Chapter 29 #2
“Let’s get this going.” She looks around.
“I have a deposition to prepare for the morning, and I’d like to get back to my mate and kids before their nap time.
” Her phone rings, and it’s the tone of a popular horror movie, easy to recognize.
I’m not the only one who suppresses a shudder.
“Speaking of the devil…” She hits accept call on the screen, puts the phone to her ear, and waits.
“Nope, Zander. I’m not dealing with your spoiled ass tonight.
Just be there in court in the morning.” She drops the phone back in her bag.
A female Alpha lawyer. Oh, man. Rue would’ve loved to meet her.
“Alex, please,” Mrs. Harwood whispers. “Let’s not be rude.”
“Right.” Hard-ass lawyer AKA Alex tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Well, I’m a very busy woman, so…”
Elise passes around drinks, and I’m a little upset and relieved at the same time. Reece isn’t part of the staff working this meeting today. I’m not sure how crazy this is going to get.
“Introductions, I suppose. I’m Rose,” Mom begins, pointing to us as she goes. “This is Heath, my oldest, then Violet and Iris. This is Marigold, who I’m sure you’ve heard is this Season’s Luxe, picked by the Monarch. And you know Dahlia…”
Alex’s phone starts up again, shining through her bag. She curses. “I swear I’m going to drop Zander as a client.”
“Alex,” her father hisses in warning this time. But then he holds out his hand to introduce her. “This is Alexandra. Or Alex.” He turns to Tristen. “Tristen, our youngest—”
“And that’s all that matters,” Alex interrupts hotly.
Clearly there’s something else there, but no one pushes it.
Mom swallows, clinging to her need to be the perfect hostess, but we don’t know these people and we don’t know if Tristen did or didn’t take advantage of Dahlia. Or if he’s the type of man who keeps his promises.
Just because she’s got a good head on her shoulders doesn’t mean she’s not susceptible to some kind of Alpha machismo.
But…I don’t think so. The way he’s leaning into Dahlia, holding her hand in both of his, and whispering words of reassurance makes me think there’s no ill-will here.
He actually cares about her.
“Has your brother told you that he and Dahlia have been having a relationship, more than one that is strictly tutor and student?” Heath asks.
He seems to be in full protective big-brother mode, his initial anger put aside to get things accomplished.
Tristen opens his mouth to speak, but Alex’s finger snaps up to stop him.
“What?” Iris asks with an annoyed huff. “You want us all to sign an NDA first or something?”
Alex lets out a short laugh. “No. But my brother is as good as they come. Always has been. And he’s a certified genius, in music and otherwise.
” She snatches a mimosa from Elise’s tray and gulps it instead of sipping.
“However, he doesn’t know how to be careful with what he says. That’s where I come in.”
“This isn’t court, Alex. And I’m not one of your clients,” Tristen says. “I can speak for myself.”
“Let him talk,” Mrs. Harwood says and nods for her son to continue. Alex rolls her eyes. “Go on, darling.”
He turns to Heath. “I love your sister, Mr. Gardener. I’ve never met anyone with such a beautiful mind and soul. I…I want to spend forever with her.”
Mrs. Harwood presses her hand to her chest and smiles. “Darling, we have no idea…”
“You’ve found your true mate?” his father asks.
Bored, Alex checks her watch.
“I have,” Tristen says with full confidence. He looks at Dahlia fully. “And she’s going to have my baby.”
A stillness sweeps through the room, the calm before the boom. When the words finally land, Alex is the first to detonate.
Her eyes go atomic and her posture shifts from bored and put out to pure rage. “Tris, you fucking didn’t.”
“Believe it,” Heath snaps. “Dahlia’s pregnant. And your brother’s the father.”
I watch a range of emotions pass over the Harwoods—shock, anger, confusion, worry. They run through them all in a blink of an eye, and I’m sure it’s a mirror of what we looked like last night when Dahlia dropped the news on us.
None of this is easy to handle and what should have been personal between two potential mates is now a family free for all.
“Wait, WHAT?” Iris’s eyes are wide as she whirls on Dahlia. “Heath’s lost his mind, right?” She glances around the room to all of us, looking for one of us to say it’s a joke. But when none of us so, she drops into the armchair Rue occupied yesterday. “Jesus Christ.”
Violet walks over and leans against the sofa’s armrest to rub Dahlia’s back in a comforting way. “It’s going to be okay, D. Babies are a wonderful gift. Especially when you get to have them with someone you love.”
Tristen grins up at Violet, grateful.
“Yes, we were all pretty surprised by the news yesterday,” Heath says, trying to regain control of the situation. “That’s why we’ve invited you here. We need to work together to prevent this from getting out before we have a solid plan.”
“She’s not going to keep it, though, right?” Alex says bluntly. “The mainland has more…options for these sorts of things.”
“Alex!” Mrs. Harwood gasps.
“What?” she says with a shrug. “It would make all of this a lot easier.”
“Dahlia is keeping the baby,” I chime in. I try not to cower when Alex’s shark eyes snap my way. “And I’m pretty sure your brother supports her decision.”
“I do,” Tristen agrees. “We’re going to raise them like a Harwood should. The best of the best. And Dahlia and I are going to be mated.”
“Woah, woah, woah, slow down there, Romeo.” Alex holds up her hands. “Let’s think about this for a minute.”
Mom tries to add into the conversation with, “Have you been participating in your Seasons, Tristen?” she asks. “Because we haven’t seen you at any of the balls.”
That is true. And Tristen appears older than twenty-one, while Dahlia is newly eighteen.
Mrs. Harwood’s chest lifts. “We delayed his participation in the Seasons so he could concentrate on his studies. At least until he graduates with his second doctorate.”
Second? Wow, Tristen must really be a genius.
“Very impressive, Tristen,” Violet says as she continues to rub Dahlia’s shoulders.
She’s being Violet, supportive and compassionate, and that’s exactly what Dahlia needs right now.
“I’m glad you feel so strongly for my sister, Tristen,” Heath says.
“But we need to talk about what comes next. Like I said, there’s only a matter of time before this gets out on social media, and we need to get ahead of it.
If you really do love Dahlia, I say we have a quick, private mating ceremony in the country, as soon as possible.
That way we can blame the baby on the honeymoon.
The dates should be close enough for people not to question it too much. ”
“People are going to talk regardless. Especially since neither of them was part of the Season,” Alex snaps.
“Then we get the narrative right. They fell hard in love and didn’t want to wait. Why push off the ceremony if they’ve found their true mate?”
Alex scoffs. “That sounds like a load of hopeless romantic bullshit. No one’s going to believe it.”
“I think you’d be surprised,” I add. “You just know when you find your true mate. It’s like…magnetism. There’s no use fighting it.” I glance at my two older sisters. “I’ve seen it happen before.”
And I feel it myself.
Now I wish Reece was here, so I could steal a look from him. He must be outside, or maybe with Rita in the kitchen. I’ll have to find him after this and get him up to date.
“We are in love, Alex,” Tristen insists, “so it won’t be a lie.”
“You think you’re in love,” she says. “You’ve been so sheltered your entire life that one pretty girl has you panting like a dog.”
Her entire demeanor chafes and I adjust in my seat. The last thing we need is for one of us to cause a scene.
“Dahlia was just accepted into Valor University,” Heath says through clenched teeth.
He’s having a harder time holding back his anger now.
“She'll be the first Omega ever admitted there.
Not because of her looks. Not because of her family.
Because she earned it. Because she's brilliant.
So if you're trying to reduce her to a pretty face, you're talking about someone you clearly know nothing about.”
“Is this about money?” Alex asks with a cocked brow.
Heath growls low, but she is undeterred.
“Let me be clear. If this is an attempt to extort my family or threaten us, you’re venturing into territory with very real legal consequences.
I have no problem dragging this into a courtroom and letting a judge sort it out. ”
“Then you’ll be turning this into a circus for no reason,” Iris says sharply.
Alex lifts her chin. “I’ll do what I have to protect my family.”
“And so will I,” Heath replies. “That is why you are here, as our guests.” Done speaking with Alex, he turns to Mr. and Mrs. Harwood. “People will believe our story if we both back it up. Our family names still mean something. We just need to approached this united. For Dahlia and Tristen.”
“And a mark?” Mr. Harwood asks.
“I say we wait until the mating ceremony for the marks. No one can know about this until after it happens.”
“The Monarch won’t be happy,” Iris says and blows strands of dark hair from her face.
“We push them being madly in love and we push it hard,” Heath says. When he glances at Alex again, her expression is twisted like she ate something sour. “What do you say? Are you Harwoods on board?”
“Absolutely,” Tristen answers first. “Mom? Dad?”
Nodding, Mrs. Harwood says, “We’re happy to have you as part of our pack.”
“Welcome to the family,” Mr. Harwood follows up with.
Even as her parents and brother stare at her, Alex only folds her arms.
“We’ll be in touch,” she bites out, mostly to Heath, as she downs the rest of the drink, drops it on Elise’s tray, and strides to the door.