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 -”

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

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

on the counter, sliding it away from me. “Okay,” I agree, nodding but

up,” he murmurs, putting his hands on my hips and pulling me close, resting his forehead against mine.

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

a soft, sweet noise of understanding then, drawing me

voice slightly muffled against his shoulder, “and like…the nation, or whatever. I just…this is important to me. I want it to be right, just

right,” Roger murmurs, his arms wrapping me up even tighter, making me

him nod his head. And then, sighing with relief that I have him on my side and that I just have him at all – I let my body relax against Roger’s and breathe in his warm, rich, comforting scent, letting it

says after a few long moments of relaxing against each other, “can I

I shriek, going

not going to do it publicly- why

back from Roger, staring up at him,

grin on his face I scowl and smack him on the chest, knowing that he’s teasing me. “No, Roger,” I growl. “I still want it to be right! I’m not going to just let you bite my neck when we’re hanging out in the kitchen

noodles,” he murmurs, stepping close and lifting a hand to slide his fingers under my shirt to the place

laugh, shoving him away. “I smell like dirt and field hospital,” I reply, shaking my head and stepping away. You’re just listening to

Roger groans, tilting his head back even as he laughs. “Seriously, Cora, it’s bite her now, do it! On a constant refrain,

and giving a little howl of triumph. I want it too, she says, giving a wolfish little

I say smugly, crossing my arms over my chest, “says your wolf is being an impatient