by Rebecca Main
"There you are!" My mother's voice rings throughout the guest powder room with shrill exasperation. "It's almost six o'clock, Winter," she reprimands me as she marches into the room, her heels clicking like stakes against the floor. I stand with grace endowed to me through years of training, and June follows suit with far fewer airs of polite society about her.
"Hello, Aunt Adele."
My mother dons a patronizing smile as she stares down her niece. "Shouldn't you be home doing homework?"
"It's winter break!" June announces. "And—"
My mother's hand is in the air, palm thrust forward before June can prattle on. "Go home, Juniper. Don't keep your mother and father worrying about your whereabouts."
June doesn't lose her smile as she envelops me with a brief hug. "I love you," she blurts out. "Your wedding will be beautiful! I can't wait to see all the pictures and go over every detail, Winter. Bye! Bye, Aunt Adele."
A cheery wave is delivered before she exits the powder room, but I am the only one to return it.
"Sit, Winter." I do so and prepare myself for one of her lectures as she remains standing. "It's important we discuss a few... private matters regarding your marriage."
The implication of her words drives a flush of red to my cheeks, and I deftly avoid her steely gaze.
"That's really not necessary, Mother."
"Oh, Winter!" Her voice echoes her mild embarrassment, and immediately I realize I have misinterpreted her words—a scenario I attempt to avoid at all costs. "You're twenty-five for heaven's sake. I'm well aware of certain... private activities you participated in. Though, while on the topic, you should do well to avoid those scenarios with your soon-to-be husband. Interested parties might take offense later should your marriage to that man become null and void."
I prickle of doubt crawls across my skin. "Interested parties" referred to Knox Bernard. To my parents, he is the perfect suitor for me.
"Forgive me," I say with a demure air. "I misunderstood."
"That much is clear, Winter." She barely contains a scoff. "The matter I wish to speak to you about is one we have discussed before. But one who marries outside the pack can never be reminded too often, lest they end up like the Maces, Parishs, or Steinbecks."
A cold thrill runs down my back at the mention of the families who have chosen to leave the Blanc pack over the last decade. Since they had nothing nice to say about our pack upon their departure, their ability to speak further had been removed.
"I assure you I'm aware of the consequences of such actions." The words are spoken quietly as I look past June to the bay window at the end of the room. Snow falls peacefully outside. The soft, white crystals drift down at their own leisure and blanket our property. "I won't say anything about the soulmark curse."
"And...." The slight chill about the room is nothing compared to the arctic tenor of her voice. The hope I attempt to keep safe in my heart for better tomorrows trembles.
"And I won't let him complete the soulmark," I answer.
My mother makes what she considers a pleased noise. It is the cross between a purr and a growl and does little in the way of reassurance.
"Excellent. You must realize, Winter, the Adolphus pack is destined for doom. These 'new-age' packs are too erratic. They have nothing to keep them balanced and structured, and that's what we more traditional packs have in spades." She tsks and stands in one fluid act, then strides to the window. "If the Adolphus pack loses their squabble with the Wselfwulf pack, I don't want my daughter tied down to a wolf who cannot appreciate our set of values. Your father and I only want what is best for you, Winter."
Knox surfaces again in my thoughts. His hawk-like eyes and sharp jaw conjure in my mind. Even there their intensity is unnerving. Knox doesn't so much want me, as he does the prestige that comes with marrying the last member of the Blanc line. It doesn't hurt that his courting efforts are accompanied by a sizeable inheritance in tow—an inheritance he garnered through suspicious means.
How can my parents want me to be with a wolf whose loyalties lay first and foremost with his own self-interest? They might doubt my ability to survive among the Adolphus pack, but I know I cannot endure a life alongside Knox Bernard.
"Are you even listening to me?"
I gulp, and I'm unable to hide my startled expression fast enough for my mother's eyes. "Of course," I reply, turning my expression into one of shocked disbelief. "You were reminding me of the importance of keeping our other pack secret. About the true origins of the lycan curse." Mother's chin thrusts high into the air. "I won't speak of the lycan curse to the Adolphus pack, Mother. If brought up, I'm well versed in directing the conversation in another direction. I would never confirm the curse's origin to our pack."
For a moment, I wonder if I have guessed incorrectly, and a knot of worry winds itself around my stomach. Could I be wrong? Mother always follows her reminder of the soulmark curse with that of the lycan curse.
"You do have an affinity for stretching the truth," she concedes. Her chin lowers, and her eyes become hooded as she studies my reaction. I know better than to react to her words, but the small slight still stings.
"I'm loyal to the pack, Mother. Above all else."
A hint of approval dashes across her face in the small twitch near the corner of her mouth. But this is not the type of approval that leaves me reassured. Instead, the knot in my stomach tightens like a snake ready to devour its prey.
"And here I had my doubts these last few months. I'm so pleased you say this, Winter. Your father and I have spoken at length about this arrangement of yours and have agreed upon a way to use it to our advantage."
My cool facade finally breaks, a frown creasing the skin between my brows. "The advantage is being able to call the Adolphus pack our allies through this marriage. They'll help in whatever future qualms we may have—"
"Don't be so naive, Winter," my mother interrupts. "The association of our pack with theirs is a sully to our name. To request any type of aid from them is unthinkable."
I stay silent a moment, collecting myself as best I can. "Then what advantage do you speak of?"
"This war of theirs is not beneficial to the lycan community. It's causing too many waves and needs to be settled with haste." Mother turns her back to me, staring out into the night. Her reflection is stony in the glass windowpane. I attempt to garner her true emotions through the pack bonds, but they are unreadable to me, as per usual.
"What will you have me do? Mediate the situation?"
My innocent question draws an uncouth bark of laughter from my mother. I shrink back into the couch in response.
"Mediate the situation?" Her laughter slowly dies down, and she faces me. The stony expression is swept away in favor of one of pure condescension. "Oh, Winter, don't be ridiculous. Anyone with eyes can see a resolution between the two packs by mediation is out of the question. The only way their feud will end is with blood, and whoever claims the most will be the winner."
"What do you want me to do?" I ask, my words turning colder. My mother's expression remains the same.
"This need for bloodshed needs to come to a head. Sooner rather than later."
"And you want me to instigate the fight?"
My mother rolls her eyes. "Nothing so dramatic as that, Winter. Honestly, girl. We only wish for you to keep us updated on the goings on of the Adolphus pack. What their thoughts and plans are for their confrontation with the Wselfwulf pack."
"You want me to spy on them?" I ask. My question is delivered with quiet restraint.
"I want you to do as your father and I command, as a good daughter should, not ask meaningless questions," she responds. The alpha in her voice makes my wolf bend in submission, and without thought, I stretch my neck to the side in a silent offering. "You must understand, Winter, that you are in a unique position. Without completing the necessary elements of the soulmark binding, you will never entirely leave the Blanc pack, not under my carefu
l watch.
"And though your union to that man will tie you a certain degree to the Adolphus pack, you will likewise never be completely part of their pack. I don't want you to think of this business as spying. Think of it as proving your loyalty to the Blanc pack. Perhaps we should not have shielded you as we did from the rougher aspects of pack life. I wonder how you will survive among those savages. Even for this brief period of time," she says.
Shielded? What utter nonsense. My loyalty to the pack was ensured through persuasive hands and fits along with verbal lashings until I learned my place as their daughter: to be sometimes seen and never heard.
I suck in a harsh breath that my mother ignores. Really, I shouldn't be surprised at the request, and yet I am. Mother has always enjoyed testing our pack mates’ loyalties, why not her daughter's as well? I dare not think of what consequences might occur should I fail, for I learned long ago the pain it could wreak went beyond the physical.
"Don't think too hard on it, Winter, dearest. You'll get wrinkles, and we can't have you spoiling that lovely face of yours," she chides before striding out of the room. "And remember, there are more players in this game than you realize. Should you disappoint us, there will be others who face the consequences of your actions."
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Ready for the next installment in A Soulmark Series?
Coven (Book 1) — Out Now
Midnight Scoundrel (Book 2) — Out Now
Wardens of Starlight (Book 3) — Out Now
Mr. Vrana (Book 4) — Out Now
Lycan Legacy (Book 5) — February 21, 2019
Lunaria (Book 6) —TBA 2019
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Acknowledgements
To my incredible husband who has been there every step of the way—thank you.
As you most certainly know, this book was incredibly challenging for me to write. I’m so thankful to have been able to lean on you as I pushed through the hardest roadblocks and deliver a book that met both our high standards.
Your support and efforts to help me grow this series into something memorable will never be forgotten. I can’t wait to keep growing with you and to take this world by storm.
To all my friends and family, thank you for your support and putting up with my writerly ways. Most especially to my dear friend Christy and my sister Trish, for always checking in with my progress.
A special thank you Hot Tree Edits, especially Virginia and Peggy, for all their editorial efforts!
About the Author
Rebecca Main published her first romance novel—Coven (A Soulmark Series Book 1)—in June 2017 and hasn’t put down her keyboard since! Quitting their respective jobs in May 2017, Rebecca and her husband now travel the world. Their calico cat, Dorcas, waits patiently for their return to become a “city" cat once more. Rebecca is an avid reader, travel-hacker enthusiast, and karaoke queen (after a shot or two). Her current writing passion is romance with a hearty dash of supernatural and paranormal thrown in for good measure.
Tear-inducing accomplishments include hitting #1 on the Amazon Top 100 list in Fantasy Romance and Paranormal Witches & Wizards, free climbing out of Belize’s Crystal Cave, also known as the Mountain Cow Cave, and starting a publishing house—Via Graphia LLC—with her husband.