The Alpha Rite

Prologue: Eleazar

"You aren't serious." I slammed my book down, too enraged to think about the irreparable damage I caused to the spine. "I don't want to be with him. He's arrogant and pig-headed and-"

"Your future alpha," Mom said, cutting me off and telling me to keep my voice down. She interrupted my reading time, just to deliver the worst news. It soiled my lunch.

"No. I won't do it." A chill filled the room, but I was too proud to wrap my shawl around me.

She sighed, her cheeks growing more hollow with each of my protests. "You don't have a choice, dear. And for that matter, neither does he."

He didn't want to be with me any more than I wanted to be with him. That much I knew for certain. But I didn't appreciate my future being decided for me, without so much of a discussion. "He won't agree with it." Of all things certain in our world, Eleazar's distaste for spending his life with me was among them.

Mom smiled as if she had won the war. "He already has."

I blinked. "What?"

"His father relayed the decision to him this morning. He was much more mature than you've chosen to be. Even thanked us for choosing him. Can you believe it?"

I couldn't.

I stood, snatching my teacup off the table and side-stepping my mom.

"Where are you going? We're not finished talking."

I lifted my skirt, trying to prevent another tripping incident that would end in my demise at the bottom of the staircase. "I'm sure." I would pay for my disobedience later. She'd make sure of it, but I could only take so much audacity in one afternoon. Hoping to avoid her lackeys, I slipped down the back stairs to the kitchen. Although it wasn't allowed, I discovered that it was the quickest way to avoid the steely gaze of my expectant family.

With the servants, I was more than the Beta's daughter. I was just Nesryn, the tea-loving klutz. I placed my dishes on the counter, grabbing the nearest apron and tying it around my waist before taking care of my mess.

Before I finished, the backdoor swung open, revealing a boy, not much older than me. He scowled. "Are you washing dishes?"

"Yes." Well, not anymore. I dried my hands on a rag nearby, hanging it back in its place. The last thing I wanted was for Cook to snap at me for making a mess of her domain.

"Why?" he asked, dropping a potato sack by the door and narrowly missing his own feet. His clothes desperately needed mending, and his hair was overgrown, almost entirely hiding his brow line. Who is he? And why does he find it acceptable to question my existence in my own house?

"Why not?" I asked, tilting my chin.

He opened his mouth to respond. But Ms. Lane, my governess, and the only person other than my mom to chastise me for my "sour" behavior, interrupted us. "There you are. Ryn, your mother is looking for you."

I groaned. "Any chance you can tell her I slipped out back?" Lost to the wilderness forever?

She frowned at me, unamused by my attitude.

Right.

"And you," her icy blue eyes snapped to my unwanted companion. "Don't you have potatoes to peel? Magnus didn't hire you for you to stand around and gawk at his girl."

He scoffed. "I wasn't-"

"Save it." She held up her hand and then gestured to me, her favorite member of the family. "Follow me, Ryn. Lord knows that your mother will have our heads if we dawdle."

I turned to the boy, sticking my tongue out at him and watching his eyes widen before following Ms. Lane out of the safety of the kitchen. The hallway stretched and would appear haunted if not for my dad's distant, bellowing laughter. He had a great day. His daughter was all but mated with the next leader of our pack. I couldn't say that I shared his enthusiasm.

"Sweetheart!" he lifted his half-empty glass of scotch as I entered the den, a grin stretched across his aging face. "I hear you've been told the fantastic news."

The room was full of Dad's closest colleagues, all toasting his success. I painted on a smile and joined them.

***

Eleazar met me by the willow tree, an equal distance from his house and mine. I sent word to him through a shared employee of our fathers', more than willing to pass notes between highborn families.

"I could've come to you," he said, stepping toward me. Despite the approaching winter, he dressed in summer clothes. He swore he never felt the cold, but I knew he lied to appear stronger than he was. Why else would he shiver at the smallest gust of wind grazing over him?

"And have our parents think we're happy about this match? I don't think so." My lips were chapped from grinning all afternoon, pretending to be flush with love for my future mate.

Eleazar smirked, his dark brown eyes glinting in the evening sun. He always loved making an unpleasant situation so much worse. "You're not happy, my beloved?"

The corner of my mouth twitched. "Don't act like you're jumping for joy."

He clutched his chest, feigning insult. "What's not to be joyful about? In two years, I'll spend my nights with you warming my bed."

I smacked my open palm against his shoulder, triggering a bout of laughter. "You can't say that." We were some distance from town, but if anyone heard him, we'd have the entire pack to answer to.

He rolled his eyes, so ready to damn us both in the name of embarrassing me. "Don't be bashful, Ryn. You're the one that likes to climb trees in skirts."

I huffed. "Only when I was a child." We had stopped playing outside with the other children when we were little, still too small to understand the pressure put upon our families, with Ivar encroaching into our territory.

For decades he had been champing at the bit to seize control over our home, but it only worsened when Eleazar's dad fell sick. He was still in power, still capable of defending our pack, but his reign was ending much sooner than any of us liked.

"Not that long ago I saw you scurrying up our old pal here," he patted the tree, grinning from ear to ear. "And what a sight it was."

My jaw dropped. "Hold your tongue before I cut it out in your sleep."

"Is that any way to talk to your leader?" Eleazar wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close.

"You're not my leader, not yet." I peeled him off me, narrowing my eyes but the smile on my lips betrayed me.

"It's not all good news," he said, clearing his throat. "They're sending me away. To Bryce, so I can finish my studies."

Bryce was the one place future alphas and hopefuls could go to hone their leadership skills and barhop until the sun came up.

I didn't want to care or let the idea of him leaving my side, or our pack bother me, but it did. "Why?"

He sighed, casting a shadowed glance at his family home. "Dad isn't feeling any better. It doesn't matter how many doctors visit, or what's in their medicine bag. He'll be gone before I can finish my training here."

I shook my head. "The tutors-"

"Can't stay here. Not with the threat of Ivar hunting them down on the road."

The tyrant enjoyed cutting us off from civilization, threatening our education and food supplies. "So you'll leave us defenseless?"

"Not for long."

I huffed.

"A year. Just a year, Ryn. After that, I'll be strong enough to keep us safe, all of us."

I shook my head in disbelief, but he continued, asking something of me he had no right to. "Promise me you'll wait. This might not be what you want, but I can make you happy," Eleazar pleaded with his eyes and reached for me.

I frowned, sick in my chest with a sadness I hadn't felt before he took my hand in his. Finally, my lips parted, and I said, "You have my word."