Bound to the Alpha

22. One In Spirit

"This is fucked." Drake shook his head, taking in Angelina's outfit.

    She was still in the same clothes she donned in the morning. She hadn't bothered to change, nor did Mason who looked ridiculously sexy in a pair of black sweats, white V-neck tee and oversized cardigan where the elbows were a denim blue, rather than a matching honey colour with the rest of it.

     She hadn't expected the Council to be present either.

     Aside from Mason's close friends, the rest didn't know what was happening.

     Before she had stepped into the conference room, Mason had advised that he would do most of the talking. Angelina hadn't argued. She was still in a state of denial. It seemed surreal that by dinner, she would be officially mated to the Alpha.

      She had avoided putting herself into this position.

     She could imagine Eris laughing at the turn of events. He had wanted her to mate the Alpha of the Silver Dawn Pack once it became impossible for Rosie to do it. She had ignored it, too busy focusing on Evie to think of anything else beyond finding her baby sister.

     Yet, she was exactly where Eris had planned for her to be.

The Fates fucking hated her.

     It had been her lies that had her falling into this vulnerable spot. She hadn't really factored the possibility that anyone would discover Rosie's pregnancy way before she inevitably exposed it herself, on her own terms and in a controlled manner.

    She should've known Casper would've found out. She had underestimated his skill.

     He had always been right to be suspicious of her.

     "What is going on?" Irene asked, finding the courage to shatter the quiet that settled in the room.

     Angelina tamed her expression to resemble disinterest as the woman eyed her with distaste. She was sure that her distaste would soon fester into potent revulsion once she knew what was happening.

     Mason had called the Council members in after their quiet breakfast. He had been distantly polite with her the whole time with the exception of his unfiltered words that he shared with her, without resistance.

It was like he wanted her to be pissed off.

     She could still remember their war of words over the breakfast table.

     "So, are you going to tell me now why you need a Luna so badly?" She had asked his unsmiling face while they dug into their breakfast. Their forks made loud clanks against the glassware as they ate. She wanted to do bad things to that face. At this point, she didn't care that his chiselled face could've sent him into a career of modelling. He would age well. She could already see it.

     "Since you've yet to be part of the Pack, I don't owe you an explanation until you're crowned Luna."

     "Is this how it's going to be when we actually become mated? I ask questions. You dodge them. We continue in a boring cycle of back and forth without avail or progress."

     "It would be ideal if you didn't question anything I did. That would be nice."

     "If I weren't to question you from time to time, how would I be playing the role of a dutiful mate properly?"

     "Oh, the only thing you need to be worried about is being cordial with me. We don't need to make this arrangement a nasty one if we can avoid it."

     "How about Blue River?"

     "Forget them. They are no longer your concern except for your sisters. You and I both know that you're not part of that Pack any longer. I'll want to know the full story once things have settled between us."