Vivianna
The pain my heart felt at the thought of Darius betraying me was more than I thought possible from someone I had known for such a short time.
I didn’t know if it was a wolf thing, but my instincts were telling me that he belonged to me and I to him, and that’s all that mattered.
I tried to be strong and not let him know how much it hurt, but my eyes betrayed me, and I felt the tears fall.
I curled my hands into fists, my nails biting into my flesh, the pain pulling me from my sadness. He was no better than my so-called father. He’d used me to get what he wanted and then was willing to toss me aside when he was done.
Hope what he got for this was worth it, because he won’t be alive to enjoy any of it if I have a say in the matter.
Then Darius did the one thing that shocked me more than anything else he could have done at that moment. Dropping to his knees, he knelt in front of me, baring his neck to me.
“On my honor as an alpha, I swear to you that I have not knowingly or purposefully betrayed you in any way. I vow to you, my Dama, to always keep you safe, even at the cost of my own life.”
Well, didn’t see that one coming. That’s a little more like it.
“Know that your life is now mine, Darius. You have given it to me, and I will be the one who decides what is to be done with it,” I said, feeling the rush of my alpha essence flowing through me again, knowing there was power in the words.
Darius rose to his feet and gave me a nod before sitting back down in his seat. I followed suit and looked at the others to see their reactions. Seeing that none of them felt the need to voice any concerns, I wiped my eyes and moved on.
“The Collective wishes to meet with us. What are your thoughts on this matter?” I asked, looking over at Sarma.
“I would advise against it. Not only are you new to our world and this way of life, you haven’t even begun to understand the first steps of ruling.
My suggestion would be to come to some agreement to meet again at a later point.
They will want to have you agree to a cease-fire of sorts that will guarantee that you won’t attack them during this waiting period and vice versa,” Sarma shared.
“I do believe they mentioned having some mate prospects for you. It would be my guess they would ask for them to stay here for you to get to know.”
Growls sounded from my right where the guys were sitting.
I smiled to myself, knowing that out of all the information on that email, this had to be what had gotten to them the most. “Very well, how do we have this informal meeting? I don’t want them coming here, and I feel it isn’t wise to go to them. ”
“I believe that a video chat would be the best. That way, neither is giving up ground, and they won’t see how green you really are,” Sarma said, looking at me down her nose.
Here I thought we’d already explained ourselves to her. Let me at the bitch, I’ll set her straight. Let’s see how she does wolf to wolf.
Calm down, we shouldn’t be threatened by her. We are the alpha bitch in town, and she knows it. I couldn’t care less if she doesn’t like us. She just needs to do as she is commanded. From this point forward, I will just have these conversations with her mother instead.
Oh, good plan. Ice her out of all the important information. Let’s see how she likes being the last to know about shit.
Smiling sweetly at Sarma, I filled her in on the change in plans. “That sounds like a lovely idea, but would you be so kind as to send your mother up when you head back down? I want to get her thoughts on the matter before I make a choice.”
Sarma’s lips pursed, but she just nodded her head and left.
“Guess the cat’s out of the bag about us, or should I say the wolf?” Koit joked when the silence between all of us went on too long.
“So it seems. Time will tell what that means for us, though,” Tav said, leaning his head back on the couch and closing his eyes.
Getting up from my armchair, I wandered over and wiggled my way in between Koit and Rik. They both shifted so I could just fit between them, keeping me sandwiched in the middle. “Who’s picking out a movie?”
“Do we even know if there are any?” Rik asked.
Koit looked over my head at him, frowning.
“What kind of castle would this be without access to movies? Even if there are no DVDs, there has to be a streaming service we can use. If not, then that will be my first mission—to make sure this place is equipped with everything we need for movie nights.”
The TV flicked on, and I looked over to see Darius holding the remote. Seconds later, we had our choice of movies, some of them not even out of theaters yet.
“No way, how did you do that? Isn’t it illegal to pirate movies?” I asked.
Darius gave me a rare smile before answering. “This would be a perk to having me around and having a bank account bigger than mine. Being royal also helps blur the line too. You have enough money and clout to get almost anything you want, Viv.”
“Do I know how to pick ’em or what,” Koit crowed as he smothered me in an overdramatic hug.
“Try not to kill her with your affection,” Rik said, shoving Koit off of me.
“Shit,” I snapped dramatically.
“What?” all four of them asked, looking at me intently.
“We left the snacks upstairs.”
Tav laughed and got up from his spot on the couch. “With your permission, Dama, I will go get them from your personal quarters.”
“Your request is granted,” I answered, grinning at him for following my rules.
“Oh, Fiddler on the Roof. I know that one,” Rik said.
“Not gonna happen,” Darius said, scrolling right by it without a second thought.
“Seriously, I don’t get a say in this?”
“If you’re going to pick out crappy old musicals, then yeah, your vote doesn’t count.”
“I have to agree with big D on this one,” Koit piped up.
“Miracles do happen,” Darius mumbled.
“Wait—I know for a fact there is a musical that will change your minds,” I ventured. Darius and Koit looked at me skeptically. “Let’s make it a bet then. If this movie doesn’t change your mind, then you win. If you like it, I win.”
“I don’t know about this… the last time I challenged you to something, I was drunk under the table. What do we win?” Koit asked.
“What would make it worth it? Both of you have to agree to it,” I warned.
Koit tapped his chin, thinking, but Darius just held my gaze as I watched him come up with an idea. I already knew what I was going to ask for when I won—and there was no question I would.
“If you lose, then we get to make the final say on any other mates you might decide to take,” Darius said, stunning the room.
Wow, way to take something fun and turn it into some serious shit. What makes him think that we would even want to take on more than four mates?
“Damn, why couldn’t I have thought of that,” Koit said. “I totally agree with his idea.”
“Very well, I will agree that only men who are my mates will have a say. Mate prospects and advisors cannot take part in that choice,” I countered. “If I win, you each have to go on a date with me. Separately, of course.”
“I can agree to those terms,” Darius nodded.
“Yeah, what he said. But now I would rather lose so I can go on a date with you,” Koit quipped, giving me a wink.
“Very good, it’s settled. We’re watching The Greatest Showman.”
“I love that movie,” Tav said, coming down the stairs with the snacks.
Funny, that is not the kind of movie I would have picked for him to like. He seems way more of a Dances with Wolves kind of guy.
Shortly, we were all arranged on the couch with our snacks and let the movie roll.
Having seen the movie a few times, it was much more fun to watch all of them.
I knew Rik would enjoy it, and Tav even sang along with a few of the songs.
Koit was hilarious to watch—I’m fairly sure that from the opening foot stomp, he hadn’t blinked once, not wanting to miss a thing.
Darius was harder to read. He seemed to enjoy it, but he was guarding his expression from me.
When the movie finally ended, everyone turned their eyes to Darius to see what his thoughts were.
After a moment of silence, Darius looked over at me, face blank. “So, do I pick the time and place for the date, or do you?”
I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing, feeling like I’d won more than a date. I had managed to get Darius to admit to changing his mind about something.
Don’t get too excited, it’s just a movie. I’m saving my jubilation for when he finally admits he wants a piece of this action.
“I’m feeling gracious. You can plan the whole thing, just tell me when and where.” I turned to Koit. “Same goes for you, because there is no way you could hide the fact that you loved that movie.”
“Why would I deny that? Man, if I could have walked up to him as Wolf Boy—which is a way cooler name than Dog Boy, by the way—I would have stolen the show from that bearded lady in a heartbeat.”
“So does that mean you guys will give Fiddler on the Roof a try?” Rik asked.
“No.” everyone shouted.
“How about Pride and Prejudice? The two-hour one, not the eight-hour mini-series.”
“You would have to kill me first,” Darius groaned.
I snuggled into Rik’s side and looked up at him. “I would love to watch it with you. We can make a night of it, just the two of us.”
You are such a sap sometimes. I hate that you made me watch that every time you got sad and lonely with a pint of ice cream.
Well, this time I won’t be sad or lonely watching it, and I’ll have something better to eat than ice cream.
Damn, I am totally rubbing off on you. Okay, I’m in.
Rik bent down and kissed me. “That would be nice.”
A pillow suddenly smacked into Rik’s face, causing him to stare daggers into whoever had thrown it.
“Ew, get a room if you’re going to do that lovey-dovey crap,” Koit called out.