Alpha Unmasked: BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Greenwood Shifters Book 1) Read Free Page A

scotch. Both Alphas checked their dominance, but everyone knew that Cyrus had more power and more money than Marlow Tenwick.
    Every male bear shifter could exert dominance to some degree. But the Alphas possessed the most. In the old days, shifters assumed that a man was born with a certain level of power. Dirk still got a laugh at that. Cyrus taught him and Maddock that you earned the right to dominate through words and actions, through presence only when necessary.
    Cyrus’s actions seemed open enough, but the breeze that blew into the room through the open door was thick and heavy, a sure sign that someone was using their presence to dominate. Old habits… Dirk drained his glass and set it on a table.
    The Greenwood family would take the stage three times during Callisto’s Masquerade. First time being at the beginning to welcome the patrons, the final time at the end of the night with a closing ceremony to send the patrons away.
    At the midpoint of the ball, there would be a ceremony to acknowledge important guests. This year, Cyrus would also announce Dirk’s engagement. Daniella Crimmons was a phantom prospect. If Cyrus had any faith in that arrangement, he’d have invited her family to the Masquerade. No, Cyrus intended for Dirk to marry Alex. The knowledge left a bitter tinge in Dirk’s mouth, which he drowned with more champagne.
    Everything seemed so ordinary, but something was coming. He could feel it. Maybe it was just the choice looming over his head. A lifetime mated to a woman he hated. Choose or die. More than likely, Alex had received similar orders, maybe even the same day. As if she heard his thought, Alex Tenwick turned and waved at him. A wide smile spread across her face, and for a second Dirk almost thought she was happy to see him. His mother’s hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts.
    “You seem off tonight,” she said. A warm but concerned smile spread across her lips, but stopped just before her eyes. Where Cyrus radiated power, Miranda radiated warmth.
    “I’m all right, Mama,” Dirk said, forcing a smile to his face.
    He grabbed another glass of champagne from a passing waiter and took a sip of it to cover the obvious lie. He nodded toward Cyrus and Marlow Tenwick. “What are those two plotting now, I wonder?”
    As if he didn’t know. Marlow and Cyrus would be deep into the final negotiations for his and Alex’s marriage. The Tenwicks lived in New York. Cyrus may want his remaining son to join their clan, but Dirk knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t allow Dirk to take a low-ranking position. That meant his flaws would have to be smoothed over. Some of them, like his missing bear, would have to be covered entirely.
    Alex wandered over to them before Miranda could answer. “Dirk, you remember Alexandra Tenwick.”
    The heiress reached for a fold of her gown and pulled it to the side, curtseying to him and extending a well manicured hand for him to kiss. It took everything he had not to roll his eyes as he brought her soft hand up to his lips.
    “I’m going to help your father get his mask on. You two chat.” Miranda said.
    What a treat it must have been to her, introducing Dirk to his potential mate. Miranda wasn’t as cunning as her husband, but she was just as deeply committed to the success of her clan. It was a matter of duty, and she’d raised her children to perform theirs, no matter how bitterly.
    Dirk looked back to Alex. “Wearing a mask already?”
    “It is a masquerade.” The smile remained etched on her face as she spoke. “The real question is why aren’t you wearing yours?”
    He shrugged and set his empty champagne glass on a nearby table. “Why hide?”
    Alexandra pressed her lips into a thin line, watching Dirk with obvious disapproval. Then she smiled. “I just love this time of year, don’t you? So many parties. Daddy always says the clans have to stick together. All clans are only as strong as the weakest. People are always