Taming the Alpha Read online

  Karl took a step towards her.

  “Claudia, what would you say if…”

  She raised her hand and, to her surprise, he fell silent.

  “Avelyn asked you to do this.”

  It wasn’t a question, but Karl nodded nonetheless. There was no point in lying to her. In fact, he hadn’t planned on it. Still, there was something about her reaction that made his heart sink. She didn’t seem thrilled.

  “She’s such a good friend,” Claudia smiled and shook her head. “She’s always looked after me. I don’t know why… Delyse was the Donation, the one who had all the odds on her side, and Amelia was the strong one. I think this has been going on since we were children. Avelyn has always felt the need to protect me.”

  “Did it… Does it bother you?” What kind of question was that? Karl told himself this was not the way to charm a woman, but then he had to remember he wasn’t there to charm her. Things were actually going according to his initial plan. Then why did he feel so inadequate?

  Claudia fixed him with her dark brown eyes and thought for a moment. Did it bother her? Did it bother her that Avelyn had played matchmaker and asked Karl to buy her from the boarding school? Did it bother her that Karl was probably doing it to get his temperamental, demanding sister-in-law off his back?

  “No,” she answered.

  A tiny bit of her self-esteem crumbled with that single word. She had nothing against Avelyn, and she was truly happy that her friend still thought about her and tried to help her from afar, but just like any shifter-bride, she had secretly dreamed that a tall, strong shifter would come to the school, interviewed her and decided to buy her because she had taken his breath away and he couldn’t live without her. Just like any shifter-bride who wasn’t allowed to choose, but was only supposed to be on display, ready to be chosen, she had dreamed of a man who would want her for who she was. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be picky. She didn’t have the time for that. If Karl wanted to make her his bride, then she’d accept and thank the heavens that someone took her out of Alma Venus before her time was up.

  Karl sat back down in the chair opposite hers.

  “I was never married,” he said. “Too busy with the family business and the political scene. My brother, Max, has always been more into getting married, having children, building a family… Of course, it was expected of him given that he’s the main Alpha of Clan Blackmane. His pack and our clan already have three heirs, which has taken a lot of pressure off my shoulders. However…” he paused, looking for the appropriate words. “I believe it’s time for me to take a bride.” He didn’t want to say that was, actually, Avelyn’s opinion. “So, Claudia, if it’s okay with you, I can ask Miss Delacroix to prepare the transaction papers right away and we can leave for London this evening.”

  “You haven’t…” her voice chocked a bit and she stopped to clear it. “You haven’t even checked the catalogs.”

  “There’s no need.”

  She shook her head. “I’m an Ursi bride. There are a lot of Lupi brides here, one more beautiful and prepared than the other.”

  Karl stared at her. He didn’t know how to tell her he had already found what he didn’t even know he had been looking for. Or… he wasn’t ready to.

  “Why make a rash decision?” she continued. What was she doing? She had just decided to take him up on his offer, and now she was finding arguments against it? “You don’t… You don’t have to buy me just because Avelyn asked you for a favor.” There. It was out. The thing that bothered her most.

  Karl leaned forward and forced her to hold his gaze.

  “She didn’t ask me for a favor. She simply told me about you, what a wonderful young woman you are, and how you’d make an incredible Alpha bride. I’m not here because of Avelyn. I’m here because I believe this is right.”

  “Liar!” she screamed in her head. She made sure he couldn’t read her thoughts in her eyes.

  “Claudia, if you don’t want this, tell me now and you’ll never have to see me again.”

  Fear and anxiety rose in his chest at the mere thought that she might refuse him, stand up, and walk out of the office. He should have thought better before giving her the choice. What a fool he was! As a powerful, resourceful Alpha, he could buy her without her consent and take her to his apartment in London in the blink of an eye. That was exactly what Max had done with Avelyn, and even though they had had a lot of obstacles to overcome later, they were now the perfect couple.

  Claudia studied him for another minute, wondering if she could walk out and never regret it, never ask herself “what if?”.

  “If you think this is right,” she said, “then I trust you.”

  Karl’s eyes lit up, but he contained his relief. He stood up and headed to the door before she saw any emotion on his face.

  “Marvelous! I’ll ask Miss Jones to call the headmistress. This shouldn’t take more than an hour.”

  “Only an hour to fill out some papers, sign a contract, and turn me into your property,” she thought. “How miserable that sounds…” That was what being a shifter-bride meant, and Claudia told herself it was why the situation didn’t bother her as much as it should have. It had nothing to do with Karl Blackmane’s wide shoulders and tight butt. He held the door for her and she walked out of the office.

  “Does that give you enough time to pack your things?” he asked. “If you want, I can stay in Myrtle Valley tonight, rent a hotel room, give you more time to get ready.”

  “Oh no, it’s fine! I will admit I have more clothes than I probably should, but it won’t take me more than an hour to sort everything out.”

  “All right.”

  He stopped in front of the secretary’s desk as Claudia made her way towards the stairs, walking backwards.

  “I’ll see you here in an hour?”

  “You bet.”

  She smiled, but even she could tell it was fake. She turned around and ran up the stairs. “Bummer, I forgot my books,” she thought. “They’re not mine anyway. I hope my dear future husband has ‘Gone with the Wind’ in his personal library. I hope he has a personal library.” She reached her room, threw the door open, then locked it behind her. She walked to her bed, sat down and started crying.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The Dark Wolves

  Claudia didn’t have many friends to say goodbye to, so it was easy for her to walk out of the medieval building of Alma Venus, follow Karl down the cobblestone alley and get into his car. The only one she truly cared about was Miss Delacroix, but she knew the old headmistress didn’t quite appreciate emotional displays, so Claudia kept her tears at bay.

  The whole trip to London, however, she couldn’t help but fall silent and think back to her childhood, to all those precious moments she had shared with her roommates. Ex-roommates. Unsurprisingly, Karl wasn’t very talkative either. He busied himself with some files and made some short calls while Claudia stared at the fields and cities flashing by. Even though they shared the backseat of the car, it felt like they couldn’t have been farther apart. Karl didn’t make any gesture to engage her in conversation, and he didn’t even touch her. Claudia curled her hands into fists and placed them on her lap. It was a good thing he didn’t talk to her, after all. She wouldn’t want him to notice her hesitation, to figure out she was having doubts about her choice. Or… had it really been her choice? If she had said “no”, would have Karl respected her wish and looked for another bride? Claudia smiled to herself. “Whatever happens from now on,” she thought, “I must keep in mind that he’s Max Blackmane’s older brother. And Max didn’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

  They arrived just in time for dinner, and Karl led her into his apartment while the driver took care of her luggage.

  “This way,” he said, and opened the door for her.

  “It’s awfully quiet,” she noticed.

  “It’s one of the best parts of London.”

  Claudia was, in fact, thinking that it was strange there were no m
embers of his pack in sight. It was also strange that he was living in a modern, luxurious apartment in the heart of the city when werewolves were known for their love of nature and history. On the other hand, Karl was a diplomat and the main adviser of Councilor Voinom, the representative of the wolf faction. He would have loved to live at Schloss Blackmane, in the Black Forest Mountains, but he was needed here with his pack, the Dark Wolves. His brother, Max, and his sister, Jocelyn, were at Schloss Blackmane together with their own packs, the Crescents and the Moon Children.

  “My Beta and my two Deltas will join us for dinner,” Karl said. “I think we both have half an hour to change and prepare.”

  Claudia nodded. She would have said something, but she was too busy gaping at the ridiculously expensive room she was in. The apartment was large and well lit. It had a living room, a kitchen, and two bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms and balconies. Karl made sure to give her all the details and show her around a bit. The cook and her two assistants were making pure magic in the kitchen, because Claudia’s mouth started to water the moment she caught the delicious smell of soup, teriyaki chicken, and steamed vegetables. The three women greeted her and turned back to their work.

  “We’ll have dinner on the terrace,” said Karl as he walked her to what Claudia knew was their bedroom. “It’s on the roof and you’ll love it. At least, I hope you will. It’s my favorite place in the house, and that’s why I improvised a small office for myself there.”

  “Oh, I’m sure I’ll like it.”

  “I rarely work from home, though. So… don’t worry, you’ll mostly have the terrace all to yourself.”

  He smiled awkwardly, and Claudia tried to laugh. Yes, she had just been thinking that if Karl had his office on the roof, she preferred to stay away from it. She furrowed her brows at the thought. She had just gotten here, this was her new home, and she was already thinking she needed to stay out of his way. Why? She liked him, she was attracted to him… The idea that they would be sharing a bed in only a few hours didn’t scare her, yet she felt like she should make herself as small as possible and try not to bother him at all. It was probably his cold demeanor.

  Claudia entered the bedroom and saw her bags had been neatly placed at the foot of the bed. She was surprised by the impersonal way in which the room was decorated. It was impeccably clean, which was amazing, but it lacked that personal touch that usually told about the person who slept there. “Maybe he used to sleep in the other bedroom and kept this one for when he’d bring a bride home,” she thought.

  “Do you like it?” he asked.

  She turned to him and made sure to smile. “Oh yes! It’s perfect.”

  “Good. Good.” He paused and looked around, as if he couldn’t decide whether he should leave or spend a couple more minutes with her. “I’m glad,” he eventually said and headed to the door. “See you upstairs.”

  “I’ll be there! I’ll just take a quick shower, change, and…”

  She didn’t get to finish her sentence, not that it was too important. Karl was out of the bedroom in a blur, the door closing behind him. Claudia raised her brows and shrugged.

  “Oh well.”

  She started unpacking and looking for an appropriate outfit.

  “His Beta and his two Deltas…” she whispered. “Not too fancy.”

  She still wanted to impress them, but most importantly, she wanted to impress him. She took out a little black dress, studied it for a second, then threw it to the side. Too serious. She needed something bright and fun, and black had never been her color anyway. She should have given all her black clothes to Amelia when she had had the chance.

  “This will do…”

  She smoothed down the soft fabric of the dress and held it in front of her, straightening her back and looking in the mirror. It was pale pink, with just the right amount of lace on the chest so it would reveal a full, round cleavage without drawing too much attention to it. It stopped right above the knees, and Claudia decided she might as well wear the black, strappy sandals she usually saved for special occasions because the heels were high enough to give her back pains if she walked too long in them. Satisfied, she gently placed the dress on the bed and went to take a shower.

  She wanted to look perfect, so she took a few more minutes to wash her hair and shave, certain that something would happen between her and Karl that night. Her heart started beating faster as she rubbed vanilla scented body milk all over her body, making her dark, chocolate skin glow in the warm light of the sunset. She imagined how Karl’s hands would feel on her breasts, hips, legs… between her legs. She closed her eyes and moaned.

  “How can I want him so badly when just half an hour ago I was thinking of staying out of his way? When we didn’t exchange a single word on the way here…?”

  Her feelings were too conflicted, which wasn’t necessarily a surprise. Just that morning, she had been fighting depression and the panic that no one would ever buy her. Now, here she was, bought by an extremely rich and influential Alpha, aware he would probably claim her that very night. One moment, she was giddy with excitement, the next she was afraid that Karl didn’t actually like her and he would always be quiet and distant. Her emotions were all over the place, and she knew the situation wouldn’t change until she had a clear, solid answer to all her questions. Unfortunately, they weren’t questions anyone could ever answer to. “Does he really want me?”, “Will I be happy?”, “Will my marriage be good?”, “Will we ever be friends?”.

  “Hell, many married couples don’t have answers to these,” she whispered to herself as she got dressed. She stole a glance at her smartphone to check the time, then grabbed the hair-dryer. “I really don’t wanna be late, though.”

  Claudia wanted Karl to like her. She wanted his Dark Wolves to like her. She dried her hair just enough so the rich curls would have a pleasant shape, then stormed out of the bedroom. She would have taken the stairs two at a time if the high heels would have permitted it. When she reached the roof, everyone was seated at the table, and the two cook assistants she had seen in the kitchen were waiting to serve dinner. Karl stood up and walked to her.

  “You’re here.”

  “I’m so sorry I’m late…”

  “You’re not late, we’re early.”

  He smiled and offered her his arm. Claudia looked into his dark green eyes and decided he was in a better mood than before. Maybe the shower helped, or maybe the three young men at the table had cheered him up. She took his arm and let him lead her to them.

  “Guys, I’d like you to meet my lovely bride, Claudia.”

  “Hi…” she waved.

  A tall, handsome redhead stood up to shake her hand. His grasp felt confident and honest.

  “I’m Matt. Welcome to… well, London? This apartment?” He smiled sheepishly. “If we were home, I would say ‘welcome to Schloss Blackmane’, which sounds way more epic than ‘welcome to an apartment in the middle of rainy, foggy, depressing London’. Can you tell that I miss home? No, you can’t… I’m subtle like that.”

  A flicker of surprise and curiosity danced in Claudia’s eyes. She liked the guy. Scratch that. She adored him!

  “Thank you, Matt. I’m happy to be here. Myrtle Valley is not very different from London. Weather-wise, that is.”

  “Oh, this marriage really sucks for you, then.” He let go of her hand, scrunched up his nose, and sat back down. “You should have said ‘no’ to this one,” he nodded towards Karl, who rolled his eyes, “and married someone who lives in Hawaii or something.”

  Claudia laughed and turned to Karl. She didn’t know how to answer to that.

  “My Beta… Matt is my Beta,” said Karl. “But I swear to God, I don’t know why I still keep him in this position.”

  “Because you have a guy crush on me, that’s why,” said Matt and winked at Claudia. “He doesn’t want to admit it. Not even to himself.”

  Karl sighed and pointed to the other two men at the table.

  “Ethan
and Terry, my Deltas.”

  Claudia shook hands and exchanged a couple of pleasantries with both of them. They weren’t as enthusiastic as Matt, but they both gave her the feeling that they were comfortable in her presence, so she decided she might as well relax. Having dinner with four men, all wolf-shifters, was weird, but she knew she could do it. She had to. She could sit down, lean casually against the backrest, breathe evenly, and make small talk.

  Ethan was a tall, well-built man with dark blond hair and intense green eyes. The elegant shirt barely covered his rock hard muscles, and his square jaw and aquiline nose told Claudia he was a tough guy, a guy you wouldn’t want to mess with. Terry was just as big as Ethan, but with black hair and black, bushy eyebrows.

  Matt was in complete, almost ridiculous contrast with the two Deltas, and with Karl himself. Claudia had always thought that in a wolf pack, the Beta was the next strongest and most resourceful wolf after the Alpha, and that was why he was chosen to have his back. Matt was nothing like that, or he didn’t look it. His longish red hair was sticking everywhere, looking like a comb hadn’t found its way in it for a long, long time, his light green eyes sparkled with childish mischief, and his cheeks were covered in freckles. Freckles! On a Beta werewolf! Oh, and he certainly wasn’t as big and bulky as the other three men. Although he had a nice body, Matt was more of a fashion magazine model than a tough guy who spent all his time in a gym. All these traits and details looked good on him, and he pulled off the laid-back, carefree attitude perfectly, but Claudia couldn’t help but wonder… why him? Why did dark, broody Karl Blackmane have this cheerful, silly fireball as his Beta instead of Ethan or Terry?

  The first course was served and they started eating, not before Matt made a small toast and Claudia dipped her lips in the cold white wine. She was too hungry to drink, and it was always a good idea to have wine only after some food had made its way into her stomach. They were all silent for a while, only their spoons clinking softly when they hit the edge of the bowl from time to time.