Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
The staunch slipped from his shoulders as he sighed. “I didn’t do right by you. I did right by the pride, by my daughter, by me. But not by you.”
Quinley stiffened, knowing what he meant; remembering how he’d come to her the morning after she’d had her first—and only—conversation with Zaire. Harlan had asked her to accompany him on a walk, so she had. And she felt her lips tighten as she recalled the conversation …
“You know, hormones are funny things, Quinley. They can confuse an otherwise perfectly rational teenager into believing the object of their affections is their true mate.”
She ground her teeth, infuriated by his insinuation. He was her Alpha. He was supposed to look out for her. Comfort her. Advise her. Support her.
“Now, the last thing I want is for Zaire to feel uncomfortable coming to our territory because one of my cats is insisting they’re fated to be,” Harlan went on. “He may not yet have signed a mating agreement, but it’s pretty much a done deal that he will mate Nazra and, in doing so, tighten the alliance between our pride and his.”
Quinley sensed that he expected her to duck her head, act all submissive, and go along with this shit. Instead, she asked, “Are alliances so important that true-mate bonds should be forsaken?”
He smiled, surprising her. “You’re sticking to your guns?” He sounded admiring rather than annoyed.
Quinley shrugged. “Fact is he’s my true mate. Another fact is that I can’t force him to acknowledge it, or to choose me over being an Alpha one day. Status is everything to black-foots, and I don’t have one. It wouldn’t make him unusual to renounce his fated mate in order to pursue an ambition. But the situation is still a steaming pile of shit.”
His smile kicked up a notch. “You have fire in you. Not many would try to tell me I’m wrong about anything—something you very expertly said without explicitly stating it.” The curve to his mouth faltered. “The thing is, Quinley, whether the situation’s fair to you or not isn’t going to matter here. He’s made his choice, hasn’t he? He’s not likely to change it.”
Something in his expression made her sense … “You want something from me.”
Again, his lips quirked. “Sharp,” he praised. “What I want is for Zaire to sign the mating agreement. His father and I have been planning a union between him and Nazra for years. It was always going to happen.”
“You’re telling me to back off?”
“It would be in your best interests. Rumors are spreading fast, aren’t they?”
Yes, thanks to Nazra’s fucking bestie, Fila, who’d overheard Quinley’s talk with Zaire. It was humiliating enough that everyone now knew that he’d rejected her. Worse, they’d been told a very twisted version of events: that Quinley had tried to kiss him, gone to bite him, even began to strip for him.
Though both he and Quinley had very firmly stated it hadn’t happened that way, not everyone believed them. Each time she insisted she wasn’t lying, it was taken as evidence that she was in fact a liar.
“Nazra, well, she’ll delight in making life hard for you and your family,” Harlan added. “I’m literally the only person who has any sway over her.”
And then Quinley understood. “You’re saying you’ll keep her away from me and my family if I stay away from Zaire?”
A nod. “Yes. I’ll even make it clear to your peers that no one is to terrorize you on her behalf. But only if you agree to spread far and wide that, yes, it was just your hormones talking. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?”
Quinley cocked her head, confused. “You could just order me to stay away from him.”
“But you wouldn’t, would you? You may be a submissive, but you’re not passive, nor are you a quitter. It’s admirable, but it won’t help you here. So, deal or no deal?” he pushed.
She wanted to say, “No deal.” She wanted to tell him to stuff his offer up his ass. Wanted to tell him he was a shitty Alpha.
But then she thought of her sisters, of how hard it had been for them since their parents died, about how Adaline was pregnant and didn’t need any stress right now, about how Raya would no doubt recklessly challenge Nazra to protect Quinley.
The whole situation had the makings of a clusterfuck. Whether Quinley liked it or not, this was really the only way to avoid it. So, for the sake of her family, she gritted out, “Deal.”
She’d never forgiven the motherfucker for pulling that stunt. She understood why he wouldn’t have put her feelings first—they’d needed alliances back then, what with a few larger prides coveting their territory. Zaire’s father had been friends with Harlan, true, but he wouldn’t have placed his own pride at risk for mere friendship. Rodrick would definitely have helped protect a pride that his son would one day lead, however.