Chapter 11
Charlotte splashed cold water on her face and dried off.
She knew she had to face the music now: Jude’s we need to talk still echoed in her mind.
She couldn’t stall any longer. With a fortifying breath, she left Austin’s bedroom and turned toward the stairs when she heard Danielle’s voice coming from the other end of the corridor.
Well, perhaps she could delay for a little while longer.
After all, it would be rude not to greet her sister-in-law, the alpha female of the pack.
The door to the master suite was open, but she knocked nevertheless.
“Danielle? May I come in?”
“Charlotte? Is that you?” came the reply. “Come in.”
Charlotte entered the room and saw Danielle stretched out on a chaise lounge, with a man leaning over her.
“Jude didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“He didn’t know.”
The man leaning over Danielle looked over his shoulder. She recognized him.
“Hey, Vince!”
“Nice to see you, Charlotte,” he said with a smile.
His visit could only mean one thing.
“Oh my God, you’re getting the tattoo?” Charlotte asked and stepped closer, until she could see the tattoo-needle in Vince’s hand.
“Yes, it’s about time,” Danielle said.
When she saw the spot where Vince had started, a few inches north of Danielle’s right breast, she felt compelled to ask, “Are you sure you want it on such a prominent place? I mean, if you wear a low-cut top or dress, it’ll show.”
She turned to Vince. “Didn’t you tell her that women are allowed to choose the spot?”
“He did,” Danielle said with a shake of her head. “That’s where I chose it. I’m Jude’s mate, and I want everybody at the Alliance to understand that I’ll always be loyal to him and the Alliance.”
Charlotte heard the pride in her voice and felt like a traitor herself.
Right now, she was happy that she didn’t have the symbol that tied her to the Werewolf Alliance for good, because she didn’t agree with what the Alliance had in store for her.
It was different for Danielle. She’d found true love with Jude, and the Alliance had to accept their union, even though they had first objected to it.
“Of course,” Charlotte said quickly and bent down to Danielle to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Jude is so lucky to have you.”
“I’m lucky to have him.”
Charlotte turned her gaze to Vince. “You’d better not hurt my sister-in-law too much.”
Vince chuckled. “Are you getting squeamish, Charlie?”
“’Course not! Anyway, gotta find Jude. See you both later.”
She swept out of the room. She found Jude’s office on the first floor, the door of which was open. He wasn’t alone. Figured that Jude would want Austin present for this talk. Two against one wasn’t exactly fair, but she’d take those odds any time over having to face her parents instead.
“Close the door,” Jude ordered.
She complied. When the door was closed, there was silence for a second, and only the sound of their breathing could be heard.
“I got a call from Dad,” Jude started.
It wasn’t a surprise. The fact that Jude had greeted her with a we need to talk had tipped her off that her parents had already spoken to him to give their side of the story. She couldn’t change that, and complaining about it wouldn’t help either.
“So you already know that they arranged a match for me,” she said, trying to remain calm, because she knew Jude well enough to know that he didn’t respond well to a hysterical outburst.
Both her brothers nodded.
“It had to happen sooner or later,” Austin said, giving her a kind smile.
“I know. And I’m not against a mating.” She looked straight back at Jude.
“Yet you ditched Mom and Dad, embarrassing them in front of the entire pack,” Jude said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Is that what Dad claims?” She shook her head. Of course, her father would make it sound like that. “I didn’t embarrass them in front of the Leon pack. I told them back at the hotel that I can’t mate with Steve Leon. He’s not a good man.”
Jude raised his eyebrows. “You don’t even know him.”
“And I don’t want to get to know him.”
“Dad said he’s the alpha’s son. With your ambitions to attain a high status within our society, short of mating with an alpha, he’s perfect for you. Isn’t that what you always wanted?”
“Not like that!” she shot back. “I can’t mate with him. Just shaking his hand made me want to puke.”
Jude scoffed. “He can’t be all that bad.”
Austin reached out to put his hand on her forearm. “Dad would never arrange a match with somebody who’s not suitable.”
“Austin is right,” Jude added. “He wants you to be happy. And you know that the Alliance always runs background checks before they propose a mating with somebody from a pack that’s not part of the Alliance.”
“Ha!” she sneered. “I don’t care about a background check. I can feel that Steve Leon is evil. I saw it in his eyes, and I feel it in my gut. He’s violent.”
“You can’t know that,” Jude replied, sighing. “Come on, Charlotte. I know it can be hard to accept everything the Alliance asks from us, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna turn out badly. You’ll see once you get to know him better…”
“That’s rich coming from you!” she interrupted. “You went against the Alliance yourself by mating with Danielle. But you expect me to accept a mate who’s violent, who’s evil, and a total psychopath? I expected more from you, Jude!”
She felt tears sting in her eyes.
“I thought you loved me.” She made a step closer to him, pinning him with her eyes.
“I need your help. I need you to protect me.” She shifted her gaze to Austin.
“Both of you. You can’t let Dad force me into this mating when I know that it will only end in misery.
Do you really want your sister to be beaten and abused, because the Alliance wants access to the Leon pack’s resources?
You want me to pay that price with my life and my happiness? Don’t I deserve better?”
Jude and Austin exchanged a look. There was silence in the room now, and she could hear only their heartbeats and their breathing.
“It won’t hurt to do our own inquiry into that guy,” Austin said, still looking at Jude.
“The Werewolf Alliance would have already run their checks,” Jude said, sounding reluctant.
“They certainly would have looked into the pack,” Austin conceded, “but not necessarily into Steve Leon in particular.”
“Please, Jude,” Charlotte begged.
He didn’t answer immediately, but let out a breath, then rubbed his nape, before looking straight at her.
“Alright, we’ll look into him, but if he checks out and there are no red flags, you’ll have to go through with the mating.”
Charlotte slung her arms around her oldest brother and squeezed him tightly.
“Thank you! Thank you!”
“Are we in agreement?” Jude asked. “You’ll mate with him if we can’t find anything that supports your claims?”
She knew she had to make that promise, but she also hoped that she would never have to make good on it, because her intuition told her that Steve Leon had skeletons in the closet, and there was no way he was a good man. He’d done bad things; one look into his eyes had cemented that belief in her.
“Agreed,” she said.
Jude nodded, then looked at Austin. “Let’s make sure the Alliance doesn’t find out that we’re looking into Steve Leon. We’re skating on thin ice as is. I don’t want them to come down on us with a hammer.”
“They’ll never find out,” Austin said confidently.
Something akin to relief rolled over her. It had been a good decision to come to her brothers for help. If anybody could get her out of this mess, it was Jude and Austin.
“Thank you,” she said, hugging both of them.