Bound by Fate (Moon Bound Series Book 1) by Mandy Lou Dowson Page B

no, there is no one I would choose.  I just want to live my life and settle down when I’m ready to.  Is that so much to ask?”
    She could hardly believe she dared be so brazen and candid with the Alpha.  After all, these were customs the Alphas fought – and sometimes died – to protect. 
    “No, it’s not so very much to ask,” the Alpha surprised her by replying.  “I once railed at the thought of being mated to anyone, especially the brutish-looking Alpha of this pack.”  She shrugged, green eyes narrowing.  “I thought I could drag it out and in the end, deny him anyway.” 
    “ That’s not what I–”
    “ Perhaps.  Perhaps not.  But either way, it didn’t work.”  She laughed uproariously.  “I made him slaver after me like a hound!” she whooped.  “But while he was slavering, and I was stalling, I fell for him anyway.”  Sober now, her face held Beth captive.  “Nature will not be denied.  And neither will your Gareth,” she continued in a hard voice.  “If the Mother should choose him for you.  Mating price, or no mating price.”
    “ But, I thought…” Beth frowned.  “If Gareth can’t afford the mating price, won’t I just be hoisted off to the Tall Grass pack, anyway?”  Beth hadn’t realized just how worried she’d been until Melinda brought the subject up.  What if she spent time with Gareth, and truly fell for him, only to be handed over, regardless? 
    The stern voice of the Alpha male resounded in her mind.  “You know the mating price.”
    “No, Beth, I won’t let that happen.”  And Beth wholly believed her.  That voice was steel personified. 
    “ Now, who are you going to choose to spend time with first?”
    She shrugged.  “I have no idea.”
    “Well, it’s time you had an idea.  Who do you want to spend time with?”
    “ Gareth,” she whispered on a sigh, letting her head flop back to peer up at the majestic height of the trees surrounding the clearing.  “But I don’t want him to know that.”
    Melinda grinned.  “So let him think you don’t, and see how he reacts.”
    Beth grinned.  “I like your style, Alpha.”
    “ Please,” she grinned back.  “We’re past formalities.  Melinda, from now on.”
     
    “So ladies,” Marcus looked up from the ledgers he was peering at.  “Have we reached a decision?”
    “ I’ll leave you two alone,” Melinda whispered, closing the heavy oak door behind her.
    Beth shuffled her feet on the thick rug, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her.  “Alpha,” she began.  Dust motes hung in the air, as if waiting for her to speak.  She took a deep breath.  “I think I should be candid with you at this time.”
    “I think you should be candid with me at all times, Beth.  It’s always better to be honest, don’t you agree?”
    “ Yes, Alpha.”
    “ Go on,” he urged.
    “ I feel,” she slowly blinked.  “I feel I’m already forming an attachment to Gareth,” she whispered, embarrassment coloring her face.  “You know we had…”  What?  What had they had?  One night together in a dusty old cabin, and a few minutes on a rusty, creaky, scratchy old bed.
    Oh and one mind-blowing orgasm.  She couldn’t forget that, could she?
    “I had heard.”  The Alpha seemed obliged to fill the silence.  His wry voice brought her back to herself, flushing and un-tying her tongue.
    “ Yes, well, I feel at this time it would be prudent to give the Tall Grass pack wolf a chance to get to know me better, and vice versa.  After all, I already know Gareth quite well, and it’s only fair if Donovan gets to know me just as well.”
    The Alpha cleared his throat, seemingly choking back a laugh.  “I understand.  A wise decision, as befits the next Alpha Female, be it of this pack or that.”  He smiled softly at her, his scar pulling back into that love heart shape again.  “You can inform them of your decision, but please tell Donovan that I would like to speak with him