Chapter 65
Roman
When word reached Roman about Sofia's imprisonment, to say he was surprised would be an understatement. He never thought that she would have the stomach for that kind thing. Sure, they had conspired to kill Almara together, but he would have been the executioner.
Sofia did not like to get her hands dirty. He was positive that Sofia hadn't worked alone. Someone had taken advantage of her, most likely. Even knowing that, Roman would never be able to forgive her. She had almost killed his grandchild.
His son may have had a reputation for being cold and ruthless, but Roman was worse. The humans might have referred to him as a psychopath. He cared for very little and if he had to ruin lives to get ahead, so be it.
And that was exactly what he was planning to do. Sofia should have known better than to cross him. She should have realized when he didn't kill Almara, he had a very good reason. Now he was going to destroy her family.
By the time he was finished, her pack would no longer exist. He'd make sure to erase them from the history books as well. Nobody messed with the Hurricane Pack. Roman may not have been alpha anymore, but it was still his pack.
Perhaps this particular lesson would keep potential threats away. Unfortunately, his son was softer than he was. Roman didn't agree with Arthur's sentencing. If he had still been alpha, Sofia would have died. She didn't deserve to live in prison.
It was okay, though. Roman had a plan for that. He still had plenty of contacts that were still loyal to him. Killing someone in prison would be a piece of cake.
But that would have to come later. He had other matters to attend to. He had to correct a mistake that he had made a long time ago. He wasn't one to admit that he had done something wrong, but in this case it was a necessity.
Roman called for his driver, telling him that they were going to see the old woman who lived on the edge of the forest. He could hear the apprehension in his driver's voice and it made him smile.
The old woman was an Omega that practiced black magic. Roman had visited her many years ago in order to orchestrate a mate bond between Arthur and Sofia. He hadn't cared that it could potentially kill the two of them. The risk was worth it.
But now everything had gone to shit. He could not leave Arthur bonded to Sofia. He was hoping that the old woman had a way to reverse the magic. If not, she ceased to be useful to him. Roman had to tie up loose ends and all that.
As he stepped outside, a large raven cawed at him from a tree. Roman cocked an eyebrow at it, immediately recognizing it as the old woman's familiar. Of course she already knew he was coming. She'd probably already heard about the whole mess Sofia had created.
"Tell your mistress I'll be there in thirty minutes. And she had better have good news for me," Roman growled and the raven cawed at him again before taking to the skies.
True to his word, Roman arrived at the old woman's little hut in thirty minutes. He pulled his lips back in a sneer as he gazed at the overgrown grass and the piles of unknown objects strewn about the yard. This place was utterly beneath him, but it was an unfortunate necessity.
He tread carefully through the grass, keeping an eye out for anything he could potentially step in. If he ruined his good shoes, he was going to be pissed. He'd burn the place to the ground if that happened.
When he reached the porch, that damn raven cawed at him from its perch next to the door. Several skeletons of small animals littered the ground under it. Roman was not impressed. The old woman practiced black magic. It shouldn't have been that hard to keep her house clean.
The front door opened of its own accord and Roman stepped into the hut, instantly getting hit with the smell of incense and other herbs. A large pewter cauldron in the center of the room was bubbling with some substance he couldn't identify. He skirted around it. He definitely did not want to be near it.
The old woman sat on a sofa in the little sitting room. She looked like a typical grandmother. With silver hair cut short, crescent moon shaped glasses sitting on her nose, and a long pink nightgown. She was even knitting. But Roman knew better. She was one of the most dangerous creatures he had ever met.
“You should be nicer to Corvin," she said without preamble. Roman rolled his eyes. He was never nice to anybody.
"Then you should teach him some proper manners," he suggested as he sat across from her. She didn't even look up from her latest project. She just continued to knit and it was beginning to grate on Roman's nerves.
"A little patience would do you some good as well," she added, making Roman grit his teeth. He didn't like that she could read him so well. He was normally so good at keeping his emotions from everyone.
"I'll take that into consideration," he said tightly before continuing, "I assume you know why I'm here."
The old woman chuckled and finally placed her knitting needles down. "I heard about that dreadful matter with that wolf you picked for your son. I did tell you there would be consequences to creating a false mate bond."
Roman scoffed. "You can't expect me to believe that Sofia nearly killed my son because of what I did. She made that choice."
A wry smile appeared on the old woman's face. "Magic always comes with a price, Roman. And the Moon Goddess does not take messing with fate lightly."
"Yet here you are defying fate for a living," Roman told her, leaning back and crossing his arms.
The old woman shrugged. "It keeps life interesting. Besides, I just do what other people tell me. You didn't have to do it. You could have walked away at any point."
Roman let out a bark of laughter. "I see. So you're fully absolved of all blame, then?"
A feral grin broke across her face, revealing sharp wolf teeth. "Precisely."
The sight made Roman feel slightly queasy. He made a show of glancing at his watch. He wanted out of there as soon as possible. "Chit chat is over. I have places to be. Do you have what I need or not?"
It was the old woman's turn to roll her eyes. "Of course I do. Here," she said, handing him a bottle of a neon green liquid. Roman eyed it suspiciously. Green was usually the color of poison.
"It's not poison!" the old woman snapped and the raven flew in through the window, landing on her shoulder to nuzzle the side of her face.
"You can't blame me for being cautious," Roman muttered, pocketing the bottle. "And this will get rid of the mate bond?"
"Of course it will," the old woman harrumphed. "But just as before, it could kill Arthur if he drinks it."
Roman nodded. He had expected as much. It was worth the risk and he was pretty sure his son would agree with him for once.
"I sincerely thank you for your time. Please send the bill to the usual place. It's been a pleasure as always, Sienna," Roman said smoothly, giving a small bow and Sienna scoffed.
"We both know you don't mean that, Roman. Until next time," Sienna said and waved him off, picking up her knitting needles and going back to her project. Roman was effectively dismissed.
Now all he had to do was give the potion to his son and hope that it didn't kill him.
