I’m starting to wonder if I woke up this morning or if this is all a dream. I can’t imagine why I would dream this, of all things. Since when is anybody so deliberately nice? Almost possessive, even. Hunter stares daggers at the back of Pete’s blond head.
“I…” Is he joking? Is this all a big joke? It has to be. My gaze darts around the room, expecting to see clusters of wolves laughing, watching, and snickering behind their hands at the big joke they set up. But there’s no such thing happening.
No, instead, I see something that upsets me on a much deeper level.
My father, watching from the other side of the room, not even pretending otherwise. Did he set this up?
All of the uncertainty I would normally have wrestled with no longer exists. All that’s left is deep certainty—whether or not that comes from my wolf’s presence, I don’t know. I only know I’m right. He’s behind this. It was pretty obvious he wasn’t happy about Wilde’s mark. I guess it makes sense that he would want me to mate with someone from our pack.
That doesn’t mean he has to be so damn obvious about it. I’m surprised he doesn’t have them lined up, one after the other.
What am I supposed to do? Here I am, once again, without the first clue, with nobody to give me advice. I can’t tell Dad how useless this is because he doesn’t know I already had a fated mate. Do we get another one if the first one rejects us? I’ve never heard of such a thing, but then it’s not the kind of thing we talk about a lot.
And oh, fuck me, Andrew and Adam are coming this way, too, both of them looking at me. Nephews of Daniel. I’m sure Dad figures either one of them would be a good mate. They’ve always seemed interchangeable to me, but it’s not like I ever had the chance to get to know them.
It doesn’t matter, though. I don’t want any of these guys. They’re not who my wolf is obsessing over. That would be Wilde, whose mark throbs on my neck, and who I can feel watching me from his seat. I hope he had fun last night. I hope she was worth it.
