Page 7 of Brutal Alpha Beast
Lacey ran away from the pack to the witch’s coven, but has since come back, and is now happily married to Sawyer, looking after their child.
I know that I need to prove myself like Sawyer has, and I’m smart enough to read between the lines to understand what she’s trying to say. Just because I’m linked to Sawyer doesn’t mean she trusts me yet.
“Tell me, your... Highest...”
She chuckles. “We’re not exactly like you wolves with your emphasis on hierarchical structures. You may call me Penelope.”
“Penelope,” I say. “I know that it will take time for our mutual trust to grow, but I promise you, we have the best intentions. We want to make sure that nothing like what happened recently with ol’ Willow ever happens again.”
I look at her earnestly, fixing my gaze on her face, staying as still as stone, although I’m not exactly comfortable on the small silk pillow. I’m too big, I feel like a giant in this small cottage, and if I had it my way, we’d be standing—but this is about meeting the witches on their level. It’s not about me.
I think back to the craziness that came before. A witch named Willow, scorned by her shifter lover, placed a curse on the land. She’d been defeated once before, confined to the structure of the tree, but that wasn’t enough. When the treestarted to burn, she possessed a witch in their pack. She would have escaped the tree if Sawyer and Lacey hadn’t managed to somehow channel enough magic to create a flood of water that turned everything to ash.
The channeling was a testament to their love, apparently. So the phrase went “When the willow is afire, wash it down with your desire.”
Everyone thought she was gone once before. Who’s to say she’s actually gone now? I only hope that Penelope views the situation with the same caution that I do.
“Has there been something to lead you to believe that it will happen again?”
“No physical evidence yet,” I say. “But I believe in being prepared, and I’ve seen how formidable your people can be. How formidableyouare. Do you feel the same about us?”
She smiles a little. “Are you fishing for a compliment, Alpha?”
I grin. “Are you in the mood for giving one?”
She raises an eyebrow. “You Alphas and your arrogance. Look, I’m not going to waste your time. I see you come in peace and that your intentions are pure, but honestly, Ellis, our coven allying with Sawyer’s pack has been as challenging as it is. Our people don’t trust one another, and I don’t think we’re ready yet to introduce a whole new pack of wolves to the mix. I’m sorry, but perhaps in the future.”
She goes to get up, but I’m not done. “Wait,” I tell her. “You don’t trust us, I get it, I do, but we’ve come together before. I stood by your and your witches’ side in the face of the curse. Do you think it's totally out of the question that we come together again?”
She purses her lips. “Not out of the question per se, but an alliance is a big deal—it’s not just a formality, Ellis, it is an official linking of two tribes. It comes with responsibilities, expectations. It’ll take time to get to the place you want it to be at, and right now, I fear it’ll be at the risk of breaking before it has even been given a chance to begin.”
I’d hoped that Penelope was going to be a little more amenable than she was, but all the points she’s making are valid.
Luckily, these are all points I’ve considered before—because honestly, I don’t trust my men not to fuck this up too. I’m well aware that any slight disagreement, a snide comment, or a misunderstanding at an allied event could ruin months of progress in a second.
That’s why I’m prepared with a solution that’ll demand mutual trust.
It’s unconventional. It’s not something I want to do—I trust Penelope’s tribe just as little as they trust us, but I’m willing to put that aside for the greater good.
I have a vision of what we can be.
“I understand, Penelope,” I say. “I understand completely, and that’s why I’d like to propose a marriage. Between one of ours and one of yours. I recognize that it’s brash, but this sort of unionship is comparable to what Lacey and Sawyer have, and that seems to work fairly well as far as alliances are concerned.”
For the first time, I detect a hint of surprise across her face. Her eyebrows twitch a little, her eyes widen. I’m sure Penelope’s seen a lot of things in her lifetime, and a shifter Alpha suggesting a witch-wolf arranged marriage may very well be a first.
“Ellis, the situation with Lacey and Sawyer is very different.”
“I know that,” I say, tensing my jaw as I concentrate on finding the right words. “But think about it, how else can we ensure a functioning alliance when there’s an inevitable misunderstanding, or slip-up. This is the only way.”
Penelope squints her eyes and nods as though she’s trying to envision how a witch and wolf marriage might look.
How would the ceremony work? We’d figure it out.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about, Ellis,” she says. “I’m not saying no. Let’s meet again.”
As I bid Penelope farewell and finally get my ass up from that uncomfortable cushion, I turn before leaving the cottage. “I’ll tell you the truth, that rock altar thing outside scares me, as does all the witchy stuff you’ve got going on in here. But I still came, didn’t I?”
The corners of her mouth upturn into a subtle smile. “Yes, Ellis,” she says. “So you did.”
