“I’ll go see where we are in line,” Papa said, rising from the chair cattycorner to me and starting down the long hallway.
“No!” Chester snapped at him, stepping toward him with an arm outstretched.
Dad jerked into action to protect his mate. I stood, too, though there wasn’t anything I could do.
Chester balked at the reaction his move got, then said in the most annoying voice ever, “I want to go check myself. I don’t need my omega’s papa doing anything for me. God!”
He sniffed, then marched off down the hall.
I was so relieved I had to fight tears as I flopped back into my seat.
“You don’t have to do this, honey,” Papa said, coming back to me, face pale and splotchy. “Seriously. We can find another way into the trial. Your dad has some connections, I think.” He looked hopefully at Dad.
“It’s okay,” I said, sounding stupidly defeated.
It wasn’t okay. I was miserable. I felt like I was waiting for an executioner instead of a Justice of the Peace. If I could have frozen that moment and stayed in it forever, as horrible as it would have been, I would have done it. Anything to avoid the next moment, when I would legally bind myself to an alpha I hated.
I longed for Jack. I could feel that longing, that sense that something inside me was missing without him. I still hadn’t heard a peep from him in weeks now. I’d tried going to his apartment building, but the door guard wouldn’t let me in. More than that, he’d called someone as soon as I backed off, and wouldn’t you know it, three cop cars appeared in the area just minutes later.
We were being kept deliberately apart. I was certain of that much.
I was also certain that the forces we were up against were way stronger than us. This wasn’t Kincade Slopes, where we could have borrowed an RV and run off into the sunset.
We should have kept going. We never should have come back after that escape.
“I need some air,” I said, standing suddenly and walking immediately away from my parents.
“I’m not leaving you alone,” Dad said, following me, Papa with him.
“I’m fine,” I lied to them again.
“No, son,” Dad said. “You’re not. I’m staying with you. If you’re going to make a last-minute breakaway, then we’re going to help you every step of the way.”
I was definitely going to cry now. I loved my parents so fucking much.
I still had a watery smile on my face and tears stinging my eyes when we turned the corner and saw Chester talking to Senator Salisbury.
“…stupid idea!” Chester was in the middle of saying to Salisbury, and looking desperate and defiant as he did. “It’s not going to change anything. Junior won’t ever give up.”
“I told you to remove the temptation, and you will do what I say,” Salisbury snapped back at him. “You don’t have to actually keep him as your omega. Lock him up in an institution somewhere. Buy him a private island and heap him with every luxury imaginable. Just get him away from my son for good.”
“I fully intend to ship him off somewhere,” Chester said. “But can’t we do this without me marrying him? There’s this cute Swedish omega prince I’ve been chatting with online, and I’d rather marry up than way down.”
That was the point where the two men realized we were right there, hearing everything they said.
I went from wanting to weep until I drown to laughing hysterically. Chester didn’t want to marry me. He wanted some prince somewhere. I don’t know why that filled me with such potent relief, but it did.
“Oh, shit,” Chester said as soon as he spotted us.
“This changes nothing,” Salisbury said, as cold as ice. “As soon as this delay is resolved, the two of you will march into that courtroom—” he threw out an arm to point at the door across from where we all stood, “—and the judge will legally marry you.”
“He doesn’t want to marry me,” I said, having a hard time getting myself under control. “I don’t want to fucking marry him either.”
“I don’t care!” Salisbury shouted. “The two of you will be wed, it will be hailed by the media as a wonderful thing, and once everyone’s reputations are confirmed, you can go do whatever you want.”
“I want to be with Jack,” I said.
“Except that,” Salisbury said. He broke away from Chester and stomped closer to me. “You will never see my son again. You will stay away from him forever. He will be marrying soon himself, so what does it matter anyhow?”
