Fated Mates: Book 1 of the True Mates Series (7 page)

“You mean, about the stuff that makes sure I won’t get into trouble, right?”

“Something like that,” Cady smiled. “But really, just make sure you stay in New York State for now. Don’t even venture out to New Jersey, unless you really need to and just let us know and give us time to get you permission.”

“Wait, Jersey has its own clan?”
 

“Uh-huh. But, well, I personally don’t know any of them, only that we have neutral relations, but I’ve heard they are a…colorful bunch. They’re one of the few clans traditionally led by a Lupa.”

“Ok, I hate to sound like an echo, but…Lupa?”

“Lupa or female Alpha, the equivalent of a Regal, though it’s also used as an honorific title for the Alpha’s wife, unless she’s a Lupa by her own right.” she explained. “Hmm…I really need to update our records about them actually. I don’t know who the current Lupa is, which seems like an oversight since they’re one of our closest neighbors.” She took out her tablet and jotted down a note.
 

The waiter came and gave them their starters. “There’s a couple of other things I need to explain to you as well, and certain things Grant has to tell you, but for now, let’s enjoy our lunch shall we? There’s plenty of time to learn what you need to know in the next couple of weeks.”

***

“What am I supposed to do with a ball gown?” Alynna asked as she stood in front of the large mirrors in Bergdorf’s plush private fitting room. When Cady told her that she was taking her shopping, she thought it was for a new coat or maybe a couple of shirts. So far, she’d been fitted for two new suits, three cocktail dresses, some casual slacks and blouses, and three pairs of shoes that cost more than her monthly rent (she had to send two of them back as she’d never wear them, not at that price). And now, she was standing in a beautiful emerald green satin ball gown. Even if it had one, she didn’t even want to look at the price tag. The name of the designer on the label alone made her heart stop.

Cady sat in one of the white couches as she perused over all the clothes she put on, saying “yes” or “no” with each look. Meanwhile, Alex stood in a corner, his head looking straight ahead, and his face expressionless. Not that she looked at him. Well maybe she snuck a couple of glances, hoping he’d react to some of the stuff she was wearing, but she was slightly disappointed when it seemed like he wasn’t even paying any attention.

“Please stay still, Ms. Anderson,” the young seamstress instructed as she pinned the dress to her slim frame.

“It’s Ms. Chase,” she corrected the girl sharply. She did as she was told, however, as she didn’t want to make the young girl any more nervous and accidentally prick her.

“I’m so sorry,” she apologized, her eyes lowering to the ground. “I was told you were related to the Regal.”
 

Hmmm…she smelled slightly sweet to Alynna, like chocolate chip cookies, with a hint of what she could only describe as…nervousness. She didn’t even realize the girl was a Lycan as well. Why she was uneasy, Alynna wasn’t sure. “No worries, honest mistake,” she smiled. After she was done, she went to the dressing area behind the mirrors and took the gown off, then dressed into her street clothes.

Alynna patted the girl’s shoulder to put her at ease. “Thank you, it’s really lovely, and you did a great job with helping and picking.” She handed her the gown. “I’m really bad at this and you made some good suggestions. I’ll be sure to tell Grant, uhm…” She couldn’t remember the girl’s name, or even if she introduced herself.

“Rachel, Miss An—er Ms. Chase,” she said, her eyes lightening up and her shoulders relaxing. “I…uh…I’ll make sure this gets done right away,” she gave her small nod and scampered away with her dress.

“So, she’s a Lycan?” Alynna asked Cady.

“You’ll be surprised how many Lycans there are in New York. And it helps a lot to make sure they’re in the right places,” Cady explained as she looked up from her phone. After a few taps, she put it away. “That was a stunning color on you, by the way. The green really brings out your eyes. And when they see you, there’ll be no doubt at all who you are.”

“Now hold on,” Alynna she yanked on her boots. “Who’s ‘they’? And you didn’t answer my question – what ball?”

Cady sighed. “This is one of those things Grant needs to tell you.”

“Tell me what? Start explaining or I’ll walk out right now,” she stood up, hands on her hips.

“Well, there’s the matter of your coming out ball…”

“Wait, what? A coming out ball? I’m not exactly debutante material,” she put her hands up in frustration.

Cady gave a little laugh. “Don’t worry it’s not like that. This is to introduce you to pack society. All of New York’s top Lycan families will be there, our supporters and friends, and probably prominent Regals and Lupas. And the High Council of course.”

“Oh so a bunch of snooty shifters get to watch me parade around in a fancy gown?” she sneered in a sardonic voice.

“Alynna, please,” she motioned for the girl to sit down. Something about Cady’s manner made Alynna calm down and she sat down, though she crossed her arms. “I don’t expect you to understand right now, but Lycans have a rich and long cultural tradition. There are protocols and customs, as well as laws to follow,” she patted the young girl’s hand soothingly. “I know this is confusing right now, but Grant can’t hide you away now that he knows your existence, especially when you’re the first offspring of a proven True Mate pairing in over 200 years. The Council would have his head if you weren’t properly introduced. We’re having enough trouble as it is researching the proper protocols because these things are usually done at a child’s first birthday.”

Alynna gulped. Not knowing much about Lycan society, she wondered if “have his head” was literally or figuratively. “What I don’t get – and this is kind of an awkward question to ask Grant, so I need to ask you – why would they want to meet some by-blow of a billionaire and a poor waitress? Shouldn’t they be shunning me or something?”

“I’ve only known the exact details myself for a few days, so I’ll let Grant explain the intricacies. What I can tell you is Lycan society doesn’t quite work like regular human society,” Cady explained. “True Mate pairings trump even regular marriages, and children of such pairings are celebrated.” She paused. “Although I said New York was the largest clan, that isn’t saying much really. There are maybe over 200 hundred Lycans in the whole of New York. Some clans have only one family branch. See, Lycans rarely produce more than one pup, maybe two at most but it’s very rare. So any offspring is cherished, no matter what the circumstances of his or her birth.”

“And Grant’s mom?”
 

Cady lowered her voice. “Grant’s parents weren’t in love or anything. They married for position and status and to produce an heir. They were friendly to each other but aside from Grant, they had nothing in common. She lives in Paris now, I believe.”

Alynna felt a touch of nervousness, thinking about meeting Grant’s mother. Maybe that wouldn’t happen, but with her luck…“I can’t wait for this to be all over and I can go back to my normal life,” she lay back on the couch. “Not that I mind all this,” she motioned to the packages around her. “Are you sure this is ok? I don’t think I even spend this much in a year in rent.”

The redhead smiled at her. “Don’t worry, it’s Grant’s treat ok? His ‘I’m sorry for having you tranquilized and chained to a bed’ apology. It’s not a big deal. You won’t even make a dent in his bank account.”

“I don’t know…those shoes looked very tempting,” she laughed.

“Hmmm…he may have to re-think about getting that house in Antigua!” Cady chuckled. They burst into fits of giggles, which was, unfortunately, interrupted by the ring of Cady’s phone. “Duty calls,” she sighed. “Listen, I’m gonna take this call outside. Why don’t you grab your packages and we can bring you back home ok?” With that, she left, chatting on her phone.

Alynna looked around her, and stood up to get the packages on the floor.

“Let me, Miss,” Alex said, as he quickly scooped up the bags and wrapped boxes.

If his distinct scent didn’t linger around all the time, Alynna would have almost forgotten his presence. “Alex, c’mon, you don’t have to do that, I’m not an invalid.” She grabbed one of the bags from him, their hands accidentally touching. It was strange, but there was that weird tingling sensation where their bare skin touched. “I’m…uh….maybe I should…” she stammered. After an awkward silence, she cleared her throat. “How about getting another slice of pie sometime?”

“I can pick some up for you, if you’d like, Miss.”

Anger bubbled inside Alynna and she grabbed the bags from him. “What the hell is wrong with you, Alex? I thought we…we were at least friendly and now you’re treating me like some piece of fine China you’re afraid to drop!”

“You’re the Alpha’s sister,” he said in an accusing tone.

“Yes, I am, and?” She stood up straight, bringing her full heigh up against him, measly it may be compared to his frame.
 

“I’m here to watch you and make sure you’re safe,” he said in a low voice.
 

“And?”

Alex sighed. “And that’s it.”

Alynna looked confused. “Look, you’re not some servant and I’m not your mistress. Hey!” she grabbed his arm when he turned away. “I thought…I thought the other night…Don’t be like this,” she pleaded.
 

Her words seemed to affect him, and his polite mask fell for a moment. “I—“ Alex began but was interrupted when Rachel came back into the room.

“Ms. Chase, you forgot this!” The young seamstress handed her a garment bag.

“Thank you, Rachel,” she accepted the bag from the young Lycan.
 

She turned back to Alex. For a moment, he had broken that cold politeness, but the mask was up again. She sighed inwardly.
 

“So, uhm…what did you think of that gown? A little over the top, eh?” she laughed nervously, changing the subject.

Alex walked towards the door, his hands full of packages and bags. As he opened the door to leave, he turned his head. “I like pink on you better,” he said before walking out. Unfortunately, Cady had chosen that moment to return.

Alynna turned bright red, her skin flushing with the memory of their encounter at Blood Moon and that skimpy pink dress. Cady shot her a suspicious look, but she quickly grabbed her bag and left the room.

***

“And so, once we’re done with the meeting with Mr. Zakar, we’ll have to zip uptown to dinner with the visiting Japanese delegation from Matsuki,” Cady tapped her tablet as she ran through her list.

“Thank you,” Grant leaned back into his chair. “Now, tell me about Alynna.”

Cady relaxed as well, putting her tablet down and removing her glasses. “She’s coming around, Grant. She said she’ll come in on Monday afternoon to work out a schedule, something that works with her, as you requested.”

“Good. Thank you Cady, I knew I could count on you.” he stared out into the distance, watching the lights turn on in the city as the sun sank in the horizon.

“Is that all or did you really want me to tell you about her?” she asked, a wry smile on her face.

He turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”

She sighed. “You know Grant, I’ve known you since I was a little girl. You don’t have to play dumb or be all ‘Alpha Lycan’ on me,” she crossed her arms.

Grant frowned. “It’s not that…I just never had to do this before.”

“I’m sure few people have to deal with long lost sisters who show up out of nowhere. So talk to me.”

“I just don’t know Cady. Maybe it would have been better if we didn’t find her…that’s mean, I know, but still…” he trailed off.

“Grant William Anderson,” Cady stood up, hands on her hips. Few Lycans would dare take a stance in front of him, much less a human. But Cady was different. She was practically his little sister. “I know you don’t believe that. She was meant to be part of this.”

“I know, Cady, I know, and you can sit down now and put those claws away,” he said wryly. “What I mean is that the next few months and years, maybe, are going to be hard on her. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to have her life turned upside down. She thinks she can still have a ‘normal’ life after she learns what she needs to learn, but she won’t. She can’t. I wish I could spare her that.”

Cady walked over to Grant, placing her hands on his shoulders. “You know you can’t protect everyone, right? You can’t stop destiny.” He looked at her with a raised brow. “But you can make it easier on her.”
 

“I’ll try.”
 

“There is one more thing, and I’m not saying this to make it harder on you, but it has to be said,” she said as she walked back and sat back down on the chair in front of his desk. “Err…Lycan politics. Particularly marriage and alliances.”

“Wait, I’m not giving her the sex talk, am I?”

Cady had a horrified look on her face. “Goodness no!” she exclaimed. “I’ll have Dr. Faulkner give her that biology lesson,” she chuckled. “I’m talking about her choice of mates. She can’t just be marrying any Joe Lycan or human off the street, right? I mean, aside from being a very attractive woman, she’ll be much more important to the clan, especially if you don’t have pups any time soon.”

“Ah so this is a sex talk about me then?” he teased.

She laughed. “Oh, I’m not touching that with a ten-foot pole, not with your track record, mister! But, seriously, Grant. I can’t be the one to tell her this,” she said in a low voice. “You need to find a way to tell her these things. She was upset enough about the ball. You have to explain she’s not chattel to be sold off, but she can’t be making such choices lightly now. Why don’t you try to get to know her this week and then take her out to dinner?”

“Alright,” he relented. “I’ll have Jared make the reservations.”

“Good,” Cady stood up. “I’m headed back to The Enclave. How about you?”

He shook his head. “Still finishing a few things”

Cady shrugged on her jacket and turned to leave. As she was about to grab the door to open it, she was startled as the large wooden panels opened by themselves and revealed Nick Vrost.