Fated Mates: Book 1 of the True Mates Series (18 page)

“Whatever you want, Alynna,” Grant said before taking a big bite from his slice.

They continued their small talk, Grant asking Alynna about her plans and what she did. Alynna was also curious what exactly a billionaire/Alpha did with his time, so she let him tell her about his day (which didn’t sound fun; in fact, it sounded quite boring and tedious to her.)

When they finished eating the pizza (and Alynna had put away an impressive 7 slices, though Grant himself had the same amount), he motioned for her to sit down on the comfy couch. “Jared will bring some coffee.” He called for Jared on the intercom.
 

They sat in silence for a few minutes after Jared left them. Finally, Grant cleared his throat. “Alynna,” he began. The Alpha’s face was a mask of seriousness.

Alynna looked at him, a puzzled look on her face. “Grant, what is it?”

He let out a breath. “I think…I know I don’t know you that well yet, but something’s wrong. Like something’s happened to you. You still laugh and put on this front, but you almost seem…deflated.” He gave her a concerned look. “I know this isn’t the ideal situation right now, but I promise after the ball and everything’s settled, we’ll find a place for you where you can be yourself.”

Alynna stared back at him. Part of her wanted to brush it off, tell him he was imagining things. He didn’t need to know. But it was like a wave of emotions passed through her all at once, seeing the look of genuine concern and worry on his face. In a move very unlike her, Alynna burst into tears.

Grant was visibly taken aback at the surge of emotion from Alynna. The younger woman always seemed to hide her real emotions behind sarcasm and humor, so he was quite surprised when Alynna jumped into his arms. He noticed the change in her recently, but having spent more time around Alynna, he could tell something was wrong. It was almost as if something in her had diminished and she spent her days walking around like a zombie, going through the motions. She even smelled different to him, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Like the usual scent of fresh cut daises had somehow diminished and replaced with something unfamiliar. He didn’t know what was happening to her, but wanted it to stop. He pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back as he whispered soothing words to her.

Finally, Alynna pulled away, wiping her face with a tissue from the box Grant had handed her.
 

“Do you want to just…I mean, I’m sure I can ask Cady if we could just send out a message to the clans or something…” Grant wasn’t sure if that was possible, but he would do his best to find out alternatives to putting Alynna through all this pressure.

“No!” Alynna protested. “I know this is important to you…and…and if I’m honest, it’s not that, ok?” she confessed. “I…I…ugh!” she stood up and walked over the window, leaning her head against the cool glass. She took a deep breath. “If you really want to know…promise me you won’t get mad.”

“Alynna,” Grant started.

“Promise!”

He sighed. “Alright, I promise.”

“And that you won’t do anything hasty.”

“Now you’ve got me worried,” Grant crossed his arms over his chest.
 

She turned around. “Grant, please.”

He gave another sigh. “Alright, alright. I promise I won’t get mad and I won’t do anything hasty.”
 

Alynna felt her heart beating wildly in her chest, but she took a deep breath. “It’s…I was…this is silly! I don’t even know why I’m acting this way! He’s just a stupid man and I won’t act like a fool over this!” She balled her hands into a fist. “I swear it’s over, I’m over it!”

Grant looked at her with a confused look on his face. “Alynna, what’s wrong? What are you rambling about?”

She sighed. “I…I slept with Alex. And now it’s awkward between us.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Grant launched to his feet.

“Grant!” she admonished. “You said you wouldn’t do anything hasty!”

“I won’t!” he growled. “I’m going to kill him slowly and deliberately. Nothing will be hasty about it.”
 

Alynna could practically feel the waves of anger radiating from Grant, his eyes glowing with barely contained fury. She hadn’t seen Grant’s wolf before, but if she didn’t do anything, she probably would be in for quite a show.

“Jesus Christ on a cracker, Grant!” she stalked up to him and put her hands on her hips. “Stop it with this Lycan Alpha shit!”

“You’re my sister! He’s my employee!” he shouted.

“And so what? So, maybe it wasn’t very professional of him, but this isn’t the 15
^th
century! I’m not a princess in a tower, he’s not your vassal and we are consenting adults!”
 

“But—“

“No buts!” she put her hands up to stop him. “You wanted to know…and I told you…it wasn’t easy to admit that I lost my head over a charming face and I gave into my needs, but you wanted to know.”

Grant ran his fingers through his hair. “Christ, Alynna! I…” he sat down, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “You’re right. You are both adults, though Alex should have known better, seeing as you’re new to being a Lycan.”

“As much as you might want to think I’m an innocent in this, I’m not. I wanted him, I was the one who seduced him,” she admitted. “And if it blew up in my face, then I’m to blame in all this.”

“What happened?” Grant asked. “Do you want to tell me?”

“Ugh!” she sat down next to him, putting her palm on her forehead. “I won’t go into detail…”

“Thanks,” Grant groaned.

“Eww, no!” she playfully threw one of her balled up tissues at him. “Oh Grant…you’re going to think me naive and a fool.”

“I won’t,” Grant said quietly. “I promise.”

“I…I just wanted…I mean, I thought I could handle it, you know? No strings attached, just se-, uh, a roll in the hay, so to speak. He didn’t promise a relationship or anything if I went to bed with him, you have to believe that. I went into this with my eyes open. But then, afterwards, it just…got awkward and I think I scared him off. I thought, well…that he felt something, but I misread him. He said he didn’t think we should see each other anymore. He said he wasn’t a relationship kind of guy and it just wasn’t working out. And then, that night at Blood Moon, he was with some…some…hussy and I almost lost control.”

“Alynna, are you…in love with him?”

“I don’t…no!” she denied. “I mean, I can’t explain it. I was drawn to him from the beginning, like I couldn’t help it. Maybe…it was the Lycan biology. I had never felt something like that. It was pure physical attraction.”
 

“Alynna,” he began. “This is probably confusing for you, and yes, Lycan biology and urges are quite different from normal human ones. You were never taught about this, never warned about it. But, aside from that…what can I say? Alex perhaps - and it’s hard for me to say this as your brother - but sometimes men just want sex. If you were willing and agreed to the no-strings thing, then he assumed you’d be on the same level.” He paused, then thinking about how fate and karma. He’d left a string of broken hearts himself throughout the last decade, so if some higher being was laughing at him now, he probably deserved it. “Your feelings changed, but that’s not your fault.”

“I’m not…I swear, I’m just…”

“Your pride was hurt?” Grant finished. “I’m not an expert in relationships, but maybe that was part of it?”

“True,” she nodded weakly.

“Yes, I still want to kill him,” he said with an edge to his voice. “Not because he’s my employee and you’re the sister of an Alpha, but because you’re
my
sister and you’re hurting and I don’t want you to feel like this.”

She sighed. “I’ll get over it. He’s just a pretty face. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that.”

“That’s my girl,” Grant gave her a tight hug. “Just…don’t rush into anything ok?”

Alynna nodded. “Please don’t treat Alex differently,” she pleaded. “Don’t punish him and have his hard work go down the toilet because I’m being a stupid, girly-girl, who can’t handle a one night stand.” she sniffed. “He really is devoted to you and you can’t punish him for one mistake.”

“You are not stupid,” Grant put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re a person with feelings and emotions too…and as for Alex, while I still want to wring his neck for sleeping with you and hurting you, as you said, it’s not the dark ages around here and I’m not selling off your virtue to the highest bidder. He is a good worker and as long as he stays professional, he’ll have a place here. I’lll do my best not to let my personal feelings interfere, ok? But, I still am your brother. He’s been going back and forth from here and Chicago, taking care of a few other matters. I’ll have Nick arrange his schedule so you don’t have to see him too much, at least for now. Until I see that you’re ok.”

She nodded and stood up. “I’ll get over it and act like an adult around him. Thank you. I should go…you probably have more stuff to do.” She gather her things and walked to the door.

“And Alynna?” Grant called after her. She turned around.

“You’re not a mistake. If anything, Alex is making the mistake for not seeing what a great girl you are.”
 

She smiled weakly at him. “Thanks Grant. I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”

***

True to his word, Grant did not let his personal feelings interfere with Alex and his duties. He did tell Nick that the younger Lycan should be rotated out of Alynna’s and his personal detail, but his second in command didn’t question the decision.
 

Alynna was just glad that she didn’t have to face him again, at least until the ball. Unfortunately, security would be tight and all teams (plus the non-Lycan ones they had hired) would be on duty. Grant warned her that Alex of course would be working that night, but other than that, she didn’t have to see him.

The days seemed to rush by her, and there were so many preparations. Soon, there was only two more weeks until the ball. She had to have her dress altered a couple of times, as her body seemed to change shape with all the exercising she was doing, plus the stress. Cady, mercifully, had been taking care of all the details, but did consult her on a few things.
 

“Did you want to do a formal entrance from the top of stairs?” Cady asked, as they sat down in her office one afternoon. The two women agreed to sit down for a few hours and just get all the planning out of the way.
This must be what planning a wedding feels like
, Alynna thought.

“Good god, no!” she sputtered, choking on one of the tea she had been sipping on. She cleared her throat. “That’s not necessary, is it?”

Cady shook her head. “No, but that means…you’ll have to be introduced to the guests. The alternative to the formal entrance is a receiving line. Grant can introduce you to the people on the line.”

She sighed. “That’s better than being on display like a zoo animal, I guess.”

Cady frowned. “Alynna, you’re not—”

“I know, I know,” Alynna interrupted in an exasperated voice. “So, how many people are coming to this thing?”

Cady looked at her computer screen. “About 500 people.”

Alynna almost choked again. “Five—what?”

“You won’t be introduced to all of them,” Cady explained. “Only to the Alphas and Lupas. We have about a 95% RSVP for now. The rest are members of the ruling families, Alliance families, and a very select group of humans who know about us. We like to keep friends in high places after all. It’s not required attendance for everyone, as long as they get the message that you’re one of the clan and Grant’s sister, that’s really all we care about. However, the Lycan High Council will be there and you will be presented to them at the beginning of the evening. Privately, in the ante room.”

“What do I have to know for that?”

“Nothing really, just the pledge to honor your clan and abide by rules, but that’s like, two or three sentences. Oh and also, everyone’s names and background information.
 
There’s only five of them and you have the files, right?”

Alynna nodded. She was a PI, after all, and she studied the files like she was getting to know a client. Thank god she had a practically flawless memory and she knew the files forwards and backwards.

“Then that’s it. I can give you a list of all the Alphas and Lupas, but Grant will be introducing you to everyone important. If you forget their names, no one will mind, you’re the sister of the Alpha of New York, after all. But like any social situation…there will be some cliques and people will talk.”

“Like high school, huh?” Alynna said wryly.

The redhead grinned at her. “Yeah, like high school. You’re more likely to be metaphorically stabbed in the back than have your throat ripped out by fangs.” She clucked her tongue. “Honestly, these hoity toity women. And the men can be worse!”

Alynna giggled. “Aren’t you…I mean…why? Why did you choose this life, Cady?” she finally asked the burning question.

Cady paused and wrinkled her brow. “I…honestly? I owe the Lycans. For everything I have, my life. Michael left me a generous trust that allowed me to go to school and live anywhere I wanted, no strings attached. I went to Sorbonne and Oxford, but, well…” she sighed. “New York is my home. Fenrir is my home. I chose to be here.”
 

“Wow, I…I don’t know what to say.” In truth, Alynna felt awe, envy, and respect at the same time. That Cady had this feeling of family and belonging growing up, but also that she didn’t have to stay with the New York clan. She could have done anything with her life, but chose to come back instead.
 

Cady shrugged and then gave Alynna a small smile. “I’ve thought about it, you know. I get offers all the time from CEOs all over the world, asking me to work with them. Offering triple what I make now. But, I don’t know…it just doesn’t feel right, being anywhere else.” She took her glasses off and sighed. “Anyway, let’s not get sidetracked. I mean, not if we want all the details hammered out by the time you leave here.”

“And get some real dinner!” Alynna’s stomach growled in agreement.
 

Cady laughed, opened her top desk drawer and handed her two candy bars. “Here, you bottomless pit. This should tide you over.”