Mated by Marriage

Chapter 3

Sunlight streams into the bedroom, and the sound of birds chirping forces me awake. I blink hard and rub the crusted mascara from my eyes.

Shit. I didn't wash my face last night.

I stumble from the bed and through the closet, stripping my dress off along the way. I hop in the shower for a quick rinse and face wash. Just as I'm about to step out of the shower, I hear a light and cheerful knock at my door. I fling a robe on and quickly make my way over. I crack the door, barely revealing myself, and find a young woman with brilliantly blonde hair standing there. She smiles sweetly, the kind of smile that reaches the eyes, and lets out an excited squeal. Without any hesitation, she pushes the door open and forces her way in. I clutch my robe tightly around myself.

"Um, hi? I'm not really decent, so I'm not sure this is a good time..."

The woman giggles and waves a hand through the air.

"Nonsense, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. Look at you, you're more beautiful than they described! And what a figure you've got. I'd kill to look like that."

I laugh awkwardly and shuffle my feet back and forth on the cold wooden floor. She's clearly lying for my benefit or blind, or maybe crazy. She's probably one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, there's no way she'd rather have my figure. The woman waves her hand again, as if dismissing her own comments.

"My apologies, Ms. Cartwright. Where are my manners? My name is Tia Campbell, I'm Alpha Dixon's Gamma. I run the warrior training camp, and I am also personally responsible for training and sparring with the Betas and the heirs apparent."

I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, loosening the grip on my robe while I rub my forehead. It might be due to the grogginess that's yet to leave me, or the disorienting way I fell asleep, but nothing this woman has said has made any sense.

"Did you just say heirs apparent? As in multiple heirs?"

Tia giggles and closes the gap between us. She leans in with a mischievous glimmer now present in her crystal-blue eyes.

"Ohhh, I see. You don't know, do you? That's great, actually. I can't believe I get to be the one to tell you! This is really making my day."

I suppress the urge to groan in Tia's face. It's not that I don't like her; she's just...very energetic, especially for this early in the morning. I take a deep breath and raise my gaze to meet hers. She's brimming with excitement, eyeing me with an intense curiosity I can't quite place.

"Okay, okay. Lay it on me. What is it I haven't been told?"

"Well, since you’re the heir apparent to your pack, and your mom is marrying Alpha Dixon, he decided that you and Chase should both be in the running for Alpha. Making you both the heir apparent. He says it's a show of good faith now that Ironmoon and Silvermoon are unifying. He also went on a very long tangent about the importance of excluding gender from consideration for the position."

Tia shrugs and folds her arms across her chest, all the while peering at me expectantly. I open my mouth to speak, but my mind is suddenly whirling with the weight of what I've just been told. Truthfully, when I considered the unification of our packs, I assumed Chase would remain the heir apparent since he's a few months older than me and his Alpha is still alive. Ever since Dad died, Ironmoon's Beta, Mason Fenrick, has been acting as Alpha, and I hadn't given my status much thought. I suppose I'd always thought I'd surrender my position when the time came, yield Alpha to Beta Mason, or a suitable candidate, and be done with it. I wasn't exactly hiding my wolf issues, but I knew better than to assume my pack would accept an Alpha with a weak wolf. I compose myself for a moment, trying to conceal my fear from Tia. There's nothing to discuss; I can't be Alpha, and so I'll just tell her that.

"Oh, I see. Well, there's been a mistake then. I can't be considered for Alpha. I don't possess the physical skills required for that role. It's always been my plan to decline the position."

Tia frowns for a moment, and I can tell she's disappointed with my reaction. However, she recovers quickly, replacing her frown with a devious smirk.

"I really hoped what I'd heard about you was off the mark, but now I'm certain. You can't control your wolf, can you?"

I don't respond, but I'm sure my face gives it away. Damnit, I should've known someone like her could sniff me out with no problem. She's too skilled to mistake the scent of my wolf, or the strength of it for that matter. Tia begins nodding, slowly, almost like she's agreeing with herself.

"Yup, I knew it. Chase said he sensed your wolf last night, and it was super strong. Alpha Dixon agreed. They also told me they couldn't sense it at all before that. And yeah, I heard you learned how to suppress your wolf at a young age or whatever, but something was totally off. What kind of an Alpha in training wouldn't use their wolf to sniff out new surroundings? And then, security told me you haven't been on a run since you got here."

I find myself staring at Tia in awe. I figured she smelled my wolf and put two and two together just now, but she's had me figured out since I arrived. She's incredibly smart. No wonder she's Dallas' Gamma.

“OK, you got me. I can't really control my wolf. I haven't really been able to since my Dad passed away, actually. I read somewhere that trauma can sometimes affect your ability to control it, but I couldn't risk letting my pack find out, so I kind of just hid it, and now I think it's probably too late to fix it. Now what? Are you going to tell Alpha Dixon, or my mom?"

Tia snorts, and for a moment, she genuinely doubles over to laugh at me.

"No, dummy. If I wanted to tell them, I would've told them last night. I wanted to feel you out first, but I've decided. I'm going to fix you and your wolf."

She nods affirmatively and extends her hand towards me. I hesitate for a moment.

"What exactly are we shaking on?"

Tia rolls her eyes playfully.

"From here on out, you're going to attend private training sessions with me in addition to the mandatory training sessions with Chase and me. In return, I won't tell anyone about your little wolf problem."

Tia smiles sweetly, her hand still extended. I give up; she's really got me cornered either way. I grasp her hand firmly.

"Fine, I don't have much of a choice at this point anyway. I do have a question though: what exactly do you get out of this?"

Tia's smile falters for a moment, and she seems almost wounded by the question.

"I'm offended you'd even ask. I would do anything for our pack, and you're part of our pack now. Plus, if you must know, rehabbing a potential Alpha's wolf is going to be a huge success for me."

She winks at me as she pulls her hand away.

"Training starts in two hours. You can meet Chase and me in the rear courtyard. Can't miss it! Wear something flexible. We'll start private sessions tonight when there are fewer prying eyes around."

With that, Tia saunters out of the room, lazily waving behind her. Despite the nature of our conversation, I can't help but miss her presence. She's different, a little odd, but she's the first person I've really interacted with that didn't seem intimidated by my status. I flop backwards onto the bed. I'm not looking forward to training, but there's a small glimmer of hope that I can maybe restore my wolf and possibly make a friend in the process. For now, that'll have to be enough to motivate me.