Page 24 of Fated Alpha Baby

“Do you believe that I am making a mistake, my dear?” she asks, the question almost condescending.

“I have never questioned your decisions, Sister Amalia.” I wince. “But this is rather extreme. A marriage in exchange for an alliance. Isn’t he asking too much?”

“Alpha Conan is within his rights, Hannah. The Bitterroot Valley packs have the upper hand, and he is not taking you as his mate without good reason. Their research team conducted the ritual, and it was you who came up as his true mate.”

My heart skips a wary beat, and I hang my head bashfully as she pulls my hair into sections. I can’t even meet her eyes anymore.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“You are always saying that I know everything,” she chuckles. “But naturally, I allowed fate to run its course. Alpha Conan would have figured out that you were the witch he was seeking, with or without my push.” Amalia pats the top of my head. “You cannot escape fate, Hannah.”

I sigh heavily, tears building behind my eyes. “It’s more complicated than you know, Sister Amalia.”

She smiles softly, then reaches into her satchel and pulls out a small black box that she passes to me. “In there, you will find a month’s supply of Clarissa’s potion, along with the recipe so you can make more of it when it runs out.”

Staring at the box on my lap, I’m not sure if it’s anger I still feel, or gratitude. It’s nearly impossible to feel the latter when this whole thing feels like I’m being sold off to a den of lions in exchange for this alliance, like I’m just a piece on a chessboard.

At least she’s not expecting me to tell him the truth about Clarissa. It’s probably a good idea for me to keep administering the potion as medicine. He doesn’t deserve to know that Clarissa is his daughter.

Amalia places a hand on my shoulder. “I am sorry, Hannah. I do hope that you come to see the wisdom in my decision, even if you cannot see it right now. I know you’re upset, but this is for your own good.”

“It’s hard to see the good in this, Sister Amalia. He has hurt me in the past.”

She sighs as she leans down and props her chin on my shoulder, meeting my teary eyes in the mirror again. “It is not my place to try and fix the past, but I will remind you that you are stronger than you know. And it is your strength that is needed in this fight. Against the demons, and against your own heart.”

I sniffle and nod tentatively as she offers a hand to help me to my feet. She hooks a finger beneath my chin and tilts my face up, holding my eyes with her own. “You look absolutely stunning, Hannah. Alpha Conan will eat his heart out and regret whatever happened in the past.”

Nodding with my determination refreshed and washing over my bones, I smirk. “I will make sure of it.”

It’s a vow I make to myself at the dawn of this new era. One where I will become Alpha Conan Becker’s mate, his luna.

For what he did to hurt me, he will pay with my indifference to him. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

He didn’t want me back then. He doesn’t really want me now.

I’m just a pawn in whatever he’s playing, and he won’t win.

***

“Do you, Alpha Conan Becker, take Sister Hannah Young as your mate and Luna of the Iron Breath Pack? Do you swear to protect her, and do you make this vow beneath this night’s full moon, in the presence of an anointed High Priestess?”

Conan’s chest puffs out as if he’s proud, and I gulp, dreading the moment when he turns to face me.

“Yes, I, Alpha Conan Becker, take Hannah Young as my mate and Luna of the Iron Breath Pack.”

Conan reaches for my hand, and the moment he makes contact, I think I’m going to lose my will to be strong. The touch is almost my undoing, and I have to consciously remind myself not to cave.

This is going to be harder than I thought it would be. Harder because of the tingling in my fingertips when he touches me, and the quiet hum beneath my flesh that begs for my attention, and the unsteady beating of my heart in his presence.

Everything is screaming at me that Conan Becker is my fated mate, but I refuse to see it. I refuse to accept it. The last time I did, the last time I gave in to my feelings for him, I got my heart broken.

I won’t let that happen again!

I will guard my heart with every ounce of my dignity that I have left, so I lift my chin with pride as if it is Sister Amalia’s finger hooked beneath it, and I fight off my body’s reaction to Conan Becker.

“Do you, Hannah Young, accept being Alpha Conan Becker’s mate and luna?” Sister Amalia asks, and I take a deep breath as if I’m about to sign my life away.

It sure feels that way.