Coercion: Book One of Three: A BBW Serial Romance (Montana Dragons 1)

W
hen Willa Stone
is cast aside by the alpha-wolf she’s been promised to since birth, she’s humiliated and angry, but also secretly relieved. Now, maybe she’ll have the chance to mate for love. If her power-crazed parents will just give her a little time, she’s sure to find the man of her dreams…

Dragon-shifter, Drake Blackbourne, has an itch to scratch and precious few options for an outlet. When the Stone family offers up their daughter’s hand in exchange for protection and political favors, he agrees to wed her, sight unseen. Drastic times call for drastic measures and, so long as she does her part and keeps out of his way the rest of the time, surely he can manage to bed her, no matter how plain she might be.

What he doesn’t expect is that captivating, defiant Willa will ignite a fire in him that will burn everything in its path, and turn both of their worlds upside down…

“
I
don't get it
." Greyson West sat up in his oversized desk chair and probed Willa’s face with his laser-like gaze, but she managed not to react in spite of the tumult of emotions rioting inside her. When he reached out to touch her consciousness with his own, she shut down entirely, not ready or willing to let him in.

"What don't you 'get'?" Willa's mother asked, her chin raised at a haughtier angle than was appropriate when talking to her alpha.

There was no question that Grey took notice, but he kept his tone measured and polite as he turned his attention back her way. “Your fury seems out of line, Faustine. In fact, I had thought that we’d come to an agreement.”

Her ramrod back went even straighter. "You fractured this pack with your abominable actions. Then you turned your back on your betrothal to our daughter and the ancient ways of our kind. I don’t know what you expected to have happen, but this is what you've wrought, young man. I’m sure my husband and I will be the first of many elders taking a stand."

Grey's posture changed on a dime and his nostrils flared. Where he'd been open and almost apologetic before, now, he was flat out pissed.

Willa swallowed hard in an attempt to dislodge the golf ball that had been lodged in her throat for the past week.

She didn't love Grey. Never had, but, since birth, they were bonded. Sworn to one another by their families to mate and rule the pack together once Joseph, Grey's father, stepped down.

The whole stepping down thing hadn't come to pass, but Grey was now, indeed, the alpha. Only Willa wasn't by his side.

She shifted uncomfortably in her armchair and shot a quick glance toward Maggie, Grey's new mate who sat beside him.

She didn't hate the woman. Quite the contrary. From what Willa had seen and heard, she was tough, ballsy and seemed to be mad about Greyson. And Willa was glad for that. At least one of them had gotten to mate for love.

What was harder to swallow was the fact that Willa’s entire identity had been tied up in this antiquated, now-broken, marriage deal. And now, even the wolves who considered themselves progressive and forward-thinking--the young generation who had sided with Grey to overthrow his tyrannical and murderous father--had turned their backs on her.

Where once, they'd treated her with a respect bordering on reverence, they now looked on her with pity. Whatever they might say with their mouths that made them come off as politically correct under this new regime, deep down, they thought she was damaged goods.

No two ways about it. She had lost her best friend and planned mate in one fell swoop, and she had no prospects. If the alpha had cast her aside, why would anyone else want her?

Raised voices caught her attention and she tore her gaze away from raven-haired, slim, Maggie right in time to see Grey turn his attention to her father.

“Jacob, come on now. Surely, you can see the time has come for change. Your ways…the old ways just don’t work for us any longer. We need to co-exist with humans, not murder them. And the idea of arranged marriages in this day and age--”

"You entitled little pup,” her father cut in, his face turning a mottled red. “Your father broke his back to build this pack. Now, you betray your entire bloodline by imprisoning him and taking over, and you think to pass judgment on me?" He tossed his head back and barked out a bitter laugh. "That's rich, Greyson."

He shoved himself to his feet, whipping his dark, wool coat over his shoulders as he did.

"Sit. Down," Grey commanded, his jaw clenched, and his silvery eyes blazing with fury.

Willa's mother and father locked gazes and turned to face Grey in unison.

"No," her father said simply. He reached for his wife's hand and pulled her to her feet to join him. "We won't. In fact, we have obeyed our last command from you, young Mister West. Without Joseph at the helm, we have no interest in remaining with the Big Sky Canyon pack.”

The room went silent but for her mother’s sniff of indignance.

“This seems premature, don’t you think?” Grey finally said.

“No. On the contrary, we stayed a week longer than we wanted to.”

The alpha pushed his chair backward, away from his desk, and eyed the two of them grimly. "I had hoped you'd give me the opportunity to prove myself. To show you a better way. But I understand and respect your decision, and you will both be missed."

There was no love lost between them, and everyone in the room recognized that lie for what it was, but clearly Grey didn’t see the whole picture yet. No worry there, because Willa could tell by the dark glee in her mother’s eyes that she was about to clear it up for him.

"Both?" A cruel smile tugged at the corner of Faustine's mouth. "Oh, no, Mr. West. I believe you've miscounted. There are three in our little family."

The room went silent and all of them turned to Willa.

The initial shock in Grey’s eyes quickly gave way to sadness and regret. He shook his head slowly and blew out a sigh. "You agree with them, Will?" he asked softly.

She felt for him. She really did. And, over the course of the past week, she'd even found her way to forgiveness of a sort. But she couldn't stay in Big Sky Canyon. Not after everything that had happened. For the past twenty-five years, she'd been subjected to her parents' views on everything from politics to marriage, and had disagreed with pretty much everything they had told her. This time, though, she couldn't dismiss them. They had warned her that the pack would treat her differently now that she’d been jilted by the alpha, and they were right.

More than that, they seemed like they actually cared this time. When Joseph had been imprisoned and Grey and his new mate were announced, her mother had comforted her. Her father had even hugged her, albeit rather stiffly. So when they'd told her they were going to find a new pack, and asked her to join them, she agreed.

Nothing was set in stone. If she hated it, she could leave. But the way things were right now? All she wanted to do was to get away from here. Away from the furtive, pitying glances, and the not-so furtive whispers, as quickly as possible. She'd make major life decisions later, after she'd had a chance to lick her wounds in private for a while.

"Willa?" Grey called her name again, and she turned her gaze on him. "Is this truly what you want?"

"Don't put that on me, old friend. This isn't about what I want." She flicked a glance at Maggie, who sat beside Grey, her brow wrinkled with concern. "This is about what has to be."

She rolled to her feet and brushed some imaginary lint off her jeans, suddenly desperate to get out of there before the waterworks started. Memories of her and Grey ran through her mind, one after the other.

The two of them romping around in the new Fall leaves as pups, and chasing one another through the trees in the forest, seeing who could leap the furthest. Waking up at the crack of dawn to go on their very first hunt. That time in their teen years where they'd kissed for the first time. It was apparent there was no fiery, passionate spark there, but there was a strong, sweet bond between them that had been enough for Willa.

But apparently not enough for Grey.

"I wish you nothing but success as the new alpha. And I'm sorry it had to come to this."

Maggie stood to join Grey and finally broke her silence. "You will always," she reached out a hand and threaded her fingers with Willa's, "always be welcome here with open arms, should you choose to come back," she murmured softly. Her words were for Willa alone, and she appreciated the gesture. But it was exactly that.

A gesture.

It changed nothing, and the reality was, Willa had to think of herself right now. She needed to find a place with a new pack where she could start fresh, and out of the shadow of her failure.

"Goodbye, Grey. Maggie."

Her father swept toward the door and held it open, ushering Willa and her mother through.

She almost made it all the way to the car before she started to cry.

Faustine slid a bony arm around her shoulder and patted her gently. "It’s all right, darling. It will all be over soon."

Willa nodded, but deep down, she wasn't sure of that. How long did it take before one got over losing everything?

She let her mother lead her to the car and then slid into the back seat. A chill ran over her as her father turned the key in the ignition and she gazed out at the Big Sky land through blurry eyes.

This was really it. She was leaving the only home she’d ever known, and might never come back.

The car ride was long and silent, as they each seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. That was good. The last thing she felt like doing was talking.

As day gave way to night, she fell into a fitful sleep, only awakening hours later when her stomach growled. She looked around blearily and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"What time is it?"

Her mother kept her gaze locked on the windshield as she answered. "Almost midnight."

Willa tipped her head and eyed her mother's profile in the moonlight. "How much further is it?"

Montana was big, to be sure, but they'd been in the car forever now and they'd be hitting the border if they kept going west.

Faustine's lips pursed and she shot a quick glance as her husband. "Well, actually, you were sleeping so I didn't want to wake you after you'd had such an upsetting evening." She turned and offered Willa a reassuring smile that looked out of place on her thin lips. "The pack that has invited us to stay is an hour in the other direction, but we have to make a stop first."

Willa unfolded her legs that had been tucked beneath her bottom and straightened. A buzz of awareness--and not the good kind--raised the hairs on the back of her neck as she studied Faustine's placid features.

"A stop?"

"Yes, dear. Your father and I haven't just been in talks with this pack we mentioned. What we didn't tell you is that we've managed to secure a private meeting between you and another alpha."

Willa shook her head slowly. "A private meeting? Why would--" She broke off as it hit her. Not a week after her engagement to Grey had been cast aside, her parents were already on the hunt for a replacement.

She could feel her cheeks going hot with the humiliation of it all.

"Mother, I thought you knew my views on this. I agreed to marry Grey because it had been the plan my whole life and I didn't want to dishonor you or the traditions of our pack, but if there was any positive that came from all this, it was that I would get to choose a mate on my own."

She tried to keep her voice steady. They were backward and old-fashioned in their thinking, but they loved her in their way and right now, they were all she had. Giving them the benefit of the doubt was as much for her as it was for them. Surely, they would be able to see it her way this time.

"Oh, my head-in-the-clouds, romantic daughter. I admire your idealism."

Her mother said the words, but they were the furthest thing from sincere. Her parents despised idealism and they viewed romantic love as a weakness. Packs stayed strong by mating their best pups, and that was that.

"You need to understand, Willa. Now, more than ever, if we want to retain our way of life, we have to surround ourselves with like minds. Allies who believe as we do, and want to continue the traditions we've set forth for thousands of years. In order to do that, we need to secure a good match for you. A match that helps us as a family. A match that is about common sense, and pragmatism. Surely you understand that?"

She
understood
, all right.

But that didn't mean she had to agree to it. They needed to get their heads around that as soon as possible, and there was no time like the present.

"I'm not going to marry someone just so that you and father can get ahead politically."

Her father blew out a long sigh and caught her eye in the rearview mirror. "I won't tolerate your disrespect, Willa. Greyson West wronged you. And I promise, he will pay for that slight. But first we need to find some allies. In order to facilitate that, you need to get on board and do what you're told."

A sense of dread crawled up the back of her neck as his words hit home.

"What do you mean, Grey will pay? His father is imprisoned and half-mad. We left the pack, and I doubt we’ll be the only ones to defect."

He’d looked so sad…so tired behind that big desk.

She shoved aside her sympathy and pushed forward. "He's paid enough for his perceived crimes. I don't want to be there anymore, but I don’t want to fight or be angry anymore either. I just want to find a home and move on with my life."

The air was tense, and she braced herself for an argument. But her father just reached down and clicked on the radio without responding.

It would’ve been nice if they could talk things through like a real family for once.

Maybe this was a mistake, after all. Maybe she should've given it a little more time before walking away. This wasn’t the first scandal to hit their pack, and it wouldn’t be the last. Maybe in a few weeks, the gossip would die down, and she could go back.

Even Maggie had said she would be welcome.

Willa was still deep in thought when the car finally slowed.

They'd been on a steady incline up the side of a mountain for the past hour now, and her father pulled off onto a scenic overlook.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face her. "Let's stretch our legs, and have a bite to eat here. We'll discuss your meeting once our stomachs are full."

She didn’t have high hopes for that discussion, but at least he was agreeing to listen. And, after being cooped up all this time, she could certainly use the stretch. Wolves didn’t do well in close spaces for long periods, and she was starting to get twitchy.

Her parents climbed out of the car and Willa followed suit, taking a moment to grab the knapsack of food she'd packed. She'd barely taken a step onto the gravel when a loud roar sounded above her head. Before she could even process what was happening, the sky was lit with fire.

But it was what the fire illuminated that had the knapsack falling from her limp fingers to the ground.