For the first time, I felt complete —my Fated Mate, my daughter. I had it all. But I also knew it would be war to keep it. And I was prepared to go to war for them.
Chapter Seventeen
Dimitri’s POV
When I arrived at the house, the security guard told me my mother had come by and was waiting for me. I blew out a deep breath, knowing she’d come to give me hell because she must have heard about what happened at the board meeting today.
“How dare you?” My mother’s voice greeted me the moment I stepped through the front doors of the house. She was sitting on the sofa, her face red with rage And me? I wasn’t in the mood for this drama. I had had a really long day.
“I don’t want to hear it, Mother,” I continued towards the stairs.
“Don’t you dare walk away from me, Dimitri!” She shot up, the sharp heels of her shoes clicking on the marble floor as she stomped toward me, placing herself on the stairs and blocking my path. “Selene told me everything.”
“Of course she did.”
“Do you have any idea what you have done? Giving that woman—that creature—a seat on our board? Legitimizing her bastard?”
“Adele is not a bastard. She is my daughter! She’s as much a Ravencrest as you are. And you have a seat on the board. Hell, even Selene does. So why the hell should my daughter be left out?”
Maia shook her head, disappointment etched across her features. “God, I knew the moment I heard that girl was back, you would lose focus again.”
“Lose focus?” I scoffed. “I haven’t been focused for five years! I have spent every night in those five years dreaming about Isabella, wanting her, and all you’ve done since that time is try to erase her from her life like she never existed, like she was never a part of us. How could you not see that I have not been happy?”
“This isn’t about your happiness, Dimitri. It’s about the pack. Your duty, your obligations, not repeating your father’s mistakes. You can be happy with any other woman. Just not her!” Her voice rose. “She has no rights! She’s the product of your weakness, just like you’re becoming weak again now. First, your father with that whore, Alicia, and now with her daughter. It’s pathetic.”
I bit down on my tongue to keep from lashing out at her, but I was losing my patience with her every second. “Tell me, mother, what exactly did Isabella do to you? Why do you hate her so much?”
“Because she ruined my life! Her pathetic mother ruined my life. Do you know what it’s like to be gossiped about by the entire pack? Despite my status and all the surgeries I had done to make myself look pretty, your father still left me for a nobody, and he was willing to abandon his own pack and son!” Her voice cracked, her eyes watered, but for the first time in years, I didn’t feel pity for her. I actually understood her finally.
I shook my head. “Isabella didn’t ruin your life, Mother. Not even her mother. It was you. You are cruel, you lack empathy, you are toxic, you don’t care about the important things. Why the hell did you think I left the Ravencrest mansion in the first place? Because I couldn’t stand you, Mother! And if I couldn’t, how could my father, who spent every single day of his life with you before he decided he didn’t want to suffer anymore?”
My mother drew back, stunned by my words. But still, I couldn’t pity her. She’d threatened to kill Isabella five years ago. That was when I understood the extent of her cruelty and toxicity.
I stepped forward, letting her see the anger anddetermination in my eyes. “I meant what I said on the call the other day. If you dare lay your finger on Isabella or Adele…well, I wouldn’t even need to do anything. Isabella will come for you, and I will sit back and watch her tear you apart.”
With that, I left her standing in the living room, and stormed into my bedroom, thinking the worst was behind me. But then I found Selene in my room. She was wearing red, see-through lingerie with no underwear underneath. A sight I presumed was meant to appease me, but it only caused revulsion.
“What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?” I asked, tossing my suit jacket onto the sofa in the sitting area of the room.
In the corner of my eye, I caught the movement as she stood from the bed, moving toward me.
“I’m your wife, Dimitri.” Her voice was soft, but wounded. “I’m supposed to be your wife. Yet you humiliated me in front of the entire board. All because of what? Isabella fucking Garrett.”
I whirled around to look at her. “Who, Selene. Not what. And you will mind the way you speak about her. I’ve had it with your condescending remarks.” I blew out an exhausted breath. “Go back to your bedroom, Selene. I don’t have time for…this.”
“Then, when is the time? When you’re making decisions that affect our entire pack without first consulting me? When you’re parading your former lover and child before the board like they matter?” She moved toward me again, so that we were only a few inches apart. The scent of her strong perfume shot up through my nose, threatening to choke me.
“What am I to you, Dimitri? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like I’m nothing but an inconvenience you’re trying to erase.”
The urge to laugh was almost overwhelming. Selene, playing the wronged wife. Selene, acting like she gave a damn about our marriage beyond what it gave her in terms of power and status when she’s been sleeping with and conspiring with her so-called “childhood friend”. Selene, who just hours ago, had been recorded plotting to harm my daughter.
I let out a sharp intake of breath, biting down on my lips to keepmyself from saying anything, from letting her know that I was onto her and that I’d been onto her the entire time. But the disdain in my eyes, that I couldn’t hide.
“Dimitri…” her voice dropped to something sultry as she reached out to touch me, but I caught her wrist.
“Don’t you dare touch me, Selene. Whatever this was…” I let my eyes sweep her from head to toe in disgust. “It’s fucking pathetic.”
Anger flashed in her eyes. “Don’t you find me appealing? Many men do.”
