Chapter 7: A Bit Too Complicated

“What the hell are you saying, Dominic?” Natalie asked carefully.

“I need alliances, Natalie.” She almost jerked at his words. “Your dad collects them like they’re coupons. If I had an alliance with him, I would have access to his alliances, and then I’d have plenty of wolves to call on for this battle. Maybe it would make my brother hesitate, maybe it wouldn’t. In any case, the situation would be more balanced.”

Alliances. Alliances. Alliances.

“So you’re asking me to reject a guy who wants nothing more than an alliance with my dad in favor of another guy with the same motive?” Natalie snickered. “You could probably arrange an alliance without using me, so why not just contact him?”

But she already knew the answer. Her dad was cunning and ruthless, always sniffing out a person’s weakness and pouncing on it. He would see how badly Dominic needed him and would exploit it. He might demand some of Dominic’s territory or insist Dominic owed him a favor. Being indebted to an Alpha like her father was never wise. Alliances formed through mating, however, were far more balanced.

“There’s a very big difference between what it would mean to mate with me and what it would mean to mate with Mark.”

“What difference?”

“With me, it doesn’t have to be permanent. And I would never hurt you, unlike Mark.”

Ignoring his last remark, Natalie shook her head. “Wolves mate for life.”

“Yes, but I don’t want cosmic, soul-moving, etching nonsense in my life.” Natalie was taken aback by how confident he sounded. How could he be so sure he wouldn’t feel the emotions that kept a mating alive? “Of course, we have to make everyone believe this is the real deal and that we’ve mated for life,” he continued. “But all I need is for you to remain with me as my mate until the battle is over.”

“Well, then you don’t necessarily need me to mate with you. You just need me to act like I’m mated to you.”

He shook his head. “That wouldn’t work because I’d need to mark you. The second I do, you’ll be classed as my mate. It will be a real mating, just not a forever-after one.”

The big issue was that Natalie was sure Raven would accept his mark and wouldn’t understand that it was meant to be temporary. They wouldn’t etch, so breaking the bond wouldn’t be impossible, but it would be uncomfortable for her wolf. And that was just one of many problems.

“Look, even if I wanted to take you up on your offer, I couldn’t. My dad and Mark have already signed contracts, and my dad is thrilled at the idea of having an alliance with Mark. He won’t stop it.”

“Unless you make him believe that we’re true mates.”

Natalie’s tone turned flat. “I told you. My mate is dead. And although not everyone in the pack knows I lost her, my dad does.”

“Many times, werewolves have mistaken a close childhood friend as their future mate. You would just need your father to believe that was the case with you. As for everyone else, they would be the catalyst to help convince him.”

She shook her head. “I couldn’t do that to Ava. I couldn’t stain her memory like that. I won’t stain her memory, period.”

---

Dominic was taken aback by Natalie’s response. Even though he was excellent at hiding his reactions, a faint frown flickered through his eyes. “She?” he asked before he could stop himself.

Natalie glared, clearly expecting him to elaborate.

“So… are you gay?”

A hot flash crossed her light blue eyes. “Bi. I dabble in both.”

Dominic relaxed slightly. It would have been a shame if all this had been for nothing. Knowing he had to tread carefully, he softened his tone. “Does your father know?”

Sadness passed over her features. “What do you think?”

Anger sliced through him, hot and bright. He had the sudden urge to break her father’s neck. The man didn’t consider what his only daughter wanted, only what he needed. Dominic forced himself to focus on the real objective: convincing Natalie to betray her dead mate.

He schooled his voice into something gentle. “Do you think Ava would want you stuck in a mating you don’t want? Do you think she’d want that for you? And would you have wanted it for her?”

“It still doesn’t seem right,” Natalie rasped, her voice rough with emotion.

Her loyalty impressed him.

“It’s not like we can pretend we met, fell head over heels, and decided to mate. We don’t have time, and given my reputation, no one would believe it. It would also give your dad room to argue your choice of mate. But if people believe we’re true mates, he can’t oppose it. That’s beyond his control.”

“What about your pack? Won’t they know it’s fake?”

Not wanting to go into detail, he kept it vague. “It’s a long story, but let’s say my pack knows I’m unable to find a true mate.”

They all knew about his curse. They just didn’t know everything. And he wanted to keep it that way.

“I told my pack a few weeks ago about my plan to mate, and they’re fine with it. They’ll play along if it helps us keep our territory and stops my brother from taking over.”

He didn’t add that some weren’t thrilled about a West joining the pack. No need to bring that up.

---

A part of Natalie wondered why she was hesitating. She wanted to get away from Mark, didn’t she? Here was her chance. But it wasn’t simple. Her chance came in the form of another big, intimidating Alpha who wanted something in return.

Two wolves suddenly wanted to mate with her. Two Alpha wolves. And neither cared about her at all.

She was a tool. A means to an end.

It wasn’t flattering, and it stung.

Natalie was surprised by how much it stung considering she had never planned on taking another mate. It would have felt like betraying Ava. Maybe that didn’t make complete sense, since they were only teenagers when she died, but Ava had been the one person truly made for her. The one person created to care for her, accept her, love her.

And because of that, as Dominic had pointed out, Ava wouldn’t have wanted her trapped in a mating she didn’t want. Ava would have expected her to do whatever it took to escape that fate.

But this particular escape route was complicated.

“Even if I agreed to this deal, I don’t see how we could fake a mating bond. It’s extremely intimate. Mates are touchy-feely, they never spend time apart, they scent each other, they wear each other’s marks, and they have a link that helps them sense each other’s moods. How could we ever fake a metaphysical connection like that?”

“We’d only need to fake it when anyone outside my pack is around, and that won’t be often. Knowing your freedom from Mark depends on this should help your acting skills.”

Well, damn. He really had it all figured out, didn't he?