The Billionaire Ritual Read Free

Cameron’s father, intended to choose a woman for him - in one stroke staving off advances from other houses and solidifying their position as a powerful political union. Sheila was beautiful. Probably she was smart as well. Drake would be careful to choose someone who could help him navigate the current political climate. For his own part, Cameron thought Sheila was attractive, and he was sure that she would make a fine wife. For someone.
    And that was just it. Cameron couldn’t give his feelings to this girl. He’d already given them to someone else. Almost everyone knows that wolves mate for life, but what few know is that this fact is based on a deeper truth. Wolves choose for life. After a wolf chooses and a she-wolf accepts, mating is merely a formality. When courting, a wolf may look over his options as much as he likes. Things were far more liberal now, and a wolves and she-wolves could even choose to have sexual affairs - though this certainly came with its own set of problems.
    The point was: Cameron had chosen. His heart belonged to a mousy little office employee whose cubicle had, over a year, gradually become the highlight of his day. He’d had a strict policy of avoiding fraternization with his employees - at least of the casual type. Drake had sent his son in to clean up just such a situation, af ter all.
    But once he realized she was mating ceremony material, once he’d confirmed through the little things - a slight shift in her smell here, a lustful glance in his direction when she thought he wasn’t looking there - he knew she was the one. Time was of the essence, details such as marriage papers might be relevant on the human side of things, but carried very little weight with wolves. In fact, a marriage that had been recognized by every institution - religious, human, or even shape-shifter - meant little to one whose consummation had been seen or heard by witnesses, or proven by children. In fact, a marriage ceremony did not begin until after the ceremony of witnessing, and did not technically end until the wife was pregnant. These were hurdles that would slow him further, as his woman of interest was fully human. Now he had a third barrier: his father’s choice of bride. Cameron smiled politely and chatted with the two of them as he searched fervently in his mind for any flaw, any reason why the union of him and Sheila was less than perfect and wise. He couldn’t. When Sheila finally and, it seemed, reluctantly excused herself, Cameron was left without anything to say to his father that wouldn’t make matters worse. At best, his father would laugh, carefully and patronizingly explaining to Cameron why marrying a human woman would be political suicide given the current state of affairs, even if it did avoid the challenge with Robert. At worst, finding that his son would not make his favored decision while the human woman lived, he would have her killed.
    But Cameron did not despair. He was crafty, and his father had often said that he wondered if there wasn’t more of his mother, a fox shifter, than wolf in him. All that mattered was that he consummated a marriage in the next five days. If he could do so with Lynn in front of witnesses, it would be done. His father’s objections wouldn’t matter. Nor would anyone else’s.
    Cameron said his goodbyes, being sure not to confirm or deny his interest in Sheila. His father’s eyes had narrowed just before Cameron had turned away. They seemed to say: I know you’re plotting, son. Have a care.
    Cameron’s mind buzzed on the way home. He was grateful that he had chosen a ride in his limo over driving himself. Now he was free to sort things out in peace without having to focus on the road home.
    He had taken his time finding a mate, and now it was costing him. Even after he’d realized he wanted Lynn for his own, he had continued to put things off, wanting everything to happen on his terms and in his time. He knew the deadline was coming, but had