That’s another truth. I can’t keep relying on Gwen or my family all the time. While I am still contemplating what to do, the main course is finished, and our plates are carried away. “We will have some lovely dessert,” Alpha Jacob says. “I hope you like sweets?”
I smile brightly. “My girlfriend keeps saying sweet things for a sweet guy,” I laugh, as if I just made a great joke, wondering how Gwen would react if she heard me say it. She would probably die a little, either from laughter or cringe, or both. The others join in my laughter, clearly placating me.
Wow, I have never had that kind of power in a room. Is this how Dad and Liam feel constantly? They are alphas and heirs to the crown. It must be exhausting.
“I am glad to hear that,” Alpha Jacob says. “Maddox, bring us some coffee.”
I am stunned. The alpha’s words completely take me by surprise, not because he wants coffee to be brought here, but because he sent Maddox to do so and the tone he uses on him. It’s obvious he does it to humiliate him in front of the other ranked members, in front of me. Somehow, this makes me feel sick to my stomach. Liam and Dad had the right inkling… he is bullying him. Maybe it’s not always obvious, it’s in the small words and gestures, in the subtle digs, but if someone is constantly on the receiving end of it, it does something to a person.
Maddox doesn’t say anything, just gets up and leaves.
No wonder the guy has checked out completely.
Okay, fuck it! Now I am pissed.
I think of how this man, in front of me, has kept Gwen as an outsider of the pack, how he was supposed to be her alpha and protect her and did nothing of the sort. Her father was a well-liked elite warrior, yet he couldn’t even honor him. He thinks he is the greatest person in the universe and has completely chipped away any sense of confidence his son has.
And to top it all off, he has allowed someone to break his own pack member completely, not even investigating what happened to her, when she returned as a shell of herself.
Fuck him!
The air around me sizzles slightly.
Good.
I try to think of Gwen and how she cried in my arms after Marina’s death. How she is constantly blaming herself for not being able to care more for them than she did. The guilt she is constantly facing because she broke under being a caretaker. She is so young! Her alpha and luna should have helped her; it’s their fault. They should be the ones feeling guilty.
“It’s getting warm,” Beta Mateo says.
“Let me open the window,” the gamma’s mate gets up and opens one of the windows in the room.
I play along as well, pretending that I am feeling the warmth. When the gamma and his mate exchange an intense look, however, I have to battle hard not to laugh. The air around us gets even more heated, until-
“I… I think I need to take my leave for today,” Beta Mateo gets up. “I… I…” His eyes are glossy, his lips glazy. “I forgot I have a date.”
“Maybe it was the food,” Alpha Jacob mutters. He gets up, too, and I follow his lead obediently. “No, Felix, please,” he exclaims.“Stay here and finish your dessert. I,“ he pauses. “I will look for my luna.”
As if they were waiting for his cue, they all bolt from the room. The gamma is holding his mate’s hand, while Beta Mateo has his phone in his hands talking to someone on the other end. All of them are gone by the time Maddox returns.
“What…” he blinks. “What happened? Where is everyone?”
“They all turned very horny all of a sudden,” I say.
Maddox stares at me, and for the first time, I see an amused smile curling his lips. “I see,” he says. “So that was your plan.”
“I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off,” I admit. “Oh, and your lovely father said to make sure I have my dessert and coffee. And obviously you have to keep me company.”
“Are they not going to be suspicious of you?” Maddox asks. “You know, once their… horniness subsides.”
“No, usually people aren’t. For them, it feels like something inside them draws them to feel a certain way. They usually don’t feel an outer influence. One time, I almost kicked off an orgy by accident.” I pause. “Fuck, I forgot where we are. Your father hopefully has no mic or camera somewhere!”
“He doesn’t,” Maddox says. “I snooped around a couple of times already, and believe me, had he known, he would have killed me.”
There is a knock at the door, startling us, but it’s just the kitchen staff bringing the dessert. Maddox accepts it, telling them that his father told us to finish dinner up here. It’s good that he repeated it in front of them once more, so hopefully, no one will find it weird that we are still hanging around.
“We should not waste this opportunity,” I say.
“I agree.” Maddox leads me back to his father’s office. “We need to be careful. Everything needs to remain exactly as it is.”
