Bridenapped: The Alpha Chronicles (7 page)

“Actually, I’m on a very tight schedule. Can’t really fit you in.”

              His tone turned frosty. “As Alpha queen, you pretty much set your own schedule, don’t you?” he asked. “This is extremely important.” He lowered his voice, speaking confidentially. “It has serious implications for your family and their future.”

Now what?
she thought with trepidation.  And what future? Her family had no future. They were going to lose their appeal against the Verhold Pack, lose their home and their last remaining property, and be forced into bankruptcy.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure you can just tell me over the phone,” she said irritably.

“I’ll see you at noon,” he said, and hung up.

Dick.

“Frank,” she said, “Apparently I am going to be meeting with the mayor at noon. Can you arrange for security to let him on to pack property and pick an appropriate meeting place for us?”

“On it,” he said, nodding. As he followed her and spoke into his walkie talkie, she let Twyla lead her to the kitchen. 

It was a dream kitchen, as big as a ballroom. The floor was marble. The counters were gleaming black granite.  There were numerous ovens, both gas and electric, there were grills, there were banks of refrigerators, what looked like a walk-in freezer, and a pantry the size of Kansas.  There were overhead racks with pots and pans dangling from them.  The decorative tile on the wall had a werewolf motif on it.

“My God,” she whispered to Twyla as they walked through the room.

“It’s beautiful, milady. I’ve never been here before.”

“Caitlin. Please call me Caitlin.” At Twyla’s uneasy look, she added, “At least when it’s just the two of us.”

“All right. Caitlin,” Twyla said cautiously, then glanced around cautiously as if a squadron of armed guards were going to swoop down and drag her away for her break with tradition.

“Milady! Welcome to our kitchen. Twyla?” Pierre, the handsome young chef, stuck his head out from the pantry. “How nice to see you here! Are you coming to work in the kitchen? I know one of our cleaners just retired.” His tone was hopeful.

“Oh, no,” Twyla blushed and looked away. “I’m still personal maid to the Alpha Queen.”

“Well, at least that means you’ll be here in the Alpha house a lot more,” he said eagerly. “You can come visit the kitchen any time. Would you like something to eat?”

“Not right now, thank you very much,” Twyla said, and he nodded and went back to the pantry as she and Caitlin resumed their tour.

“A man who can cook! And he’s very handsome,” Caitlin said, nudging Twyla.

“I know. Whoever he marries will be a lucky she-wolf,” Twyla sighed, trailing her fingers over the granite counter-top of an eight-burner kitchen island.

Why not you?
Caitlin thought, but didn’t ask. Was Twyla just completely unaware that Pierre was panting after her, or was there something going on that she didn’t know about?

“Look at those copper-bottom pots,” Twyla enthused, waving at a hanging rack of cookware.

“Do you like to cook?”

“I love it.” Her face lit up. “It’s my passion. I always wanted to be a pastry chef for the Alpha House.”

“Why don’t you? I could put in a good word for you,” Caitlin suggested.

“I can’t. I’m a cleaner.” Twyla said with a frown of puzzlement creasing her forehead.

Before Caitlin could inquire further, she saw Frank glance towards the doorway, where Taddeus was standing, looking impatient.

              “We need to talk,” he said.

              “I’ll see you later, Twyla,” Caitlin said. “Hey, want to cook together some time? We could swap recipes.”

              “Me, cooking with the Alpha Queen?” Twyla’s eyes widened at the suggestion.

              Caitlin laughed. “Twyla, yesterday I was a normal human being who took the trash out in the morning.  I’m really not all that queen-y. Definitely, let me come to your house and cook some time. How about tomorrow night?”

              Twyla bobbed her head, her eyes huge.

              Caitlin followed Taddeus out of the kitchen and into the massive living room, where they took a seat on overstuffed sofas. “Taddeus, I don’t care what Elzbetka said about me visiting the kitchen-”

              “That’s not what this is about.  Although it is a departure from tradition, as long as you don’t tell anyone else in the pack about it, visiting the kitchen will be acceptable.”

             
Big of you
, Caitlin thought with annoyance.

              “We need to talk about coordinating the media campaign for your marriage.” At her surprised look, he continued. “There are numerous news agencies interested in the story of the bridenapping. A number of members of the Alpha Congress have suggested that we grant interviews to the human media.  They’re always seeking ways to improve werewolf-human relations, and to that end, this newer generation is pushing to reveal more about our world.” He didn’t look as if he thought much about the idea.

              In this particular case she agreed with him. How ridiculous would that be – to do interviews about a marriage that she was going to find a way to escape, one way or another? Not happening.

              “I’m not interested,” she said firmly.

              Taddeus raised an eyebrow. “It is not entirely up to you.  Kristofer agrees that it would be helpful to the pack.”

              “Kristofer agrees that I have no choice in the matter? That doesn’t sound like him.”  She had to admit that for the most part Kristofer had been incredibly accommodating to her wishes.

              “Well, no, since I just found out your feelings on the matter, he and I have not had the opportunity to discuss-”

              “No thank you,” she said coolly. “As you know, I did not consent to this bridenapping. My family and your pack still have ongoing legal issues, and they would be deeply hurt and offended if I were to appear to endorse this charade.”

              “As I said, it’s not entirely up to you. The good of the pack is the highest priority.”

              “I doubt you’d like the kind of interview that I’d give if I was coerced,” she said with a pleasant smile.

              His face flushed angrily. “I see.”

              “Please feel free to go tattle on me to Kristofer. It’s obvious that I’m not your ideal choice of Alpha Queen. Maybe you can talk him out of it
.” If only
, she thought.

              “The Beta does not dictate the Alpha’s choice of a bride.” He stood up, inclining his head and making a sort of half-bow, his steel gray eyes sparking with resentment. “Milady.”

              Caitlin went off to find Elzbetka, who was waiting for her in the foyer.

              There was a car waiting outside for them, idling in the driveway by the front steps. The uniformed chauffeur nodded respectfully and bowed his head as Frank held the back door open for Caitlin.

              “Milady,” he said, as Elzbetka slid into the front seat next to him.

              “That’s my name, apparently. Or you could call me Caitlin,” she said as they drove towards town.

              Elzbetka twisted around in her seat, and her smile did that thing where it tightened to the point where it looked painful. “I would be happy to assist milady in reviewing the protocol section, which lays out very specifically how the Alpha Queen addresses her various subjects based upon their clan and social standing,” she said.

              “Oh, that won’t be necessary, since I plan to ignore it completely,” Caitlin said cheerfully. “Hey, Frank, does this limo have a mini bar? It does? Sweet. I could use a little nip of something. Brandy works for me.”

              She wasn’t normally the kind of girl who drank before noon, but if she was going to have to spend an entire morning with Elzbetka, she’d make an exception.

              They toured the center of the werewolf village, with its charming brick-lined main street crowded with little shops. There were 19
th
century style street lanterns and flower beds.   Wolves and cubs strolled nonchalantly among pack members who were in human form. Some of the wolves carried dangling baskets or bags in their mouths.

              Then they drove past the town hall and the business district, and they stopped by the town’s recreation center, which was located next to a huge field. There was a giant raised stage in the middle of the field, with a gazebo.

              “That is where the wedding will take place, weather permitting,” Elzbetka said, with a frown pinching between her brows. “If the weather is bad, the wedding will take place inside. We will be meeting here on a daily basis to begin the wedding planning. Because of the bridenapping and the tradition of marrying by the next full moon, we’ll have to speed things up considerably, but it’s all right, since we have our own tailors, chefs, and catering staff who will be entirely dedicated to your needs.”

              She glanced at Caitlin expectantly.

              “Peachy,” Caitlin said, for lack of anything better to say. “I’ll call Lottie and Paige so I can see when they can meet me out here for the planning meetings.”

              “Your friends are not included in the wedding planning.” Elzbetka’s voice rose a full octave as she said that.

              “Actually, yes. They are.” Caitlin took another sip of brandy, a rather generous one. Elzbetka turned away and scowled out the window as they drove, her lips pressed together into a thin angry line.

              They kept touring, going through some of the residential districts. “That’s where the medical personnel live,” she said.  They came to another neighborhood. “That’s the artisan’s village. Carpenters, artists, and the like.”  They passed right by another neighborhood, with much smaller homes. The homes were still attractive, each little adorable cottage set in a lush garden bursting with colorful blooms. “Cleaners village,” she said dismissively.

             
I really, really, really do not like you
, Caitlin thought.

              Frank raised an eyebrow as he saw Caitlin’s grimace of distaste.  “More brandy?” he asked, reaching for the minibar.

              “No, thanks, I’d better not.” Caitlin managed a half smile. Frank might not be so bad after all.

              It was getting close to noon, so they drove back to the town center to meet with the mayor.  Caitlin walked up the steps to town hall, which looked almost exactly like a human city’s town hall with its broad white marble steps and boxy brick design. There was a big cement seal on the front of the building, featuring a werewolf changing into a man.

              After she was introduced to the Village Council, which involved a great deal of bowing and scraping on their part, Frank led her out back to an area with café tables and chairs, where Mayor Klinghoffer waited. Elzbetka went off to take a lunch break and probably stick pins a voodoo doll with Caitlin’s likeness on it.

              Mayor Klinghoffer flashed his big chiclet-teeth smile at Caitlin as she walked up. He was a blandly handsome man, wearing his usual pastel colored suit, blond hair slicked and gelled into place with a sharp side part.

Caitlin didn’t bother to hide the distaste on her face as she approached the mayor.

“Let’s skip the pleasantries, shall we?” she said, sitting down across from him. Frank hovered nearby, at a discreet distance, watching them.

              Mayor Klinghoffer’s smile vanished.  “Very well.   As soon as your situation became public, my office was contacted by numerous television stations eager to cover the nation’s first 21
st
century bridenapping.”

              She nodded.  “I’m aware of their interest, yes. How does this affect my family?”

              “There is considerable financial benefit to the town if you cooperate. And your family has the potential to reap the benefits as well,” the mayor said. “The media would love to interview them, and they would be rewarded quite handsomely.”

              “My family would never cooperate with such a venture.” She looked him in the eye. “And I’m sure that you personally are at the top of the list of those who will benefit from this financial venture. You’ve already worked out deals with all of the media outlets, haven’t you?”

              He flushed, looking angry. “Whether it will benefit me or not, you can’t deny the vast financial windfall for our town, with all of the publicity we’re getting.”

              She shrugged. “You don’t need me for that. The bridenapping already happened.”

              “So you don’t intend to cooperate.”

              “Did I stutter, Mayor Klinghoffer? You betrayed my family, who’ve lived in this town for generations, so you could kiss up to the Verhold Pack.  You did it without a second thought.  I’m not lifting a finger to help you get even richer.”

              “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. Your family never had any civic spirit.”  He reached his briefcase and slid out a tablet computer. “That’s why I brought this,” he said, with a glance at Frank, who was standing a respectful distance away but still watching them closely.

              She glanced down at the screen and sucked in a quick, shocked breath. The screen showed a photograph of a property deed, with a wolf paw stamp on it, and a scrawled signature underneath it.
The deed to her family’s property.