Five

 FIVE

The Moonstone Pack Estate was a large, sprawling thing at the edge of the city. It had over a hundred rooms so we could have important members of the werewolf community stay there in times of war. Every Alpha was in charge of a different part of the country, and my father was…. had been in charge of New York.

            We had an office building in the city too, but wolves did better when they were closer to nature. The uber I took dropped me off out front and I was surprised to see my Step Mother there, waiting for me. She glared at me and pulled me roughly by the arm so that I was right in her face.

            “Where have you BEEN?” she demanded.

            “What are you talking about?” I said. “You know where I was. I was hiding out at the hotel from you, because you said you were going to kick me out as soon as my father died.”

            She shook her head and let go of me. “The press got some pictures. There are rumors that the Alpha’s daughter spent the night with some strange man. I swear, Emily, if you get pregnant out of wedlock, you will bring dishonor on this pack.  I have a witch we can use to find the father and then you are going to marry him so that we don’t have a bastard ruining the pack name.”

            I was so used to doing what I was told, I didn’t even try to argue. “I…I guess if that’s what you think is right, I’ll do that. It’s my father’s pack. I don’t want to humiliate them. I do care about them even though my father left you in charge instead of me…”

            “That’s exactly what you’re going to do,” she said, “I know you probably don’t have a mate because you don’t have a wolf. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t run around sleeping with whoever you choose.”

            I clenched my fists and tried hard not to shake with rage. I pictured myself tearing her apart. If I had my wolf, that was exactly what I would do. I would make it so that she would never try to control me ever again. But where would that leave my fathers pack?

            She had been the one he had married to keep his pack together. I couldn’t let something happened.

              “Can I go now?” I asked.

            “Go on,” Quinn said, “I can’t stand the sight of you.”

            I brushed past her and I went up the winding staircase to my room. Quinn wouldn’t find anyone. The man I slept with the night before was a werewolf, and I was sure that once he found out who I was, and that I didn’t have a mate, that he would end up ignoring me. Or maybe he wouldn’t even try to come forward to see me.

            I went online and I posted a want ad on craigslist. Wanted: someone to pretend to be my fiancé to convince my Step Mother I am not pregnant. I can pay. Serious inquiries only.

            I listed my phone number.

            “Goddess, please, please, let me find someone to help me get out of this.”

            It was true that I didn’t have a wolf. I had never shifted. But there were rumors that sometimes, if your mate found you, you could shift once the two of you mated. I kept on hoping maybe that would be the case for me. That my wolf hadn’t appeared because I hadn’t met my mate yet.

            It was a lot to hope for. But I had to keep the faith somehow. Otherwise, I was going to be under the control of my Step Mother my whole life. I didn’t want to think about what my life would look like then.

            After posting, I tried hard not to forget about it. Because I couldn’t work for the pack since I didn’t have a wolf, I had a job at a restaurant working as a waitress. I kept my mind focused on work and blocked out everything that was going on around me. Quinn was planning a wedding to Colin, and there hadn’t even been a funeral for my father yet.

            With Quinn in charge, I really didn’t think that there would be.

            One day, as I was coming home from work, my cell phone rang. It was a number I didn’t know, but I hoped that it was someone calling about the advertisement. “Hello?”

            A deep voice said, “Is this Emily? From the Craigslist post?”

            My heart pounded against my chest. “Yeah, that’s me.”

            “Is the job still open? I’m willing to pretend to be your fiancé if you still need someone.”

            “Yeah, I’m still looking for someone to do that. What’s your name?”

            “Colin,” he answered.

            “Listen, it’s really important that we make this serious. I can’t really talk right now because I’m headed inside and I don’t want my Step Mother to hear. Do you think you can call me back at another time?”

            “Sure,” he said.

            We picked a time and arranged for another call. When I hung up, the door to the house opened before I could do it. “Where have you been?” my step mother asked. “We need to get our stories straight about those rumors about you.”

            “There’s no story to tell,” I said, “I’m not pregnant.”

            “But you still slept with someone who wasn’t a werewolf!” Quinn hissed. “And someone that wasn’t your mate. We need to come up with something because I’m not going to have people saying that you are a whore at my engagement party to Colin.”

            “E-e-engagement party?” I stammered.

            “Yes. It’s going to be this weekend. I expect you to be present and supportive.”

            “Why do I have to be there?” I asked.

            “Because if you are going to be living under my roof, you are going to be doing exactly as I say. That means supporting me with anything I do with the pack, acknowledging Jack as the new Alpha, and whatever else I need. Or else I will do what should have been done with you years ago and get rid of you. Is that clear?”

            I winced. “Crystal.”

            I had never hated her more then I did at that moment. I needed to get away from there, I just didn’t know how. I could only hope that the goddess had some kind of master plan for me.

            “You better not go anywhere,” Quinn threatened. “Your dress for the engagement party is in your room. I expect you to be presentable.”

            I almost scoffed at her but I knew better. Quinn had a temper. It was how she got what she wanted. She had been tame since she had come into control of the pack, but even she knew one wrong step, and she could lose the whole thing.

            I might have been wolfless, but I was still the Alpha’s daughter and that carried a lot of weight with some people. I knew there were friends I could turn to in the pack if I needed to. But Quinn was a strong werewolf. The pack needed her to keep safe. I knew that even though I didn’t like admitting it.

            I took out my phone and I texted Colin, asking that he come to the engagement party. I was really nervous waiting for his reply because he was the only one who could help me.

Just then, my cell phone screen showed that I had received a new message!