The Jaguar’s Arranged Mate

“Be safe,” she said to him, even though not even the Brutal Claws would make a move during the day, not if they wanted to attack in their were form, which was by far their preferred method of combat. Although they were certainly bold enough to, and they did have the numbers to do whatever they wanted, human ignorance be damned.

Miera hurried to the central building in their town, past the fountain of two jaguars frolicking in the water. This building was the largest one in all of Riverwalk. Only the mess hall was wider.

Inside, she went to the third floor, where her father and all of the other council members were present, sitting in their customary seats around the circular table. She slid into her spot at the right hand of her father, the alpha of the Blood Roses.

“Your report?” her father asked instead of greeting her.

That was always his style, and she didn’t mind. Her father was too busy to play favorites, not that she wanted special treatment for being his oldest child. “Nothing to report.”

“Good.” Her father nodded and glanced around the table. “But we know they’re out there. They’re watching us.”

“Waiting,” Jericho Gravestone said. He was thirty-one, already a seasoned warrior, and his prowess in the field was what had earned him a seat on the council. Not every pack had one, Miera knew, but she thought a council made the most sense. No one, not even alphas, could make the best decision every time without aid. “But for how long? And we cannot allow Thom Ross’s murder to go unanswered.”

Harry Peace snorted. “We aren’t in a position to answer a murder at the hands of the Brutal Claws.”

Peace was a man of worries and anxiety. The voice of caution, her father called him. Miera thought he was more of a coward than anything, but even she had to think Jericho was being a little brazen and arrogant if he thought they could stand a chance against the full horde of the Brutal Claws. That road was paved with bones and blood and unburied bodies.

“Do we know for certain they’re still around?” Harry continued.

“Of course they are,” Miera said. Was the man naïve or stupid? Or maybe he was just that hopeful. “There are too many tracks around our perimeter. Game has grown scarce. They have a ton of mouths to feed. They wouldn’t kill one guard just for the hell of it. Thom’s murder was a message.”

“My daughter has a point. We know they’re out there. They know we’re here. Something must be done.” The alpha stared at them each in turn. Miera suppressed a shudder when he turned his pale blue eyes on her. While several jaguar pups might have blue eyes, they normally outgrew that color. Her father’s hadn’t. It made him look almost unnatural at times, like now.

“Battle,” Gravestone said immediately. “Take them off guard.”

“They have too many in number,” Peace moaned. “We’d all die if we rush into battle against them.”

“We can try and refortify the town even more than we already have,” another council member said. This one was Brian Reed. He was the chief builder and architect in their pack.

“That’s smart,” Miera said, “but we can’t just rely on defense.”

Her father blinked at her. “What do you have in mind?”

Now she was the one to look around the council, at all seven of them. They were looking to her, waiting on her words, expecting wisdom from her. In time, one day, she would be their alpha. They would have to listen to her words always, even if they would settle on a different course of action than the one she would have chosen. They would continue to look at her as they are right now, with respect.

It warmed her insides when she thought the chill she’d experienced overnight would never leave her.

She cleared her throat. A lump had formed there, and it felt painful. Not as painful as being slashed to ribbons, though.

“I propose that we turn elsewhere for aid,” she said slowly, calmly.

“Who?” someone cried out.

“Why?” someone else asked.

Her father placed a hand on the table, just loud enough for the sound of the slap to echo in the room. “Where will we find this aid?” he asked.

She winced at his reproving tone. “If what the guards are saying is true, we aren’t the only pack the Brutal Claws have been making a move toward.”

“The Teal Warriors.” Gravestone nodded solemnly. “They are a strong, solid pack, with lots of good fighters.”

“You think they’ll want to help us when they’re already in danger?” Peace scoffed.

Miera glowered at him. Did the man care anything at all for ensuring everyone’s safety? Was he even part jaguar? “We could help each other,” she said testily.

“How?” Her father crossed his arms, staring down his almost hawk-like nose at her. Thank goodness she’d inherited her mother’s dainty nose.

“Why, by combining our packs,” Miera said easily, hinting that the thought should have already occurred to them all.

“How?” her father repeated, but she could see the dawn lighting in his eyes, and he was nodding as she added:

“Marriage. Through marriage.”

“And who will be getting married?” the alpha asked.

As if he didn’t already know where she was going with this.

“Me.” She jerked a thumb to her chest. “I’ll marry their heir. Our packs will be united then, and we can help each other stand against the Brutal Claws.”

It wasn’t something she actively wished for—a marriage arranged for her simply so that the pack might survive instead of based on love or even just affection—but she would marry the moon if it would help her people.

Her father put it to a vote. Everyone was in favor. While that didn’t surprise her, it made the realization that she would soon be wed a lot more real.

Miera gulped. Going to the chapel…