Page 76 of The Alpha’s Heir

“Who is it?” she asked, hope lighting up her face. “Is it… the man you’re going to marry?”

“Wouldn’t that have been too easy?” I laughed.

Mom looked at me like I’d officially lost it.

Maybe I had.

I shook my head. “It’s his best friend.”

“Oh… Shit,” Mom said, eyes widening.

I didn’t even have the energy to point out that she’d cussed. Alec would be so upset at the missed opportunity.

“Does he know? Do they know?” Mom had the appropriate response because it was exactly how I felt as she stood and started to pace.

“No, and you can’t tell him,” I said.

Why not? “Why not?” both my wolf and Mom asked at the same time.

“Because he won’t care,” I admitted.

“Is he the bodyguard?” Mom stopped pacing. “We should’ve known. He keeps coming up here.”

“Roman does?” I whispered, too afraid to ask that out loud.

“I thought the husband was sending him to check on you.” Mom sighed in relief. “Thank science, that one is so much hotter.”

“Mom!” I cried.

“What?” She shrugged. “I’m old and married, not blind.”

“But the wedding… The gods…” I sputtered.

“Do you think all of us haven’t been working to find another way? Your sister has been in Amarock for weeks digging through the archives. Your father even started trying to pray. We’ve been in touch with the other Alphas and sending word to distant packs…” Mom’s voice trailed off as she saw my face. “What?”

“It’s my job to save you,” I said. “I’m an alpha.”

Mom glanced at the entrance of the cave. “I know you and Kera have a special bond that I can’t understand where you’re still trying to prove that you’re good enough to lead a pack, but believe me when I say that even the best Alphas know when to accept help.”

“I won’t have a pack to lead if I don’t do this,” I tried to make her understand. “Morrigan swore that the gods would rain hell down on earth if they woke. And we’re running out of time.”

As if to prove my point, thunder cracked from somewhere in the distance.

Mom flinched. “Screw the gods. We’ll find another way. And I promise you, the world needs your skills. You will lead a pack one day if that’s what you’re meant to do.”

“Two cusswords in one night.” I smiled weakly. “It doesn’t matter, though. Roman doesn’t want me in the way I want him.”

“Humans are strange. We don’t get things as quickly as wolves do.” Mom’s eyes burned with intensity that could rival any beast. “But don’t doubt that we can figure it out.”

Her words seemed to echo in the cave long after she left, while I twisted and turned on my bed of furs, struggling to find any source of comfort to ease the blinding pain.

You can’t keep this up forever, I told her.

My beast just smiled. Nature always wins in the end.

27

Roman