Page 9 of Forced Alpha Bride
“Correct.”
“I’m supposed to marry the guy who just killed thirteen fucking wolves?”
“Well, to be fair, he didn’t kill them all,” Iris answers, shuffling her papers around. “Only some of them.”
“That makes me feel so much better,” I say caustically. “And it doesn’t answer my question.”
Iris looks up at me, and her formerly warm blue eyes have a hard edge to them. “You are here to be the luna of Gryphon Eyrie, yes. Your match is the winner of the alpha’s challenge. He needs your family connections to hold his position, and the two of you are extremely well-matched.”
“It doesn’t sound like it!” I protest. “It sounds like you brought me here without even knowing who my match would be. Just that I was destined for the alpha!”
Iris laces her fingers together and props her chin on her hands. The smile she gives me is friendly, maybe even somewhat intimate.
“I know of your troubles, Winnie.”
Her words stab right through me, and I feel a warm tingle deep inside as my skin flushes with mild shocks. My cheeks burn bright red as I fight the urge to run.
“What do you mean?”
“Winnie,” Iris smiles again, reaching out to pat my hand. “Don’t worry. Your confidence has never been betrayed. I just know what I know—it comes to me when I’m making a match. I can see what both people need and how to bring them together. I promise you, Winnie, this man is everything you dream of.”
I look into her eyes, wanting to challenge her and demand she explain herself to me. Her grin turns slightly mischievous, and I grin back without thinking.
“Okay,” I say. “I’m still not sure how you know what I dream of, but I’m convinced. Enough to meet the guy, anyway. When is he getting here?”
“Any minute now,” Iris says, checking her phone. “I’ll just get you to sign, then I can put the paperwork in.”
“Doesn’t he have to sign, too?”
“He signed already, on a digital form. He’s fully committed to the marriage.”
“Without even meeting me?”
“Yes, dear,” Iris says, sliding the papers over to me along with a pen. “He’s very serious about this.”
“And what happens if I don’t sign?” I ask, my hand hovering above the page.
“I’ll have to attempt another match. But in all likelihood, there won’t be another one. That’s how these things work out, I’m afraid.”
I want to ask more questions, but her tone has taken on an ominous edge, and I decide I don’t want to hear anything else scary today. I press the pen to the page and sign.
If he’s the new alpha, he can’t be that bad. He’ll have to take good care of me if he wants to stay on good terms with the other alphas in the Range. I just have to pray we don’t completely hate each other.
“Wonderful!” Iris says, putting the papers back in her briefcase. “He should be here by now. Would you like to take a walk to the other side of the fountain to meet him?”
“Okay,” I answer, even though I really don’t want to go back out there alone. The silence of the town has started spooking me again, and the fact that people are mourning dead or injured sons, friends, and brothers doesn’t help.
“Good luck, dear,” Iris says, waving as I walk away.
I turn my back on her and stride across the cobbled path, heading for the other side of the fountain. It comforts me to put a bit of distance between us.
She’s pretty, smart, and professional… but something about her isn’t quite right.
I push the thought away and sit down on the low stone edge of the fountain, looking at the coins shimmering under the flowing water.
So many wishes. I’d add my own if I had a spare coin, but what would I wish for?
I close my eyes, letting the low throb of excitement rise in my body. My wordless desire seems to become real in that moment, and I know the only thing I wish for is a man who can make me feel this way and satisfy me.
