Alpha's Arrangement (Troubled Fork Shifters (Book 2))

By Gabrielle R. Demonico

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

***

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***

“Uncle…
Please.
”

“No. My decision is final, Emma.”

“But…
why?
Why me? Any number of females in the pack would be willing…”

Albondiel Braithwait, Emma Easterdale’s uncle and leader of the Troubled Fork wolf clan, interrupted and said, “Because you are the one that I can trust to do this for me. Now is not the time or the place to discuss it. We will talk about it tomorrow.”

Emma turned away from him, faced forward and pressed her back into the church pew. She crossed her arms at her chest and as she did, a flurry of organ music filled the grand hall of the Troubled Fork church. Within moments, everyone in the assembled throng rose to their feet as the wedding procession began to make its way down the aisle.

It was the event of the year
and it was all anyone had been able to talk about in recent months.
The
Ritual of the Claw
had been a success and it appeared as though humans and shifters had the sanction of Nature to mate. The first such union of that kind would take place in the next few minutes.

Honey Thompson and Brock Walters were at last to be married.

All that gathered turned to look as Honey made her way down the aisle. After a few moments, she reached the altar and took her place next to the rugged bear shifter. They both turned to face Preacher Mitchell.

Tears pooled in Emma’s eyes as she watched, but she was not emotional at the sight of the nuptials about to take place before her
. Unable to contain herself, she turned towards her uncle once again.

In a hushed tone she pleaded,
“I don’t want to be with someone like that. Please,
anyone
but him. I…”

“I said
tomorrow.
” He snapped.

Satisfied that the ceremony could start, the preacher turned his attention to the congregation.

“You may be seated.” He said.

A dozen rows of hundred year old pews groaned in unison as everyone took their places. Once the attendees had settled in, the preacher began…

“Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to witness the eternal joining of this man and this woman in matrimony…” He paused and looked towards the couple. “Would you please face one another and join hands?”

As Honey and Brock took each other’s hands,
the preacher continued, “Will you, Honey, take this man to be your husband and to live together as one in the holy covenant of marriage? Will you promise to love, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?”

Honey looked up into Brock’s eyes and replied, “I will.”

The preacher turned his attention to Brock. “And you, Brock, will you take this woman to be your wife and to live together as one in the holy covenant of marriage? Will you promise to love, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?”

Brock nodded,
“I will.”

Next, the preacher looked in the direction of a young boy who held a small pillow in his hands and motioned for him to approach.

“May I have the rings please?” he said.

The boy walked towards the trio and extended the pillow upwards to the couple. They each took their respective rings and in one smooth motion, slipped them on one another’s fingers. Once they’d finished, Honey gazed into Brock’s eyes and smiled.

As she looked on at the happy couple, Emma drifted away into her thoughts…

Alexander Malthorn.

It was a name, a man and a wolf that she was quite familiar with and
not
in a good way. He was next in line behind his uncle for alpha of the Silver Gulch pack. And there wasn’t a single female within five hundred miles that didn’t know it. And, if they didn’t know who he was, he made sure they found out all about it - whether they wanted to or not.

A smattering of terms came to
mind when she thought of him. He was arrogant, conceited, egotistical, pompous and damnit to hell, sexy. The last one is what bothered her the most. It was an awful combination.

Why did it always seem like the most beautiful of men had such awful personalities? Disgusted, she bit her lip and shook her head.
This
was the man who she was to marry?
Him?
Of all the wolves her uncle might have picked. This was unrivaled suckage at its zenith.

She imagi
ned how awful their first meeting would be…

Ugh.

Alexander, meet your bride Emma, the chunky girl from Troubled Fork.

Awesome.

The preacher concluded, “And now that this man and woman have given themselves to one another as signified by the exchange of rings, I hereby pronounce that they are husband and wife. Brock, you may kiss the bride.”

And Devon…

Shit.

What the hell was she supposed to tell
him?
Things weren’t serious between them yet but,
this?

She imagined the conversation
she was going to have with him.

Oh hey, yeah a movie sounds good. By the way, do you mind if I marry someone else? No? Super! I love dating you!

After a kiss and collective swoon from all in attendance, the bride and groom made their way back down the aisle and as they did, everyone stood. Everyone that is, except Emma. Instead, she dropped her elbows to her knees and held her head in her hands. As the wedding party passed by, Albondiel reached down, placed his hand upon her shoulder.

He
leaned in towards her ear and said, “My office. Tomorrow morning. Ten o’clock. Now, come with me. Let’s have fun tonight, my dear.”

***

As she drove to her uncle’s office, Emma reflected on the prior night.

It had been a beautiful ceremony and Emma was sad she couldn’t have enjoyed the evening like she’d hoped. Emma was happy for Honey and Brock, of course, as well as what this meant for the future. For too long, shifters had lived double lives. She was optimistic that this would be the first step towards the end of that way of life - once and for all.

Yet, in spite of that happiness for them and a positive outlook in general, the dread of what was about to take place overshadowed it. With reluctance, she pulled into the parking lot of her uncle’s office, got out of the car and headed towards it.

At ten o’clock sharp she knocked on the door. Emma held on to a flicker of hope that Albondiel would have somehow forgotten, or maybe, he wasn’t even in his office.

Or perhaps…

“Come in!” Albondiel thundered.

Crap.

Emma sighed, opened the door and entered.

“Emma, sweetheart,” he said as he approached. “How’s my favorite niece this morning?”

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. After a moment, he leaned away from her and said, “Did you eat breakfast yet?”

“Yes.” She replied.

“Good. Well, let’s not waste any time. Ready to talk about things now?”

“Yes, but I…”

While she spoke, he turned and started to walk away.

“Ah, ah… No. No
‘buts’
Emma. You
will
do this.” He said. “You are a member of this pack. I may be your uncle but my word is law. Besides, don’t worry. In all likelihood, Alexander will be exposed for the fraud that he is long before the day of the wedding or… the night of consummation.”

“Consummation?!?” she exclaimed.

Albondiel chuckled as he rounded a large desk and grasped onto an oversized chair. He slid into it and rolled into position behind the desk. He looked up and said, “Emma dear, calm down please. I was kidding. Sit down for a moment.”

Emma walked towards one of the two chairs that faced Albondiel’s desk. Deep down she knew that her uncle would never put her in a situation that could cause harm. Both of her parents had died when she was a toddler and ever since
then she’d been with him. Although she wasn’t his daughter, Emma might as well have been. Albondiel was a fair man. He was tough and stern, as the alpha position demanded, but also kind, loving and warm. The pack had thrived under his leadership and the truth was that Emma loved her uncle more than anything.

As she sat, Albondiel continued
, “Alexander’s father, Colin Malthorn, was a good man and one of his pack’s highest ranked members. In fact, he was next in line to become the pack’s alpha but he died in a tragic logging mishap. Once Colin passed, his brother, Theodore Malthorn, assumed control after the death of their father two years later.”

Albondiel leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his chin between his thumb and
forefinger and said, “Theodore is
different
than his late brother but nonetheless reliable. The pack has fared well under his guidance. At least that’s what I’ve been led to believe.”

Emma cleared her throat and said,
“So, if things are going well, then…”

“Then why am I sending you there?” he asked.

Emma nodded.

Albondiel paused for a moment and stood from the chair. He turned his back towards Emma and looked out the window of the office.

“We are indebted to Theodore and his brother.” He said. “Many years ago they came to aid us. Our pack, which includes you, is bound by honor to repay that debt. Theodore has called upon us to help in their moment of crisis as he and Colin assisted us in ours.”

“Oh.” Emma said. “What’s happened?”

He turned to say something but as he did, his cell phone rang. He motioned towards Emma and signaled for her to wait as he brought the receiver to his ear.

“Hello?” he said. “
Theodore
. How are you…? You have…? Very good… Alright.” Albondiel hung up and said, “Perfect timing. I’ll let Theodore tell you all about it. He’ll be here any second.”

“Oh. I
…” Emma replied but as she did, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!” Albondiel said.

After a quick turn of the knob, the door swung open and through it walked Theodore Malthorn. He was the alpha of the Silver Gulch pack and the most
unwolflike
wolf Emma had ever laid eyes upon in her life. She recalled meeting him years ago but the memory of his scholarly appearance had somehow been lost to time.

In a word, Theodore was
unimpressive
.

Rare for an alpha, he was narrow shouldered, bespectacled and thin. Theodore looked more like an accountant than the leader of a power
ful wolf clan. Yet here he was, resplendent in dullness. As he entered, Albondiel rounded the desk to greet him. Emma stood and turned in his direction.

“
Theodore!”
Albondiel exclaimed. Good to see you again my old friend. How’ve you been?” Albondiel asked.

The visitor closed the door as he entered. He turned back towards Albondiel and said, “Hmm, well. That all depends. Do you have good news?”

Albondiel nodded and gestured in Emma’s direction. “Yes, indeed.” He said. “Theodore, you remember my niece, Emma?”

He acknowledged her with a smile and said, “Yes, of course. It’s
good to see you again my dear, my how you’ve blossomed. How long has it been since I last saw you? I reckon at least ten years or so. Wouldn’t you say?”

“At least that,
” Emma replied. “It’s good to see you as well, sir…”

Theodore raised his right hand. “Now, now, there’s no need for all of that. Let’s dispense with the formalities. Please, call me Theodore.”

“Alright,” Emma replied. “Theodore.”

“Can I get you anything? Would you like coffee, tea or water to drink perhaps?” Albondiel asked.

“No, no thanks. I’m quite alright.” Theodore replied.

“Okay, well…” Albondiel said. “I know that you are in a bit of a time crunch. Do you want to begin the discussion right away?”

Theodore nodded and said, “Yes, I would like to get to business if it’s all the same with you.”

Albondiel started to walk back towards the desk and as he did, he motioned towards the empty c
hair next to his niece. “Indeed.” he said. “Have a seat next to Emma and we can get started.”

***

Over the next fifteen minutes or so, Theodore went into detail about the inner workings of the family business. Emma wasn’t sure why but assumed it would lead to the real reason she was there in the first place.