The Alpha and The Witch.

Chapter Five (Ryder)

The night dragged on, an endless cycle of polite conversation with pack leaders and my father's business associates. The once elegant classical music had been replaced by thumping beats as the younger generation claimed the dance floor. I remained rooted to my chair, a silent observer as my father worked the room.

I watched Luke with his friends, dancing and laughing. He didn't have to talk to a single person he didn't want to, a world away from my own experience. He moved through the crowd with effortless grace, a carefree spirit that seemed a lifetime away from me. A wave of envy washed over me. I would trade places with him in a heartbeat.

"So, have you found her?" My father asked, a mischievous twinkle in his gray eyes. I scanned the room, wondering who exactly he meant. Gwen and her gaggle of friends were huddled in a corner, their heads bent in conspiratorial whispers. "Who? Gwen?"

Father chuckled. "No, a bride." He sighed, running a hand through what was left of his gray hair. "Your mother and I were hoping you'd find a bride tonight. We invited as many pureblood families as we could, of course. A few Vitiates are here." Father gestured to a few girls dancing to the right. I knew them both to be very kind girls born of un-pure blood.

To have a human parent or be bitten was considered "tarnished blood." Father hadn't coined the term, but he wielded it with precision. Being a Vitiate meant being tarnished, utterly off-limits for relationships or marriage within the Galtero family.

Of course, the King was oblivious to our occasional breaches of this archaic rule. We all understood the necessity of maintaining a pure bloodline through marriage, but fleeting human encounters were inevitable. While I'd never crossed the line into serious territory, half-blood status was more than just a social stigma; it prevented our offspring from undergoing the transformative change under the moon.

"No, haven't found one yet," I sighed, dreading the inevitable pressure to choose a bride in the coming year. Whoever I selected would be a compromise, a lifeless commitment rather than a passionate connection.

"What about the Alvordson girl?" He gestured his head toward a girl sitting a few tables away. "Quite the looker," he said with a wink. He wasn't lying either; she was pretty. Her chocolate brown hair, accented by natural caramel highlights, was just the beginning. A heart-shaped face, big blue eyes, and perfectly pouty red lips completed the package. I knew Candace Alvordson from my old mate, Kent Mason, who had been courting her since freshman year of college. Kent complained endlessly about her high maintenance ways.

"She's dating Kent Mason," I stated flatly, hoping to change the subject.

Instead, Father chuckled heartily. "Ryder, my boy! Do you have any clue who you are?" He clapped me on the back, a touch too enthusiastically. "A proposal from you, and I'm sure she'll leave the Mason boy in a heartbeat. You forget who you are, my son."

"Never," I muttered under my breath. I never forget who I am, because I'm not just Ryder; I'm Ryder Galtero. Boy wonder wolf.

I looked at the dance floor, Luke was laughing with some friends. That's when I saw her again, she was dancing along with Luke and their classmates. She had just started giggling from whatever Luke had told her.

"Father," I said without taking my eyes off the dance floor, "Who's that girl with Luke, D'you know her?"

Father must have looked because he answered quickly. "Must just be a human girl," he replied. "You know how human girls are with Luke, they follow him around." He was right; most girls did follow Luke around.

I also knew that Luke had been cheating to get his popularity, his captaincy of the lacrosse team a testament to his werewolf abilities rather than any genuine athletic prowess.