Chapter 67

Arthur

Arthur was a married man now. And he was going to be a father. He couldn’t believe his dreams had come true. The Moon Goddess must have truly blessed him. That was the only thing that could explain everything that had happened.

It was a complete miracle that he and Almara had stumbled into one another on that cruise ship. His grandmother may have been the one to nudge her in that direction, but there was no way she could have orchestrated the night that they met. Or that Almara’s dickhead of a boyfriend would spend all of her money.

Speaking of her ex-boyfriend. Arthur still needed to deal with him. He had been a bit busy, but once things were more settled, Robert would get his comeuppance. Arthur would burn down the world for Almara, but ruining Robert’s life would have to do for now.

He was just about to make a phone call when his father barged into his office. Arthur immediately schooled his features into that of detached curiosity. He couldn’t show too many emotions around his father. He’d see it as a weakness.

“To what do I owe this honor?” Arthur asked, leaning back in his chair. His father crossed the room in quick, confidant strides until he was standing directly in front of his desk. He looked every bit the alpha that he used to be, but Arthur could see the tightening around his father’s eyes. Something was wrong.

“We need to talk,” Roman said, but he didn’t continue. Arthur looked more closely at his father, opening all of his senses. He didn’t make a habit of using his wolf since he could easily get overwhelmed, but right now it was just him and his father.

Arthur pulled in a deep breath. Roman smelled like the forest and magic. There was also a faint hint of raven. He knew what it meant. His father had been to see Sienna, the omega that practiced black magic. What on earth could his father have wanted with her?

“What is this about, Father? What business would you have with Sienna?” Arthur asked and his father’s eyes widened slightly. Arthur had caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected him to know about his little visit.

“How do you know about that? Have you been following me?” Roman snapped and Arthur raised his eyebrows. His father must have been stressed if he allowed that much emotion through.

“I can smell her on you,” Arthur told him. "Well, I can smell her raven."

Roman sighed and sank into one of the plush chairs. "I had forgotten that as alpha your sense of smell is much more powerful than a regular wolf's. I should have taken more time to cleanse myself."

A rueful smile tilted the corners of his lips and, for once, his father didn't look like a robot. He looked more human than Arthur had ever seen. And that terrified him more than anything.

"You know I would do anything for this pack," Roman started and Arthur clenched his hands into fists underneath the desk. This did not bode well. His father had done anything for the pack and not all of it was good.

"I had the opportunity many years ago to bolster the pack's finances. It was such an easy deal to work out. The other side was rich, yes, but their pack was small and basically defenseless. We could offer them protection for such a small price, but there was just one tiny problem," Roman continued, resting his leg on his knee and steepling his fingers underneath his chin.

Arthur leaned forward in spite of himself. His father hardly ever ran into problems. What could have been so bad that it involved Sienna?

"The family wanted you for their daughter. We've never been above arranged marriages if it suited us so I readily agreed. But I'm sure you know the type of tests that you have to go through in order to get approval for arranged marriages," Roman said and Arthur unfortunately did know.

In order for an arranged marriage to get approval, both parties had to be tested for a mate bond. If there was even a hint of fated mate magic, the arranged marriage could not take place until both parties came of age. If they happened to be fated mates, then of course the wedding would go ahead. But if not, the deal fell apart.

Fated mates were the most sacred of bonds. It was sacrilegious to go against the Moon Goddess's blessings. There were very few that would betray her in that way. But Arthur was beginning his father had done just that.

"I can see the wheels turning in your head, son. And you would be right. The test revealed fated mate magic in you. Sofia had none. It was quite the conundrum," Roman said loftily and Arthur's hackles rose.

"What did you do?" Arthur said, his voice low with barely restrained rage. He knew exactly what his father had done, but he wanted to hear him say it.

Roman scoffed. "Do I really need to spell it out for you? I went to Sienna and asked her to fabricate a mate bond between you and Sofia. When it was finished, we convinced the test givers that there had been a mistake and to check again. People are so gullible, don't you think?"

Arthur gritted his teeth. He was going to kill his father. "Did Sofia's parents know what you did? That you put their daughter's life in danger?"

Roman rolled his eyes. "Of course they did. They were more than happy to offer their daughter's life on the off chance that we would give them protection."

Arthur would lay waste to Sofia's pack. He didn't care if they were innocent or not. They had hurt him. They had hurt Sofia and as much as he hated her right now, he used to love her. That meant something to him.

"So what happened to my actual mate?" Arthur asked and he let his fingers grow into claws. Caleb was thrashing against him and it was only a matter of time before he fully shifted. So he would shift a bit at a time to slow down the inevitable.

"Her mate bond would lie dormant for the rest of her life. She would never know. No harm, no foul," Roman answered and shrugged his shoulders.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Arthur growled as everything became more sharply focused. He'd lost control over his eyes.

"Such displays of emotions are beneath you, son. Fear not. I bring a gift," Roman said and pulled out a bottle filled with a neon green liquid. It looked absolutely vile and instinct told him to get as far away as he could from it.

"This will destroy the mate bond you have with Sofia. Once you drink it, you'll be able to go off to find your real mate. But, as things are, I do not know if you would want to leave your pretty little pet and the child she carries."

Arthur didn't even question the fact that his father knew about the baby. He knew he wouldn't be able to hide it from him for long. He held his hand out and Roman put the bottle into it.

"If you drink it, there's the very real possibility you could die, but it's your choice. I will support your decision either way," Roman said and sat back, apparently finished with talking. He was just there to watch the potential show now.

Drink it, Caleb demanded. I'm pretty sure Almara is your mate. If I'm right, the risk is worth it.

Arthur did not hesitate. He popped the cork and downed the contents. And that's when Almara decided to join them.