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eyes wavering slightly, almost as if he were hesitating. He lifted his hand and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Turning away, he opened the door and led her inside before closing the door behind them.
    “Emily, please have a seat,” her father said, not looking up from his computer screen.
    Emily cleared her throat as she made her way to the couch. She took a seat, sliding back into the stiff leather. Her fingers trembled ever so slightly, and she jammed her hands under her thighs in an effort to keep her nervousness out of her father’s eyes. Not that it really mattered; he could probably smell her unease. As werewolves, their sense of smell was heightened and they could detect an array of different emotions. Daniel, however, stood next to the armrest, his eyes on their father, staring blankly.
    Emmett continued to type on the keyboard. The soft clicking of keys filled the deafening silence. Please, let’s just get this over with already.
    After several long minutes, her father pushed away from the desk and stood up. He clasped his hands behind his back as his green eyes bored into her.
    “I’m sure your mother has talked to you about the Gulf Packs,” he started.
    Emily nodded, her heart pounded against her ribs. Oh god, he has found me a mate. She shuddered at the thought as tears pricked her eyes.
    “I have negotiated a deal and a position for us inside of the Gulf Packs. One of the conditions upon our joining is for you to go to New Mexico where Fernando Juarez’s pack resides. He has sixteen grandsons’ that are close to your age-”
    “I can’t,” Emily interrupted. “There must be another way for this alliance to work. I can’t be mated to another wolf, I’ve already found my mate,” she said firmly, meeting her father’s gaze.
    Her father let out a booming belly laugh, and the sound made her blood boil.
    “I love Marcus!” Emily proclaimed as she shot up from the couch. “He is my mate and-”
    “You’re a twenty-one-year-old girl. You don’t know what love is. And that boy is hardly suitable for someone of your stature. He doesn’t even know how to fight for crying out loud,” her father thundered, taking a menacing step toward her. “Marcus is unfit to be your mate; he is weak and he could never protect you—or run a pack of his own.”
    “He might not be strong, but he’s smart. Where would your stocks be without him? He does everything for you.”
    “So he’s good with numbers—that doesn’t mean anything. He’s a wolf, not a human. In our world, brains gets you killed; strength allows you to live.” Her father took a step forward, his hands rising up to grip her shoulders firmly. “We need this alliance to move our pack forward, Emily. Times are changing and tensions are mounting. This agreement is not just beneficial for our pack, but important for the future of our pack. This alliance will ensure our safety from packs that wish to see us fall. You will be treated well there, like the alpha female that you are. You may very well have a pack of your own one day.”
    “I’m not an alpha,” she whispered. It was true. Although her father was the alpha of the pack, he wasn’t one by blood. He had seized the pack after the father of her eldest brother, Devon, had died and claimed her mother, a true alpha, as his mate.  
    “That doesn’t matter to them, Emily. You have been raised as an alpha and shall be treated as such. You will have the opportunity to mate with alpha males.”
    “And if I refuse?” Emily asked, her voice shaking under her father’s scrutinizing gaze.
    “You won’t.”
    “I love Marcus. I don’t want-”
    “This silly affair with Marcus ends immediately. Fernando Juarez and his men will be here in two days to meet with me and get a look at you. I can’t have you smelling like another wolf,” Emmett commanded.
    “No!”
    “Are you deaf, girl?” he growled, shaking her. “I’ve given you an order and you will damn well obey it. The pack