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“I can tell you plainly that I will not do anything to Simone that she does not ask me to do,” said Mischa with just a bit of a smirk.
Mischa had turned the tables on Giuliano and neatly boxed him in. He could say nothing without insulting Mischa or embarrassing his daughter, and that Giuliano would not do. Mischa had given him an answer that was no answer at all. Sighing, Giuliano sat back in his chair. It was the best answer Mischa was going to give him, and the defeated look on Giuliano’s face said the Italian alpha knew it.
CHAPTER4
SIMONE
The following morning Simone woke with Kitty curled beside her on the bed. She mentioned the night before that she would be bringing her cat to Alaska with her. The imposing alpha had not been happy about it, but Simone was insistent. What she hadn’t told him was that Kitty was an Eurasian Lynx and not a housecat. Well, he’d find out soon enough. She might have been more prone to tell him about Kitty if he’d tried to engage her in conversation.
From what she had overheard, Mikhail “Mischa” Palmer considered her good breeding stock and nothing more. The alpha of Tangled Vines meant to get her pregnant and from what she could tell, keep her that way. Simone wasn’t a virgin, but she might just as well have been. She’d been with two other men in her life. One had been a visiting wine rep who’d taken her virginity and then run when her father had caught them together in the barn. The other was a member of their pack. She had thought he wanted to take her to mate, but he’d merely had a bet with some of the other men who picked the grapes that he could have sex with her and not get caught. He’d been half right. Her father banished him and laid weals across her back.
She’d never so much as looked at a man again.
There was a knock on her door. One of the maids had come to help her pack. Her mother and sister joined her in her room, and they had breakfast on her balcony. It was hard to think she would never see this place again. It was all she’d ever known, and now, it would be gone. She would be all alone with people she didn’t know and would be expected to share the alpha’s bed. No doubt he would want to knot and tie her. She had so many questions and no time to ask them.
Her mother reached across the table to touch her arm and Simone flinched. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little nervous about all this. I was expecting to lose GiGi, not everything I’ve ever known as home. I know nothing about him.”
“He is a man like any other,” said her mother dismissively.
“He is an alpha,” said GiGi. “They are not like other wolves. I think she’s worried about the knot.”
Her mother shrugged. “He will knot her as all alpha wolves do. She will endure it.” She turned to Simone. “Try not to be too odd. Your father doesn’t want anyone to question your pedigree.”
Simone looked at her mother, confused.
“Translation,” said GiGi, “don’t try shifting in front of others and keep your Dr. Doolittle routine to a minimum.”
With her mother and GiGi’s help, she managed to get dressed and pack the things she’d need until the bonding ceremony. She closed her eyes and trembled. After the ceremony he would claim her. A lifetime of tears and unhappiness flashed before her eyes. She wondered about the dream. Was there any chance Mikhail could be the man she’d been dreaming about? Was there any possibility that she might find happiness with him?
Her mother tapped her between the shoulder blades. “Try to carry yourself like a Bacchus, and never,” she said, grasping the medallion that hung from a chain around her neck, “never take your necklace off.”
The necklace in question was one her mother had given to her as a small child. As she’d grown out of the chain, her mother had made a big deal about getting just the right one to hold the medallion.
“Promise me, Simone. It’s important.”
“Why is it so important?”
Her mother lifted her hand as if to slap her but seemed to think better of it. Simone was under no illusion as to why—she didn’t want the alpha from Alaska to see any evidence of her mother’s quick temper. “It is your lucky charm. It was given to you to protect you. Now promise me.”
Why is it so important to her? What might happen if I remove it, or if my mate rips it from my body as he tears my clothes off?Simone didn’t believe in lucky charms, protection spells, or any of it. It was just a necklace—a pretty one, but just a necklace, nonetheless.
“I promise, Mama. I don’t want to go.” The last five words were said in a whisper.
GiGi broke into loud sobs and ran from the room. If only she could do so as well.
“You have no choice. I was never able to give your father sons. You will do better. The firstborn will return here and will become alpha, and your second will lead that rag tag pack in Alaska. It is probably better you’re going. Your body is far more generous than GiGi’s. You should have little difficulty delivering your offspring. Besides, what difference does it make to you? You never leave the vineyard. Now, come along.”
As she boarded the plane, she stood on the top step and looked back on her parents and her sister. Her mate was in front of her and turned back to grasp her elbow and lead her aboard. She knew in her soul that her life was going to change irrevocably, but whether for good or bad remained to be seen.
* * *
Simone was not a good flyer. She’d only been on a plane one other time in her life as a child. She couldn’t remember much about the trip, only that she hadn’t liked it and had somehow disappointed her parents. She grasped the padded leather arms of the seats, squeezing them with all her might.
“Are you frightened, little one?” the alpha asked her.
“I’ve only flown once before when I was small. I don’t remember the trip, but I don’t think I liked it.”
“Pyotr is an excellent pilot. I’ll ask him about the weather and ask him to give us as smooth a ride as possible.”
