Her gaze drifted toward the building, and her expression became guarded. “I’ve only known him a few hours. My mother says these things have a way of working themselves out, that it takes time.”
“You were expecting love.”
Her blush went all the way to her hairline. “I don’t know what I expected.”
A lie. She’d expected the fairy tale. Her parents had probably raised her to believe in it. He’d seen it before with Aiden and his first wife, Bea. The parents more invested than the kids, filling their heads with rosy images. Bea had been starry-eyed and Aiden, being Aiden, had done his damndest to live up to her expectations. Christian wasn’t like that. There was a hardness to him and an honesty that wouldn’t let him break to someone else’s mold.
And maybe that’s what had put the wary look in Raquel’s eyes. Maybe clever little Rocky had already figured that part out on her own. And Fen shouldn’t be warning her off Christian, who was his friend and a good man, but something about the way she looked now—with her wounded eyes and her red-tipped nose—compelled him to do it.
“Figure it out before the ceremony. I’ve seen too many people trapped together. I don’t want to see it happen to Christian...or you. It’s no fun for anyone, especially not the people watching from the sidelines.”
Comprehension dawned in her eyes. “You’re a hound,” she said and then looked as if she wanted to stuff the words back into her mouth. “I’m sorry, I don’t know you. I shouldn’t have—”
“I’m not conflicted about what I am.”
She winced. “Are you—”
“Bonded? No.”
“Then you’re a...”
Virgin. “Yep.”
He was going to wring Christian’s neck. Fen hated these conversations, but she’d find out eventually. She was joining his clan and she might as well hear it from him.
“I’m sorry.”
People generally felt worse for him than he did for himself. Hormones and magic—hounds bonded to the first woman they had sex with and that was it. Mated for life. The only problem was that there were no female hounds. Hounds only produced male offspring from the woman they bonded to and the bond only worked one way. The woman was always free to walk away. In his opinion, it might as well be a leash.
He shrugged. “Sex has consequences for everyone. The stakes are higher for me.”
He rapped his knuckles on the side of the Dumpster and stood. “What say we head back inside before Christian comes out here to find me alone with his fiancee?”
He held out his hand and she took it. She was a little thing, young and innocent and hurting. He’d drop her off with her family and then he’d track down Christian. He had a few choice words he’d like to impart to his friend.
“Who was that?”
Raquel pinched Audrey when Fen glanced back. A human man would have been too far away to hear the whisper. But there was no hiding anything from a hound. Audrey waved and then looked at her curiously.
“He’s Christian’s best man.” Fen was likely a nickname. All the hound surnames were some derivation of Fenrisulfr, Hro?vitnir or Vanagandr. She’d like to know his true name. He seemed nice and not as caught up in the excitement of the wedding as everyone else. Calm and levelheaded which, now that she thought about it, were strange traits to find in a hound.
“Oh.” Audrey went back to watching Fen wend his way through the room. Once past the tables, he made a beeline for Christian. Of course he did. “He’s not very tall. I won’t be able to wear anything with a heel.”
“You can wear heels. Wear whatever you want.”
Audrey shook her head, lips pursed. “Two inches tops. He does have an awfully nice ass though. Maybe I could follow him down the aisle.”
“I didn’t notice.” Raquel had spent a lot of time staring at his face. It was an unusual face. He was on the skinny side, and it made his bones prominent, sharpened his jawline and made his nose seem overbold. When he smiled, it took over his whole face. He’d only smiled once, quickly, when she suggested they ditch the party and head out to the local bar instead. And then his hand had tightened on hers and he led her back inside. Like a retriever. Maybe Christian had sent him to find her after all.
Fen tapped Christian on the shoulder and lifted his chin toward the back room. Christian spoke briefly with Aiden and then followed Fen out.
Audrey laughed. “Yeah, looks like you didn’t notice him at all. Where’s he going with Christian?”
“Probably to tell him he found me hiding behind the Dumpster.” She wondered what Christian would do with the information. If he’d think it was his
“What?” Audrey pulled away from the table and shot her an incredulous look. “Why on earth were you hiding behind a Dumpster?”
Raquel waved her hand. “I needed some air. Didn’t want anyone to see me and wonder why I was outside alone.”
“Yeah, good choice hiding behind the Dumpster then. Because that’s not weird at all.”
“Shut up. Where and when I choose to break down is not your business.”
“Tell me next time and I’ll come with you. That way, if Christian sends another hound after you, I can distract him.”
She didn’t like the way Audrey’s eyes brightened at the idea. “Stop. It wasn’t like that. He was nice.”
“Even better.”
“Don’t mess with him. He’s not bonded.” Audrey’s eyes dimmed a bit. She knew as well as Raquel did that flirting with an unbounded hound was like playing with a live wire. Very few hound matings were successful in modern society because hounds generally didn’t make good partners. More inhuman than other castes, their affection was usually tied to the pack alone. The pack was for companionship. Mates, once claimed, were for sex. “He said the clan plans to replace their wards this year. I have to talk to Mom.”
“Shit. She still hasn’t told them, has she?”
“Nope.” Raquel fiddled with a section of the plastic tablecloth that had come untaped. “I think she’s planning on leaving it up to me to explain why I haven’t passed the initiation yet, after the ceremony. She’s afraid they’ll renege on the contract.”
Audrey was silent for a moment. “I don’t think they will.”
“Me neither.”
“Mom thinks you’re doing it on purpose, you know—choking whenever you test.” Audrey leaned back, crossing her legs. “She thinks it’s your way of getting out of all this if you decide you don’t want it. I think she
Raquel didn’t answer.
“Do you want out?”
She dropped her gaze to her hands and resecured the tablecloth before she tore it to shreds. “I don’t know.”
Audrey sighed and seemed to struggle with herself before asking, “Did something happen between you and Christian?”
Raquel hadn’t told Audrey about the conversation she’d overheard. It was embarrassing. She’d been so dreamy-eyed and stupid. And she had trouble faulting Christian when he was only being practical. They’d only just met. All that bound them was a contract signed by their parents and their own loyalties to family and clan. It had been foolish to expect more. He was the down-to-earth one who saw their relationship for what it was. More than that, he must have noticed the stars in her eyes but had done nothing to suggest that he scorned her for it. Instead, he’d been tolerant, even overly gentle of her feelings.
And if this wasn’t about love, it was still the best thing for her clan. There were severe repercussions to
