Free The Captain of the Guard: Alpha Werewolf Erotica (Smut-Shorties Book 6) by Mina Carter

Chapter One
     
    True Love could conquer all.
    Vanessa McCauley sighed as the council alphas trooped out of the court maze, a nod from the first confirming that the Master of the City had claimed his woman.
    She joined the rest of the court women as they drifted back inside. The main ballroom—the largest room at court—was decorated for the occasion and a light buffet set on tables along the inner walls. She swept the room with an appreciative glance. After running the McCauley house for many years, she knew just how much work had gone into making such a large room presentable after the ball last night.
    “So romantic,” one woman exclaimed as Vanessa passed. “As soon as she came out in that red dress, I knew. There’ll be a mating before summer, you mark my words.”
    It was romantic. The powerful alpha claiming the woman he loved despite all odds.
    “There will!” Another replied as her face softened with smiles. “My great-grandmother wore the red dress. Chased one month, mated the next.”
    At that point, both women became aware of Vanessa, and despite her best efforts to turn invisible, their faces closed over. Turning away, they continued their conversation in muted tones, making her sigh. Everyone knew she’d expected to be mated to the Master. Well, not her herself, but her brother had made no secret of the fact he’d intended her to be the Master’s pick for the Midwinter offering.
    But she hadn’t been. Instead, Veyr had picked Cyan Trevais instead. Curvy, non-shifting, the girl all the other lycan girls laughed at, Cyan. Vanessa sighed as she grabbed a plate. She didn’t blame him. Cyan was beautiful, she’d always thought that. Small and curvy, she had a figure to die for. One Vanessa could never hope to compete with, not in a million years.
    The room around her was abuzz with chatter, but she ignored it in favor of studying the buffet. The sound of sympathetic whispers around her told her that people were talking about her. They always did. Everything she said, every move she made, were all analyzed. Pulled apart. Discussed.
    Even what she picked from the buffet. ‘She shouldn’t eat that, she’ll put on weight, then the Master won’t want her.’ She’d heard that refrain so many times over the years she’d long since gone by the urge to scream when she heard it. But, guess what? It hadn’t mattered how slim she was, the Master hadn’t picked her anyway.
    Her gaze roved the table. So many delicious treats. Her mouth watered and her stomach rumbled to remind her that all she’d had to eat this morning was an egg-white omelet and some salad. All in the never-ending battle to stay as slender as possible to attract a mate.
    Her fingers itched, temptation driving them to reach out and grab a slice of chocolate cake. Salad wasn’t enough. She was a wolf, not a damn rabbit. She needed real food. Steak, cake, chocolate…
    “You’d better eat up.” Her brother’s caustic tones broke through her near-erotic daydream of how the cake would taste. “It’s obvious a skinny runt like you won’t attract Veyr. He’s into fat chicks. So you need to get chubby.”
    She froze, then looked over her shoulder. Jacob was her older brother, but to say there was no love lost between the siblings would be an understatement. Consumed with an overreaching sense of his own importance, she knew he saw her as a pawn to further his ambition rather than loved her as a sister.
    He grabbed her arm, fingers bruising as he propelled her along the table, piling her plate high. “Eat. Get fat,” he demanded, his face tight and angry. “Then we can replace that little bitch in his bed with you.”
    Her hands shaking, she glanced down at her plate. All the treats she’d salivated over were piled in an unappetizing mess. Her stomach churned and she looked up at him. Was he blind? Anyone with eyes in their head could see that Veyr was head over heels in love.
    And not with Vanessa.
    “Jacob. He’s chosen, it