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"Nothing's set in stone yet," I said to her tacitly, and her frown deepened,
"You can't marry her, Nicholas," she said as she took a step towards me, but I raised my hand gesturing for her to stop.
"Let me know when you find Lucas, Fiona." She must have seen that the topic was not up for discussion because she nodded and slipped out the door.
I recalled my talk with Prairie last night, even though it had not left my head all morning, I tried not to take it personally that the woman would rather die than marry me. That must be my vanity talking. In reality, I didn’t want to marry her either, but I was ready to do it for the good of the pack.
It was not like the elders were asking me to marry an ogre. Prairie Lonsdale was one of the most beautiful women I'd ever met. There were rumors about her brother's unparalleled good looks as well, so there was no doubt that beauty ran in the family.
A family of tyrants.
I was starting to believe that Prairie was nothing like her father and brother. She had a fighting spirit, and it was disappointing to see her give up when I'd come to expect her combative nature.
A hard knock sounded on the door interrupting my thoughts before it opened and Ryland stuck his head into the room.
"Are you busy?" he asked, and I motioned for him to come in. He did and closed the door behind him. He was dressed in the same black suit I was wearing. We were having a wake for some of our fallen men, and I'd been biding my time finishing up some work before I left for the wake.
"What's up?" I asked, standing and undoing the button of my suit.
"I should be asking you that." he said, "I hear congratulations are in order for your upcoming nuptials," he added with an insufferable smirk.
Ryland was my best friend and one of the few people I trusted within the pack. He'd lost both parents to the war, and he had joined the rebellion while I had risen in the ranks.
Even though he was my best friend, I had yet to tell him or anyone that Prairie had turned down my proposal.
"Do you have any news on Phoenix Lonsdale?" I asked attempting to change the subject. He gave me a knowing look; he knew what I was doing, but he wasn’t going to press the issue.
Shrugging, he said, "Let's head out, I think the wake's about to start, I'll fill you in on the way."
We walked out together and when the car started moving, I turned to him, "Phoenix?"
"Yeah, of course," he said, shifting to face me, “ I reached out to some of our spies in the outlands, and there have yet to be any sightings of the missing Lonsdale. I was this close to giving up, but I talked to a few more spies and they confirmed seeing someone like Phoenix along the opposition borders."
I turned sharply to Ryland. "That's the farthest outpost. Why would he go there? He could be killed on sight."
"No idea. But knowing the bastard, he would be too proud to surrender to any of our neighboring packs. We're not at war with any of them and they would not hesitate to turn him over to you. But the furthest outpost are our enemies; if he joins with them they could help him recover his position in exchange for something only a Lonsdale would be able to give."
We both looked at each other, "Chaos?" I said, and he nodded,
The opposition had been trying to take over, not just the Chandra pack but the neighboring packs who were less powerful as well. If they took Phoenix in, that meant that Phoenix had agreed to win over the neighboring packs for them.
And there were a few Weres still who believed that only a Lonsdale was the rightful Alpha.
"Which is why -" Ryland continued, giving me a side look, "- I think, the elders' proposal that you marry the Lonsdale girl is genius. No one would dare challenge your authority, but marrying the Lonsdale heiress would give you an added advantage, and it would win the opposing elders over to our side."
"You think I don't know that. There has never been a greater need for unity among us and
among the factions. If Phoenix succeeds in winning over the opposition, this shaky peace between us and the neighbours will be hanging on by a thread."
Ryland shook his head, "And everyone will want a slice of the pie - us."
In other words, we were heading toward one of the most chaotic times in our pack's history. Phoenix Lonsdale had no idea what he would be bringing upon us with his rash decision -
"We're here, sir." The driver said, interrupting our thoughts. We both got out of the car and headed to the wake.
Hours later, I was even more convinced that this marriage was necessary. The tension at the
wake had been hot enough to plug a live wire. The various families were wary of each other, and even among the elders, a sort of divide had grown.
Douglas had approached me to ask about the proposal. I had yet to give him a definite answer, not because of my ego, but because I needed to try to convince Prairie. She seemed like a reasonable woman. Talking sense into her should not be too difficult.
Or so I thought.
I went straight to my room to take off my clothes, but I only got as far as taking off my tie. I was too restless to stand still, and I needed to know where my fate stood with Prairie Lonsdale.
I had to admit there was some sort of tension between us. It was mostly hate on her part, but it was more than that for me. For some reason, I felt the urgent need to see her. Without dwelling too much on the thought, I made my way to the room where she was being kept.
There was a different guard at her door this time. The guard who had tried to touch her would be spending the rest of his life in prison.
"Is she awake?" I asked the man, and he nodded once, bowing his head low before hurrying to unlock the door. I suddenly felt different about having her under lock and key. She wasn’t some kind of animal and I made a mental note to release her from here on out.
- Writer
