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“Speaking of gangsters, are you packed for your trip?”
Mischa rolled his eyes and groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
“You don’t have to go through with it…”
“Oh, but I do. Giuliano Bacchus is not a man to be trifled with. This merger of our two packs is worth billions. The old man has no sons, so my firstborn son will become the head of his pack. Besides, it’s not like there are a lot of other dire wolf females to choose from.”
“That may be, but I don’t like the idea of us getting into bed with the Sicilian mob.”
“What choice do I have? Let our line die out? See our pack become extinct?”
“We have a number of she-wolves in our pack who would make a suitable mate for you, and not one of them would refuse you. Or I’ve talked to Ellis Wells over in Mystic River. He wouldn’t be opposed to an alliance, and you could turn one of his she-wolves.”
“We’ve been over this, Valentin. The she-wolves in our pack are too closely related to me, and even though I could turn one of Wells’ she-wolves, she wouldn’t be dire wolf-born. I think either of those options just further weakens our line. I believe we dire wolves, as a species, need to strengthen our bloodlines, not weaken them.”
“So, you’ll marry Giuliano’s daughter and ally us with them?”
“It’s not like we’re as pure as the driven snow—our little sablefish gambit is illegal as hell.”
“But you promised him one of our girls…”
“No; I didn’t,” Mischa said vehemently. “I told him I would allow some of his men to visit, but I would not relinquish any of our females unless she was so inclined. Besides, the Bacchus pack is rich in females.”
“But to take to mate a she-wolf who isn’t your fated mate…”
Mischa snorted. “Don’t start with me again. Preserving our heritage is important to me. Our pureblood brethren became inbred and extinct by mating too closely within a pack. Even our dire wolf-shifter packs are growing smaller and weaker because they’re blending their superior DNA with inferior specimens of either regular wolf-shifters or humans.” He shook his head. “The idea of mating with a human is repugnant.”
“Why? Part of being a shifter is to be human.”
“But with superior DNA. Breeding to anything less than a dire wolf is a compromise to our species’ purity and integrity.”
“Good god, Mischa, I wouldn’t say that in front of some of our people. Many of them came from your less than noble and lofty bloodlines. You’re stuck in some antiquated mindset. You need to enlighten your thinking.”
“My family’s bloodline goes back almost five thousand years. We’ve been able to stay strong because of that. I will not be the first of my direct bloodline to mate with anything other than a she-wolf from an equally pure dynasty.”
Valentin shook his head. “It’s not that simple.”
“It is. I understand you, and most of the rest of the pack believe in the legends of fated mates. But I don’t have that luxury. I need to pick a mate who will give me strong sons and daughters.”
Valentin’s expression softened with something like pity. “Mischa. Do you really believe that our species is not doomed to eventually become extinct like our purebred brothers did ten thousand years ago?”
“I know that in order to survive, we must be smarter than they were and ruled by our more human side. Taking a she-wolf to mate because you think she completes you or some other silly notion will only allow us to slide further down the slippery slope to oblivion. If we are to remain a viable species, we must marry our best warriors to the best she-wolves. And it is just that simple.”
“I didn’t think I’d be able to change your mind, but I thought it was worth a shot. He assures me his bloodline rivals your own, and his eldest daughter is a real beauty.”
Mischa nodded. “She is. I’ve seen pictures. She’s a little thin for my taste, but I suspect being pregnant will help with that. Funny though, that he wouldn’t even entertain the idea of the younger daughter.”
Valentin nodded. “I found that odd, too. But I think I’ve figured that out. Apparently, she is quite the vintner and has a nose second to none.”
“Ah, so he’ll keep the one more valuable to his vineyard at home with him.”
“That would be my guess. Well, if you’re set on going through with this, I’ll have the plane ready to take you to Sicily this evening. Giuliano Bacchus will be waiting for you at their vineyard.”
Mischa plucked a leaf from the vines and brought it to his nose to inhale.
“That sounds like a most excellent plan.”
CHAPTER2
