Chapter 45 Stay away from my luna
~Keith~
I watched Sage disappear into the estate, and I felt a little relieved at the sight of her escaping my father's clutches for at least one more night. I had bought her time, but time was a luxury that seemed to be running out faster than either of us had anticipated.
When I turned back to face my father, the carefree attitude and playful nature that I'd taken disappeared. There was no point in pretending anymore.
"Well?" My father asked, his voice emotionless as it had always been. "What is this pressing matter that couldn't wait until morning? What concern about the eastern border is so urgent that you felt the need to interrupt my conversation with my Luna?"
I met his gaze without flinching, drawing on every ounce of alpha blood that ran through my veins to hold my ground against the man who had spent my entire life trying to mold me into something I had never wanted to be.
"There is no concern about the eastern border," I admitted, seeing no point in maintaining a lie that we both knew was fabricated. "I made it up to give Sage a chance to escape your interrogation. She looked exhausted, and whatever you wanted to discuss with her could clearly wait until she'd had a chance to rest."
The silence that followed my confession was deafening. My father's expression didn't change, but I could see the storm brewing behind his eyes, the anger building like thunderclouds on the horizon of his carefully controlled expression.
"Sage," he repeated, and the way he said her name made my possessive wolf rear up his head. "Since when do you call my Luna by her first name? And since when do you concern yourself with her wellbeing to the point of lying to your Alpha King?"
I shrugged, forcing my body to remain relaxed even as every muscle tensed in preparation for the confrontation that was clearly coming.
"She's my stepmother now, isn't she? I thought using her first name was appropriate given our new familial relationship. And as for her wellbeing, I would think you'd want your Luna to be well-rested and healthy. A tired Luna reflects poorly on the Alpha who claims her."
My father took a step toward me, closing the distance between us until we were standing close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in his dark eyes, the ones that I had inherited along with his stubborn nature and his tendency toward obsession.
"Don't play games with me, boy," he said, his voice dropping to a low growl that vibrated with aggression. "I've been watching you lately. I've noticed the way you look at her when you think no one is paying attention. I've seen the way your eyes follow her across a room like she's the only thing in it worth seeing."
My heart stuttered in my chest, but I forced my expression to remain neutral, to not give him the satisfaction of seeing that his words were really affecting me.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, but even to my own ears, the denial sounded weak and unconvincing.
"Don't you?" Damon's lips curved into a smile that held no warmth whatsoever. "Let me make something very clear to you, Keith. Whatever foolishness is occupying your mind, whatever distraction has gotten its claws into you, it needs to end. Immediately. You've been walking around with your head in the clouds for weeks now, and I won't tolerate it any longer."
"My head is exactly where it needs to be," I said, but my father continued as if I hadn't spoken.
"Riana will be arriving at the estate in one month. I suggest you use that time to get yourself sorted out and prepare to receive your chosen mate properly."
Raina Blackwood. Daughter of Alpha Marcus Blackwood, ruler of the Shadow Creek pack and one of my father's oldest allies. We had been promised to each other since we were children, our union designed to strengthen the alliance between our packs and secure territory that had been disputed for generations.
I had met her exactly three times in my life. Once when we were five years old and she had pulled my hair until I cried. Once when we were twelve and she had spent the entire visit talking about herself while I counted the minutes until she would leave. And once when we were eighteen, at a formal gathering where she had made it abundantly clear that she expected me to worship the ground she walked on simply because she was beautiful and wealthy and destined to be my mate.
I had never liked her. I had never wanted her. And I had certainly never loved her, not even in the distant, theoretical way that arranged mates sometimes grew to love each other over time.
"Raina," I said, and I couldn't keep the distaste from coloring my voice. "You're really going through with this? After all these years of the engagement sitting dormant, you're actually bringing her here?"
"The engagement was never dormant," my father corrected. "It was simply waiting for the right moment. And that moment has arrived. The alliance between our packs needs to be solidified, and your marriage to Raina will accomplish that goal more effectively than any treaty or trade agreement ever could."
"And what if I don't want to marry her?" I asked, even though I already knew what his answer would be. "What if I have no interest in spending my life with a woman I certainly don't love?"
My father laughed.
"Love?" he repeated, as if the word was a joke that I had failed to properly understand. "You think love has anything to do with this? You think your personal feelings matter when the security of our pack and the future of our bloodline is at stake? Don't be naive, Keith. You are my heir. Your duty is to this pack and to this family, and that duty includes mating with the woman I have chosen for you, regardless of whether or not you love her."
I clenched my fists at my sides, my wolf howling with rage beneath my skin at the injustice of it all. I had spent my entire life being molded and manipulated by this man, forced into roles I had never wanted and responsibilities I had never asked for. And now he was trying to take away the one thing that had ever truly mattered to me, the one person who made me feel like maybe I could be something more than just his heir, his puppet, his pawn in a game of power and politics.
"I won't do it," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "I won't marry Raina. I won't mate with someone I don't love just because you've decided it's politically convenient."
"You will do as you're told," he said, "Raina arrives in one month. You will welcome her to the estate. You will court her properly, treat her with the respect she deserves as your future mate. And when the time comes, you will mark her and make her yours in the eyes of the pack and the goddess alike."
"And if I refuse?"
My father smiled, and it was the smile of a predator who knew he had his prey exactly where he wanted it.
"Then I will be forced to take action that neither of us wants," he said simply. "There are ways to ensure compliance, Keith. Ways that I would prefer not to use but will not hesitate to employ if you force my hand. Don't test me on this. You won't like the results."
He turned to walk toward the estate, but before he reached the door, he paused and looked back over his shoulder, his eyes meeting mine with an intensity that made my blood run cold.
"One more thing," he said, and his voice carried a warning that pierced through my defenses like a knife through butter. "Stay away from my Luna. I've seen the way you look at her. I've noticed the way she seems to gravitate toward you when she thinks I'm not paying attention. Whatever is happening between you two, it ends now."
I opened my mouth to deny it, to protest that there was nothing between Sage and me, that his suspicions were unfounded and his concerns were misplaced.
But my father didn't give me the chance to speak.
"I won't warn you again, Keith," he said, and the finality in his voice left no room for argument."