Chapter 19 #2
“You have everything to say to her,” his mother interjected. "You wouldn't even be a member of our family if it wasn't for her. You have not just broken your promise to her, you broke your promise to us."
Eun's hair was sticking out in every direction, like a nest of angry snakes looking for somewhere to strike as he held me close to his side, his arm a band of steel that wouldn't let me budge, if I even wanted to. Something was very wrong here. None of his family stepped close to him.
"A child cannot make binding contractual agreements," Eun said, his voice still calm, like he was completely void of emotion. "If you are displeased with me, disown me."
"We bought you for her," said a male lupine, his fur dark grey, speaking up from where he sat at the table, resting his head in his hand as if the conversation bored him.
"But we raised and trained you for more than that.
We aren't going to waste years of that investment by disowning you because you refuse to do your duty to the family and beget an heir with Barathice.
Come, sit, eat. There is a solution to be had here. "
The pieces clicked into place.
Eun was, in fact, adopted with the intention of being married to Barathice.
Eun's thumb brushed gently along the inside of my arm, grounding me.
But I’m the one he married.
Eun guided me to the chair beside his mother, only for Barathice to arrive at the same moment, her hand settling on the backrest like a claim.
Eun’s ears pinned back.
Then he snarled, his hair snapping out around him, causing Barathice to take several steps back.
His mother sighed. "You've let your hair grow out. You know how dangerous that is."
Eun ignored her, gripping the back of the chair and pulling it out with firm finality. “Wife, please sit here,” he said, his tone calm but implacable.
Barathice made her way to the far end of the table and flounced down into a chair.
I sat down in the seat Eun had offered, and he gently pushed it in for me, the heat of his body brushing against my shoulder as he passed behind me to take the seat beside his father.
“Leija, this is my father, Rictar, my younger brother Ric, and my younger sister, Eunadi,” he said.
“Lovely to meet you all,” I offered, keeping my voice friendly despite the turmoil of my feelings and the thick tension hanging in the air like humidity before a storm.
A hand reached around me, setting a delicate cup of leafy greens on the silver plate in front of me. I glanced up to catch a servant retreating, her posture low, her ears tall and straight.
“Thank you!” I called softly.
She froze mid-step and turned her head slightly, one long ear flicking back in apparent surprise. Her eyes widened before she dipped her chin and scurried off.
“You don’t need to thank the staff,” Barathice said, voice dripping with disdain. "Are you some kind of idiot? It's just like you Eun, to pick some pathetic little thing who thinks it needs to waste its breath being kind to the help."
"Oh goodness, you're right!" I said with a giggle. "Being a decent person is exhausting. I don't know how you manage to avoid it so effortlessly."
The entire table was silent for a moment, all eyes staring at me.
"Little thing has some bite to her, does she?" Rictar said. "Surprising."
“I’m surprised at the salad,” Eun said, changing the subject. “Last time I was here, there was nothing this green.”
It was a very small salad, balanced in a glass that looked more suited to champagne. Across the table, Eunadi plucked a leaf delicately between her fingers and popped it in her mouth with a contented hum.
“We’ve adjusted our menus to widen the family’s palate,” Rictar said. “You gave us a lot to think about.”
“It’s important to be able to eat anything served at a public function,” Eunadice added. “At the very least for the optics. You were right. We were limiting ourselves, and we should have listened to your suggestions.”
I couldn’t catch every word. I filled in what I didn’t know with what made the most sense. It was like listening to a show without subtitles, guessing meaning from tone and rhythm, from body language and the occasional familiar phrase.
Eun’s shoulders slowly relaxed, his hair softening downward. “I didn’t know.”
“You’ve refused all communication,” his father said, his voice unreadable. “How would you?”
“You made it clear when I was last here that there was no room for change,” Eun said. “You said if I left, I shouldn’t bother coming back until I was willing to do my duty.”
"I'm not a duty," Barathice scoffed as she crossed all four of her arms. "It's not like I wanted to marry an ugly, hairless alien like you."
I plucked a piece of salad from the glass and took a bite, this time keeping out of conversation and focusing on the food.
It was crisp and sweet, a little like watercress and sugar snap peas had a baby.
A perfect palate cleanser, and something to do with my mouth while the family worked through this mess.
I'd defend myself if someone took another shot at Eun or me, but it wasn't my job to figure this all out.
This was on Eun. As his wife, I would support him in dealing with his family, but I couldn't fight the battles for him.
Especially when they were gross battles.
"That's a good point, sister," Eun said. "No one has ever explained to me why you wanted someone as strange-looking as me in the first place."
"I already explained that to you," Rictar said. "There are attributes about your species that would be beneficial to our family in the long run."
"Like what?" Eun demanded. "What attributes?"
Did Eun not even know what he was?
"Like the fact that you have good ideas about how to present ourselves in a changing society," Eun's mother said. "It wouldn't have occurred to us what an impact eating prey food at a function would have on the press. The articles have been positively glowing."
“Yes, well,” Rictar grunted, waving a hand as if that settled things. “Exactly.”
“The family’s image is important,” Eun’s mother said, her voice measured and honeyed with the kind of patience that felt like a blade.
“And you made quite the splash in the news when you left. I assumed you saw the pieces that came out about us. I even ran that fundraiser last month, for a prey-focused orphanage. You must have heard about that.”
There was a beat of silence before his father leaned in, elbows braced against the edge of the table.
“Listen, Eun,” he began, his tone shifting into something rehearsed.
“We took time to think about what you said. We’ve made some changes.
We don’t need to be stuck in the old ways.
I can read the writing on the wall, prey species outnumber us now, and public sympathy matters.
You struck a nerve when you left. People listened. ”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“If you came back now, publicly, the prodigal heir returned? That would be a turning point. For all of us.” His gaze drifted over to me. "Any other problem can be solved."
I kept nibbling my way through the salad, crunching softly like it was popcorn, and I was watching a drama unfold onscreen.
From what I could piece together, Eun walking away had been good for him, and maybe not so great for his family’s reputation.
Now they wanted him back, like a glossy ribbon to tie around their rebranded image.
“Image doesn’t matter,” Eun said. “People matter. My wife matters to me.”
“Your family matters,” his father shot back. “What kind of change are you going to make working in that lizard’s restaurant? Come back and make real change. I’m running for office this year. With you standing by the family, showing your allegiance, it would shift everything.”
I finished the last bite of my salad and set the little glass cup down. The servant from before reached around me again, swift and silent, whisking it away before I could catch her eye and thank her. She moved like a shadow, gone before I could do more than inhale to speak.
Eun leaned forward, voice calm but firm. “Give me control of Wolf Enterprises.”
"That is a third of the family's income," his mother said.
His father laughed, short and incredulous. “You think you can run a business?”
Wolf Enterprises was the phrase I substituted in for the unfamiliar words once I knew it was a business.
“I think you’ll need to focus on your campaign,” Eun said evenly, folding his hands on the table.
I guessed that last word, campaign, based on the tone and the context. His father had mentioned running for an important position.
His mother narrowed her eyes. “Do you really believe you can run Wolf Enterprises with prey by your side? What even is she?”
“I’m a human,” I said, sitting up a little straighter.
All heads turned toward me as if they had only just remembered I existed, except for Eun, who looked at me with that same gentle pride I was starting to crave. His smile warmed my skin like sunlight.
“My point stands,” his mother said crisply. “You can’t expect the board, the investors, the public, to support any of this with a wife who’s prey.”
She turned to look at the staff lined neatly along the walls, her lips curling in command. “Leave us.”
Without a sound, the serving staff withdrew, vanishing like mist, leaving behind a quiet that was heavy with anticipation.
Her gaze slid to the two younger siblings. They stood without a word and left the room. Barathice remained seated, her eyes sharp and eager, her tongue snaking out to lick her lips.
Then a new figure entered.