Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Istood in the shower, hot water cascading down my back, almost burning me.
After running through the forest for over an hour, I was exhausted and hungry.
I turned the water off and got out, drying myself.
I put on sweatpants and a t-shirt before heading downstairs where I found Danny sitting at the kitchen table having a bowl of cereal.
I opened the fridge, looking for something to satisfy my craving.
“We don’t have much,” Danny said around a spoonful of food.
I grabbed a bowl and sat across from him at the table. He slid the milk and cereal box toward me. “What are you doing up?” I asked him, pouring myself a bowl of granola.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
I sighed. I’m sure this had to do with Laney. Since we were the only two awake, now was as good a time as any to talk.
“Spill.” I took a bite of cereal, trying not to let my irritation show.
“There’s something you need to know,” Danny said.
The front door opened and closed. I didn’t have to tilt my chair back to look down the hallway to know who’d just entered the house. I could feel my dad from here. His power and anger came off him in waves, slamming into me. And with him was Gareth, his second.
Danny froze, his spoon half-way to his mouth, his eyes wide.
“Did you know they were coming?” I demanded, not bothering to whisper since our dads would hear us regardless.
“I thought they’d be here tomorrow,” Danny said. “I was gonna talk to you about it before they came.”
I leveled him with a glare.
Two hulking bodies entered the kitchen, demanding attention.
“Let’s go,” Dad growled. “Both of you. Now.”
I shoved my chair back and stood, Danny doing the same. We followed our dads out the back door to the yard bathed in moonlight.
Dad and Gareth turned to face us.
Whatever this was, it was bad. I knew it had to do with Laney based on the texts my dad had sent earlier. The fact that he was here, this late at night and with his beta, meant punishment was about to be served.
“I told you to stay away from her,” my dad said, pointing a finger at my chest, his face an angry shade of red.
“We’re just dating and fooling around.” I tried to play it off as something light and noncommittal.
“You know you don’t have that luxury,” Dad said. “I can’t believe you broke up with Emily for this.”
Danny tensed next to me. He’d certainly benefited from Em and I breaking up, seeing as how he was now dating her. The two of them seemed to be forming a bond.
“You have nothing to worry about,” I insisted.
Dad folded his arms, cocking his head and staring at me. “Are you or are you not forming a mating bond with the half-breed?”
“It’s not like that,” I said, not wanting to lie to my dad but not wanting to tell him the truth either.
“Laney is a half-breed who doesn’t shift.
We can’t form a permanent bond.” I folded my arms, trying to look confident in order to convince my dad.
I couldn’t tell him that when I’d had sex with Laney, I’d felt something click into place.
I knew it was the mating bond forming, but I also knew it hadn’t solidified yet.
My dad turned to Danny. “You said you felt a bond forming?”
My head whipped around to face my so-called best friend and second. I was going to kill him for going behind my back and contacting my dad about this. It was none of his fucking business. Except…he was part of our pack, and my decisions affected everyone.
I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, trying to keep my temper in check.
Danny and I had been friends since we were born.
We’d grown up together and were as close as brothers.
While he’d said a few things to me about Laney, he’d never said how upset he was.
Fury, hurt, and the need to tear something apart were building inside me.
I’d never rat Danny out to his father. Even if I didn’t like or agree with him, I would never go behind his back.
“Yes,” Danny said. “I could feel it coming from both of them.”
My heart pounded with the thought of Laney forming a bond to me as well.
“For another to feel it,” Gareth said, “it has to be strong.”
My dad turned his attention to me. His power radiated off him in angry waves, making my muscles shake.
I could feel him trying to force me to submit so I’d have no choice but to obey him. I held his gaze, refusing to back down. I couldn’t give Laney up.
“You know it’s impossible,” Dad said. “The pack would never accept her as your mate.”
In other words, if I wanted her, I’d have to sever ties with my pack. I couldn’t live without them. My pack was all I knew. Everyone I loved was in it.
“You can’t stay in our pack if you defy my orders,” Dad said.
Because I was an alpha, his son, I’d have to leave and start my own pack. No one would go with me, which meant I would be living on my own. It would be dangerous for both myself and Laney. We couldn’t ever have children.
The problem was that I didn’t think I could survive without Laney either.
Neither choice seemed feasible.
“Rowan,” my father said, taking a step closer to me.
They were going to force me to give her up.
Pain gripped me, as if my heart were being squeezed and my life were draining from my body.
It became hard to breathe. I couldn’t imagine a life without Laney.
We only met a few weeks ago, and she’d already embedded herself into my life.
The thought of letting her go, of watching her move on with someone else, was too much to bear.
“You know you are the next alpha of our pack,” Dad said. “The entire pack is counting on you to lead them.” His hand landed on my shoulder, solid and unyielding.
I nodded. The alpha’s firstborn was always the next alpha. I couldn’t pass it on to one of my brothers, no matter how much I might want to.
“You must sever your bond and let her go.” My dad’s words sounded like nails in a coffin.
“We have to watch out for her,” I said. “The enforcers…”
“I’m glad you mentioned them.” Dad let go of me and folded his arms. “We must follow the laws of our kind.”
My vision swam. Half-breeds weren’t allowed. “I can’t let them kill her.”
“I understand,” my dad said. “Which is why I’m willing to cut you a deal.”
“What sort of deal,” I asked, glancing at Gareth and Danny, wondering if they already knew about this.
It felt as if I were being backed into a corner.
My mouth started to water as my canines began to lower.
My muscles twitched, and I had to use all my strength and control to remain in human form.
If I lost it and shifted, my dad would force me to submit, and I’d have no choice but to listen.
“If you agree and hold up your end of the deal, I will do what I can to protect Laney. If you don’t do as I ask, I’ll kill her myself.”
My muscles rippled at the threat. Danny took a step closer to me, probably sensing my control about to snap.
“What’s the deal?” I ground out. My dad’s word was gold. He always stood by it, so I knew he was serious.
“The enforcers contacted me. They asked some questions. I am willing to let the enforcers know Laney is innocent. That she was sired and left with a human with no knowledge of our world. She is a half-breed who doesn’t shift and is clueless about what she is and what we are.”
“I’ve already told them that,” I said.
“I will tell them that if they let her live, I will bring her into our pack. I will ensure she learns our ways and is protected.”
“What do I have to do to ensure she’s protected?” And my father didn’t fucking kill her instead.
“You will marry a strong purebred wolf from our pack.”
It felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach. I had to marry someone else in order to protect Laney.
“You do that, and I will guarantee Laney is safe and protected. You don’t, and I’ll let the enforcers know I’ll kill her myself.”
His words hung heavy in the air between us.
Laney’s life was in my hands. If I agreed to this, it would buy me some time to figure out how to get out of the engagement and find a way to be with Laney.
I was only a senior in college. Maybe I could go to grad school.
I had years before I had to settle down and marry.
“Do you agree?”
“I’ll think about it.” I had no choice but to agree. However, I couldn’t seem too eager. Plus, I had to make sure I wasn’t missing something.
“Decide quickly,” Dad said. “I want to announce your engagement to the woman of your choice from our pack by Thanksgiving. Then the two of you will marry this summer after you graduate.”
It felt as if a boulder had fallen on my head, plummeting me into the ground. Thanksgiving was next month. This summer was only seven months away. I wasn’t ready to marry anyone.
“What if the woman I want to marry isn’t ready to tie the knot so soon?” I asked, trying to buy time.
“No one would be stupid enough to turn down a proposal from an alpha.”
As far as my father was concerned, this was a done deal.
“Let me know by next weekend,” Dad said. “Sever your relationship with her and choose someone else to marry, and she lives. Don’t, and she dies. The choice is yours. Her life is in your hands.”
Unable to stand there another second, I shifted, shredding my clothes, and took off.
I ran, my muscles pushing me faster and harder than I’d ever run before. When I came to a clearing, I stopped and howled, the sound echoing through the night, tortured and painful. Exactly how I felt.
I had just told Laney I was falling in love with her. How would I explain that I had to end things in order to protect her? I howled again, my heart bleeding.
I didn’t return home for three days. Instead, I remained in wolf form, wandering around, thinking. In order to protect Laney, I’d have to break her heart and marry someone else.
My dad didn’t make idle threats. He’d said he’d kill Laney if I didn’t do what he wanted, and he meant it.