“I’m not interested in Pack Fernando,” I spit out so fast I practically trip over the words.
“Then you better hope Muldoon wants you, because you’re not staying here,” she snaps, dragging purple eyeshadow across each of my lids.
I’m careful not to move and ruin the makeup, even though I want to throw my hands up and scream, sob, something. “But I’m not twenty-one yet. I still have more than a year. Can’t we take our time and—?”
She clucks her tongue at me. “And what, Violet? The more time we take, the more likely someone else will find out your dirty little secret. You know I’ve tried my best to keep quiet as you’ve systematically scared off each prospective pack with that ice queen act of yours. It wouldn’t kill you to smile more now, would it?”
“I can try harder. I will try harder. Smile more. Flirt. Whatever you want. But that pack is dangerous. If they take me now, I’d be lucky to make it to my twenty-first birthday at all.” Hot tears threaten to spill, but I worry that unleashing them would mean ruining my makeup—and ruining my makeup would mean ruining this one last chance I have to not be mated off to monsters.
“Oh, stop being so dramatic.” Mom rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Rip and the others have been good to our family over the years. They’d be good to you too.”
I work hard to steady my breathing, knowing I can’t argue. The truth is Pack Fernando has always been there for the Steele family. They’ve been there whenever we needed to bend the laws in our favor. Whether to procure something illegal or dispose of someone inconvenient, they’ve been at our beck and call.
And every time, I’ve found myself quaking with fright whenever they stopped by to visit my fathers. Our family isn’t in the business of organized crime, but we’ve had our share of bribes, blackmail, and other threats to contend with over the decades. My little sister Raven was even kidnapped a couple years ago, and it was Pack Fernando who found her and brought her home.
I’m grateful to them in that respect, but I’ve also seen the aftermath of their dirty work. Their hands are bloody so often, they scarcely have time to clean them off before sinking their greedy fingers into the next victim.
And that’s not the life I want for myself.
Nor for any of my sisters.
For as much as I loathe my mother, I love my six sisters dearly.
Unfortunately, if I try to argue with my mother now, she may call off today’s meeting altogether. She must be holding out for a better offer, one that lines her pockets more neatly than whatever Fernando has promised for me.
That’s the only reason I’m still here, that I still have a chance to land a halfway normal pack.
Other than what’s in the dossier, I know next to nothing about Pack Muldoon. They’re so new and from so far away that they aren’t players in the social scene, and it’s what Mother likes best about them.
“Fernando isn’t my first choice either, Violet,” Mom says, showing an uncharacteristic touch of softness as she applies a light dusting of blush to each of my cheeks. “But they’ve agreed to take you off our hands if nobody else will. And more and more, that’s looking like it will be the case. You know why we can’t accept a poor deal for you. It sets a bad precedent for your sisters. With Fernando at least, they’re willing to lie, to circulate rumors that will help your sisters’ prospects, even though we won’t get much in hand for you. But if that’s the best we can do…” She shrugs and lets out a beleaguered sigh. “What else do you want me to do, Violet? You know the situation you’ve gotten us all into. This isn’t anyone’s fault but your own,” she accuses, slapping the cosmetics compact shut and turning toward the door.
Yes, that’s one thing she has made consistently clear. I have no one to blame for my situation but myself. She says it so often that I’ve started to believe her.
I’m the one who damned myself, but I’m also the only one who can offer salvation.
Time is up, and now I am to be mated off.
Only two options remain. I either win over this mysterious pack from Alaska, or I become plaything to a loathsome group of middle-aged criminals.
My choice is obvious, and my path is clear.
Alpha Miles is my last hope. Because no matter how bad he is, he can’t be worse than Pack Fernando.
two
MILES
Six hours. That’s how long it took me to fly out for this meeting, and that’s how long I’ve been fuming about it.
“She better be worth my time,” I grumbled to Archer when he told me he’d found our perfect omega waiting three thousand miles away, in San Francisco of all places—and that it was my job to meet with her on behalf of Pack Muldoon.
“Why this one?” I wanted to scream, but I knew better than to question him. Even though the four of us are all alphas, equals, Archer is our undisputed leader.
Whatever Archer wants, Archer gets.
And he wants Violet Steele. Hell if I know why.
I’m eager to complete our family too, but I’d much rather get to know our prospective mates before finalizing anything. If everything works out fertility-wise, packs mate for life, which means the decision is irreversible. True, some of the crueler packs will murder an omega they don’t like to get a new one, but the guys and I have worked hard to overcome our upbringing. Violet Steele could be the worst woman in the world, and we’d still honor that commitment.