The Beast's Bride

Chosen

Still looking back, she saw the shadow cover her once more. Jenny squeezed her hand urgently. Swallowing hard, Allison turned around to find the Alpha standing before her once more. Her heart decided to take residence in her throat.

"How old are you?" he asked in a deep bass that rumbled in his chest.

Gulping, she answered, "Twenty."

He gave her another once over that she would swear she could feel like a finger being traced over her skin. A scorching finger. "And you're willing?"

She debated her answer, but in the end, she thought of her mother. And how right she was. Most of these other girls were terrified. Others were just horny and looking for a good piece of meat. This man was protecting them. What the hell had she been thinking, looking him in the eyes? Now it dawned on her that as Alpha he'd want a strong mate for his mate. Someone who could handle the rowdiness of the pack. Dammit. She'd practically raised her hand, waved it, and said, "Pick me, pick me!"

But the man was waiting for an answer, so she took a deep breath and nodded. "I didn't hear anything, did you say something?"

He raised his eyebrow again as the guy behind him choked on a laugh before hiding his grin.

She cleared her throat and said, "Yeah, I am willing".

He gave one nod. "It's you then."

Knees going weak, she forced herself to stand straight. No damn weakness. She couldn't let a poor girl like Jenny end up with him. "I, uh, I need to get my stuff."

"Sebastian will get them. You'll come with me." Then he turned back toward the road and walked off.

Immediately, the man who'd been laughing ran off behind her. Allison just stood there, looking around, things happening too fast for her to contemplate. The other women were moving away, either staying to talk about what just happened or going home disappointed.

"Now, woman!" he barked.

She jumped before squeezing Jenny's hand one last time. As she hurried down the street, she looked back at her parents. Her mother looked relieved, her father concerned. But he nodded to her as if proud, as if he'd known she'd accepted the position to protect the other girls. She'd always gotten along better with her father for precisely that reason. He knew her better than her mother ever would.

She hurried off until they were out of view and she caught up to his long-legged stride. "I have a name, you know."

He glanced over, seemingly uninterested.

"Allison, for future reference," she kept on. "Or Alli. Most people call me Allison."

He slowed down once they reached two massive males who looked positively terrifying. They each turned and followed as she and Deucalion passed them. She couldn't help but keep an eye over her shoulder for the menace pouring from them. Now she let some of those shivers free, raising more goosebumps up and down her arms and legs.

Absently, he looked over at her. "Are you feeling cold."

Perfect. She could use that instead of letting him know that Muscle One and Muscle Two terrified her. It also helped that it was true. Lying to a werewolf was a bad idea. "you think? It's freezing out here and I'm not one of you. I don't have my own Resistance to Cold like you. Besides, there aren't any clouds out tonight to keep the warmth in."

Awkwardly, he wrapped a heavy arm around her shoulders. Where his skin touched her neck, it burned. But in a good way, like hot water in the shower. Her skin tightened with the feeling. And surprisingly, the warmth spread to cover her entire body.

"Thanks," she said.

He just grunted.

Since it didn't seem like he was going to say anything else, she asked, "So, how does this work exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, do we go to the Sanctuary, have a small ceremony, and then I get to go back home until it's time to…you know 'mate'?" This was the best case scenario, she can think of. She was praying for the best case scenario. Because that would give her some time to get used to the idea that she was going to have to sleep with a guy who was her father's age. Blech.

Frowning, he shook his head. "No. Well, we do go back to the Sanctuary and have a ceremony. But it won't be for a couple days so you can adjust. But you don't go home, Allison. I picked you. You're mine. Therefore, you stay with me."

Her heart was back in her throat as panic started to choke off her air. Being impressed with the fact that he'd remembered her name after hearing it only once wasn't enough to calm it. "You mean live with you? And the pack?"

He nodded gruffly. "And we're to 'mate' after the ceremony. The union has to be cemented. You will become the Luna of the pack."

Well there went her plan of getting used to the idea. In only a couple days, she was going to lose her virginity to this man, this…brute. That's what she had to remember. He was the Alpha. The most aggressive and violent of the entire pack. Would he be gentle with her? What if he didn't care that she was untouched? He was huge, which meant that there was no way Mother Nature had been so cruel as to not endow him to match his frame