Dragon's Clutch (Sanmere Shifters Book 3)

the big time like you have but she’s been acting long enough to know the ropes.”
Callin nodded. Of course Lucian was right. Lucian grinned at Callin.
“Would it be the worst thing in the world if the chemistry didn’t go away, though?” he said. Callin’s head shot up and he frowned at Lucian, who hurried on. “I mean, have you seen Valerie? She’s smoking hot, Cal. You could do a lot worse, you know.”
“Objectively, I know she’s hot. I have eyes,” Callin laughed. “But I’m just not into her. When I look at her, I feel nothing. Well, maybe a mild annoyance sometimes. But there’s no chemistry between us, and she certainly doesn’t make my dragon side wake up.”
“But you’re an actor. You could fake that part, right?” Lucian said.
“Well, yeah, but why would I want to?” Callin asked, becoming suspicious of where exactly this conversation was headed. Lucian already knew he wasn’t into Valerie. There had to be an ulterior motive here.
“Valerie has made no secret of the fact that she plans on having you as her mate. Why not embrace it?” Lucian asked.
“How long have you got?” Callin grinned. Lucian didn’t return the grin and Callin sighed. “Look, aside from the fact that I feel nothing for Valerie, I’m not going to get with someone who is only using me anyway. We both know she’s not really into me.”
“No, we don’t,” Lucian said. “We’re working on an assumption. Maybe she just can’t resist your natural charm.”
“Now I know you’re messing with me,” Callin snorted.
Maybe Valerie was attracted to him, but whether she was or she wasn’t, Callin knew that any attraction she might feel for him wasn’t why she wanted to get with him. She wanted to get with him to ensure that she kept her power. Callin’s father had been the pack alpha, and when he was killed, Callin had been the rightful heir. The highest-ranking members of the pack had held a meeting, and they had decided that putting that fate on the shoulders of a child was a bad move.
The pack had voted for Valerie to act as an interim pack leader until Callin was twenty-one, at which point he would take over. Valerie, by all accounts, had graciously accepted the role, saying it would be an honor, but when Callin turned twenty-one, Valerie hadn’t been ready to give up her place as pack alpha. Callin had been relieved. He was happy and he didn’t want the responsibility of the safety of every pack member to fall to him, or to have to make decisions that affected all of their lives day in and day out. So, when Valerie had said she didn’t think Callin was ready to take over the pack, he had whole-heartedly agreed with her. And over the last six years, whenever the topic had come up again, Valerie had shot it down.
Valerie had become the oldest member of the pack when Callin’s father was killed. She was well over two hundred years old and she was powerful. Callin doubted that any member of the pack would be able to take her on in a fight, and Valerie knew it too. She had never come out and said that if Callin wanted to take up his rightful place as the pack alpha, he would have to fight her for it, but it was implied, and as time went on, most of the pack had just accepted that Valerie would continue to be the alpha. Lucian had been the one pack member who hadn’t accepted this.
He had raised Callin to be leader, and he was forever reminding Callin that the alpha position was his birthright. Callin wished his birthright could just be to have a peaceful life. That would suit him right down to the ground.
“What makes you so sure I’m messing with you?” Lucian said. “You’re quite a catch, you know.”
“You have to be messing with me to believe the ice queen has feelings,” Callin smirked.
“Okay, fair point,” Lucian laughed. His laughter faded and he looked at Callin, his expression serious. “So maybe she just wants to use you to keep control of the pack. She has to know that there’s a chance that one day, you could step up and demand your rightful place in the pack.”
“But we both know I can’t beat Valerie in a fight. And the pack would take her side because they fear her,” Callin said. “So, what does it matter?”
“We don’t know for sure that the pack would follow Valerie. They do it now because there is no real alternative. But if you gave them an alternative, one they could really get behind, I think a lot of them would stand up to her. But that’s not the point I’m making. I’m not saying for a second you should challenge Valerie to a fight. I’m saying you should get with her. Make her your mate, marry her.”
“I…” Callin started, but Lucian held up his hand and Callin trailed off.
“Just hear me out, okay? If our theory is correct, then Valerie thinks by making you her mate, she gets to retain her power. After all, you’re not going to challenge your mate to a leadership contest because we all know that the loser in such a contest is forced to leave the pack. If they even survive the fight. So she makes you her mate and keeps herself safely in charge.”
“I get all of that,” Callin said, unable to stop himself from interrupting this time. “But what I don’t get is why you think it would be a good idea for me to play along with this.”
“Because I genuinely believe that if you do, then you’ll get back the alpha role which is rightfully yours without having to fight Valerie for it. Once you two are mated together, then all you have to do is keep acting the role of the doting mate, and slowly start to infiltrate the leadership of the pack. If you shower Valerie with