All Chapters of The Alpha's Untamed Mate: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The pantry was dark except for a narrow strip of light beneath the door, and it smelled like linens, canned food and the industrial cleaner Joanna bought in bulk. I stood between a shelf of folded tablecloths and enough canned tomatoes to feed the Packhouse through winter while reconsidering every decision I'd made since waking up.Outside, Kieran entered the dining room. “What are you smiling about?”Maddox answered far too casually. “Nothing.”“Where's Clara?”“I don't know,” Maddox said.“You were just talking to her.” There was a pause. “Was I?”“Maddox.”A chair scraped across the floor, and Maddox's voice came closer to the door. “You know, I just remembered I have somewhere else to be.”“I'm sure you did.”The outer door opened and closed.Silence settled.I waited.Maybe Kieran had left with him. Maybe Maddox had somehow managed not to expose me completely. Maybe I could stay in here until the council meeting resumed and emerge after everyone involved had agreed never to disc

I had spent most of the afternoon discovering that giving Clara space was considerably more difficult than agreeing to it.The agreement itself had been easy. She'd stood in the pantry trying to explain why waking up after last night had scared her, and once I understood that she wasn't regretting what had happened between us, there hadn't been anything to argue about. She needed time to think. I could give her time to think.Actually doing it was another matter.Westbrook's packhouse wasn't small, especially with the council meetings taking over most of the first floor, but Clara seemed to exist in every part of it. I caught her scent in hallways she'd already left. I heard her voice from rooms I had no reason to enter. Once, during the afternoon recess, I saw her coming down the main staircase with Rachel and had to remind myself that crossing the entrance hall to talk to her would defeat the purpose of telling her I could respect what she'd asked for.Atlas had been even less impre

The remainder of the council week went by much as the rest of it had, with one rather significant exception: despite our repeated agreement that I should probably sleep in my own room, I hadn't spent a single night there since Tuesday.It wasn't entirely my fault. Kieran was just as responsible for the arrangement as I was, although he had an irritating habit of pretending to be the sensible one whenever the subject came up. According to him, spending every night together while he was a guest in my father's Packhouse was unnecessarily risky. There were too many people moving through the corridors, too many visiting wolves with excellent hearing, and a father who would undoubtedly have something unpleasant to say if he discovered his daughter had been sneaking into another Alpha's bedroom.I agreed with all of those points. In fact, I'd been the one to suggest we exercise a little caution after waking up in his bed on Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, agreeing that something was sensib

The doors were already open when we reached the entrance, allowing the music and conversation to spill into the corridor. Beyond them, the ballroom looked even more beautiful than it had earlier that afternoon. The chandeliers cast a warm glow over the polished floor, and the white roses I'd spent so much time arranging stood out against the ivory linens and gold accents. Guests moved between the tables and the dance floor, their formal clothes adding color and movement to a room that had been almost empty when I'd left it.Kieran slowed slightly beside me, his hand settling over mine where it rested on his arm. I glanced up at him and found him smiling down at me, looking entirely comfortable with the attention we were about to attract.Then we entered the ballroom together.I was accustomed to people noticing Kieran. He was one of the most powerful Alphas attending Council, and his presence naturally drew attention wherever he went. What I hadn't anticipated was how differently peop

I managed to make it all the way to my father's office without crying, although I wasn't entirely sure how.The walk from the ballroom should have given me time to collect my thoughts. Instead, every step seemed to make the situation more incomprehensible. I kept hearing my father's voice announcing my engagement, the enthusiastic applause that followed, and the terrible, satisfied silence from Damien Ashford as he stood beside me on that stage.My engagement. To a man I barely knew. Unbelievable.I'd spent the entire week worrying about seating arrangements, catering schedules, and whether the visiting Alphas would find anything to complain about. Meanwhile, my father had apparently been arranging my marriage without bothering to mention it to me.I couldn't decide whether I was more furious or frightened.Marcus walked ahead of me, his shoulders rigid beneath his formal jacket. He hadn't spoken since we left the ballroom, although the occasional glance he cast over his shoulder mad