Chapter 3 - Rosalia
It was as if all the air had been stolen from her lungs.
Marriage. Her. Frederick Reinhardt.
Surely her father was joking. Surely this was some ploy, some…some…political game she didn’t understand.
She hadn’t had the faintest idea, not a single hint that he…that he…that her own father would spring this on her in such a way.
It was only the sharp pain of her fingernails cutting into her palms that prevented her from gasping out.
Marriage. Now. To…to…him.
She hardly dared to look at Rick, her heart in her throat, her legs suddenly unsteady. But when she did, she had to fight not to let tears well in her eyes.
He was positively murderous.
He stood, fists shaking with rage, shock, and fury painted over his face. A sharp, rumbling growl erupted from him, and Rosalia stumbled back in fright, suddenly terrified that he might shift here and now into a wolf and tear them all limb from limb.
Her father caught her, fingers tight and painful around her upper arms. Rosalia was aware of a sharp whining and realized too late that it was coming from her own throat.
She clapped a hand over her mouth, no longer able to control her tremoring, chest heaving as she shrank from the thunderous alpha in front of her.
She wanted to run. Wanted to flee. Her wolf lashed within her chest, desperate to be freed, but her father’s iron grip was a cage she couldn’t escape from.
The bar had fallen silent, and every single alpha turned towards them, watching her. Seeing her weakness. Her fright.
Witnessing Rick’s wrath.
An alpha at one of the tables, a Black Claw member, laughed and elbowed his friend. “If you won’t take her, Reinhardt, I’ll gladly have her. She looks like she could use some breaking in.”
Rick’s eyes snapped to the Black Claw, and he let out a vicious, guttural snarl that stabbed at Rosalia’s ears and made her want to snarl back, defend herself, submit, anything. It wasn’t a human sound. It was a threat, a warning that only a fool would ignore.
Felix grasped Rick by the arm, not looking once at Rosalia as he heaved the alpha out of the bar, snapping his teeth at any alphas stupid enough to jeer as they passed.
Rosalia watched them go, eyes trained on Rick’s barely controlled form, muscles poised to run from the threat.
Felix shoved him through the door, the oak wood slamming behind them, leaving Rosalia alone with her father and a dozen alphas who looked at her with hunger.
She swallowed, all her senses snapping back to herself as she looked slowly around the room.
She released a breath, “Father—”
“Not a word,” he said, his face twisted in anger, “follow.”
She had no choice but to obey, not when his fingers dug into her arm as he half-dragged her across the bar towards a set of double doors that led out onto a veranda. She cried out as he half-threw her outside, stumbling over her heels before managing to right herself.
No sooner than she had, she sucked in a breath, taking a few shaky steps backwards, shrinking from the oncoming storm of her father’s figure.
Her back hit the balustrade, the icy stone cutting through the thin fabric of her dress.
Her father snarled, “You embarrassed me in there.”
“Father…I…I…”
He bared his teeth, and she flinched. “All you had to do was be silent, look pretty, but instead you made yourself look like a fool. Whimpering like some common whore.”
Her throat tightened, painful and choking. “Father, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s likely why he’s so angry. I worked so hard to present you as a gift, as something he might value. But you couldn’t even manage to give the damn male a smile.”
“I…I didn’t know… I was surprised—”
“Surprised,” he scoffed, “do you think I spent all that money on your hair, your clothes, your jewelry, your education, for you? Foolish girl. You always knew this was coming. Surprised.” He practically spat the last word, and she watched his hands, shoulders quaking as she awaited the inevitable strike.
But John’s nostrils flared as he sucked in a breath, his gaze moving past her into the darkness beyond, eyes narrowing as he considered.
“Rick is one of the proudest males I’ve ever known.
He won’t be happy to have this forced on him.
” At this, his face twisted into an ugly grin.
“The great Frederick Reinhardt. Not as untouchable as he likes to pretend he is.” He looked back at her, disdain twisting his features, “But it certainly won’t do to insult him.
I’ve poured considerable investment into making you worthy to stand at a male like Rick’s side.
And what do you do? Show nothing but ingratitude and immaturity. ”
“I’m sorry, Father,” she whispered, staring down at her feet, her jaw set in determination not to cry. Not to show weakness. Her wolf growled just below her skin, and she silenced it.
He eyed her critically, smoothing back his hair, “I think I’ll send you home to prepare. You’ve embarrassed yourself quite enough. I won’t have you ruining everything now with melodrama.”
She nodded. Home. Home was good. She could see Katie, she could come to terms with this, she could make her father proud.
In her mind’s eye, she saw her bedroom window. She saw the woods beyond. The lure of the mountains.
She could…she could…
No.
She couldn’t.
She had failed once. She wouldn’t be foolish enough to fail again. What her father would do to her…
The door to the bar crashed open, and Rosalia jumped, her heart skipping.
Felix, Alpha of the Iron Walkers, stalked out into the cool night air. His rugged face was set with grim determination, his jaw tight. His clothes were rumpled, as if he’d been in a tussle.
Rosalia swallowed.
He probably had.
“Felix,” her father said with smooth grace, any hint of aggression melting away into cool, political calm, “is Rick not with you?”
Rosalia didn’t miss the flash of rage that sparked across Felix’s eyes. Silently, she willed her father to be silent. Not to goad him. He was reaching too far, demanding too much. Felix would punish him—
“John,” Felix said, his voice emotionless, “Rick is currently in his room cooling off. That was quite the bomb you dropped.”
Her father feigned concern. “Oh, was it? My apologies, Felix, I had no intention of—”
Felix raised a hand, “Let’s drop the political bullshit, yeah? That’s Rick’s game. Not mine.”
Her father considered him for a moment before nodding. “Understood.”
Felix paced, his enormous muscles bunching. It occurred to Rosalia how out of place he looked here, in his formal clothes, surrounded by opulence and ugly refinement. He should be in the woods somewhere with his pack, being the wolf he truly was.
“I can’t pretend I’m happy about this,” Felix said. “It is not my way to force anything on my people. Least of all marriage.”
“Be that as it may,” her father replied, “a marriage of alliance between shifters is a tradition as old as the mountains. Rick knows that. He respects it.”
“Traditions change, John,” Felix growled.
Her father shrugged. “It is for you to choose whether or not to grant this boon, Felix. But remember, when your pack was attacked, when your females were captured, we fought by your side. We helped you destroy Red Teeth and his alphas.”
Felix bared his teeth, stalking back and forth. “I won’t deny you. I’ll grant you your boon. But only,” he stopped, looking straight at Rosalia, “if your daughter consents.”
“What of Rick?” John asked, pulling Rosalia forward by the arm. “Will he consent?”
Felix ignored him, his expression softening as he looked at her.
He seemed like a kind male. A noble one.
“You will be welcomed into our pack,” he said, “and no harm will befall you. You have my word. But if you do not wish this, all you have to do is say so.”
“Of course she wishes it,” her father said, and Rosalia recoiled from the pure fury in Felix’s gaze. For all his apparent gentleness to her, she had to remember that there was a good reason he was one of the most powerful shifters in the country.
“Rosalia?” Felix asked, folding his arms, staring at her with an intensity that made her throat tighten and tears well.
This is it. This is your chance. You can escape. Just say the words.
Felix raised an eyebrow. “Is this what you want?”
Say no. Say no to him. Run away, run far away—
Her father’s fingers tightened, digging into her skin with enough force to bruise. Behind his serene smile, she saw the rage. The promise of what would happen if she disobeyed him.
She spoke, the words barely louder than a whisper, “I will marry Frederick. If…if he’ll have me.”
Disappointment flashed over Felix’s face, and Rosalia swallowed a gulp.
“Very well,” he said, turning back to her father, “they shall be married.”
“Excellent!” her father said, releasing her arm to clap his hands together. She resisted the urge to rub at her bruised flesh, numbness spreading down her limbs.
Felix’s eyes were full of pity as he bade them goodnight.
She hardly heard his words. Hardly heard her father as he crowed and grinned and led her back through the hotel to her room.
That night, all she could see as she chased after sleep was the overwhelming fury on her future husband’s face.
***
“And you haven’t spoken to him since? Not even once?”
“I told you, Katie,” Rosalie said, placing another neatly folded dress into her bag, “my father is handling all contact with the Iron Walkers. All he’s told me is that Rick will marry me, nothing else.”
Katie huffed, collapsing back on Rosalia’s bed, staring up at the canopy. “I think you’re lucky.”
“Lucky?” Rosalia asked, incredulous.
Her friend shrugged, “Everything’s being sorted out for you. You’re marrying one of the most powerful alphas in the country. Your position is secured. You’re going to be a Reinhardt.”
Rosalia closed the bag with slightly more force than was necessary, wrenching the zipper so fast she was momentarily worried she might break it. “I don’t know what being a Reinhardt means.”
Katie rolled onto her stomach, cupping her chin in her hands. “Surely you’ve heard of the Reinhardts?”
Rosalia turned away from her so that she wouldn’t see the tension in her face, busying herself with packing up the drawers of her vanity. “Of course. I just…thought they were all still in Europe.”
“Frederick’s head of the family seat in America,” Katie said. “They’ve been here practically since the Mayflower. Kept close ties to their European family, of course. The Iron Walkers and the Le Sang Sacre packs have strong ties.”
“You sound like you’re quoting a history book,” Rosalia muttered.
Katie grinned, “I kind of am.”
When Rosalia didn’t laugh, Katie sighed, sitting up with worry in her eyes. “I know this is a lot, Rosie, but…surely you knew it was coming?”
Rosalia didn’t look up from methodically sorting through her various bottles and compacts and creams, and lotions. “Of course I did, I just…I just didn’t expect it would happen quite so…so…”
“Suddenly?”
She nodded. “I knew Father only took me on that business trip to show me off to other alphas. I didn’t realize he’d already decided on one.
I thought he might…” She blinked away the sudden thickness in her voice, focusing hard on the lipsticks clutched in her hands.
“I had expected he might warn me when he was ready to arrange a match.”
“I’m sure he had his reasons for doing it then and there,” Katie said, sliding off the bed and wrapping her arms around Rosalia’s waist. “He only wants what’s best for you.”
Rosalia sighed, leaning back into her best friend’s warmth, closing her eyes and taking a few steadying breaths.
Katie really was the only person in the Green Mountain Pack she felt any connection with.
She was the daughter of one of the enforcers, not as high in rank as Rosalia, but the two had been raised side by side anyway.
She was her only friend in the world. And now, she would have to leave her behind.
“Come on,” Katie said, tugging her hand and pulling her towards the sofa. “Tell me about him.”
“About whom?”
“Rick, of course!” Katie said, her eyes bright with excitement.
Rosalia winced. “There isn’t much to say. I barely met him. And he was…caught off-guard as well. He didn’t seem pleased about the idea of marrying me.”
Katie snorted, “Then he’s an idiot. You’re so beautiful, Rosie, any male would be lucky to have you!”
She remembered his fury, his burning eyes, his wild, animalistic snarl.
Even before that, before her father had changed her life forever, Rick had set her teeth on edge. He was handsome, of that there was no doubt, but there was a wildness to him. A viciousness that lurked just beneath the surface.
And Paul’s words to her father.
Rick is the same sort of snake as you.
Felix had assured her that no harm would come to her, but what male could realistically dictate how an alpha male treated his mate? Rosalia knew better than anyone how deceiving appearances could be. Once the doors were closed and she was alone and at his mercy…
But really, what other choice did she have? If she defied her father, ran away, then he would stop at nothing to hunt her down. And she had no money, no assets, no knowledge of the world beyond the boundaries of her pack lands.
He would find her. And whatever Rick was capable of would pale into insignificance compared to her father’s wrath.
Perhaps it would be okay. Her father had mentioned that Rick had a daughter, a little girl called Evangeline. Maybe underneath everything, he was really a good male. A caring one.
She yanked herself out of the daydream before it could even fully form. It was childish naivete to assume that just because Rick was a father it made him gentle. She needed to live with her feet firmly planted in reality. It would be the only way she would survive this.
“Maybe Rick will let you have a phone,” Katie mused beside her. “Your father can be so old-fashioned.”
“Maybe,” Rosalia echoed softly, looking down at her hands.
“Then again, I do enjoy our letters! Let’s keep writing them anyway. It’ll give me something to look forward to!”
“Okay,” Rosalia said, accepting her friend’s embrace. “Letters it is.”
As Katie carried on chatting about letters and wedding dresses and floral arrangements, Rosalia looked towards the window.
It was dark outside. Cool, considering it was summer. Beyond the glass, she heard the glorious riot of life in the forest. An owl is hooting. A breeze rustling through the trees. Far away, the howl of a wolf.