I rarely felt faint. In fact, I boasted a health and immune system that was unrivaled, but in the moment that Xander's father announced their so-called union, I felt the blood draining from my face, my legs turning to noodles and my mind going blank.

"What...?" I breathed, and swayed.

"Carly? Carly!"

I felt warm arms around me, keeping me from falling to the ground. They enclosed around me and pulled me to an even warmer body. Shivers erupted up and down my spine, and goosebumps pebbled my skin.

"I can't believe this." I said to myself, staring at the ground with shaking, moist eyes as if the solution to my world-destroying dilemma lay at my feet.

"Breathe. Just breathe." He said into my ears. I shuddered again.

"Fuck you, dog."

I wasn't one to spit profanity all that much, but this was one of those situations in life that it was totally warranted and completely deserved.

I heard a muffled laugh right before I passed out.

****

When the fog cleared and I finally came to, the party in the forest was in full swing. Werewolves danced all around me, completely lost to the music blowing out of the sound system. The loud music reverberated in my skull, making it pound.

They brought a goddamn sound system to celebrate my forced 'union'? The fucking-

"You're awake."

I looked up from where I lay propped up against a tree to see Xander standing over me, leaning against the tree like a watchful guardian (or a watched tasked to keep an eye on me in case I ran). Our eyes met and I thought I saw concern in his.

Yeah, right. As if.

I was about to unleash a string of colorful vocabulary on him when my head gave a sharp pang and I groaned. Sniffing, I sat up straight and hugged my legs close to my chest.

"Look," Xander began as our eyes met, and then he stopped, as if lost for words. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but here.

That made two of them.

He ran a hand through his golden locks in a telltale gesture, ruffling it, and then looked away.

"I'm not the one who wants this," he said by way of explaining himself.

As if that would make me feel better. "But you're a part of this, like it or not." Then, with my last ray of hope shining through my eyes, I practically begged him, "Please, let me go. I don't belong here. I don't want to... marry you."

Bleak eyes met hers. "I can't."

Why did it feel like he said "I won't" instead?

I looked away before he saw the tears brimming to the front like a gushing geyser, threatening to spill.

How did I get here? Oh, right. My parents made a deal to save my life. Yet how come I didn't feel saved at all?

"Can I meet your father now?"

I wanted to ask him how he knew me. Upon taking one look at me, he'd commented that 'I'd grown well.' So, he'd met or seen me before. How? I didn't recall ever seeing him, and the Supreme Alpha was not someone you easily forgot seeing. What with those golden eyes of his that burned like two colliding flint stones. I shuddered just thinking about them.

"He's busy." Xander said.

"But you said-!"

"Later, Carly," he said in a tone that brooked no argument.

I wanted to hit him over the head for it; he made me so incredulous and outraged that I nearly turned violent!

Xander's mouth twitched.

I sighed. How many times did I have to tell him to exit my mind permanently?

"Tell me why you chose me of all people to kidnap."

"This isn't kidnap," he said tightly, flashing me an annoyed look.

"Oh? Then what do you call it?"

"It's called a deal. Where we come from, we honor our deals."

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit! This damned deal again!

"Why are you so incessant on me being your bride? Did no other girl wander into the forest?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask my father once we get back home. And in case you didn't catch it the first time, your parents came to us. We only risked exposure and looked for you because they begged us."

I bit my lip to keep as I assessed this new tidbit of information. These werewolf had a home that was apparently secluded, hidden from sight, and they feared exposing it. To whom? Humans? Well, it would make sense that werewolves valued their privacy, considering their existence for all eternity had always been myth, an urban legend at most. But where was their home exactly?

I asked him just that, but I already knew he'd read my mind before the words came out of my lips.

"The forest is our home."

"Please don't tell me you sleep in the woods. I will not sleep on the ground." The end of that sentence was 'with the scary critters and bugs', but I refrained from saying it.

He scrunched his nose at me disdainfully in true aristocratic fashion and said, "We live in a town. Inside houses."

"Bullshit. There's no town in Evergreen Forest."

"Just like there's no such thing as werewolves?" He said sarcastically and arched an eyebrow at me.

Well, he got me there.

"Just as long as there are clean sheets," I muttered to myself as I hugged my legs closer.

Xander's soft chuckled told me he'd heard me.

I watched the werewolves merrily dancing around the large bonfire without a care in the world. Even from where I sat, I could feel its radiant heat keeping me warm. At least I wasn't cold.

"Don't you want to go dance with your friends? Your pack?" I asked without ever tearing my eyes away from the dancing werewolves.

"There's only one person I want to dance with here, and she's not in the mood."

I stole a glance at him from the corner of my eye to see that he was looking pointedly at me. I immediately averted my eyes, feeling heat rise to my face.

"Could you blame her?"

Xander was silent so long, I thought he wouldn't warn my question with an answer, but then he said, "No, I suppose I can't. Actually, she's being very civil and calm. If I were in her place, I'd be running around the campfire flailing my arms and screaming my lungs out."

"She'd probably pick up a burning log and hit you with it." It was very strange talking about myself in the third person, but I went along just the same.

Xander laughed and the hearty, baritone noise did things to my insides that I really didn't care to dwell on.

"Would you like a drink?

The thought of mind-numbing alcohol to soothe my frayed nerves didn't sound too bad. I nodded jerkily.

Xander raised his hand and one of the werewolves broke away from the group, holding a plastic red cup. Not a word was exchanged, and yet the guy knew to present it to me.

I hesitated, but then accepted the drink and peered down at my reflection in the liquid. Even in the dark liquid, I could see my swollen eyes and disheveled hair. What a mess. The fire framed my face with an orange glow, making me seem almost demonic.

Very soon, we will celebrate my son and Carly's mating. The Supreme Alpha had proudly declared his intentions with me to his pack of werewolves.

"What is a... mating? Is it like marriage?" I asked against my better judgement. A part of me didn't wish to know the answer to that question.

Mating, marriage, marriage nuptial, sex...

Xander almost looked startled by the question. Or had he read my train of thoughts?

My cheeks flared a bright red, brighter than the fire even.

"It's something more," he finally said without meeting my eyes.

"Explain it to me," I demanded. I was not about to let him evade this question too.

I'd read a few werewolf fiction novels and seen a few paranormal movies to understand the general meaning of the word, but it was basic at best, and there was no way that I was relying on knowledge from movies and fiction novels.

"It's a bonding. For us, it is sacred."

"Why are you, ah, bonding with a human?"

"We can; it's not unheard of."

"What about her? Why not that girl over there?" I pointed to one of the blonde bombshells dancing impressively like she was in a video clip. She was beautiful, fit, and had long legs that would make a man drool. She was the very definition of physical perfection. What male, human or otherwise, wouldn't want to be with someone who looked like that?

Xander's handsome face twisted into a heavy frown, lines marring his forehead.

I blinked, startled. It wasn't the reaction I'd been expecting.

"She's my cousin."

"Oh!" I pursed my lips. How awkward. "Okay, what about that one?" I pointed at another beautiful girl, who hopefully wasn't Xander's relative.

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'? Don't you think she's hot? I think she's hot."

"No. She's my cousin too."

"What, is everyone here your cousin?!" I exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Pretty much."

"Wait, how's that-"

It dawned on me then, and the breath whooshed out of me.

The reason why they sought me out above all others, why they chose me, was because every member of the pack was Xander's relative. They were one big family of werewolves.

In a slightly panicked voice, I said, "W-What about other packs? Why not choose a... mate for yourself from a neighboring pack or something?

Xander finally met my eyes. "We're the only ones left."