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No one except Alarik seemed to understand that Emely was much better suited for the role Father had intended for me, that she might even carry the gene.

Everyone knew that Father didn’t have her under his Alpha bond, and even though no one said it out loud, everyone wondered if it was because he wanted to marry her off and didn’t want to make it too hard for her to break free from one Alpha bond only to enter into the next. An intensely painful experience. Or if it was because those with the Alpha gene were immune to the Alpha bond, and the Alpha had to trust in their loyalty.

I knew the truth. And I knew that Emely did too, but she suppressed it.

Determined, I pressed my lips together and clenched my jaw, ready to defend my sister.

Emely was the heart of this pack, the veins we were all attached to. And if she left, the body of this pack would perish.

“Never underestimate a Ruisangor. Never,” Dimitrio laughed bitterly and looked at his son as if it were an inside joke. “And never overestimate a woman.”

Mikhail seemed tense and avoided his father's gaze, staring instead at the carpet.

I studied the Russian Alpha, wondering how he had come to his son. What woman could have been attracted to a man like him? Or had Mikhail been the product of yet another trade?

“Nash.”

My eyes met my father’s.

He nodded to me. “You can go now.”

I nodded in agreement.

Relief washed over me. Until the Russian began to speak.

“Mikhail. Check on Emely and try talking to the girl again. Make her understand that she should always have two men from our packs with her.”

My jaw tensed noticeably, but I quickly turned away and left my father's study, not without staring once more at the painting of Jeremiah and Tayen.

Emely deserved such love. If I were denied this privilege, then she should at least have a chance at it.

I deliberately slammed the door in Mikhail's face and made my way to the stairs when suddenly someone touched me on the shoulder.

I turned to Mikhail.

“Do you know where Emely is?”

Interesting. So, he could ignore it.

Anyone who couldn't see how much I despised this guy was in desperate need of an eye doctor’s appointment.

It was hard for me to hate anyone, but Mikhail really tried his best.

“I don't know shit.”

The friendliness in his expression vanished instantly, but I didn't care because I knew that this ridiculous act was just part of the political game. A game I was not made for.

He sighed and crossed his hands behind his back.

“Listen.” He looked at me as if I were pitiful, which only made me angrier. “I know you can't stand me because I'm interested in your sister.”

Clever little guy.

“I'm really doing my best to win her heart.”

Whenever Dimitrio talked about Emely, it felt as if she were an object. But with Mikhail, it was worse. Just looking at him, I could see Emely's bleak future in Russia. She would never be happy there.

Mikhail smiled and pulled me by the shoulders through the back door to the terrace.