Mating the Alpha Read Online Free

bonds meant that I could bend any one of the clan members to my will if I chose to do so. It was kind of heady to think about. It was the reason that I had been forced to leave Greyelf ten years ago. My brother had commanded it, and to disobey would have meant that I would have been banished from the clan.
    The bonds gave me a swagger that Maren would probably say did nothing but add to my already high level of arrogance and feelings of self-importance. It was funny how critical I was of myself whenever I thought of how I must look through her eyes. Maren had never shied away from telling me exactly what she thought about me and my antics, and it had been refreshing to find out that hadn’t changed in the ten years since I had last seen her. She was the voice of logic and reason in my head. That was simply one of the many reasons I needed her.
    I had been hoping that she would come back to the reception after taking some time to cool off, if even to rip me a new asshole over the engagement announcement. But as the night wore on, she didn’t appear. I found that strange and more than a little unsettling. I felt as if she was slipping away from me with every minute that passed. I needed the whole thing to be over so I could go find her.
    “How about a dance?” a voice purred next to my ear.
    I had been doing my best to duck Vivian all night. Leave it to a moment of distraction for her to pounce. I hadn’t been paying attention to the music or the mood on the dance floor, but now I realized that the lights had dimmed. I heard the first few notes of a slow song.
    “I was just about to…” my voice trailed off as I saw her eyes narrow. Over her shoulder, I saw her father watching our interaction closely. I had managed to keep the man appeased so far, but he kept trying to turn our conversation to when the official mating ceremony with his daughter could be scheduled. This was one apple cart I couldn’t upset. Not yet. “Find you to ask you the same question.” I smiled at her with my best shit-eating grin and then almost felt bad when I saw her eyes light up. Women were sometimes awkwardly predictable, with the exception of one. I never knew what way Maren was going to go no matter how thick I laid down the charm.
    I offered Vivian my arm, and she slipped hers through it. I felt the eyes on us as I led her onto the dance floor. I wondered if this was what it felt like to be a media celebrity. I had a feeling that it was something I was going to have to get used to, and my time was going to be even less my own than before.
    One thing I did pride myself on was my ability to move on the dance floor. I was big, but I had received more than one compliment over the years about my gracefulness despite that shortcoming. I was light on my feet, but I think that came more from trying to avoid getting caught in the various rabble-rousing activities of my youth than anything else. I had learned how to be stealthy at a young age.
    I gave Vivian a little tug and pulled her into my arms with a small twirl. I heard her breath catch in surprise, and then she grinned at me again. This charade was going to be exhausting.
    “I didn’t realize that you were such a wonderful dancer,” she said as I began to lead her across the floor.
    “There are a lot of things that people underestimate when it comes to me,” I said. I kept my eyes over her shoulder. Doc Walden and Mr. Reddon stood watching us from across the room. I saw them turn inwards as if having a private chat. That was something else that I was going to have to nip in the bud. I had council members who thought a bit too highly of themselves and their positions. It was a problem that I know Markus struggled with too, but he traveled so much that it wasn’t something he had figured out how to address. I wasn’t planning to play political tug-of-war in my own clan.
    “I know the feeling,” Vivian said with a small sigh.
    Her words brought my eyes back to her face. I saw