Moonsong (13 page)

“It’s yours. It is your birthright,” Adele replied, draping the necklace around Amelia’s throat. “You are part of a legacy, Amelie, that spans more than the death and sorrow you’ve found since learning of your heritage. There is also honor and courage to be found among our people, and beauty within the beast. You have a chance to embrace your family, embrace the pack and have a hand in shaping its future. That’s something most women born to our family who cannot change form will never know. You might not feel the call of the moon, but you can still hear her song. Is that not purpose enough for you?” she smiled down at her granddaughter.

Not knowing quite what to say to that, Amelia stared at the image of the moonstone hanging around her neck in the mirror. “What if I’m not ready for that kind of life? What if I want things to be like they used to be? Go to school, have a career, my own life…”

“You must ask yourself, my child, what do you want out of life? Do you want to help others? Ensure that those less fortunate than you are cared for in the lean months? Do you want a comfortable, secure home with a man that loves you? Raise your children to be fine and strong? You have that and more here if you only reach out and take it.”

She meant Chase
. “Grandmother I barely know Chase, he doesn’t love me…”

“Love may grow from the seeds of passion and I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Adele’s eyes flashed in amusement. “I don’t mean to put undue pressure on you Amelie, merely open your eyes to the opportunities around you. Don’t become so focused on what you’ve lost that you don’t see what you still have.”

Don’t become so focused on what you’ve lost that you don’t see what you still have.
Words that needed saying the next time she went to see Cutter. “You’re grooming Chase to be the next leader.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“As I said, there has been a LaRoche leading this pack for many generations.”

“But he isn’t technically a LaRoche, is he? He said we’re not related by blood.”

Adele waved away the point of concern. “We all share a bloodline to some degree after years of intermarrying; he is distantly related to us. Not enough to contaminate the progeny but enough to suffice, and mating with you would ensure that the future of the pack would be returned firmly to LaRoche hands.”

“So, there’s never been someone out of the family line in charge of the pack before?”

“Not for very long. The last time it happened… there was unrest within the pack and there was a change in leadership,” Adele replied simply.

“So, was Dad… was he supposed to take over? I mean before he left with us?”

Adele was a long time in answering. “No, Remy was not well suited for leadership.”

Millie thought back to her father’s kind face, always with a ready smile, one of the most gentle souls she’d ever known. No, he was not well suited for the kind of leadership Adele would have in mind for him, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“What were you going to do then, before Chase came along?” Deliberately fishing for information on Cutter and how he fit into the puzzle, Amelia dropped her gaze again to the moonstone at her throat, so as not to give away anything by her expression.

“There was another, before Chase and Scarlett came to live here, one who I embraced as my own.” Her expression grew guarded, and Millie could practically see the emotion bleeding from her face as she became more reserved.

“What happened to him, or was it a her?”

“He threw away everything I offered him. The chance to lead… he threw away the future, choosing instead to wallow in a hell of his own making.”

“Why would he do something like that?” Amelia was interested to see if her grandmother would bring up the curse as Scarlett had.

“He allowed a woman to make him weak, allowed her to destroy him,” she said with obvious disdain and Millie frowned, having expected her to say something about the disappearance of his child.

“I don’t understand.”

“His chosen mate wasn’t suitable for the wife of the Alpha, and not just because she was not one of us. She was selfish and vain, cruel and capricious, and ultimately brought him nothing but misery the first time the fates tested them.”

Stunned, Amelia thought of the picture on Cutter’s mantle, the beautiful blonde with the throng of admirers. Had Cutter chosen his wife over the pack? “I guess he must have loved her very much,” she ventured.

“He was weak. He put his own needs above those of the pack,” Adele spat out bitterly. “But the Gods were swift to exact their retribution for his folly.”

Cutter’s folly, just like the name of the town, the words were on her lips but she managed to keep from uttering them aloud. “What do you mean exact their retribution?”

“They took from him what he had chosen over the pack. First his child, and then his wife. Even then, I was prepared to take him back, to rejoin the pack in his rightful place, but he refused me once again. We don’t speak his name in this house; he is dead to me.”

The odds of her inviting Cutter over for Sunday dinner weren’t looking good… Reading between the lines, Millie wondered if it stung more because Cutter had refused her personally rather than just the pack. “Maybe he couldn’t see himself leading others when he was so lost himself?” she ventured softly.

“No matter, the Gods have blessed me with strength of purpose to guide us through those difficult times, and now we have another to take his place.”

“What if I decide not to choose Chase as my mate? Would that change his chances at being the next pack leader?” Amelia asked in a small voice, anticipating the sharp gaze that returned to Adele’s features.

“We won’t borrow trouble and worry for what may or may not be. I’m confident when the time comes, you’ll choose wisely; it is your destiny.”

Every time someone used the word
destiny
around her, Millie felt like she was being railroaded into a life she didn’t want. But for the moment she took a page from her Grandmother’s book; she wouldn’t borrow trouble. No sense in getting all bent out of shape over something that may or may not come to pass. No one was pressuring her to make any choices right that minute, and that would have to do for the time being.

That changed the next morning with the knock at the front door.

Chapter Thirteen

It was the first time anyone had come to the house in the week she’d been there, and Amelia snuck into the front parlor to see who it was. Most likely it was one of their tenants from town or a business associate of Gran’s, but the sight of the stretch limousine parked in the driveway piqued her interest.

Millie crept closer to the foyer, trying to overhear as Scarlett led the small assembly to Adele’s study. Catching only a flash of expensively tailored suits and dark sunglasses, she could only tell they were all male, and apparently made of money.

Scarlett popped out of the study a scant minute later, startling Millie enough to make her jump. “There you are, come on; we have to get you dressed.” Grabbing for Amelia’s hand, Scarlett tugged her towards the stairs, surprisingly strong for such a petite girl.

“They did bring a couple of lawyers, but most of those guys are bodyguards,” Scarlett supplied, going right for her closet, rifling through it until she found a simple pink dress. “Here, put this on,” she thrust it at her cousin. Amelia keyed into her sense of urgency and started changing.

“Bodyguards? What do they need lawyers and bodyguards for? Are they celebrities?”

“No, not exactly. The two older men are representatives of the Bryn Mawr pack from Seattle. We have an accord with them, but still, no one ventures into another pack’s lands without taking precautions, especially at a time like this.”

“Oh, they’re like visiting dignitaries or something?” That made sense in the way they traveled in style and why she’d have to clean up to meet them.

“Um, something like that,” Scarlett nodded, fetching a pair of jeweled hair combs. “Come on, Millie, we have to hurry, they’ll be waiting for us. Come over here and I’ll fix your hair.” Just finishing the zipper on the dress, Millie sat down quickly, biting her lip against the sting as her cousin’s brush sang through her hair.

“No time for makeup, but that’s a good thing, they’ll want more of a natural look anyway,” Scarlett muttered, setting the combs into Millie’s thick, dark tresses. “Alright, stand up; let’s get a look at you,” she instructed, surveying her critically and Millie had to wonder; why would they care what she looked like? “I like it; you look sort of innocent but definitely not like a little girl. Let’s go.”

“Enchanting, now come on before Gran gets impatient.” Catching hold of her hand, they began the same procession, only in reverse. Chase wandered in from the dining room, stopping short when he caught sight of Millie dressed in pink, a lopsided grin stretching across his face.

“You look…”

“That’s exactly what I was going for,” Millie smiled back, pleased to see him at a loss for words for once, half expecting something sarcastic to emerge at any moment.

“Sorry Chase, we don’t have time for chit chat, you can drool over Millie all you want after we’re finished.”

Chase’s head came up sharply, eyes going to the sidelight window to catch sight of the limousine parked in the driveway. “They’re here already?” his mood soured instantly. “News travels fast… which ones are here?”

Scarlett was at his side in an instant. “Don’t interfere; you know it has to be done.” There was an implied threat in her voice, and Amelia found herself frowning in response, a tingle at the base of her neck alerting her to the idea that there was more going on here than she was letting on.

“What’s all this about anyway?” Was she supposed to just meet the other pack or was something else involved?

“There’s no time, we have to go now. Relax Millie, all you have to do is be polite and smile, that’s it, no biggie.” Chase’s scowl remained fixed but he said nothing more to delay them. Opening the door to Adele’s study without bothering to knock, Scarlett gently brought Amelia forward and then stepped back and away submissively.

Feeling awkward and strangely vulnerable, Millie stood there with a strained smile while all eyes fixed on her. A short, dapper man with close cropped, salt and pepper hair and a goatee rose to examine her with a calculating gaze, going so far as to circle around her, the better to see her.

“Unexpected beauty, that is a bonus,” he remarked approvingly, the barest hint of a smile on his lips. He reached out to catch hold of her chin in a surprisingly strong grip. Millie’s eyes blazed dangerously at the unwanted touch, lips compressing into a tight line as she struggled to keep silent. Feeling like he was going to check her teeth next, she shot her grandmother an accusatory glance for allowing it to take place, but the look Adele returned was inscrutable.

The examination over, the short man seemed to have come to a decision and motioned to one of his men who produced a brown leather attaché case. “She is acceptable, negotiations may formally commence.” Setting the case on the desk, he opened it to reveal neat bundles of money covering the bottom.

“You’re selling me?” The indignant cry rose from Millie’s lips, too stunned to keep silent any longer.

“Hasn’t she been trained in our ways?” his eyes narrowed at the outburst.

Trained? Like a dog?
Amelia’s temper bubbled a little closer to the surface.

“No, she was raised by my son, but she’s ignorant of our way; she’ll need guidance and a firm but gentle hand,” Adele replied matter of factly. “Does this change your intent?” She glanced down at the money on the table.

Oh that was it…
“If you think you can sell me off into some kind of white slavery for a case full of cash, you’re out of your fucking mind.”

“Hold your tongue, Amelie; you’re not being sold for so paltry of an offering,” Adele chastened, but Millie didn’t want to hear it.

“There is no insult intended, my dear. This is but a token of our interest, to show that we enter negotiations in earnest,” the man’s lips curved in faint amusement.

“You’re putting up earnest money like a bid on a house?” That was supposed to make her feel better? “Well, you can keep your money, I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder either.” Without waiting for the next level of crazy news, Amelia turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, absolutely livid with anger.

Amelia’s angry strides took her out of the house, barely stopping to slip on sandals that weren’t her own by the back door. The whole while she walked, she muttered angrily to herself over the gall of those people, to think they had that much control over her life. Didn’t they realize it was the twenty-first century?

Her feet carried her down the familiar path to Cutter’s cabin, and once again she found it empty. “You’re never here when I need you!” she yelled in frustration to no one in particular, setting off of foot again. In no mood to sit and wait, she needed some way to vent her anger and frustration.