Chapter 34 Home Bitter Home #2
My sister had always been in my corner, but I had to admit I was a little surprised my dad wasn’t skeptical, at least in this. Even if mate bonds were sacred, he was hardly one to hold anything above reproach.
I knew it was too soon to think the hard part was over, though. He would never help anyone, even his own son, out of the goodness of his heart.
So I braced myself for his conditions.
“Alright, so you’ll need some assistance in getting her out of his clutches,” he said, stroking his chin as he thought. “Considering she already ran once, I’m going to assume he’ll be moving her location soon.”
“If I were afraid my not-a-mate would try to escape again from my hidden apartment, I’d want them as close as possible at all times, so I could keep a better eye on them.” Maia tapped her fingers on her leg as she thought. “He’s probably going to take her to the Premier’s Mansion.”
“Extraction from the Mansion is going to take some serious manpower and planning,” my dad continued. “We’ll need to know the layout, where he’s holding her, the schedules of Corvane and the staff…”
“Definitely can’t go in flames blazing,” Maia said. “A shoot-out with the Dragoviches at The Sugar Palace is one thing, but this is a Premier on his home turf. We need to get inside undetected. I’ll see if I can’t find us an opening.”
Maia was so much better at this than me.
Because if I hadn’t had Garrick holding me back, I would have been dumb enough to challenge Victor to a fight right then and there in his apartment. I was strong, but even in his weakened state, he was still the strongest vampire in Lundaria.
The room was silent for a moment, and then my dad grunted. “Well, this probably explains what happened to Ulfic.”
I looked up in confusion. “Wait… Corvane was involved in that?” I’d heard that Ulfic was found dead in Noctis but had always figured the alpha’d partied a bit too hard and had left it at that.
He grunted again. “Corvane was the one who killed him, only I’d never known how or why. But a mate bond certainly explains how he was strong enough to rip an alpha werewolf apart. And probably why, too. Ulfic must have discovered his secret.”
I cursed myself for not seeing it sooner. “Not just that, he attacked her. She’s covered in werewolf bites.”
Seeing all of her scars, knowing the pain she must have been in…
fuck, I felt like even more of a failure.
Even if it had happened before I’d known her.
I couldn’t believe how much of my life had been wasted, both here and out there chasing low-level scammers and crooks, when I should have been looking for her.
Maia shivered in disgust. “Fuck, I can’t even imagine. That poor woman. I mean, not that I wanna defend Corvane at all, but I kinda get why he’s been keeping her in hiding if that was the kind of shit he was trying to protect her from.”
The growl that escaped my chest shook the room, and she held up her empty hands to placate me, bowing her head in submission. “Sorry, sorry. She’s your mate, I get it. She shouldn’t have been locked up in the first place.”
My dad, however, couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “I have to say, I’m pleased to see your mate’s awakened your alpha dynamic, son. Because it’s about time you embraced it.”
My sister and I both tensed, readying ourselves for whatever was coming next.
“You’re asking for a lot, but I’m willing to help you, as long as you finally return here afterwards and continue as my number two, preparing to take over when I’m ready to retire.”
“Figures,” Maia grumbled under her breath.
It was as much as I’d feared, but no less than what I’d expected. I’d never wanted this life, but if it was between my freedom and Sage, I was choosing Sage.
“Fine,” I replied, starting to rise. “So let’s—”
“Ah, not so fast.”
I sat back down and glared.
Screw him, seriously. Even with his son’s mate’s life on the line, he was going to wring every drop he could out of me. Every tragedy an opportunity.
“You see, as much as I can appreciate that you haven’t exactly been sitting on your ass the past ten years, I’m a little worried that your loyalty and instincts may have strayed even further than they were when you left.”
Damn straight they had. That was why I’d walked out in the first place.
“So what?” I asked, my hands balling into fists. “You want me to make a demon deal or something to make sure I don’t run again?”
He tsked slowly. “Now, now, a demon deal is what got you into this mess in the first place. No, what I’m thinking of is more in the line of… tests. I want to see you in action. To prove you’re actually serious about this family.”
I rose to my feet and slammed my hands on his desk, smoke pouring out of my nostrils. “I don’t have time for your games! My mate is suffering at the hands of that blood-sucking prick as we speak. We need to leave now!”
The old man simply smirked, knowing he had me exactly where he wanted me—emotional, irrational.
and desperate. “I like this fire in you, but watch your tone. You told me you were renouncing our name and the empire I built. And now, ten years later, you waltz in my front door, demanding the benefits of your legacy without offering me something in return?”
The heat inside me was becoming unbearable, and Maia reached over to touch my arm, hissing through the pain.
“Ronan,” Maia entreated, the smell of her burning flesh bringing me back down. “Yes, she’s suffering, but we still need time to make a plan anyway. If anything, it’ll keep your mind distracted.”
As usual, she was right. I took a deep breath. “Okay,” I finally said, my body cooling down to a reasonable temperature. “I’ll do your stupid tests, take back my position, and then I get the demons I need to take back my mate. Do we have a deal?”
Flames danced in his eyes as he grinned. “We most certainly do.”