Alpha Prince by Vivian Cove Page A

it! If I didn’t have it with me, mom and the Sisters would totally make me go back down to get it…and then they’d make me come right back up again. This is a trip I’m only making once.
    The ring she’s talking about is an ugly black, crackly band that looks it’d been consumed by fire and feels like a noose. It’s currently on my middle finger. Panting, I grab my left knee with my left hand, raise my right hand, and flip her the bird.
    Mom beams. “Great!”
    I squint. Yeah, not seeing even a trace of sarcasm there. Well, good for her.
    Mom’s smile gets so bright that her eyes start to sparkle. “I bet you can’t wait to meet your future husband!”
    Actually, I could wait. I could wait forever to meet him, because the asshole insisted that I meet him on the top of a freaking mountain . For a second, I actually wish this husband were real and not some metaphorical “husband,” because it’s a lot harder to kick a metaphor’s ass.
    The dude does not exist. I’ve never met him, or his family, or even received a letter from him or his family. They don’t use email , my mom told me, to which I asked, He doesn’t use email? Just how old is he?!? In response, my mother did that horrifying slow laugh. Panic set in until I realized she was laughing because there was no creepy old man waiting for me. You see, I’ve never never seen a picture of my future husband. In fact, no one would even tell me his name, which is pretty damn sketchy.
    So why am I going along with this charade?
    Because I love my mother, and the crazy sisters who raised me, and this obviously means something to them so I’m willing to be convinced that it means something to me, too.
    I’m just really hoping that something isn’t my death.
    We finally reach the top of the mountain. I’m not dead, but it’s hot as hell. I’m so worn out that whatever nasty potion Sister Nova and Sister Neptune (who I fondly refer to as N and N) are brewing up in that cauldron smells almost edible.
    “Rainbow!” Sister Katerina (Kiki) smiles, coming over to pat my shoulder. And then, because it must look like I’m about to keel over, she grabs me. “My, you must be tired.”
    I no longer have enough strength to make a zombie moan, so I do a little zombie whimper. She leads me to a log and we both sit. Well, alright, she sits. I collapse and almost break the log. Sister Xia (Agent X) stands in her default position—feet shoulder-width apart, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at me.
    I take another look around. Surprise, surprise, there’s no man in sight. I raise my eyebrows. “So, where is he?”
    Kiki stops rubbing my back. N and N drop their wooden spoons into the cauldron. Agent X keeps glaring.
    “You know,” I continue, “the guy I’m supposed to marry.”
    My mom coughs. “Um, about that…” She gulps. Shoves her hands into her pockets.
    Yeah, she’s got nothing. I sigh. “Look, it’s alright. I know the truth already.”
    The sisters frown. Or rather, N and N and Kiki frown. Agent X is already frowning. “You do?”
    “Yeah. You think you could have hidden something like this from me?”
    The sisters glance at each other again.
    M starts, “It’s just, I mean…”
    “Were we really that obvious?” other M finishes.
    “Well, the truth is actually a lot easier to grasp than this lie. I mean, it’s just ridiculous. Meeting my future husband all the way up here? No normal dude would require all this.”
    Kiki nods thoughtfully. “Well, you are right. Your future beau is no normal man—or normal dude ? Is that what the kids are saying these days?”
    The kids probably hadn’t used that word for the past few decades, but Kiki looks so happy I don’t have the heart to correct her.
    Agent X’s frown deepens. “ Man. Xavier Benedict Amethyst Spiral the IV is not a ‘dude’.”
    Ah yes. Crystal Jesus. I grin, shouting, “Called it!”
    “You truly knew it was our Crystal savior?” N and N clutch each other,