The Mad Alpha's Substitute Bride

(ALICE)

"A week?!" I stare at the notice that has just been delivered to me. "You said the mating gathering would be for one day!"

Mary looks at me as she happily cracks a lobster claw. "What are you worried about? He sent you some more dresses today, didn’t he? You should probably try them on to see if they fit. I’m just happy I’m allowed to attend as your companion."

I ignore her as she eats the food from the restaurant, which Jimmy sent to my apartment after I returned home last night.

My eyes scan the itinerary. "There’s a gathering in the ballroom on the first day."

"It’s sort of like a meet and greet," Mary informs me, gesturing with a piece of seafood. "Here. Try this."

She tosses a prawn to me, and I catch it. My eyes flutter shut at the explosion of flavors in my mouth. Dang it. That’s really good!

"The gathering changes every year. When I went with my sister, it only lasted one day. There were a whole lot of different events jammed into twenty-four hours." Mary scrambles over to look at the paper in my hand. "Oh, so it’s the same thing, only spread out over a week. That’s not too bad. And Darian did send you a dress for each day, so it’s not like you have any reason to be panicking."

"But a week, Mary?" I don’t know why I’m so flustered. "I—"

My friend is no longer paying attention to what I’m saying. She’s sniffing me, a curious expression on her face. "Did you change your perfume?"

"What?" I ask her, puzzled. "No. I don’t wear perfume. Can’t afford it, remember? I live in Broke Town."

She doesn’t laugh like I expected her to, her brows knitting together. "You smell strange. Different, somehow."

I cover her face with my hand, lightly shoving her away. "Okay, that’s enough. Stop sniffing me. You’re going to give me a complex. I don’t stink."

"I never said you did," comes her muffled voice, and she pushes my hand down. "You smell nice. I can’t explain it. It makes me want to rub against you."

I quickly take a few steps back. "I don’t think so."

"Well, I’m not going to, but"—she pauses, looking uneasy—"if I were in my wolf form, I think it would be hard for me to resist. You’re giving off this tantalizing aroma."

"I don’t like the sound of that," I say warily.

"Go take a shower," Mary suggests. "Maybe the scent will disappear." I don’t hesitate.

I head to my room, strip off my clothes, and hop into the shower. The water is nice and warm. I sniff myself, but I don’t smell anything out of the ordinary. As I wash up, though, I notice something strange near my ankle. I have to bend down to take a proper look at it.

With water rushing over me, I crouch in the shower stall, focusing on the odd mark. It doesn’t make sense to me. It looks like there’s a tattoo on my ankle, but I’ve never gotten a tattoo. The mark is in the shape of a half- moon with a unique pattern decorating the sides. I can’t make heads or tails of it.

When I touch it, nothing happens. It looks like a normal tattoo. Lifting my head, I stare at the tiled wall. Did I get drunk at some point and go to a tattoo parlor? No, I would remember that. Or at least, it would hurt a little bit.

As I stare at the mark, an unbidden memory comes to mind. The lake. The witches at the bottom of the lake.

After Darian convinced me that the bodies of the dead witches had been removed from the water a long time ago, I figured it must have been a dream. Perhaps I had been so exhausted that I simply fell asleep on the shore. Weird choice to take off my shirt before I did so, but it’s possible.

Before I went to the lake, however, this tattoo was not on my ankle. Could it actually have happened, then? Did I really not imagine that whole thing?

A chill passes through me. I remember seeing several bodies lying peacefully at the bottom of the lake. Beautiful women. They looked like they were sleeping. But fear struck me when the eyes of the one closest to me flew open, and she grabbed my wrist.

I get to my feet and turn off the shower.

There has to be another explanation. I have to have imagined that whole thing. Maybe I should go to the lake again. Maybe I should check...

But this time, I don’t want to. What am I even going to do if I find the bodies? I don’t want Darian to swim down there, and he seems to be the type who will want to double-check for himself.

I let out a breath. I’ll deal with this tattoo situation later. First, I have to get the mating gathering over with. I don’t know what Darian is thinking, but I want to trust him. It’s strange and terrifying to put my faith in someone in this way. I never believed I could ever be with anybody, and then Darian came along. Nobody has ever treated me the way he does. It’s like I’m invisible to the whole world but him.

I’m putting my hair up in a towel when my arms go still. I was looking in the mirror, and just for a moment, one brief moment, I thought I saw my eyes turn yellow.

Blinking hard, I lean a little closer to my reflection, but nothing seems to be different. Did I imagine it?

I keep staring at myself, but nothing changes.

"That’s it," I mumble. "I’m going nuts. The crazies have gotten me. I must have dived into that lake and caught an infection or something. And now I’m seeing things."

I look down at my ankle to check whether I imagined the tattoo, as well. It’s still there. I’m about to call for Mary to come and see, but something stops me.

The reason there is so little information about the dark witches, aside from their obvious evil nature, is because they are a sort of taboo topic in the Wolf Kingdom. If the whole thing in the lake did happen, and if this tattoo has something to do with that witch touching me, and if Mary sees it and recognizes the mark, she will be obligated to report it.

I sit down heavily on the toilet seat. In my head, I know I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I just can’t take any chances right now. Not when freedom is so close that I can taste it.

I should keep this to myself. There’s definitely something strange about it, but before telling anybody, I’d better do some research. When I have time.

***

Unfortunately, I don’t have a chance before it’s time for us to leave. Darian seems to be busy, too, as the days of the mating gathering get closer. To my surprise, he is true to his word, and neither Willow nor her father approaches me. By the time Mary and I bring our bags down to the vehicle that her family sent to take us to the palace, I feel relieved.

"It was really nice of your dad to let us use his car."

Mary grunts, tossing her suitcase in the trunk. "He found out that rides had been arranged for everyone aside from you. And when I told him I was going with you, he sent the car for us."

I give her a small smile, wondering if she has noticed that she just gave away her father’s intentions. He sent the car so that his daughter could travel in comfort, not because he thought injustice was being doled out on me. Not that it matters.

"You’re a lucky girl, Mary." I close the trunk and look at her. "Your father really loves you."

Mary smiles back at me. "He does. Come on. Let’s go."

As the driver wades through the traffic, we realize we still have an hour before we’ll arrive at our destination. The royal palace is on the outskirts of town.

Mary is flipping through pictures on her phone. "The dresses Darian sent you are gorgeous. You will be the envy of every girl there. Super nice of him to send me some clothes, as well." She glances at me. "Did you tell him my size?"

"I didn’t even tell him my size." I make an exasperated sound. "I can’t believe he sent so much jewelry, too. All those diamonds. What is he thinking?"

"He wants his woman to look like a princess," Mary teases me. "Why’d you pack that green scarf, though?"

I shrug. "I don’t know. I just wanted to bring it with me."

"He even sent handwritten notes. If that’s not a man in love, I don’t know what is."

I pause and look out the window, deep in thought. "Mary, you’ve been to one of the mating gatherings, so you must’ve seen Darian around the palace, right? I’ve told you what he looks like."