Sonya slipped her arm through Caleb's the next afternoon as he walked her into the dining hall. She scanned the room quickly looking for her.
Sonya spotted her sitting at a table near the end, chatting with a she-wolf. She wore a rose colored gown that complimented her complexion. Her blond curls were swept up, showing off her neck.
Sonya clung tighter to Caleb as she walked past her. It annoyed her that Caleb had not touched her yet. She knew that if he bedded her, he'd never touch that whore ever again.
She settled down at the head table, and lifted her chin. At least she was seated next to him at meals, though she was still annoyed that he hadn't come to the evening meal yesterday.
She'd flirted with his Gamma then, laying the groundwork to get in his bed as well.
Sonya stared out over the dining hall, her gaze darting back to Caleb's whore. She was definitely going to find a way to get rid of her. She smiled to herself, glad that it was all coming together. She just needed to find a way to get Caleb in her bed to ensure that he took her as his chosen mate.
***
A week passed, and Caleb was starting to really despise Sonya. The woman had tried to seduce him numerous times, and he was frankly sick of it.
He had found her in his office, naked, her body splayed across his desk. He'd had to lock her out of his bath house as he'd found her in there more than once.
He knew she'd snuck into Ragnar's bed, and had even tried to seduce Roland. He was fairly certain she wasn't a virgin and had pretty much decided that would be his reason for not taking her as his chosen. He could not mate a woman who might be pregnant with someone else's pup.
Caleb had spent every night with Charlotte. He couldn't get enough of her. She was looking better. She'd gained some weight and had been sleeping much better. He'd made sure that she ate, sending food up to her room if she didn't attend a meal.
Alpha, the previous king and queen are here, Lillian suddenly linked him.
Caleb groaned. The last thing he needed to throw into this mess was his parents. He sighed.
Ragnar, where are you? He linked his Gamma. He needed to inform his parents of what all was going on and Ragnar could help with that.
In the library with Charlotte, came the reply a moment later.
Leave her there. I need you in my office.
Alright.
Alpha? Lillian linked him again.
Caleb groaned. He'd forgotten to respond. Send them to my office.
****
"Charlotte, I gotta go to a meeting real quick. Will you be okay here?" Ragnar stood at the end of the aisle where Charlotte was looking over the titles on the bookshelf.
She turned to him and smiled. "I'll be fine."
Ragnar nodded. She was looking better since Caleb had come home. She'd been eating regularly and no longer had the dark circles under her eyes. He wondered how things were going between her and Caleb, and how much she knew about Sonya.
He left the library and stopped, standing there for a moment, an uneasy feeling passing through him. Alpha, I don't know if I should leave Charlotte alone.
It won't be long.
Ragnar sighed and headed down the hall towards Caleb's office.
Caleb was seated behind his desk. "My parents are here, and I'm about to apprise them of everything. I cannot take Sonya as a chosen mate."
Ragnar nodded. He could have told him that when Caleb first brought Sonya here, but Caleb was stubborn.
Ranald and Melinda entered a few moments later and they all greeted each other.
"We have a situation that we need to discuss. I... made a mistake."
Ragnar's eyes widened at Caleb's choice of words. Admitting he made a mistake wasn't something Caleb ever did. He crossed his arms over his chest.
"Alpha Jacob of Northumbria asked me to visit him a few weeks ago. He said it was important. He's been rather demanding for a while, and I haven't gone to see him before now. I always sent Roland or Ragnar in my stead. This time I decided to go, and while there, Jacob offered me his younger daughter to take as a chosen mate. He said he knew I needed an heir.
When I saw Sonya.. I don't know what I was thinking. Well, no that's not true. Sonya looks almost identical to Sofia. And so I told him that I needed to think about it, and I invited them back here so I could get to know her."
Melinda glanced at Ranald. Maybe we were wrong about the human girl being his mate?
I don't think we are, Ranald replied.
"Since then, I've come to find out that Sonya is nothing like Sofia, or at least I hope Sofia was nothing like Sonya. Sonya has tried to seduce me several times, she's tried to seduce Ragnar, and she's even tried to seduce Roland," Caleb leaned forward, steepling his fingers. "I would bet my last shilling that girl is not a virgin."
"And therefore unsuitable to be your mate, as she could possibly be pregnant now," Ranald muttered. "Have you bedded her?"
He saw the look of disgust briefly cross Caleb's face. "No. I wasn't about to until I marked her."
"Good," Ranald said. "We will need to speak to her father. If he balks at your decision to not take her as your chosen, we can always have the pack doctor check to see if she's a virgin."
"I'll link the pack doctor, and give him a heads-up." Caleb glanced at Ragnar. Take Charlotte back to her room. "Fetch Jacob and let's meet back here shortly?"
Ragnar gave him a nod and left the office.
***
It hadn't taken Sonya long to figure out that Caleb's whore's name was Charlotte. She didn't see much of the woman, and wasn't quite sure where her room was. Hopefully she wasn't staying in Caleb's room. Sonya had yet to even figure out where that was.
She only saw Charlotte at meals, and Charlotte generally skipped breakfast, and would appear for lunch and dinner. The woman didn't seem bothered by Sonya's presence, and that bothered her.
She'd been pleasantly surprised to see Ragnar with Charlotte. The Gamma was someone else who annoyed Sonya. She'd flirted quite a bit with him to no avail. She'd even found his bedroom and made herself at home on his bed naked, but he hadn't budged. She supposed he was at least loyal to Caleb.
She'd been disappointed though, as she'd been very intrigued by him. He wasn't English and she would have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him. A side piece for when Caleb was with his whore.
She had discreetly followed them and saw Ragnar take the whore into the library. She wondered if Ragnar was bedding her as well. Perhaps that's why he wasn't interested in her. Maybe these men all had a thing for humans.
She wanted to go in the library, but knew that the Gamma would know the moment she walked in. She wouldn't mind informing Caleb that his little whore was spreading her legs for his Gamma.
Seeing Ragnar leave the library had surprised her, and she decided to take a chance. The whore was still in there.
She entered quietly, carefully closing the door behind her and looked around, sniffing the air. The whore was up on the second floor. Sonya carefully made her way up the stairs and walked slowly along, finally spotting her. She had her back to Sonya and a book in her hands. Sonya wrinkled her nose. Who wanted to bury their face in a book? She found reading boring.
"Hi," she called to Charlotte, and saw her jump to Sonya's satisfaction.
She turned around, closing the book. "Hi."
"So, I saw you in here, and thought I would come and introduce myself. I'm Sonya, Caleb's chosen mate. And you must be Charlotte, Caleb's..." whore "... mistress?"
She watched Charlotte tip her head sideways. "I'm Charlotte."
"Well, since we're both bedding the same man, I thought we should be friends." Sonya offered.
She saw Charlotte warily look at her, and knew she wasn't buying it. "Would you like to come have afternoon tea with me?"
"I'm waiting here for the Gamma," Charlotte began.
"Oh I'm sure he wouldn't mind." And I won't take no for an answer. She grabbed Charlotte's arm and practically dragged her towards the stairs. "I want to know all about you, like how did you come to live here among werewolves and how did you meet Caleb and become his lover."
"Well, that's rather personal..." Charlotte started.
Sonya cut her off as they started down the stairs. "Oh but Charlotte, we're going to be the best of friends." Sonya popped her foot out in front of Charlotte.
Charlotte tripped over it and went down the stairs, falling all the way to the bottom. Sonya happily watched her go, then followed her down.
Charlotte's eyes were closed, her arm bent at an odd angle, and Sonya noticed blood on her skirt. She frowned, then hurried out of the library and back to the room her father and her were staying in.