“We don’t have to stay long. My father will give a speech, we’ll eat, and then we can leave.”
“I don’t mind,” replied Christine as he led her through the hotel. “My old pack used to have regular get-togethers too. Barbeques and pot-lucks and the like. It’s nice to see everyone and relax together.”
She had always looked forward to those times – to catch up with pack members she didn’t see every day.
Harold winced slightly. “This won’t be quite like that.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.”
“I apologize in advance if my family offend you.”
She thought of the insults her own father had been throwing down the phone about Harold when she spoke to her parents the day before. No matter what Christine said, he was convinced Harold was an evil ogre, locking her in his house all day and ravaging her all night long. When Harold saw her father again, he ought to get ready…
They walked into the ballroom, Harold’s hand on the small of her back, guiding her. To think a week ago they had been here to celebrate their wedding. It seemed like an age ago and yet the time seemed to have flown by.
They stilled on the threshold as his – their - pack members rose to their feet and applauded them.
“Oh, my!” she breathed, a little daunted by the sudden scrutiny.
Harold grunted, unimpressed. He took her hand and led her to the head table – his family’s table. He pulled out her chair for her and settled her before sitting next to her. She murmured hellos to his family while Harold said nothing. Yes, she got the feeling that he wasn’t exactly close to his family. She got the feeling that Harold wasn’t exactly close to anyone.
Harold’s youngest brother, William and his adopted sister, Olivia were whispering and holding hands. Young Edward was texting on his phone under the table. Jonathan was smirking at her, while Arthur was chatting to a young brunette wolf. His parents and grandmother glared at her.
“Christy,” said Arthur, beaming at her.
Harold huffed. He did not like people calling her that for some reason.
Arthur gestured to the brunette. “This is Jennifer, my girlfriend.”
Jennifer grinned. “It’s lovely to meet you, and congratulations. Arthur showed me the pictures of the wedding – you looked gorgeous.”
“Oh, thank you,” blushed Christine.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come to the wedding – Arthur invited me, but I’m afraid I had to go home at the weekend. My grandmother’s ninetieth birthday.”
Arthur smiled ruefully. “That’s why I was given strict instructions to take dozens of photos.”
“Yes, but I could have done without the shots of people coming in and out of the bathroom,” she teased, and Arthur waggled his eyebrows.
The two of them were so comfortable and obviously happy that Christine felt an irrational twinge of jealousy.
“Well, congratulations to your grandmother, too,” said Christine quickly.
Jennifer rolled her eyes. “She spent the whole day telling all her children and grandchildren where we were all going wrong with our lives, and how disappointing we all are. She enjoyed it.”
Christine giggled, immediately finding herself charmed by Jennifer. She wasn’t the only one. Despite the looks from his grandmother, Arthur put his arm around his girlfriend and started whispering in her ear. She giggled and grinned at him. A glance at Harold showed that he was scrolling through his phone.
Harold Sr. cleared his throat and rose to his feet. He tapped his knife against his glass, and after everyone in the room hushed he started his speech to the pack.
He started by welcoming Christine to the pack and then delved into matters of business. Christine’s father also used to make a speech, but he didn’t tend to discuss business matters. It was all about other achievements by the pack – one of the pups winning a ribbon in the science fair, one of the pack members getting second place in a pie contest – that kind of thing. Her father had never been interested in business much. Perhaps that was why her pack - despite its assets - was never particularly prosperous – at least not compared to Harold’s pack. Her father wouldn’t dream of working the hours Harold did. She wished for the sake of her old pack that her father might be a little more like Harold, while also wishing that Harold might be a little more like her father.
Christine kind of lost track of what he was saying, her mind wandering to other matters. She looked away from him, studying the enormous ballroom. They’d been in there just less than a week ago for their reception. Except back then she was a little too dazed to take in her surroundings. For her taste the décor was a little too busy – the wallpaper should be plainer, and the paintwork a lighter color…
Her eyes alighted on Harold’s brother, Jonathan, who was still smirking at her. He winked, and she looked away quickly, almost gasping as she found her husband scowling at his younger brother. His eyes were amber, and he looked almost ready to pounce. A low growl rattled in the back of his throat.
Christine placed her hand on his arm, trying to calm him. Harold whipped his head in her direction, and the fury quickly died.
She mouthed the word, “Okay?” at him.
He flustered a little before nodding.
She started dragging her hand away, but he stopped her, placing his over hers, keeping it in place. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jonathan’s eyebrows nearly shoot off the top of his head.
She was glad when Harold Sr. finally finished. In spite of Harold’s warning, she hadn’t eaten anything and was now famished, and she was desperately grateful when her tiny slice of melon arrived – it was gone in ten seconds and then she started draining her cup of tea – she put lots of sugar in it, so it was almost like eating something.
“When can we expect the announcement?” demanded Marie gazing at Christine.
“Announcement?”
“About your pup.”
Christine nearly spat out her tea.
“Are you pregnant?” asked Jennifer smiling serenely.
“No!” spluttered Christine.
“But it won’t be long – you’ve had a whole week,” interjected Harold Sr., giving Harold Jr. a pointed look.
Christine could feel him bristle beside her.
“Dear, I do not believe Christy is even fertile yet,” said Marguerite.
“Ah…”
“This is none of your business,” said Harold in a cold, yet surprisingly calm voice. He placed his hand on Christine’s leg, and she was actually glad of it – stopped her from jumping up and running away at least. “We have no plans for pups yet.”
“Why on earth not?” groused Marie. “What are you waiting for?”
“Having trouble in that department, Harry?” taunted Jonathan. “Need a few pointers?”
Harold’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“Given that display in the driveway earlier, there doesn’t appear to be an issue in that department,” sneered Harold Sr.
“They were having sex in the driveway?!” cried Jonathan, looking more than a little delighted at the prospect.
“Of course not!” seethed Harold. His grip tightened on her leg. “How dare you? How dare all of you! Our… what we do in private is none of your business!”
“Of course it is,” sniffed Marie. “We expect her to give birth to the future alpha – that affects all of us.”
“Well, I’m not ready to give birth to him right this second!” hissed Christine furiously, wondering how far they really would go to force her to have a pup.
Stealing her birth control was bad enough – what was next on their list of ideas?! The younger members of the family were otherwise occupied – perhaps used to the adults arguing, but Jennifer was staring at them in horrified fascination, Arthur was trying to pretend his plate was incredibly interesting and Jonathan appeared to be having the time of his life.
“You’ve no right to wait – part of the mating agreement states that…”
“I know what it says,” argued Christine, struggling to control both her temper and her inner wolf. “But we’ve been married less than a week!”
Marie looked at her in disdain. “If you cannot fulfill your purpose, there are plenty of others…”
“Enough!” roared Harold.
He slammed his fist down on the table. The whole room silenced.
“Enough of this talk. Christine and I are well aware of the terms of the agreement. This is not a matter for discussion.”
“But darling…” began Marguerite.
“Enough,” repeated Harold, though not quite as vehemently as before.
The table was quiet for a few more minutes, but his grandmother would not be silenced.
“If she isn’t willing to give you a son…”
Christine stood up abruptly. Harold followed suit, a stern look on his face. He grasped her wrist. Maybe he thought she was making a run for it. She did consider it for a second or two but thought better of it.
“I’m just going to the bathroom,” she murmured.
Harold held onto her wrist for a few beats before nodding and letting her go.
She quickly walked away, only vaguely hearing Harold’s harsh tone as he addressed his family. A few pack members raised a hand to say hello to her. She smiled politely, but she had no idea who they were and was in no mood to get to know them.
On finding the bathroom, she splashed cool water on her heated face. To put it mildly, the brunch was not going well.
She looked up and yelped as she found Cruella De Vil staring back.
“Uh, hi,” she said lamely on realizing she was a wolf, and undoubtedly a member of her new pack.
“Hello, Christy.”
“Hi…” She grasped for the other woman’s name, but she honestly had no idea who this other she-wolf was.
Her cold smile tightened. “It’s Sabrina.”
Christine straightened and turned to look at her. “Of course,” she replied crisply. “I don’t recall meeting you at the wedding.” Who’d forget a puppy-hating clone like her? “But we’ve spoken on the phone.”
“Yes.”
Slowly, deliberately, Sabrina moved forward and washed her hands. Christine watched her warily. She was slim and attractive, but she had a cruel twist to her mouth and cold eyes. What did Harold ever see in her? Or maybe this was the type he liked.
“How are you enjoying living in Alexandria?” asked Sabrina.
“It’s lovely, not that I’ve seen much of the city yet. I’m really just settling in at my new home, with my new husband…” Something about this female raised her hackles, and it seemed important to remind her that while she may have previously dated Harold, he was very much off the market now.
“Of course, I think I’ll stop by and say hello to Harry.”
“You better hurry, my husband and I have plans for after the brunch. We’ll be leaving soon.” The lies spilled out so easily.
Sabrina tittered with laughter. “Probably back to work if I know Harry.” Her tone suggested she certainly did know Harry. “He does work long hours. Anyway, nice to officially meet you.”
“Yep.”
She sauntered out, passing Jennifer on the way.
Jennifer gave her a rueful smile. “Uh oh – what did Cruella De Vil’s less nice sister want?”
Christine rolled her eyes. “To make insinuations and annoy me.” It worked too damnit!
“Ignore her – she’s just a pain in the ass.”
She wanted to; she knew she didn’t have anything to be jealous of – Harold told her he was no longer with her, and Christine believed him. But the female still bothered her.
“How long did Harold date her?”
“Just a few months. As far as I could see it was very casual, at least from Harold’s point of view. I don’t know about everyone else, but Arthur and I are glad that Harold is not with her anymore.”
“Why did she and Harold break up anyway?” Cruel maybe, but Christine would take great relish in Harold dumping her.
“You don’t know?”
Christine shook her head.
“Ah, well…”
*
Harold was waiting patiently for his wife. He had yelled at his family for their behavior and was in no mood to listen to further arguments from his grandmother, injured sniffs from his mother or growls from his father. They were out of line – to say the damn least! The mating agreement was heavy-handed enough. Demanding Christine get pregnant immediately and stealing her birth control was unacceptable. As if his tentative relationship with Christine weren’t difficult enough!
He wondered how much Christine regretted mating with him. For a moment, he thought she was about to bolt, to run away all the way back to Texas. But no, she wouldn’t – she wouldn’t leave her old pack to their fate. Perhaps it was predatory, but at that moment it was a relief that he had that small sliver of security over his mating.
A growl escaped his lips as Sabrina sauntered out of the bathroom. Another member of his pack determined to make his marriage as difficult as possible. He nodded at her, indicating he wished to speak to her. She looked delighted, though he was sure she wouldn’t in a few minutes when he vented his wolf’s anger at her.
*
“No wonder she’s bitchy to me.”
Christine was the reason Harold broke up with Sabrina.
Jennifer snorted unconcerned. “Harold’s a very straightforward guy. He told her from the start they would not be mating. He wouldn’t promise a woman something he wasn’t prepared to give just to get into her pants.”
No, Christine doubted he would.
Jennifer placed a hand on her arm. “How are you? That was pretty rough back at the table.”
In the scheme of things, she was fine – they had been a pretty eventful few weeks. It may be a while before her new life became normal, but she was fine.
“Oh, fine,” sighed Christine.
“They’re not, you should have heard what Harold said after you left – telling off his grandmother, it was great!”
She looked gleeful, and Christine couldn’t help but laugh.
“Not a fan of Granny?”
“I’ve been dating Arthur for nine months, and she still calls me Joan, and she keeps telling me that I’m just another notch on Arthur’s bedpost before he settles down. She acts like he’s this big Casanova - he had like two girlfriends before me!”
“Yeah, she’s kind of…”
“A bitch,” supplied Jennifer.
“Yeah,” chuckled Christine.
“If it makes you feel better, Harold really told her off. That’s not something he would do for Sabrina. But, he really wanted to defend your honor.”
“I’m his wife, he has to,” she muttered automatically, even as warmth tickled her heart.
Jennifer gave her a knowing look. “He likes you.”
“Well, I like him.” She liked him since she met him – he hadn’t been particularly charming or flirty, but she knew she liked him.
“No, he like you, likes you.” Jennifer wiggled her eyebrows.
“What are we, nine?” laughed Christine.
“It’s really sweet – Harold actually looks happy. Apart from when he was growling. It’s nice, being in love suits him.”
“I hardly think…” she protested.
“I do.”
Christine shook her head as she felt a blush coming on. “We should get back to the table.”
“Sure, but remember, the family – they’re awful, but eventually you learn to tune them out. Stay with it.”
“Thank you,” she said sincerely.
“My pleasure.”
“Arthur’s a lucky man.”
Jennifer waved her hand. “I tell him that all the time.”
They walked out the bathroom and found Sabrina stroking Harold’s arm.