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After he had brought me into the pack, he hadn't given a damn about me and had only supported me financially. I had moved out immediately when I had turned eighteen.

He knew that I hated him for what he had done. And that I would never forgive him.

“I'm very proud of Kieran,” he began.

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the center of the table, at the golden candlestick. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Nash and his father sit back down.

“He's very talented with technology, is currently studying for a master's degree in computer science at Vanderwood, and is one of the strongest men in the pack.”

Hunter and Nash looked at the man who enjoyed calling himself my father with barely recognizable surprise on their faces before turning to look at me.

They knew this man was no father to me and full of shit.

“Are the rumors true?” the Russian Alpha asked. “You're trained to kill Ruisangors?”

I trained myself to do it.

With growing contempt, I avoided his gaze because I immediately felt that inner pull that every Alpha projected onto lower-ranking Senseque.

“Transformed,” I specified his answer.

I was sure that I was theoretically capable of killing a Legacy, but they were A, rare; B, lived in protected territories, such as Blairville, or even on other continents; and C, possessed powers that I was unfamiliar with.

“What a shame that these ridiculous treaties forbid you from hunting these disgusting creatures,” muttered the Russian Alpha, looking at Nickolas.

“I wish I didn’t have to deal with these people at all,” replied the latter, before pointing to the lavishly laid table. “Please, start eating.”

It increasingly bothered me that Alarik was missing. Emely had already told me that he and Dimitrio Rolanow weren't exactly the best of friends. I would have liked to witness one of the pack's infamous arguments between the two.

“Nickolas? Do you have vodka?” asked the Alpha, and Nickolas suddenly looked overwhelmed before getting up.

“Just a moment, I'll check.”

Dimitrio Rolanow nodded, and Nickolas disappeared from the dining room.

“Kieran,” the Russian Alpha began. I looked up. The warning feeling in my stomach did not subside. On the contrary. “I have heard that you are very close to Emely.”

Of course it was about Emely. This disrespectful fucker.

“She's like a sister to me,” I assured him, even though I would have liked to have gone a step further before the Alpha's son.

Dimitrio reached for his napkin and wiped his mouth before narrowing his eyes and staring at me with strange intensity.

“Would you take part in the games for a sister?”

Everyone looked at me. And the tension grew considerably.

Nash's gaze was the most intense. One could assume that he would protect his sister from anything and anyone, but when it came to the games, he was almost eager for Hunter and me to participate.

Hunter had hesitated because he had already discussed it with Emely. But I wouldn't hesitate if it meant protecting her from these people and their dirty money.

“If it would save her from an unpleasant situation, without question.”

The Alpha stared at me as if I were a fly on the buttercream cake at his son's wedding. Mikhail's jaw visibly tensed and he gripped the fork in his hands so hard that his fist seemed to cramp.

My father looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

Nash was the only one who smiled slightly.