Wolver's Reward by Jacqueline Rhoades

got out, too.
    "Give me a few minutes head start," she said.
"We need all their attention on me if we're going to pull this
off."
    If asked directly, they couldn't lie to their
Alpha, but if the question wasn't asked, they could keep the secret
of what they'd done. While her parents fussed over her arrival,
Darla would park the truck unnoticed and take another car to
retrieve the others. They could all make it back in time for the
Chase to begin.
    The plan worked. Her father, still not fully
recovered from a recent fall, was so relieved to see her, he
happily took her mother's suggestion to nap for a few minutes while
Becky was groomed.
    Her mother was not as happy as her
father.
    "This is your mating day. We should have had
hours to see to your dress, not minutes. Even the guests were aware
of your absence. The evening has been tense enough without your
late arrival adding to your father's stress." She began pulling
things from the closets and drawers. "Get your things off and let's
see what can be done with your hair. There's no time to arrange it
as we planned."
    "Does it really matter?" Reb asked. "They'll
see me for like three minutes and then I'll be running for my life
through the woods."
    "You won't be running for it," her mother
snapped. "You'll be running to it." She didn't sound like she
believed it either. Her hand shook as she picked up the brush.
    Reb reached for it. "Mother, what's
wrong?"
    "Nothing," her mother denied and then
relented. "Oh, I suppose it's only because I'm losing my little
girl, but I don't like the feel of this. I've never seen it done
like this before. Our parents made the final decision before your
father and I even met. Our mating began with dining and dancing.
Everyone was having a good time before the moon began to rise.
This," she waved the brush as she spoke, "This isn't a mating. It
feels more like the prelude to a horserace."
    And she was the horse. "It will be fine,
Mother," Reb said, because what else was there to say? She'd
changed her mind? It was way too late for that, and whether it was
now or a year from now, or ten years from now, she would still be
sold off like the family cow.
    "I wish your father had allowed me to
interview these Alphas, given me some say in the choice. I would
have known what to look for."
    "I had a choice, Mother."
    "Oh, what do you know? You're a cub." Her
mother sounded angry and Reb answered in kind.
    "No, Mother, I'm not a cub, and it was my
idea in the first place. I had a choice," she insisted more for
herself than for her mother.
    "Nonsense. None of us have a choice. We have
a duty to marry an Alpha. That choice is made for us the day we are
born and we must live with the consequences."
    "Mother," Reb cried, turning in her seat,
"Please don't tell me that you and Daddy..."
    Her mother looked stricken. Her hand flew to
the base of her throat and she closed her eyes. When she opened
them again, all anger was gone, replaced with the gentle softness
Reb knew. "No, no, of course not, dear. I love your father, truly
and deeply. You must never doubt that for a minute." She fanned her
face with her hands. "I suppose it's just the day, the
circumstances. When you didn't show up, it brought back memories of
my mating day, of how frightened I was." The Mate placed her
fluttering hands on her daughter's shoulders and bent low so their
faces were side by side in the mirror. "I remembered how much I
wanted to run away."
    "I didn't run away, Mother. We had car
trouble, that's all. I wouldn't run away. My mother raised me to be
stronger than that." Reb smiled to reassure her mother that
everything was all right.
    "We should have given you more time," her
mother whispered against Reb's hair before she kissed her
cheek.
    But what difference would it have made?
    Reb let her mother fuss and when she was
finished, she stood back to survey her handiwork. "You're
beautiful."
    And she was. Reb turned this way and that in
the simple snow white gown. The mirror didn't lie.