Chapter 12 Reign
REIGN
I took one step forward, my legs trembling, my fear palpable. I needed to remind myself that my mate was only a few steps away, that he wasn’t alone, his family stood by his side. After that, I could take another step despite being absolutely terrified.
My mate is here. His family is here. They will not let anything happen to me.
And it was true. All of it. Only I could feel the tension rolling off my mate. He wasn’t so sure. He put on a brave face, and he meant every word that he said, but there was some second-guessing going on in his head. I may have only known him a short time, but I could sense it.
It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in him. He was strong and would do everything within his power to protect me. That didn’t change the fact that not only were we here with the freaking mob but also my father.
And how fucked up was it that I was standing with all these shifters, shifters who admittedly did some really bad shit, and my biggest fear was my father? But it was.
He might not have had fangs and claws. He might not have had a criminal past that everyone could point to because, let’s face it, there was no way he was clean.
There was some criminal shit in his background.
And frankly, he was the worst of the lot, which was saying a lot based on what I knew of the family I was meant to marry into.
What my father did have was power. Power in high places. I wasn’t clear on how high but it went to the federal level. He wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all he had if it didn’t.
My father never shared the details with me, intentionally keeping them locked away.
The sick part was that he wasn’t keeping it from me to shelter me, to protect me the way a parent should.
He didn’t care about that. He kept it from me with the full intent of keeping me from being able to do what I’m doing now, which, in his eyes, was rebelling.
And it was a rebellion, I supposed. But not for the reasons he thought.
This wasn’t to get back at him. I’d always preferred staying away over pissing him off.
No, this was me finding the person I was meant to be with and fighting for that love.
This was me finally believing I deserved better, enough that I was going to do something about it.
The Alpha came closer to me, a growl ripping from more than one wolf behind me. I didn’t know if they were growling as a warning to him, or to reassure me they had my back.
Victor held his hand up, and the noise stopped. “Enough of that.”
He walked around me slowly. I felt like his prey. That feeling only grew as he closed in with each trip around me. After three full trips around, he leaned in close, too close for my comfort, but at least a few inches away, and inhaled deeply.
When my mate did that it was hot and made me feel like I was the sexiest, most desired omega on this planet. When this Alpha did it, I wanted to puke. And I may have if he hadn’t taken a step back, returning my personal space.
“Hmm. Explain to me, please. You scent like him, but you’re not marked. He says he is your mate, but you’re not marked. He’s responding as if you belong to him, but you’re not marked.” His tone was information-seeking, not hostile. He was legitimately confused and also right.
I wasn’t marked, and I still understood all the reasons why I shouldn’t be yet. His questioning had me wondering if that had been a mistake, one that was going to make this bad situation a million times worse.
“I’m his mate.” I barely forced the words out.
“Hmm. But you’re not mated.” Victor squinted as he looked in my eyes. What was he hoping to see? “Explain. Why aren’t you mated?”
It felt personal, personal in a way I didn’t want to discuss.
And that was partly because in my head, mating and sex went together, and I’d barely had my first time…
and my second, and my third. But that didn’t matter, it was still new to me, and thinking about that when answering a question made me want to hide in a hole.
“You need to explain, omega.”
Funny how when Ezra called me omega, I felt on top of the world. I was valued and important and revered. But when he said it, I felt dirty and gross and like nothing more than property.
“I’m not marked out of respect for the agreement you had with my father. It needs to… we need it terminated first, otherwise it’s nothing more than a slap in your face because I have a true mate.”
“I see.”
There was something about those two words that really irked me.
“I see.” Was that I understand, or I heard your words and you’re full of garbage, or I see, and it doesn’t matter?
There were so many ways to translate it, but before I could say another word, one that might get me the clarification I needed, my father interrupted the conversation.
Knowing him, he was going to make the entire situation worse. Which, given he created it in the first place, was saying something.
“The arrangement will not be terminated. My son is yours, just as promised. The marriage is going on as planned. Don’t listen to what he has to say. He’s my son, and he will obey.”
“Ezra is my mate.” This time when I said it, I was loud and forceful. Ezra was mine, and marrying anyone else was so far off the table it was in another country.
The Alpha walked around me, getting between my father and me. “That’s not how this works, human.”
Human came out like a dirty word. Or maybe that was just the disdain he had for my father. It was something we had in common, mine growing by the second.
There were audible gasps, and I wasn’t even sure from who… Both sides, I think.
“Your son is Ezra Grey’s true mate. There’s no denying that.
He belongs with Ezra, and as distasteful as that is to me, and unfortunate for you, that’s the way it is.
There aren’t many I will cower to, but fate…
fate is one. The other has long since left this plane.
Messing with fate destroys your own. I know better, and even as a human, you should know better, too. ”
This was good. This was very good. I was going to be okay.
I was going to mate with my mate, live my happy life.
Although, as much as I wanted that, I knew it could never be as easy as that.
Viktor wasn’t doing this out of kindness.
He felt cornered into the decision. There was no way he wasn’t going to want something in return.
“You still owe me a replacement,” he said to my father.
And there it was.
My father went to argue, and Viktor’s hand went to his gun.
“You heard me, human. You owe me a replacement, one that meets all the criteria your son does. Understood?”
What criteria was that? A college education? A shitty father? A nice ass? It could be anything.
My father didn’t reply, just stood there, looking like he wanted to rip the Alpha’s neck out.
“And to make sure you follow through, he stays with me until you provide one.”
A growl ripped from my mate’s chest. This was not going to end well.
The question was—for who?