Chapter Three
Sometimes Evil Wins the Day
IMOGEN GALLAGHER
I stare at myself in the full-length bathroom mirror of Trailhouse. My dad would’ve birthed a cow if I’d shown up to this engagement dinner in boots and jeans, so I’d dropped off a change of clothes with the manager of the restaurant before I went looking for Mr. Darcy.
Instead of boots that make me feel strong and jeans that give me a sense of wearing armor, I’m wearing a little black dress. Skinny straps with a deep V-neck. It fits me like a glove and then flares at my thighs. Short in the front and long in the back, nearly to my ankles. Some fuck me red Jimmy Choo stiletto mules with little crystal bands that drape across my feet like low-riding ankle bracelets finish the alpha-princess-on-a-silver-platter look.
I fidget with my Mohawk braid, puffing it here and there. I already touched up my makeup and gave myself an evening-worthy smoky eye that makes me feel more protected. Stronger. My bright blue eyes pop from beneath the dark eyeliner and beg me to take a chance and fight.
That man outside—Liam—is my mate. I saw the shimmer in the air. I felt the connection. I felt his pain when I told him no . I desperately want meeting him to change everything. A tiny part of me wishes he could save me.
But terror consumes me, and fear quickly and efficiently burns away that tiny sliver of hope, returning me to my current reality.
Liam will only ever be a dream. A thought. A wish.
Anything more than that would put him in my father’s crosshairs right along with the death threat he holds over my friend Rachel’s head.
My reputation as a tough I-will-beat-you bitch for my father is a facade I wear like a shield. Underneath it all I have no control over my life. If I didn’t pretend to be tough as nails, I wouldn’t survive. My father doesn’t allow weakness and if you show it, he’ll beat it out of you.
My mouth is dry.
Sweat slicks my palms.
I keep wiping them on the skirt of my dress.
I glance at my watch. I’m not late yet, but I need to go. It’s time.
I grab the duffel holding my other clothes and exit the bathroom. The ma?tre d’ takes it with a quick bow and leaves me to walk to the private dining room in the back of the restaurant by myself.
My father takes all his meetings here. He owns it, after all. And tonight, he’s reserved the entire back room for what he’s calling an engagement party. But I know the truth.
The so-called party is just another one of my father’s schemes, and this time I’m the chip on the bargaining table. And I can’t help but hate them both.
I’ve never met Aiden, but I can only assume he’s as heartless as my father to agree to marry a woman he’s never met. A woman he doesn’t love. To make it worse, Aiden probably thinks he’s saving his pack. But he’s really the victim. He doesn’t understand that my father never agrees to a deal without holding the advantage.
I straighten my shoulders, hold my head high, and put on my tough-girl, kick-ass mask. I’m hard. Unbreakable. I have to be to survive. But underneath it all, my heart races.
I will play the perfect daughter, while bottling up the urge to scream and run away.
A few more steps. Each one takes me closer to my doom.
Finally, I reach the back room. A waiter opens the door for me. The air is thick with the scent of expensive cigars and aged whiskey.
My father sits at the head of the table. An unfamiliar male to his right. One of my brothers sits to his left—Finn. My other brother, Lucas, makes a concerted effort to never be in town, so he’s a no-show. Uncle Dave and his wife sit surprisingly quiet. None of my cousins are in attendance.
I take another quick look at the only stranger.
This must be Aiden O’Connor. His features are rugged, chiseled. His broad shoulders stretch out the fabric of his light blue dress shirt. His eyes are a deep, smoldering brown, and the stubble on his chin only enhances his masculine appeal. I can’t deny he’s nice-looking, but I don’t feel anything for him...not like I felt for Liam outside only a few minutes ago.
“Ah, there she is, finally,” my father says, his voice oily and smooth. “We’ve been waiting.”
“I apologize.” Though I know I’m not late, it doesn’t make any difference. I could’ve been thirty minutes early and he still would’ve found a way to make it a problem.
I make my way to the only empty seat at the table—the one next to the man I assume is Aiden. He stands, pulls out my chair, and helps me sit. My father doesn’t budge. Neither does my brother Finn, who looks at me coldly with boredom in his eyes. My uncle and his wife, Aunt Kate, both sit and sip at glasses of wine, not even bothering to say hi.
All this pomp and circumstance and my husband-to-be is the only one with decent manners.
I don’t want to marry him.
And he doesn’t want to marry me. His eyes hold a hint of sadness when he looks at me, but the only man I’ll ever be able to think about as a true mate is the one outside.
The man with the beautiful smile and kind brown eyes. The man with an adorable mop of curly brown hair who smelled like sunshine and horses. The man Fate brought to me too late to help me escape the prison I call my life.
Walking away from him was a knife into my own heart. The hurt on his face. The confusion. I felt his pain the same as my own. But there was no point. Even if I wanted to choose him over Aiden, my father would kill Liam before he’d let me ruin this deal. And he’d likely chain me where he usually punishes me in the basement and make me watch my fated mate die slowly and painfully.
I shudder, pushing away the fear and nauseating terror. I can do this. I can do what needs to be done to protect everyone.
“Thank you for coming, Imogen.” Aiden’s voice is low and gravelly. The words come out stilted but genuine. “You look beautiful.”
I nod to Aiden, but don’t answer. I don’t trust myself not to burst into tears.
“She cleans up well when she tries.” My father’s jab barely registers. I’m so used to never being good enough. Never measuring up. If he ever actually paid me a true compliment, I wouldn’t hear it.
I fight to keep my face flat.
No reaction.
Show no reaction to my father.
Waiters bring us food. Wine.
“Are you excited about the wedding, Gen?” Aunt Kate catches my gaze. Her brown eyes are soft. She knows we both live in a world where men make all the rules. “How long have you been seeing Aiden?”
Fuck. What has my father told them?
“Yes, darling. How did this surprising alliance come to be?” Uncle Dave asks between calm sips of wine.
Don’t panic. Don’t show surprise. Don’t show fear. But I am panicking and surprised and fucking terrified. My father will make me suffer if I answer the questions wrong. And why the hell is Uncle Dave even here acting as if he doesn’t hate my father’s guts for this alliance? He’s pissed. I can feel it, but he’s playing nice...or trying to trap me into saying something he can use against my father.
I drink, needing the aid of liquid courage to shore up my walls. I try to wash down the growing knot in my throat, but it doesn’t move and I almost choke. I have no words. Nothing.
Anything I say will backfire. Anything I say will be wrong.
“We met randomly on the road, actually.” Aiden speaks up, saving me from throwing up in my lap. “Her car had a flat. I passed by. Stopped to help her. And it’s been a whirlwind since.” He puts a hand over mine where it’s resting on the table, trembling.
I know Aiden means it as comfort and a show for my suspicious aunt and uncle. I know the lies he just told were only to protect me. But my stomach still tightens more and another wave of nausea rolls through me. My father could still punish me for choosing to say nothing. I can hear the chains clinking and feel the cold steel around my wrists. The stink of sweat and piss in the basement is the only thing I can smell. I’m not going to make it through this dinner...
The steak might as well be a rock on my plate.
“Going to eat that?” Finn asks a second before his fork comes toward my plate from across the table.
Aiden launches from his chair and stands over me, both his arms on the table, one on either side of my place setting. Protecting me. The feeling is so foreign. No one ever protects me but me. “Leave it.”
“She doesn’t want it.” My brother isn’t used to being told no either.
“Leave it. You’ll treat her with the respect an alpha’s wife deserves. Are we clear?”
Brave, honorable man. It won’t last, though. My father will beat the courage out of him. And his honor will be stolen away with tiny slices. Each one so small he won’t even see he’s changing.
Finn doesn’t argue back again. He glances at our father briefly, but even dear old dad doesn’t say anything against Aiden’s claim. Just shrugs off his son and continues chewing his mouthful of steak.
Aiden waves down a waiter and instructs him not only to pack up my steak, but to make sure I have a serving of chocolate cake boxed to go as well.
Aunt Kate’s eyebrows rise slightly. She’s watching me. They all are. But I’ve played this game my whole life. My father is a cruel but genius political mastermind. I grew up with him. I’ve learned how to survive.
Damn Aiden for being so nice, though. If he were like every other male in my life, cruel and manipulative, I’d know how to respond. But with him, it’s different. He’s kind, and thoughtful, and it’s throwing me off-balance.
Not too much, but enough that it’s casting shadows of doubt.
But I can’t let my guard down, not after everything I’ve been through. My father has used feigned kindness before to lure me into a trap, and I can’t shake the feeling that this guy is up to something similar.
When Aiden puts his hand on my arm, I tense. I don’t want to flinch, but I can’t help it. The fear and uncertainty are too great. My heart races, and my breath comes in short, shallow gasps.
He notices my discomfort and pulls his hand away without a word. Bonus points to him with that small show of awareness.
“I understand,” he says, keeping his voice very quiet so the rest of the table won’t notice. Except he’s not used to the men at the table the way I am. He’s not used to my father.
“You understand nothing.” Spittle flies from the corners of my father’s mouth. His cheeks are red and his eyes spark gold from his wolf. “You don’t have to understand anything. Don’t let her convince you otherwise. She’s a snake in the grass and you’ll need a firm hand to keep her in line.”
The words cut deep, and my muscles tense. He’s rarely this mean in front of others. But his brother’s here and that always brings out the worst in him.
I glance at Aiden, strangely hoping to find some support or understanding, but he looks as shocked as I feel. He certainly didn’t expect my father to be so cruel and controlling. No one ever does.
“I expect grandchildren soon, Imogen.”
Bring more children into this toxic family? I want to scream and shout that I never want children. I never want him to touch them or see them or control them the way he does me. I’ll die old and childless just to spite him and save others from his cruelty.
But instead of making a scene, I continue staring at the tablecloth in front of me, arguing with myself inside my head over the merits of staying or fleeing the restaurant. But I know the only way I survive is to stay calm, keep my head down, and wait for the storm to pass.
He’s conditioned me to obey. It’s painful to go against him. I’ve been taught that over and over and over.
“These two don’t look very enamored with each other, Oliver. I thought this was a love match.” Dave tosses the accusation across the table at his brother with a vengeful grin. “Are you manipulating these young people for your own benefit? Because if we’re negotiating terms openly, I can offer Aiden a much better deal if he marries my youngest daughter.”
“Fuck off, Dave. You weren’t invited to this engagement dinner.” My father’s eyes are dark and his voice is lethal. “Get your fucking wolves out of my town.”
Aunt Kate fidgets in her seat, but Dave gives an I-see-right-through-your-bullshit smile and dabs his mouth with a napkin. “I have two wolves with me here today. My driver and my second-in-command. So whoever’s got you on edge tonight, brother, it’s not my fault.”
That makes my father growl, but he doesn’t respond otherwise.
“This dinner is finished.” Aiden stands, and his chair clatters loudly to the floor. “I will not sit here and listen to you threaten her or me. Back. The. Fuck. Off. Both of you. Are we clear?”
My heart stops in my chest and it takes everything in my entire body to keep from leaping to my feet and running. My hands tremble. I can’t breathe.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“How dare you.” My father’s voice is deadly calm and words come out sharp like a blade’s edge.
Aiden doesn’t flinch. “Neither of you want an all-out war. I certainly don’t. I want Imogen to feel comfortable and both of you need to take a breath and step back. I am an alpha. I will have your respect and so will your daughter as my wife. I will stand for nothing less.”
I want to melt into the chair and disappear. He doesn’t get it. Every word, no matter how right and brave, will only infuriate my father more. No one says no to Oliver Gallagher. I can’t decide if Aiden is brave or stupid. Maybe it’s that he really doesn’t understand the severity of their rivalry.
“Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I don’t want an open war with my brother, but you don’t tell me or Dave what we do or don’t want. If it happens again, there will be consequences.” Oliver Gallagher stands and walks around Aiden to where I’m sitting. “Am I being perfectly clear, Aiden?”
Uncle Dave sits smugly quiet next to his wife. He’s enjoying this. They hate each other, but he relishes this power display as much as my father does.
My whole body is tense. I hold my breath to stop the shaking.
Don’t react. Don’t react. It will be worse if you show fear.
Hard hands come down on my shoulders. “She is your intended, but you’re an alpha in name only from this point forward. You bow to me. You do as I say when I say. And she belongs to me until she ceases breathing.”
Don’t cry, Gen. Don’t do it. Don’t give him the satisfaction. I know pain is coming. I just don’t know where it will hit.
Aiden is tense beside me. Anger and confusion roll off him in waves. But my father is like a cobra. Dancing about his prey, mesmerizing it until it can’t move.
We’re all waiting for the strike.
Then it comes. One of his hands grabs the back of my neck and yanks me up from the chair.
Aiden lunges.
“No, don’t.” I raise my hand to warn him off. He’s only making this worse. By the grace of Fate, he listens to me and halts mid-rush.
“Touch me or her without my permission and the deal’s off.”
Aiden’s face is tight with anger. But he’s leashing it and I’m grateful for that self-control.
My father has him where it hurts. Aiden’s desperate to protect his pack and he’s trying to be an honorable man and protect me. But my father’s not honorable and he enjoys watching other men fall from honor too.
He and Dave will destroy the O’Connor pack together and then bicker over the entrails. Aiden just doesn’t see it happening.
My father pushes me a step away.
Shit. I raise an arm to shield my face. Conditioned habit.
Crack.
I chose wrong.
Pain bursts from my side and spreads when I try to inhale. He fractured at least one rib. I recognize the type of pain. I wheeze and struggle to breathe.
My other hand is still outstretched, palm outward facing, reminding Aiden not to move. If he does, my father will hit me again. This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been in this position before, where my father uses my pain to teach a man a lesson.
Aiden growls but doesn’t move. His hands are fisted at his side. But he’s heeding my request and more doubts about his character and true motives turn to smoke in my mind.
My father smiles while my brother stands. Finn won’t look at me. He’s never tried to stop our father from striking me. And I’ve never confronted him about it. He’s a coward. A yellow-bellied spineless worm. Both my brothers are.
My aunt and uncle sit quietly at the table. Aunt Kate can’t look at me; even Uncle Dave looks quite uncomfortable with my father’s demonstration of control. But he doesn’t say anything either.
“Compose yourself, daughter. We’re going outside to announce your engagement.”
My stomach churns. There’s no going back. There’s no getting out of this. There’s no escaping outside into Liam’s arms and disappearing off this mountain. That’s a fairy tale that only exists in the books I read.
I breathe through the pain and stand a little straighter. I lower my arms to my sides.
My father turns to Aiden with a cold expression. “I assume you have a ring to give her?” He waves at my bare hand.
My heart aches. My throat tightens. Appearances. My father’s not concerned that I’ll never be with a man that loves me. That I’ll never experience a happy marriage. He only cares about his deal and how people see him.
Aiden mutters a curse under his breath, but he follows my father’s instructions. The ring on my finger is beautiful, but the golden bit of metal and diamonds is nothing more than a shackle—a cold reminder that my life doesn’t belong to me.
“Bit off a bit more than you bargained for, eh?” My uncle chuckles from across the table and stands. “It’s not too late. You could still change your mind and marry one of my girls. I’m much easier to deal with.”
“You lost this one, Dave. Just accept it and move on,” my father says, his words full of dark satisfaction.
Aiden tucks my arm around his and walks with me tight at his sides. Like that will help. Like his presence and closeness can keep my father from hurting me again.
I’m sad for him. For the lessons in hatred he’ll learn moving forward. My father and uncle’s feud will ruin a good man. And Aiden is a good man. I can tell because I’m surrounded by bad ones.
We step outside and, out of habit, I give an empty smile to the crowd until my gaze lands on Liam.
My facade cracks and an unbidden tear rolls down my cheek. All the might-have-beens fall with it. I wipe it away quickly, praying no one saw it.
The shock and pain on Liam’s face is a painful brand seared onto my soul.
But Fate means nothing to Oliver Gallagher unless he’s the one controlling it.