Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
JEWEL
“You’re in a good mood,” Laurel said as I stepped past her into the bedroom.
Oh, she had no idea.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I handed her a bottle of wine. “Dear Old Dad’s out of town, so we’re free to get tipsy and pretty.”
Now that it had become clear I wasn’t going to be an alpha, after all, Father had started to lose interest in me.
It was slow, but he was moving on to other potential heirs.
I felt like he was slowly loosening the noose he’d made for me, and I could see the day I’d be able to wiggle free and live the life I wanted.
“Pretty? Is there a special occasion?” Laurel said.
Oh, nothing. Just a date with Jade.
“Why does there need to be an occasion?” I crossed to her closet and started looking through her dresses. “I saw that Silverlight dress you got last month, and it was made for me, bitch.”
“I actually did get it for you. There’s no way I’d pull it off.”
I beamed and threw my arms around her. “Did I ever tell you that you’re my second-favourite person?”
“Wait, what?” She raised an eyebrow. “Who took my first-place spot?”
Jade.
“That’s reserved for myself, of course.” I smirked and turned back to the clothes.
There it was. Was this dress a little much for a movie date? Sure, but when had I ever not been extra?
I laid the dress on the bed with a happy sigh. “It’s perfect.” I stroked the fabric. “Not too fancy or too casual.”
I crossed to the bathroom and tried it on, getting Laurel to zip me up.
It was a simple dark blue dress with long sleeves.
The top was soft, and it had a cutaway waist, connecting the top and bottom with just a crisscross of fabric before flowing into a breezy skirt.
I felt suffocated in the suits Father made me wear, hating every time I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
I wasn’t supposed to exist like that; I was far too gorgeous to waste my time with men’s fashion.
“I wish I had my ears pierced,” I said wistfully. “This dress is begging for jewelry.”
“You look stunning,” Laurel reached out and squeezed my hand. “We could get your ears pierced after we leave. It’ll be the first thing we do.”
“Yeah, right after my chest tattoo that says, Fuck my dad. Please.”
She burst into laughter, and I raised my eyebrows.
“I’m not joking.”
“Sure,” she said. “Come on, let's go pick a necklace.”
We walked back into my bedroom, and I stopped. It was quiet in here now—I hadn’t remembered turning the radio off.
My blood turned to ice as I saw Father rising from Laurel’s armchair. What the fuck was he doing back so early?
“I hope I’m not interrupting?” my father said, clasping his arms behind his back. “By all means, carry on with what you were doing. What was it, picking a necklace?”
A thousand threads were spinning out in my mind—excuses, explanations, possible escapes.
They all fizzled out; there was nothing I could do.
He’d never caught me quite like this before.
I was so careful to never let my true self bleed through around him.
I’d sat through enough of his bigoted rants to know exactly what he thought of men like me.
I stood up straight and folded my arms. I wasn’t ashamed of this, and I wasn’t going to cower before Thaddeus’s disapproval.
What was he going to do to me, though? Maybe he’d just straight-up disown me. That would be the best-case scenario. Otherwise, I was sure I was in for something extremely painful and humiliating.
“You know,” my father said, “I was just coming to terms with the fact you’d be a beta. I thought maybe there would still be a place for you in this family. But if this is the kind of beta you are?” His lip curled in disgust as he looked me up and down. “I think not.”
“Father, please,” Laurel spoke up. “We were drunk and messing around. It didn’t—”
“Silence,” my father hissed. “Did I ask for your input?”
I glanced at Laurel to try and reassure her. Not matter what, I wouldn’t abandon her.
My father signalled his guards, and they bound my arms and forced me to my knees. It was going to be okay. I could handle some pain.
But maybe he could get this over with quickly. Jade was waiting for me.
Father spat at my feet and sneered at me. “I knew you were weak, but I never in my wildest dreams would imagine my own flesh and blood to be this queer.”
“Weak?” My contempt poured into my voice. “I’d knock you flat in a fair fight, if you didn’t hide behind muscled men and guns.”
“You want a fight?” Father said. “I’ll give you one last chance to claim your aura, boy. In Blood Court. You’ll come out the other side a proper alpha, or you’ll die as this abomination. It’s a win-win for me either way.”
I stared at him, searching for a sign that he was joking. I mean, he never joked, but there was no way he was serious right now.
Die?
He was going to kill me?
No, he wouldn’t. This was just a punishment, a way of scaring me.
He grabbed Laurel and left the room without another word. The guards dragged me along, and I attempted to struggle. It was too late for that, now.
I couldn't go to the Blood Well; Jade was waiting for me. It was freezing out, and she wouldn’t know why I wasn’t coming.
I started struggling in earnest by the time I was facing the ante-cages. I caught a glimpse of Demon, our most savage fighter, already in his spot next to the ring.
I looked up, through the net above the ring and to the crowd above. My father was seated there, Laurel at his side. His expression was glacial.
I was shoved into the ante-cage and turned with a snarl, but the door was already being locked. It stank down here, of metal and the tang of blood mixed with the strong pheromones of rutting alphas.
I gritted my teeth and started ripping open the sides of the beautiful blue dress. I wasn’t going down without a fight. Laurel was watching and Jade was out there, waiting for me.
I knotted the remains of the dress out of the way. They’d taken my knife from my thigh holster, and I felt bare without it. There was a sound from the side, and I looked up to see Hugo at the bars. He held his hand out, and I stepped over to him. It was my knife.
“Thanks,” I told him.
His expression was agonized as he stepped back, and I swallowed. What chance did I have here, really? Against a rogue alpha?
The buzzer sounded, and with it came the crackle of electricity as they shocked Demon to trigger his rut. I could feel his aura explode out, making my stomach churn and a cold sweat break out on my skin.
Still, I surged forward.
Hugo’s training kicked in, and I went low. Demon was charging at me unnaturally fast, but I tripped him and he slammed into the ground.
He snarled and turned on me, and I met his body with mine, redirecting the momentum and sending him sprawling. Sweat was coating me, my breathing coming in hard pants. I couldn’t keep this up forever.
I managed to fend him off for a bit longer, but eventually, I slipped up. Demon pinned me to the ground, his hands squeezing my throat.
He shifted, and high above us, I could see my father and Laurel. Laurel was frozen, her face pale and eyes glassy as she witnessed my defeat.
My death. There was no buzzer, no clang of metal as guards swarmed in to get Demon off of me.
Father was staring down at me. Did he love me? Had he ever loved me?
But I found my answer in the fury burning in his eyes. I’d seen that look before. Only once. It was the same look he’d had when he’d ended mother’s life.
He had loved me, then. In his own fucked-up, selfish way. He’d loved me enough to feel betrayed.
He’d loved me enough to justify the anger burning in his eyes.
I closed my eyes. I would get no mercy from him. I should count myself lucky, really. That I knew I’d truly loved and been loved.
I’d got to hold Jade. I’d got to see her look up at me with her beautiful dark eyes and tell me she loved me.
She was still out there, waiting for me right now. Demon was crushing me, his fingers tearing into my skin, and it hurt. All that pain and fear swelled and threatened to swallow me whole.
But then Demon’s grip loosened. I looked up at him as a whine tore from his lips. His eyes were wide and fearful, and there was a new scent surrounding us, like wine and fruit.
I didn’t know why he’d stopped, but I wasn’t going to waste this. I slammed my blade into his shoulder.
I shoved Demon off me. He didn’t fight as I delivered a decisive kick to his skull. He crumpled to the ground, leaving me breathless and wondering what the fuck had just happened.
?
I held it together for the rest of the night. I played my part perfectly, repenting on my knees before Thaddeus, making some bullshit excuse for why I’d “acted out.” He didn’t question me; he’d heard what he wanted to hear. The son he wanted was finally here.
I smiled as he congratulated me on claiming my aura—better late than never.
His hand on my shoulder was the reminder that I was now shackled, stuck being Julius Fairchild. Somehow, I got through it, though it felt surreal.
Like a nightmare.
I managed to lock my bedroom door before my knees gave out.
I hit the floor with a thud, and a choked gasp slipped free.
It felt like iron bands were around my chest, squeezing the air out of me.
I couldn’t catch my breath. I curled in on myself, my fingers gripping my hair, tight enough to send a searing pain along my scalp as I tried to anchor myself.
My face was wet, and I had to clench my teeth to stop from screaming.
I should be dead.
If Father knew, I’d be dead.
My life now hinged on a lie as thin as paper.
I wasn’t an alpha.
I’d known for months something was happening, something was changing, but I’d ignored it. In a strange way, my father had been right that pushing myself to the brink of death had triggered my transformation. I’d perfumed, the terror in my scent stopping Demon’s rage in its tracks.
I managed to crawl over to my bed, needing some comfort. I fumbled around under the covers until my fingers brushed against something soft and silky. I pulled Jade’s scarf free and buried my nose in it, taking in gulping breaths of air.
Father could never find out. If he did, he’d finish what he started tonight.
I couldn’t risk him doubting I was his loyal alpha son for even a second.
I lay on the floor for a long time that night, breathing in Jade’s scent as I ran through all the possible terrible ways this could end.
I’d come to one gut-wrenching conclusion by the time I finally crawled into my bed.
I’d have to do this alone. Father would expect me to constantly be at his side, and sneaking away to spend time with Laurel or Jade would be suspicious.
And in the very likely scenario that this whole charade would fail, I didn’t want to give my father any reason to harm either of them.
I wanted both of them as far away from that psychopath as possible.