I woke up before Victor the next morning, which was odd because on the few occasions we had spent the night together he had always risen before me. I examined his resting features, wishing I could see who he really was and maybe it would help ease my fears about being joined to him for the rest of my life. Mating is different than the human tradition of weddings. It's a deeper and more binding commitment. Without a mate, a feral male would lose himself to the animal completely and any miniscule drop of humanity that was left would be gone. Christien was correct the night before, if I rejected Victor it would eventually drive him completely mad. There was the possibility that he would find a new mate but once rejected, the males didn't try for another mate. They did their best to prove that they were the best choice for their female.

There were worse ferals to end up with, I supposed. Victor was handsome and dynamite when it came to sex. Yes, he was bossy and possessive but I didn't have any control over that. He went after me when that psychopath kidnapped me and was ready to kill Christien when he showed up at our motel room. As far as protection went, I didn't doubt there was anyone better qualified. Victor was the key to my family and I had to decide whether I wanted my family or if I wanted to be with someone who I loved. Maybe in time we could love each other...

"You gonna get back in bed?" Victor grumbled, his eyes open and a wicked grin on his face. "Or you gonna make me come get you?"

Normally, I wouldn't tease him but this morning I moved close to him and leaned forward, my lips a breath away from his when I said, "You have to come get me."

The bathroom door was a foot away from the bed but Victor's reflexes were faster than I expected and a second later he has me pinned underneath him. He wasn't one for kissing on the lips but everywhere else was fair game as he demonstrated eagerly. A knock on the door didn't make him pause as he sliced the front of my shirt with his claws. "You invite company?"

"Not that I recall." I whimpered when he bit my neck hard enough to draw blood. "Damn it. Take it easy, champ."

His response was to bite me again when the door opened and Mother came in, unphased by Victor's actions. "Your father wishes to see you when you've finished."

"We'll be there in a minute." I gasped as Victor's claw sliced through my pajama bottoms.

"No, we won't." Victor pulled one of my legs over his hip and ground himself into me. Mother closed the door as she left.

"That was inapprop-" My words were cut off by him digging his claws into my thighs.

"Stop talking."

-0-

"Ah, Victor. Charlotte." My father greeted us when we finally met him in his study. "It's my pleasure to finally have you both here."

"Trust me. The pleasure was all mine." Victor's voice was dripping with the innuendo and I glared at him while he chuckled.

"I have a task for you, Victor. One that requires what seems to be your speciality." Father slid him a file but Victor made no move to pick it up, waiting for Father to tell him what was in it. "A man is enroaching on our territories and using our young for his pleasures and trafficking to humans. We would like you to stop him."

"You have any specific preferences on how you'd like me to do that?" Victor asked, a hopeful bloodlust in his eyes.

"As long as he ends up dead, I ask only that you use your imagination." Father grinned at Victor. "Make him suffer, Mr. Creed. Damian will fill you in on the details when you leave. Be ready to leave in ten minutes."

It was a command and I was surprised when Victor merely nodded and left the room eagerly. I silently stood when Father's voice stopped me. "Charlotte, puis-je avoir un moment?" (Charlotte, may I have a moment?)

"Oui, papa."

He gestured for me to sit back down and I did cautiously. Even before I left, he didn't speak directly to me unless it was to scold me or make me aware that I was a disappointment. Nothing good could come from this. "Votre présence a été manquée." (Your presence has been missed.)

"Excusez-moi, mais je ne comprends pas." (Excuse me, but I don't understand.) I licked my lips nervously. "Vous m'avez demandé de partir." (You asked me to leave.)

"Pour le bien de la meute." (For the good of the pack.) He scanned some papers in front of him then switched to English. "I've collected your public transcripts and it seems you were not completely incompetent in your schooling."

I didn't reply, knowing that anything I could've said would have made him angry. He shuffled the papers then folded his hands on top of them. "There are a few lessons that you need to take to keep up with the other females. If Victor intends to be Alpha when I'm gone you need to be a presentable mate."

"What about Christien? He's the next in line."

"Christien has brought it to my attention that he would prefer to focus on medical sciences and not leadership. Victor is an ideal replacement. Now, you completed the etiquette and defense classes before you left so all that will be required is culinary arts."

"Cooking?" I scoffed. "I burn water. I can't cook."

"Hence, the lessons." Father raised an eyebrow. "Go to the kitchen. Jack will teach you what you need to know."

The kitchen had been updated since I was last here with steel appliances and six large stoves lining one wall. Two big sinks were on the other wall along with a dishwasher. The refrigerator was stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, mostly for garnish for the meat dishes but I snagged some grapes while I waited for Jack. When he finally did arrive, I choked on the fruit in my mouth. Jack was a six foot three Adonis with dark hair and forest green eyes. He looked like someone out of a mythology book. "Miss Dubois?"

Coughing, I nodded and once my throat was clear I said, "Call me Charlie."

"Jack." He introduced himself and pulled on a white chef's coat, handing me one of my own. "Shall we begin?"

As it turns out, Jack was a 'mutt'. He was half feral and half human and honestly, the combination made him more of an outcast than I was.

"Now, dice the potatoes." Jack demonstrated it for me and added his potatoes to the pot of stew on the stove. I followed his instructions and managed to cut my thumb.

"Damn it." I hissed, dropping the knife and going to rinse the blood off in the sink. Jack came to help staunch the blood flow by pressing a paper towel to my thumb.

"Hold your arm above your heart." He lifted my hand over my head with a gentle smile. "It helps stop the bleeding."

"Good tip if I'm going to be in the kitchen a lot." I laughed softly. "I'm really horrible at this stuff."

"Lucky for you, I'm not." Jack replied, making eye contact and holding it. "I've heard a lot about you, Charlie."

"And I've heard nothing about you." I joked.

"Pity. It seems I'll have to fill you in myself." He checked the cut and found it had stopped bleeding, wrapping a band aid around it. Handing me a glove, he said, "Put that on so we don't contaminate the food."

"The pack practically lives in blood and you're worried about a little bit of mine?" I raised an eyebrow at him as we returned to our cutting boards.

"Ferals or not, we must abide by the health code." Jack finished dicing the potatoes and added them to the stew. He poured us both a glass of wine and handed one to me. "I'll make a chef out of you yet."

A/N: Thanks to OptimusPrimegirl (I love your name, by the way) for the review. :)

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thanks to all the new alerts and favorites. Leave a review and let me know what you think, pretty please. If any of you noticed, I changed the summary of the story because I had one plot line set up but the characters hijacked it. :)