Chapter 52 The defiance
~Sage~
"You and Riana." Damon said the words casually, like he was discussing culinary classes. "When you were younger. Before everything was formalized. You two were quite close, weren't you? Inseparable, really."
I watched Keith’s face and saw how uncomfortable he suddenly became.
They had history? Keith and this woman he was supposed to marry…they already knew each other?
"That was a long time ago," Keith said flatly. "We were children."
"Were you?" Damon tilted his head, all innocent curiosity. "That's strange. I could have sworn you were a bit older than children when you two were sneaking around together. Eighteen, perhaps? Nineteen?"
The jealousy that shot through me was immediate and overwhelming. Sneaking around. Keith had been sneaking around with Riana. His future bride. The woman who was coming here to claim him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Keith said, his voice hard.
Damon hummed thoughtfully, tapping his fingers against the desk. "It's just that I heard some interesting things about you two. From Riana herself, actually."
Keith's hands curled into fists at his sides. I could feel his anger through the bond now.
"She was quite talkative, that girl," Damon continued, his tone light and conversational. "She told me all sorts of things. About how close you two were. How you made her feel special." He paused, letting the words hang in the air. "How you were her first."
My nails dug into my palms so hard I was surprised I didn't draw blood.
Her first. Keith had been intimate with Riana. He had touched her, held her, made her feel things that he made me feel as my first, and now she was coming back. Coming back to marry him. Coming back to finish what they had started years ago.
My almost dormant wolf burned with jealousy, but I kept my expression blank, neutral, and unaffected.
But inside, I was burning.
"She also mentioned something about promises," Damon said, still watching Keith with that knowing gaze. "Something about forever. About how you told her you would always be together. That you would make her your mate one day. That's how I knew that you two would be a perfect fit."
Keith stood up so abruptly that his chair scraped against the floor. "That's a lie."
Damon raised an eyebrow, looking unfazed by his son's outburst. "Is it?"
"Yes. It's a complete lie. I never said any of those things to her." Keith's voice was rising now, his carefully constructed calm crumbling. "I never made her any promises. I never told her she would be my mate. And I certainly never—"
He stopped himself, but it was too late. The damage was done.
Damon smiled. It was a cold smile, triumphant and cruel. "Never what, son?"
"Nothing." Keith was breathing hard, his hands clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles had gone white. "This is ridiculous. I don't know why you're bringing up ancient history that isn't even true."
"I'm simply making conversation." Damon spread his hands in a gesture of innocence. "Reminiscing about young love. After all, it's quite romantic, isn't it? Childhood sweethearts, reunited after years apart, finally getting to fulfill the promises they made to each other."
"There were no promises!" Keith shouted. “Stop trying to fucking dump things on me, Damon!”
The room went dead silent.
Damon's eyes widened slightly, the first genuine surprise I had ever seen on his face. Keith had never raised his voice to his father. Not once. Not in all the months I had known them. Or at least not like this.
Keith was breathing hard, his chest heaving, his eyes burning with fury. He looked like a man who had been pushed past his breaking point, who had finally snapped after years of holding everything inside.
"There were no promises," he repeated, his voice shaking. "I was young and stupid and I made mistakes, but I never promised her anything. I never told her I would marry her. I never told her she was my mate. Whatever she said to you, whatever stories she told, they're lies. All of it. And I don't want her as my mate."
Damon studied his son for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he leaned back in his chair, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"My, my," he said softly. "Such passion. Such conviction." His eyes flickered to me. "One might almost think you had a reason to deny it so vehemently."
Keith followed his father's gaze, and I saw the moment he realized his mistake. He had reacted too strongly. He had shown too much emotion and given Damon exactly what he was looking for.
"Sit down, Keith," Damon said mildly. "We still have things to discuss."
"I think we're done here."
"I said sit down."
The command in Damon's voice was non-arguable. Alpha authority rang through every syllable. Even I felt the instinctive urge to submit, to obey, and bow my head.
Keith didn't move.
For a long, terrible moment, father and son stared at each other; challenge, defiance, with years of resentment finally bubbling to the surface.
Then Keith sat down.
But there was nothing submissive about the way he did it. He dropped into the chair like a coiled spring, every line of his body screaming resistance. His eyes never left his father's face.
"Better," Damon said, and the satisfaction in his voice made me want to scream. "Now, where were we? Ah yes. Riana."
"I'm not discussing this anymore."
"You don't have a choice." Damon leaned forward, all pretense of casual conversation gone. "You see, Keith, I've been very patient with you. I've allowed you your privacy, your secrets, your little rebellions. But my patience is running out."
Keith said nothing.
"Riana is coming," Damon continued. "And when she arrives, you will welcome her. You will court her. You will marry her. This is not a negotiation. This is not a request. This is an order from your Alpha."
"And if I refuse?"
His words were quiet, but it dropped with heaviness so much that I began to fear for him.