Adeline's POV
“I truly do not see the necessity in this.” I blow up my cheeks at Zale as I stare at him through the mirror in one of the many rooms of his home.
He took me to his house—or mansion— after we agreed to the deal. It was a long and tedious set of conditions and negotiations; of some things we had to compromise on. I know that the conversation of what was expected of me wasn’t far from over, though.
“It’s necessary.” That was all he said over the book he was reading.
I roll my eyes. “In what world is me getting a make-over necessary?”
“It’s necessary if you ever expect to meet my mother and come out alive.”
I choke out a laugh as the hairdresser, a bald man named Carlos, continues to study the roots and length of my hair. When I look up at Zale, I'm shocked to see that he had a serious look on his face, and my smile fell from my face.
“You’re serious?” He nods. “What is this, the dark ages? Why do I have to—”
My words are cut off when Zale stands up and gently places the book on the table beside his coffee cup. He walks over to me and grabs a strand of my hair as he begins to speak again.
“It’s necessary,” He tugs at my hair gently to get me to stop speaking, “Because my mother barely expects me to bring home someone of my own volition. She’s going to be suspicious of you as it is. Let’s not give her an easy target.”
I'm still trying to get over the fact that he pulled at my hair when Zale turned to Carlos and spoke to him. “What’s the verdict?”
“Her hair is,” Carlos waves his hands in the air, “It is in peak condition. No damages to the roots, no dried ends—I’m shocked.”
I don’t know whether to feel complimented by that or not. All Carlos has done was wash it and dry it out, blowing the strands into soft curls down my back. I dress in fancier clothes than I'm accustomed to, too. Zale took me shopping after we left campus, much to my… well, I won’t say refusal. They are some nice clothes.
“So, she’s ready?” Zale asks.
Carlos sighs. “To face the mistress, I doubt anyone would ever be ready for that… respectfully, sir.”
Zale nods his head to Carlos, and the hairdresser leaves the two of us in the room without another word, shooting me an encouraging smile before grabbing his case and leaving. Zale and I stare at each other for a moment before he walks to the closet and begins sorting through the clothes he had gotten.
I notice him sometime later standing beside my chair and holding a shining emerald dress against him. The dress in its length barely surpasses his top section, showing me exactly the difference in our height.
“Mother will approve of this. She always loved greens.” He murmurs.
I sigh and look up at him. “Tell me about your family.”
He tilts his head for a moment at the question, his narrow eyes staring down at me. For a moment, I think he's going to deny me until he lifts me up from the chair and begins speaking.
“I have a younger sister; her name is Eliana, and a cousin named Fiona.” I smile at the names; they were beautiful. Zale turns around once I'm standing, and I take that as my queue to take the dress from him and get dressed.
“No brothers?” I ask as I begin to strip, and I see him shake his head in the mirror.
“My mother and father’s names are James and Dianne.”
I see a look pass Zale’s face for a moment before it clears. The expression comes and goes far too quickly for me to be able to recognize it. I call out to him once I finish dressing, and he turns to me.
I feel almost naked as his eyes run over me, inspecting each and every aspect of my appearance. I suppose I have to get used to that look of scrutiny if I was going to go through with this plan.
“Do you not…” I clear my throat, “is it not appealing?”
“It is.” He answers almost immediately, and my shoulders sink a bit out of relief. “Don’t slouch.” He reprimands before walking away, and I roll my eyes as I follow him.
Zale pulls out some gold jewelry from a box to the side. He walks towards me with some necklaces and bracelets.
“No rings?” I ask curiously, and he shakes his head as he begins placing the gold jewelry on me.
“The only ring you’ll be wearing is mine.” My heart skips a beat. Dear god, why is my heart skipping a beat at this? Zale raises his eyes to meet mine for a moment before he goes back to what he was doing. “But only after the ritual.”
“The ritual?” I ask, and he nods.
“After I announce you as my prospect, we will later undergo the Moon Goddess Ritual with her stone. There we will determine whether the match is accepted by Her.”
I nod my head. Every wolf grows up hearing about the ritual. It's what we have to go through if we have not found our destined mate.
I take a long breath out as Zale finishes placing the accessories on me. I shudder as his fingers trace over my collar bones once he finishes the necklace.
He looks up at me again. “Can you not control yourself?”
My eyes shoot up to him. “What?”
“Your heartbeat and your shuddering. Can you not control it?” A vicious blush makes its way across my face so fast I feel it in my ears. I don’t dignify it with a response.
“I suppose it’s for the best. It’ll help us sell this whole situation.”
Zale takes a step back from me. “Are you ready?”
“Blessed mates are weaker,” I say suddenly.
“What?”
I look up to him from my hands, the skin there already peeled off from nervousness. “Blessed mates, they’re weaker.”
“What’s your point?” Zale asks me, and I shrug my shoulders.
“It’s just something I always thought about. Why is it that not only do some wolves never find their mate, but the mate they choose is considered weaker? That bond, I mean.”
Zale gives me a strange look for a moment before he speaks. “It isn’t considered weaker. It is weaker.”
I sigh and nod my head. “I know, I know I just—agh, I can’t explain it properly, it just feels so—”
“Unfair?” He turns to me as he asks me, and I nod my head slowly.
“Unfair,” I repeat.
We're silent for a moment, and I can feel Zale’s eyes bearing down on me. He did this so much during the conversation. I almost wish he’d ignore me all together. Why does he always have to be looking at me like that?
I can feel his stare against the very follicles of my skin. It makes me want to squirm. But I'm used to men staring, and I'm used to forcing myself to stay still. Just as I'm about to tell him off, I hear him sigh, and I look up at him.
“Look it…” I'm used to the tone he was using with me now. It seems almost empathetic. “It doesn’t mean anything that the bond will be weaker. This is just a business contract.”
I nod my head at him. That was, I suppose, him trying to make me feel better about the entire ordeal. Mate bonds aren’t the bases of ourselves, but d*mn if it doesn’t make up a good chunk of our foundation.
Ever since we were kids, we were told about them, about the lucky ones who would one day find a mate that belonged to them and that was destined for them. How gorgeous wasn’t that? A whole person just dedicated to yourself, as you were to them.
“Adeline,” I look up at him as he calls my name, “Make sure this is something you won’t regret in your future.”
I'm shocked at his words; I don’t think he is at all serious until I look at the expression in his eyes. I nod my head and go back to picking at my nails. This time, Zale doesn’t say anything about my bad habit and instead begins walking out of his office and into the main area of the house.
It's time.