by Jen L. Grey
"Of course." He chuckled in response. "I'll gladly keep them company. I thought it might be best for them to come by my house so we could talk about business undisturbed."
"Very well. I'm going to take off." Mr. Thorn's eyes kept focusing back on me. "Call me if you need anything, but I really need to go attend to something personal." He shook the other three heirs’ hands and headed straight to the door.
"Is Kai all right?" My words made his father pause.
As he turned to me, something passed through his eyes. "Yes, he's fine. Thanks for asking, it's something else." He turned on his heel, heading out the door.
"Well, that's quite surprising. Who would've thought something would be more important than meeting with our future leaders?" The city alpha tsked and shook his head. "It's a good thing I had everything planned anyway. Let's go. There is a limo waiting for us."
Is it normal for Mr. Thorn to take off like that? Every alpha had taken this so seriously. Something important must be going on.
No, it's not. Liam glanced over his shoulders at the other heirs. "Let's go."
Within minutes, we were in the car and pulling away from the airport.
After a several hour tour around the city, we pulled into an extensive, gated subdivision that backed up to some woods. There was a huge clubhouse in the center with a pool attached. As we drove through, it was clear each house had to be worth at least a million dollars. Soon, we passed every house, closing in on the largest brick one on the end.
We pulled into the driveway, and the limo driver jumped out and hurried to let us out of the car. As we climbed out, the tall wooden front door opened, revealing a gorgeous woman who was close to Mr. Keith's age. She had long, cascading red hair, and her skin held a light olive complexion. Not quite as light as Simon’s but still on the lighter end of the spectrum. Her huge green eyes were gorgeous and could be seen even from where we stood. She had on a long, hunter green dress, and her lips were painted close to the same shade as her hair.
"And this," Mr. Keith said as he headed to the front steps that led inside, "is my gorgeous wife and mate."
The five of us followed behind him.
She lowered her head ever so slightly to each one of us, and when her eyes met mine, she smiled. "It's nice to see another woman in the mix."
"There are always women in the mix, Gretchen." Mr. Keith's tone was slightly cold and disapproving. His eyes landed on the rest of the group. "We value women here."
"They just aren't men." Simon lifted his nose in the air as he side-eyed me.
"Exactly." The alpha chuckled as he entered the house.
"Stop being an asshole," Liam growled at Simon as the loose cannon pushed through our group.
He'd been frowning and unengaged the entire time until now. More and more frequently, he took any opportunity to insult or attempt to hurt me.
"Leave him alone." Evan shook his head. "It's only encouraging him."
That was probably true. Liam and I followed Micah into the house.
If I'd thought I'd seen grand things before, they didn’t compare to this place, which blew my mind. The whole entrance was marble with a set of curved stairways on each side of the room.
"I'll get the driver to bring in your things." Mr. Keith pointed upstairs. "We have plenty of room for all of you to stay here tonight if you'd like, instead of a hotel room. Each person could have their own room and bathroom upstairs."
"That sounds great." Liam grinned.
"Perfect." Mr. Keith turned back around as an older shifter gentleman walked out in what could only be called butler gear. "Please go get their things and place them in the rooms upstairs. Also, please ensure the girl's stuff is put in the same room with Mr. Hale."
‘The girl’ was said condescendingly. I wanted to say something, but I bit my tongue.
"Of course, Sir." The butler bowed his head. "And lunch is ready if you'd like to eat."
We followed him down a long hallway, and he turned to enter a huge dining room. The table was black and modern with seating for at least twenty. The plates were already placed so that four sat on one side and three on the other.
Liam took my hand and sat on the side that had four. He sat on one end and placed me in between him and Evan again. As we sat down, Micah joined our side while Simon, the alpha, and his mate sat across from us.
It wasn't long before they served our food, which was a medium-rare steak and potatoes.
As we all dug in, Gretchen cut a piece of steak off. Before she could put it in her mouth, it fell off her fork and into her lap. She gasped and shook her head. "I'm so sorry."
"Clean it up." Mr. Keith growled, causing unease to rise around the table.
"It was an accident." She took her napkin and cleaned off her dress as best she could.
"It's okay." This whole situation was being blown way out of proportion. I wanted to point out she had only dropped something, but I had a feeling it would only irritate the city alpha further.
"No, it's not." Mr. Keith's sharp tone was directed at me as he narrowed his eyes on me. "A woman should have grace and poise at all times."
"They're also human, part animal, and make mistakes." Liam stiffened in his chair. “Just like men do.”
"Not on my watch." Mr. Keith growled as he stared at his mate with something akin to disgust in his eyes.
Gretchen flinched, and her lips quivered as she tried to smooth her expressions into one of indifference.
Just let it go. I didn't want to get into a huge fight with the city alpha here. Mr. Hale was already pissed at Liam; I didn't want to make things worse.
He can't speak to you like that. "You may not address my mate in that tone again. Do you understand?" Liam's jaw was clenched.
"Of course, Sir." The alpha's voice was short, and he averted his eyes.
"He's a little touchy about her." Simon glanced over at the city alpha.
"Simon." Micah's eyes widened, and he shook his head.
"What?" Simon shrugged his shoulders. "It's true. He's..."
"Shut the fuck up." Evan's voice was low and heated. "Or I'll make you."
"Look what you've done." Mr. Keith shook his head. "Why don't you and Mr. Hale's mate go do something while we finish talking here?"
You don't have to go. Liam reached over and took my hand in his. You haven’t eaten since breakfast either.
"Of course, dear." Her voice trembled with her submission.
No, I think I should. Something isn't right here. This house looked too perfect along with everything in it. For him to blow up at her for a little mistake appeared asinine. I don’t want him to direct more anger her way. I rose and turned, following Gretchen down the long hallway.
"I'm so sorry about that. You know how they are." She laughed without humor, and soon we entered a huge living room with white furniture and dark cherry wood floors. She walked over and sat on the end of the couch.
"I'm not sure what you mean by how they are." I moved so I sat on the other side of the couch and looked at her.
"Oh, shit. You don't know what you're getting into, do you?" Her green eyes turned somber. "You'll learn soon enough when the newness of the mate bond wears off."
"What do you mean?" Her words filled me with trepidation.
Her green eyes seemed haunted. "Things aren't always what they seem."
Something shifted inside of me. This was an abused woman speaking to me. I would know; my dad took one in who had been on the run. I didn't have proof, but I would by the end of the night.
Chapter Seventeen
"Mr. Hale, you haven't even finished lunch." Mr. Keith's voice called from the hall.
"If my mate doesn't eat, neither do I," Liam said as he turned the corner, entering the room Gretchen and I were in.
It's fine. Go eat. I had a feeling that by making a bigger deal of it, it was going to be worse on Gretchen.
No, if you go without, so do I. He walked over to where I sat and stood next to me.
It was
n't long before the other four joined us in the room.
Mr. Keith's face turned a slight red hue as his hateful eyes landed on his wife. "That's fine. We can make up for it at dinner. I have the pack coordinating a dinner so you can meet everyone."
"That sounds like a plan," Liam said as he turned his back toward me, keeping me out of Mr. Keith's view.
"Well then, why don't you all go upstairs and make yourselves at home. Maybe relax a little." Mr. Keith smiled, but it didn't reflect in his eyes. "This will give me time to take care of a few things and get ready for dinner. We can go down in an hour or so. That way, you’ll have enough time to meet every member of my pack. I’m sure you’ll be more than impressed by them, unlike my mate.”
“You do realize no one…” Liam started.
“Thank you, that sounds good.” Evan cut Liam off and nodded at Micah.
“We’ve been traveling with little downtime, so that would be nice." Micah grimaced as he glanced at each one of us.
The tension in the room was practically suffocating.
No one wanted to make the first move, so I took my mate’s hand. “Let’s go rest so they can plan. A quick nap might do us some good.”
“Also, we have a greenhouse garden in the back that is quite exquisite if you’d like to venture out at some point.” Mr. Keith’s smile spread wide. “We like to grow herbs and such to have only the freshest ingredients on hand. It’s quite something to take in.”
“We will definitely take you up on that.” We needed to stroke his ego right now because there was something akin to a maddening gleam in his eyes.
“Come on.” Liam tugged me gently with his hand. “Let’s go get settled in first.”
The heirs followed behind us, and Simon grumbled loud enough so we could hear, “I still would’ve liked to eat, dammit. Another damn thing she’s ruined.”
Liam’s body stiffened, and anger flared through our bond.
He’s trying to rile you up. I squeezed his hand, attempting to calm him down. He’s feeling alienated from the three of you, and he’s acting out, trying to cause more trouble between you and your father. Don’t fall for it.
Still, it pisses me off. Liam took a deep breath and turned the corner so we were climbing the stairs to the second level. He’s always been a pain in the ass, but not this bad.
When we reached the top of the stairway, we walked down a white hallway with dark cherry wood floors. There were two rooms to the left and two on the right.
A butler came out from the far right room, and his eyes widened when he found us. “Oh, I didn’t realize you’d be done so soon.”
“We can set up our own rooms. It’s no bother.” The last thing I wanted to do was get another person on Mr. Keith’s bad side.
“Oh, it’s all done.” He chuckled. “You only startled me. My old ears don’t hear quite as well as they used to. I used to think it was a curse, but I’m learning it’s a blessing.” His eyes turned cloudy. “Anyway, this room,” he said as he pointed at the one he had just exited, “is yours and Mr. Hale’s.” He then pointed at the door right next to ours. “Mr. Rafferty, I put your luggage in there while Mr. Green’s is the door across the hall from Mr. Hale’s, and Mr. Croft’s is right across from Mr. Rafferty. However, if any of you want to switch, that is between you four.” The butler nodded his head and hurried toward the stairs, disappearing.
“Let’s take ten minutes to get settled, and then we’ll go look around.” Liam motioned for me to go into our room first.
As I stepped into the bedroom, my breath caught. It was much larger than I imagined. In the center of the spacious area was a huge canopy bed made of dark wood. A crystal chandelier hung down from the center of the ceiling. The rest of the furniture was made of matching wood but cut in a sleek, modern style.
“Holy crap. I’ve never seen anything this nice.” I spun around, taking in the entire thing.
Liam chuckled, and adoration filled our bond. “You’re like a breath of fresh air sometimes.” He walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist. “If you like it so much, we can buy something similar back home.”
“But we live in the dorms.” Him talking about our future home made my heart speed up.
“I’m talking about when we take over the council.” A tender smile spread across his face. “We won’t be living in the dorms indefinitely.”
It was probably a bad thing that I hadn’t really thought about my next steps after school. Obviously, it was the council, but I hadn’t thought much past that. “It’s nice—don’t get me wrong, but isn’t it kind of… obnoxious?”
“Like wealth being shoved in your face?” Liam arched an eyebrow.
“Exactly.” I understood his point about living in luxury, but at some point, it was downright obnoxious. All that money could go back and benefit all the packs. It seemed a bit over-the-top. “All I know is when someone tries so hard to have perfect things, they are hiding something.”
“Yeah, I’d agree with that.” Liam snorted. “I mean, look at how our dads raised us. We’re all fucked up in our own way, but we have to appear as the perfect heirs.”
“You aren’t fucked up.” I never would’ve imagined he thought that of himself. He may have made mistakes, but hell, we’d all done that.
“Not since I made the best decision in my life.” He brushed his fingertips across my cheek.
I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. You did it all on your own. I was only here for support and to call you out when you acted stupid.
Tell me how you really feel? He chuckled against my lips.
I hated to ruin the moment, but I thought we needed to go look around. I had a feeling if we looked in the right places, we might find some answers. It seemed as if the whole purpose of the tour was going to blow up in the council’s face. Evan was proving himself to be more loyal to me than I expected, and poor Micah’s eyes were beginning to open. Simon was the only one who still didn’t seem to give a shit, which was a whole other issue we’d have to address at another time.
Let’s go. Liam’s shoulders sagged. Is it sad that I hoped my region would be different?
Nope. I pulled away from his lips and stared into his beautiful blue eyes. That just means you care.
The heirs had met up with us, and we toured the greenhouse as Mr. Keith suggested. It did contain herbs but also other beautiful flowers that could only survive in the summer heat. As I walked along the edge of the backyard, away from all the greenery, something caught my ear.
“You better make sure tonight goes well after your fuck up at lunch.” Mr. Keith’s words were full of disgust and rage.
Liam, come here. I wanted him to see it for himself. The last thing I needed was for Simon to call me a liar and force the group to pull further apart. I walked over to the edge of the window and peered inside. It had to be his study. There was a large bookcase to the side and a huge, dark wooden desk in the middle of the room where Mr. Keith could stare at the doorway with two chairs in front of the desk. Gretchen sat in one of the seats and was now dressed in a black dress with silver heels. Mr. Keith wore the same thing from earlier, but his face wasn’t holding anything back.
I’ll follow your scent. Liam’s voice appeared in my head.
Within seconds, I heard four sets of footsteps approaching behind me.
“I didn’t mean to drop the piece of steak.” Gretchen’s voice was full of angst. “It was an accident.”
“We don’t have accidents here. You know that.” Mr. Keith leaned over his desk with rage clear on his face. He towered over his trembling mate with pure hate in his eyes. “Your only job is to be perfect. Why the fuck is that so hard for you?”
A door opened, and a tall man similar to Mr. Keith appeared, but he was several years younger. His dark hair was close to the same shade as his eyes. “You called, my alpha?”
“I’m sorry to burden you with women problems.” Mr. Keith shook his head. “But as my right-hand man, I need you to oversee th
at this dinner goes perfectly. Make sure each lady is in line because my own fucking mate can’t keep her shit together.”
“Speaking of which, did you know that she and my mate got drunk the other night?” The dark man wrinkled his nose. “They stumbled on their way home from the clubhouse, and Beth messed up a pair of her dress pants.”
So Mr. Keith wasn’t the only one who viewed things this way; his beta did too, which meant probably every single man in his pack treated their mates or even young daughters like this.
“You did what?” Mr. Keith’s voice was so loud it hurt my ears even from where I stood. “You went out in public like that?”
“It was just our pack ...” But even as she said the words, her body shrank down into the chair. “We hadn’t eaten that day, and it took us by surprise.”
“That’s no excuse. When the heirs leave tomorrow morning, there will be hell to pay.” He pulled at his jacket and glanced at his beta once more. “Please, help me take care of this. I need to go search for the heirs and keep them preoccupied until it’s time for dinner. Make sure no one messes up.”
“Of course.” The dark man bowed his head and sneered at Gretchen. “Come on, bitch. We have things to do.”
Let’s go. He’s heading this way. Liam took my hand and tugged me away.
“What’s the big deal?” Simon scoffed as he hurried back to the greenhouse. “He just wants to make a good impression. That’s how everyone should be.”
“They should treat their mates like garbage?” Evan crossed his arms as he stared Simon down.
“That’s not right, man.” Micah shook his head.
“Hell, we treat people that way.” Simon lifted both hands in the air. “In fact, we even treated her that way,” he said as he pointed to me.
“We only treat people that way when they haven’t proven themselves to us.” Liam’s eyes darkened. “Everyone wants to use us for something, so that’s why we treat them that way. I was a dumbass who tried fighting our bond, and I did things I regret to this day.”