Alpha Wolf’s Sold Bride (Rose Hollow Wolves #3)

Chapter 1 - Shawn

The little park area behind Eccles courthouse is practically overflowing with people, making me feel crowded to the point of suffocation.

Every elder from both packs, as well as our alphas, mates, and hangers-on, has gathered for the first joint meeting—and we’ve clearly underestimated how much space we need.

I feel like I’m being slowly crushed to death!

I close my eyes briefly, focusing on my breathing and trying to ignore the searing heat pressing down on us from above. We’re under a bunch of shady trees, but they don’t fully stop the sun’s rays, especially mid-afternoon.

Could be worse. I could actually be in the gazebo.

I look over the rail, not envying those inside. Even though the gazebo has a roof for shelter, there are so many people packed under it, the place must feel like a sauna.

Standing at one end, Rex, Scarlett, Brad, and Alisha try to bring the meeting to order. Every other elder from both packs is in there, all of them talking at once. Spilling out around the gazebo, we’ve got friends, guild leaders, and the rest of our black ops group.

Not a single member of the elite from Eccles. You’d think that all people, they’d want to be in on this.

“Please, everyone, calm down!” Rex shouts. There’s a strong note to his voice that resonates through the clearing, striking every ear. Even though there’s still a rumble of dissent, the noise settles.

“Thank you, everyone,” Scarlett says. “I know this is an extremely trying time for all of us, but we have to figure out what to do, and we can’t do that by arguing.”

“We should organize a funeral,” Alisha says, very softly. A few council members look at her in shock.

“They weren’t from our pack!” Hazel, the Eccles elder, cries. “They attacked us, and you want to mourn them?”

“They were slaughtered,” Alisha says, glaring straight at Hazel. “It was a full-force guard of fifteen warriors, and the combined strength of our packs murdered them in under five minutes.”

An uncomfortable silence falls, broken only by the light tossing of the leaves as a slow breeze moves through above our heads. I look down at the ground, and I know the other black ops guys are avoiding everyone’s eyes right now as well.

We didn’t know! We didn’t know who they were!

“I see your point,” Rex says gently. “But the bodies were sent back to their pack, and I’m sure they have said their farewell.”

“A memorial, then,” Alisha says. “We need to take this to heart and learn from it so it never happens again!”

“Excuse me,” Galant, one of the Rose Hollow elders, says, getting up. “They are a hostile force that attacked us, and we responded in kind. For all we knew, there were hundreds attacking—”

“There weren’t hundreds!” Alisha yells. “Did you see them? Their clothes were threadbare, they were poor-looking—more like refugees than soldiers.”

“But they attacked us,” Scarlett mutters.

“You should not have been there,” Brad says, taking Alisha’s arm. “I blame myself—”

“And I blame myself!” Alisha snaps, pulling away from him. She pushes through the crowd and leaves the gazebo, walking into the nearby trees. I see her friend, a tall, blond woman, break away from the meeting and follow her.

“Do you want to go after her?” Rex asks Brad.

“I will,” Brad says. “But I’ll let her calm down a little. Grace is with her.”

“It’s just terrible what happened,” Gen says, wringing her hands. “It’s so awful.”

A sigh creaks through me, and I look down at the grass again. In all my years of military service, this incident is still one of the worst I’ve ever seen.

Several nights ago, the pack was out for a run. All the warriors and black ops guys were together, including mates and young ones. Alisha and Grace were with a few children who couldn’t shift yet, playing in a meadow not far from town while the pack took to the ridge under the full moon.

When we heard the screams, it was, without a doubt, the most terrifying moment of my life. I’ve never seen Rex and Brad move as fast as they did that night. The children screaming, the women crying—it sounded like a massacre.

And that’s what it was.

When we arrived, Alisha had the children behind her and was using her powers to take down a couple of advancing wolves. We saw others circling the group and moved to attack. All of us were so hyped, we just went in without a thought.

I’m pretty sure those guys had seen the kids and pulled the attack. Why else would they have been in a holding position?

I shake my head to clear it. I know this is just one of the questions that will haunt me until the day I die. I’ll never know the intentions of those wolves—because we tore them apart in under five minutes.

One got away, and our guys went after him. Upon capture, he refused to speak until they dragged him back to the clearing and he saw the carnage.

Our captive—Bruce—went white as a sheet when he saw his buddies quite literally ripped to shreds. The girls were quickly herding the kids back to town, and Alisha was breaking down, crying in deep, ragged sobs.

She’s never taken a life before. Poor girl, but she was protecting the children!

Rex interrogated Bruce on the spot, and he immediately dropped the bomb—they were from a hidden pack, not far west of us. They had always been jealous of our territory and wealth, and as soon as the military presence left, the Clover pack decided it was time to strike.

He also informed us, the Clover pack alpha was amongst the dead.

In the days that followed, we sent the bodies home, and Rex and Brad had a brief meeting with the Clover pack, finding the place sunk in poverty and now directionless without an alpha.

Today’s meeting is to decide the fate of Clover. Eccles elders seem to want rulership over them, Rose Hollow is arguing for assisting them, and so far, no compromise has been reached.

“Everyone, please!” Rex shouts, raising his hands and making a “calm down” gesture. “I’ve heard all your arguments now, and there is only one solution.”

A brief expectant silence falls. Whatever Rex decides, he’s about to please some people and piss off others.

“The only thing we can do is appoint one of our own as alpha at Clover pack, and bring them into our treaty.”

The silence deepens for a second, then everyone starts talking at once.

“I don’t care!” Rex yells. “This encompasses the wishes of both sides—assisting them, and, in effect, conquering them. They will cease to be a danger to us if they are our brothers, and we can raise their standard of living so they have no need to attack others.”

A couple of the elders from both sides whisper furiously amongst each other. Rex folds his arms, glaring at them.

“Please, share your thoughts with all of us,” he says.

Hazel, an Eccles elder, looks up at him, challenge glinting in her eyes. “I can’t argue that this is an effective way to conquer the enemy pack,” she says. “But traditionally, the alpha we appoint will have to marry a local woman, to force compliance.”

“Excuse me?” Scarlett mutters.

“Scarlett,” Galant, one of the elders from Rose Hollow, says. “It’s not so different from what Eccles did with you.”

“And you’re asking why I have a problem with it?” she shoots back.

“Scarlett,” Gen says. “It’s a good idea.”

Scarlett shakes her head and steps back next to Rex. He puts a hand on her shoulder.

“I understand completely,” he says. “And perhaps, we can look into the idea. The important thing is to choose a new alpha, then go to Clover and set up our chain of command. Once the pack is back on its feet and our man has gotten to know the women there—”

“No,” Galant snaps, standing up. “That isn’t how it’s done. Our new man could get knifed in the back on his first day—but not if he has a local bride beside him.”

“Like a hostage?” Scarlett asks.

“Yes,” Galant answers firmly. “Exactly like a hostage.”

“Look,” Celeste, a Rose Hollow elder, says. “I understand how far we’ve come, and you know how progressive Rose Hollow is. It’s just that this is a tradition on our side, too. It’s more of a sign of good faith than a hostage situation, but you can’t appoint a new alpha without a luna.”

Hazel crosses her arms in satisfaction, glaring at Rex. I see him struggle with himself for a moment, then slowly, the fight drains out of him.

“I understand,” he says.

“Rex!” Scarlett cries.

“We have no choice,” he answers.

She pulls him aside, and they whisper to each other for a few seconds, with Brad dropping a word in as well.

I never thought I’d see the Eccles and Rose Hollow elders agree with each other for any reason. It must be a hell of a trip for Rex and Scarlett to see, as well.

“Okay,” Rex says, addressing the crowd. “We’ll appoint a new alpha and send the word that we’re coming in with our rulers, expecting a leadership ceremony.”

“They’ll know what that means,” Hazel says. “And they’ll be ready with a suitable woman.”

A faint wave of disgust flows through me, but it passes quickly.

I’m glad that job isn’t up to me.

“Okay, now we just need to decide who’s taking on the new job,” Rex says.

Silence follows his words, and I look up to find all eyes on me.

“Whoa,” I mutter. “What?”

“Shawn,” Rex says, his voice imploring me a little. “You’re the best we have. I can’t even think about giving this job to anyone else.”

“We’ll need to coordinate, just like the old days,” Brad says. “If we’re running Luke and Marcus between us, we need you in the lead position at the other site.”

“But—I have no experience as a leader!” I protest. “I’m a grunt, I follow orders—”

“And you can keep following my orders,” Rex says. “Besides, you’re selling yourself short there, and you know it.”

“I’ve seen you go alpha on more than one mission,” Brad says. “All of us are trained to take command when needed. You can’t wriggle out of this with that argument.”

“Leading a unit is very different from leading a pack,” I say. “I’ll have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Welcome to the club,” Brad says with a grin.

“These people are in need,” I say firmly. “And they deserve—”

“They deserve a man who cares about innocent lives,” Rex answers. “On more than one mission, I saw you push the rules to save civilians, and you always came through. You’ve seen the worst out there, and yet you’ve kept your sense of justice. I can’t think of a better man for the job.”

I open my mouth to protest, but no words come out. Thinking strategically, it is an excellent idea to have me take the point out at Clover. The last thing we want is an alpha appointed by a power-hungry elder, someone in it for glory who won’t follow our orders.

Or someone with divided loyalties.

An even worse thought strikes me as I wonder about the innocent girl who will be waiting at Clover pack. If we choose the wrong man, it could be a traumatic experience for the poor woman, as well as a disaster for bringing all our packs together.

I flip the idea back and forth a few times, letting out a low groan as I realize the only way to make sure this deal goes smoothly is to take the job myself. When I look back at Rex, he has a triumphant grin on his face.

“Figured it all out, did you?”

“Yes,” I mutter. “I’m not saying I like it.”

“And no one’s saying this situation is a pleasant one,” he answers. “But we have to step up here. For the good of the people.”

I nod, not trusting my voice. The idea of suddenly running a pack and getting married on the same day is too big for me to handle, so I try not to think too hard about it.

My thoughts return to the restless state they’ve been in for the last few weeks, and that’s when I realize this job might actually be good for me.

Retirement doesn’t suit me. Since WS pulled out of here and things have been quiet, I’ve been going stir-crazy. No action in sight! This might be exactly what I’m looking for.

I let myself think a little about running a pack and what that might entail, but I keep my thoughts far from my potential bride.

I’ll deal with that when I have to. I still can’t believe we’re doing an archaic forced marriage!

“We are going to check out the place before we commit to this plan?” I ask. “We don’t want to create more conflict.”

“Correct,” Rex says. “There will be a meeting and agreement from the new pack, but since we killed their alpha and warriors, they are under our control, and they know it. We have to take full command and identify any potential threats to our rule.”

“Copy that,” I reply.

“Agreed?” Rex looks around, and all the elders are nodding, satisfied with Rex’s decision.

“Excellent,” Rex says. “Meeting adjourned—and get your shit together, alpha team. We’re leaving tonight.”

Faint shocks of surprise run through me, but I refuse to think ahead. So far, the only thing that’s been agreed on is a command meeting and an assessment of the Clover pack. The question of marriage hasn’t been set in stone yet.