Bridenapped: The Alpha Chronicles (11 page)

              Caitlin was smiling so hard she thought her face would crack, and she squeezed Kristofer’s hand so tightly she thought she felt bones crack.

              “So she insisted that I take over absolutely everything, said she didn’t want to do any of the planning for her own wedding. She told me she had absolutely no idea what to do, and she was desperate. Story of her life,” Melodee continued. “I mean, she didn’t have any idea how to do anything at all.”

              Caitlin felt her stomach churning, and a red haze of anger swam before her eyes. High school. It was high school all over again.

              “Actually, you know what’s an even better story?” Paige yelled out from the sidelines, and then, as all the reporters turned their attention to her, she marched right up on stage.

              “I believe we were talking about the wedding planning!” Melodee raised her voice indignantly.

              Paige ignored her completely.  “Did you know that Melodee once had quite the thing for our groom?” she announced to the throng of reporters.

              Caitlin could see their eyes lighting up with interest.

              “Is that true, Melodee?” one of them called out.

              Melodee’s face went pale and her mouth opened and closed without a sound.

              “In fact, she asked him out on a date in front of an entire room full of people at the centennial jubilee just last month, and he turned her down! And here she is insisting that she wants to do all of his wedding planning! Isn’t that
amazing
?” Paige beamed at the camera, and then flounced off the stage, with a happy little wave at Caitlin.

             
I love you
, Caitlin mouthed at Paige.

             
I know
, Paige mouthed back.  She returned to stand next to Lottie, who was literally doubled over laughing.

              Caitlin maintained her camera-ready smile as all the cameras were trained on Melodee – who, for once, did not look at all pleased to be the center of attention.

              “Well, my goodness, Melodee, that certainly is interesting! Do we have something of a love triangle here?” one of the reporters called out.

              “No love triangle at all,” Kristofer said loudly, putting his arm around Caitlin’s shoulders and pulling her close to him. “Now that I have found the woman fated to be my bride, I am strictly a one woman man.”             

After the press conference ended and the last reporters had left, and Paige and Lottie had said their goodbyes, Caitlin let out a deep breath and a sigh of relief.  She’d been sucking her stomach in for over an hour, and black spots were swimming in front of her eyes.

              “Did you invite Melodee to take over the wedding planning?” Kristofer asked her, looking puzzled, as they strolled back towards the Alpha house. “I thought you two had a bad history with each other.”

“It wasn’t me,” she said. “Elzbetka sprang it on me out of the blue.”

              “I’m sorry. It wouldn’t have been my choice either. I had no idea.”

              “Well, if you weren’t so busy avoiding all of the wedding planning, maybe you’d have known,” Caitlin blurted out, and then she could have bitten her tongue off. What the hell was wrong with her? Why was she angry that Kristofer wasn’t participating in a wedding that she didn’t even want?

              And worse, he was nodding sympathetically. “You are one hundred percent correct. I have not been deliberately avoiding it, I’ve been dealing with urgent pack business but I should have been there. I will speak to Elzbetka. I will ask her to remove Melodee. In fact, I’ll have her removed from the property now.”

              “No, it’s too late,” Caitlin said.  She was dying to have Melodee removed, but she didn’t want to antagonize the mayor when she still needed the deed back. “It will look bad in the press, if we make a sudden last minute change like that, especially with her being the daughter of a public figure like the mayor. I’ll suck it up.” She was halfway lying to Kristofer about her reasons, and she realized that she hated to do that.

              Kristofer frowned, clearly unhappy with this. “You’re right, of course. I’m sorry that she was selected. I will spend the rest of the day with you, and I will be fully involved in the wedding planning from now on.”

              Caitlin felt her anger melting a little bit.  “I know you need to run the pack. I know they’re your family. Do what you need to do.”

              He leaned down and kissed her lips, and she felt heat flowing through her body. “What I need to do is make my bride happy.”

                When they reached his house, Taddeus and Elzbetka were standing in the foyer waiting for them. Taddeus was rigid with anger.  “I need to talk to you,” Taddeus said angrily to Kristofer. “That press conference was an absolute fiasco.”

              “Really?” Kristofer said coolly. “I think it went rather well. The press loved Caitlin, as always. And they left happy.”

              “We’re supposed to be doing this for the good of the pack, and for our kind. We’re supposed to be improving human-werewolf relations. Your bride’s friend deliberately embarrassed the mayor’s daughter with the entire world watching.  Your bride’s actions reflect upon the pack; she is supposed to be representing us. That’s why her behavior must be above reproach.”

              Kristofer met Taddeus’s eyes steadily, and when he spoke, there was an edge of steel to his tone. “Her friend stood up for her when she was being insulted. That’s what’s known as loyalty. A virtue that is valued in our pack as well.”

              Taddeus’s eyes were blazing with anger now. “I am an Alpha’s son, and I have lived in this pack my entire life. You insult me when you presume to lecture me on my own pack.”

              He glanced disdainfully at Caitlin. “She’s spent time with her maid Twyla on a social basis. Her
maid
. She visited her house the other day. That simply isn’t
done
.”

              “Yes, I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints about that, ”Elzbetka interjected.

“From who?” Caitlin demanded indignantly.

Elzbetka ignored her. “Getting back to the press conference, she easily could have discussed any concerns she had with Melodee after the press conference, rather than letting the whole event turn into a circus,” Elzbetka said coldly, casting a disdainful glance at Caitlin. “She could have shut her friend right down, but she didn’t. Melodee was utterly humiliated, and she was practically in tears when she left. She and her father have been the pack’s greatest supporters and allies; Caitlin and her friend had no right to treat her like that.”

              Kristofer’s steely gaze settled on Elzbetka, and she flinched.

              “Taddeus, we’re done discussing this. Leave my house. Elzbetka, we need to talk. Now.” His voice cracked like a whip, and she visibly wilted.  Taddeus turned and walked out, stiff-backed and radiating waves of icy disapproval.

              Kristofer led Elzbetka outside the front door, but Caitlin could hear their raised, angry voices.

              “What the hell were you thinking, inviting Melodee to do the wedding planning?” he demanded.

              “You’d been avoiding Caitlin, so I thought you’d finally realized that you’d made a mistake. That’s why I brought Melodee in.  Sir, she would be far superior as the public face of the pack -”

              “Don’t ever presume to make such decisions for me again. I have not been avoiding Caitlin; I’ve been busy.  You are dismissed as lady in waiting. You will leave the main house and move back to your quarters,” Kristofer said, his voice cold.

              There was a long pause. “As you wish. Sir.” Elzbetka’s voice had gone frigid and formal, but Caitlin could hear the misery dripping from every word. “May I stay until tomorrow so I have time to pack.”

              “Tomorrow morning. Early. And I don’t want to see you at breakfast.”

Kristofer walked back inside, breathing hard, his brow furrowed. “Shall we go for a walk?” he said to Caitlin, attempting to look cheerful.  Caitlin grabbed him by the arm. “I need to know, Kristofer. Was there ever anything between you and Elzbetka?”

He hesitated. “That depends on how you define ‘anything.’  It is tradition that the Alpha has relations with female werewolves before his wedding, but there is always an understanding that it’s only a sexual relationship, since he’ll end up marrying a human. In her case…” He paused.

“What?” Caitlin prompted impatiently.  Everything was becoming a lot more clear. Of course Elzbetka hated her; she still carried a torch for Kristofer.

“In old tradition – and I would never do this – some Alphas would keep a werewolf mistress even after they married.  If their marriage wasn’t a love match and the Alpha was only marrying so that he could have an Alpha son, he might even have a family with that werewolf mistress too.”

At Caitlin’s gasp of horror, he pinned her with his steely gaze. “I would
never
do that. But…when I told Elzbetka our time together was done, which was a couple of years ago in Kerslavia, she offered to be my mistress.”

“And you wanted her to be my lady in waiting!”

              He held up his hands in protest. “Caitlin, she has been trying to marry me off to Melodee all year long.  She’s been trying as hard as Melodee and her father. Harder, even.  I was sure that she had moved on. Why would she want me to marry at all, if she still cared?”

              “Who knows? Kristofer, I am really ticked off right now.  I mean, I personally can’t stand her, but having her be my lady in waiting and not even warning me about your past with her – that was a really jerky thing to do, to both me and her.”

              She turned and stomped off, heading up to her room.

              “But the lady in waiting has always come from her family! It’s tradition!” he called out after her.

              She answered him with silence, and headed up to her room, locking the door behind her.

              * * *

The house was eerily silent this late at night. Caitlin heard the mournful hoot of an owl from somewhere outside the dining room window, and the ticking of a grandfather clock, and that was all.

“Where the heck is she?” Caitlin grumbled, pacing around the giant dining room.   She’d gotten a text from Twyla, begging her to come meet her in the dining room, alone. 

Frank, of course, had dutifully trailed after her when she headed downstairs.  Twyla would just have to deal with it. She should know that there was no way that Caitlin would escape his watchful eye.

“Do you ever sleep?” she asked Frank.

“Sleep? What is that?” he asked gravely.

“I know you’re making a joke. You’re actually hilarious,” she informed him. “You just refuse to admit it.”

“As you say, milady,” he nodded politely.

She glanced at her cell phone again. Moonrise was coming in minutes. She had to hurry. She needed to go through Kristofer’s room to get to her own, and she didn’t have much time.

Elzbetka stepped out from behind one of the enormous floor to ceiling velvet curtains, her expression icy.

              “You,” Caitlin said, exasperated. “You sent me a text pretending to be Twyla? Why?” 

Elzbetka flicked a cold, calculating glance at Frank, and Caitlin had the sudden feeling that if Frank weren’t there, Elzbetka would actually try to hurt her.

Elzbetka gestured at her to follow her, and Caitlin, letting out an exasperated sigh, let her lead her to the end of the dining room so they could talk in privacy.

              “We need to talk,” Elzbetka said in a low voice. “About what’s best for Kristofer.”

              “You mean, we need to talk about your unrequited crush on him, and how you’re desperately trying to sabotage the wedding?”

              Elzbetka let out an offended sniff. “I care about the pack. You must know that you’re not the ideal mate for him, and that Melodee would be much better for his public image. If you care about him at all, you’ll find a way to get out of this marriage. In fact, I have a couple of ideas.” Her tone had turned placating and wheedling. “You do care about Kristofer at least a little bit, don’t you? I know you want what’s best for him.”

              This conversation couldn’t be any more ridiculous, Caitlin thought, shaking her head. “I was bridenapped against my will. What makes you think I want what’s best for him?”

              “Well, then, you must want to get back home to your family. I can help you.” Elzbetka’s smile was as sweet as sugar now.

              Caitlin looked at her suspiciously, and then the light dawned.  “You’re up to something,” she said. “You’d never try to help me.  You lured me down here for a reason.”

              She turned and ran at full speed, heading back to her room, with Frank following her.

              “Wait, wait!” Elzbetka yelled out after her. “You don’t understand!” Caitlin glanced over her shoulder and saw that Elzbetka wasn’t following her; she was hurrying off in the opposite direction now.

              Caitlin rushed through the hall and up the stairs, breaking into a jog.

              As they approached Kristofer’s quarters, she heard a woman’s loud, angry wails floating down the hallway, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. There was a woman with Kristofer, and it made her furious. It made her jealous as hell.
How dare another woman be with her fiancé?
He’d never so much as glanced at another woman since she’d been here, and she’d never felt jealous before, but now…she was ready to rip someone’s face off.

              She stormed into the room – and somehow wasn’t surprised to see Melodee there. Stark naked. Entwined with Kristofer, tearing at his shirt. Kristofer was shoving her off him, and he was fully clothed.

Somewhere, dimly, in the dark recesses of her mind, she realized that Elzbetka had arranged this. She’d lured Caitlin downstairs so Melodee could sneak in, and she’d counted on the strong effect of the moonrise to work on Kristofer as well as Melodee – she wanted them to be together.  Those thoughts vanished from her mind in a cloud of lust. The moonrise pheromones rolled over her in a thick, heavy fog. She nearly fell to her knees, they were so strong.

              In a daze, she heard footsteps pounding in the room. Frank had rushed in, along with several other members of his security staff.

              Kristofer had finally torn Melodee off of him and thrown her a good five feet away, and now she was crawling towards him, naked, her expression desperate. 

“Get her out of here before I hurt her!” Kristofer bellowed, waving at Melodee, his eyes glowing with rage.

              They grabbed Melodee and hauled her towards the door. She clawed at them and kicked and thrashed as they pulled her out into the hallway, and her frantic howls rang through the air.

              Caitlin slammed the door shut behind her.

              “Oh, my God, Caitlin, I am so sorry. I did not let that woman in.  She snuck in here somehow. You have to believe me,” he said desperately.

              Caitlin looked him in the eye, her chest heaving. She felt a raging inferno of lust roaring up from inside her, consuming her.  Only one thing would quench her desperate hunger.

             
“Take me,”
she said.