The Jaguar’s Arranged Mate

“You look ready to collapse.” Her father sniffed. “Do I smell blood?”

She winced. Her shower had reopened some of her wounds, and she had dressed them as best she could, not wanting anyone to help her since it would only lead to questions. “You do smell blood. Which is why we need the meeting.”

It only took twenty minutes for everyone to be assembled in the meeting room. A record.

Everyone sat except for Miera. She stood, holding onto the table, trying to fight against the nausea. For a few weeks now, she had been hungrier. She had thought that all of the hustle and bustle with the wedding prep plus added watches had increased her appetite. How naïve she had been.

“The Brutal Claws sent warriors near the Teal Warriors. Beric, my fiancé…” She stumbled over the word. “And Matthias went out on a scouting mission. They were ambushed…” Miera took a deep breath. She was a council member. She would be alpha one day. She had to control her emotions. She couldn’t break down. To some extent, she felt numb. Her brother had been taken from her, and now she was pregnant. Death and life… two sides of the same coin.

And Sierra… her heart ached at the thought that her brother had never made a move on the girl despite her trying so hard to get him to.

“Where is Matthias?” her father asked, his voice low.

She stared at him but almost felt as if she was seeing through him. “He was killed. They killed him.” Her voice sounded flat, almost unrecognizable.

Her father stood and stared each of the council members in turn. “This crosses the line. The wedding has to happen now. We have to stop worrying about flowers and start planning for war.”

“War.” Jericho Gravestone shook his head. “If you would have listened to me, we would have already been at war with them. Matthias would still be alive—”

Miera slammed her fist onto the table. “There’s no point in arguing about that now,” she snipped. “My brother is dead. Even if we had gone to war immediately after Thom Ross’s murder, Matthias might still have been killed. There’s no need to worry about the past. All we should focus on is the future.”

“Without the Teal Warriors, war is suicide,” Harry Peace said. “Your father is right. The wedding must happen now.”

She swallowed hard. They were right, she knew, and they did have to hurry. If Beric discovered she was pregnant before they were married, he might call it off. After they were wed, he would be stuck.

Stuck with her and a baby she did and didn’t want.  

*

 The day after Matthias had been killed, Beric called Miera repeatedly. She never answered her phone, so he tried her father.

“You and Miera must be wed at once,” the Blood Roses’ alpha said. “We need to strategize for war.”

“Yes, of course.” Beric cleared his throat. “I am sorry for your loss. He died with honor. If it weren’t for him…”

“Do you mean to tell me he saved your life?”

“He did.” Beric frowned. Why hadn’t Miera shared that detail with her father?

“He must have thought of you as a part of the family already then,” the alpha said gruffly. “We had the funeral pyre for him already this morning.”

“Oh.” Beric grimaced. “I wish I had known.” He would have attended it.

“Maybe it was for the best you didn’t, since the packs aren’t united yet. But we never should have delayed the wedding for so long. Miera … I think she wanted to make certain of your pack first before fully committing to you but now…she has become withdrawn. She doesn’t eat, and she avoids seeing anyone.”

“That’s why I called to speak with you. She hasn’t been answering my calls.” Instinctively, he knew the pyre wasn’t the only reason why she hadn’t answered.

“It might be time for you to go and see her, force her hand if you will.”

“I’ll do that right now.” Beric hung up.

The drive to the Blood Roses was quickly becoming a familiar one, and as soon as he arrived, Beric asked around for Miera. No one knew for certain where she was, and she wasn’t in her house.

There was a path leading outside their domain, and Beric followed it. He shifted his nose so he could smell better. Ah, yes. He recognized her scent immediately. Whether or not she was still here he didn’t know, but he hurried along it.

Not far ahead, he spied a natural bench from the bent bark of a tree. Miera was sitting on it, her eyes closed.

“Miera,” he said softly as he approached her, not wishing to startle her.

She stiffened, and her eyes snapped open. “Beric.”

A part of him felt badly for her. Here she was, grieving her brother and having to deal with preparing for war and resigning herself to a marriage without love. But another part of him was surprisingly angry with her. How could she sit here almost peacefully while her brother was un-avenged? More scouts had been killed in the past week from both clans. Their inaction would only serve to help the Brutal Claws.

“Everything is all set with our defense. We should get married. Right now.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Was it his imagination, or were tears filling her eyes?

“What’s wrong?” He sat beside her. Should he wrap his arm around her? After a moment, he decided to risk it.

She jerked away as if his touch scalded her.

“I’m sorry.” He exhaled and covered his face with his hands. Then he pulled them away and ran a hand through his hair. “Does my presence bother you?”

“N-no…”

Maybe he reminded her too much of her brother and his last minutes. He couldn’t blame her for that. But he couldn’t help what had happened.

“There has to be something I can do to help you,” he said almost desperately.

“I don’t need help,” she said bitingly. She jumped to her feet.

His patience was being sorely tested. She had a right to be upset, yes, but he was only trying to help her. “Miera, what is going on with you?”