The Mystical Attraction of Alpha

Cora

Roger’s silent for a long time, smirking at me, making me answer.

“I make no promises,” I reply after a long moment, shaking my hair back in a lofty way that makes him laugh. “But seriously, what is it?”

“Well,” Roger sighs, letting his shoulders drop and looking at me squarely now that some of the tension is gone. “Sinclair wants to give us more than a house now. He also wants to give us…a wedding.”

My jaw drops a little. “A wedding?” I ask, baffled. “But we’re…we’re wolves,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “Or at least – mostly wolf,” I say, glancing down at my belly where my little hybrid baby is growing.

“Yeah, he wants it to be a wedding and a mating ceremony at once – a symbolic uniting of the wolf and human worlds. Because I’m a wolf,” he says, pointing to himself, “and you’re a human,” he continues, pointing to me. “Or at least, sort of.”

I still shake my head, confused.

“And he wants it to be on TV,” he says, grimacing as he drops the final bomb, “like a royal wedding, for the entire world to see.”

And, just as Roger predicted, I immediately get very, very pissed off.

“This is such bullshit,” I murmur, pulling my cell phone out of my back pocket and immediately starting to text Ella to tell her precisely what I think of this plan.

“Wait,” Roger says, laughing a little and reaching for the phone, “just give it a minute -”

sister to my mate. “After I’ve told you, like a thousand times, that I want our mating ceremony – whatever it is 1 to be special, and meaningful? I mean, if we were just going to do it any old way we would have done

says, drawing my attention away from my tirade and covering my phone with his hand, stepping close to me, “I am on board with whatever it is you want, all right? So, let’s put the phone and the rage away for a few minutes and just talk about this. But no one is going to force you to do anything you don’t want

putting my phone on the counter, sliding it away from me. “Okay,”

hands on my hips and pulling me close, resting his forehead against mine. “Why

can. “Because what we have, Roger,” I continue, putting my hands on his chest, “it’s so important to me. It’s – it’s the best thing I’ve got, and so much more than I ever thought I wanted, or could ever

soft, sweet noise of understanding then, drawing me closer and wrapping his arms

want to help Ella,” I say, my voice slightly muffled against his shoulder, “and like…the nation, or whatever. I just…this is important to me. I want it to

wrapping me up even tighter, making me smile. “I understand, and I agree. It’s a no

that I have him on my side and that I

after a few long moments of relaxing against each other, “can I just give you

I shriek, going

to do it

pull back from Roger, staring up at him, trying to ascertain whether

“I still want it to be right! I’m not going to just let you bite my neck when we’re hanging

and lifting a hand to slide his fingers under my shirt to the place where my neck meets my shoulder, where he intends to mark me. “And you smell amazing right now –

away. “I smell like dirt and field hospital,” I reply, shaking my head and stepping away. You’re

laughs. “Seriously, Cora, it’s bite her now, do it! On a constant refrain,

smugly to the sky and giving a little howl of triumph. I want it too, she says, giving a wolfish little grin, but I know

crossing my arms over my chest, “says your