Chapter 10 Broken first
Justin's Point of View:
I stood in front of the high table like I always have, patiently waiting for my father's instructions. It didn't look like he'd talk very soon, and his gaze was fixated on the paperwork in his hands. My mother sat beside him, eyeing me and secretly begging me not to leave.
As for my twin sister, she stood beside me, unbothered by my father's lack of attention because she knew he would never look at her.
“Can we leave now…. I mean can I? My legs hurt, and I'm sure there's no work for me to do,” Amby said with a rude voice, and finally, my father raised his head to look at her.
My father took his time and carefully observed her dressing and appearance before speaking. “I heard you're fond of hitting your husband,” he said, and Amby shrugged her shoulders, unbothered.
“Did Harridan report me to you? Didn't I allow that bastard to enter my Villa?” Amby asked with a grimace and turned to face my father. “He is not my husband, he is my fiancé, and I can take care of him,” she squealed.
My father monitored her facial expressions. “Troubles in paradise?” He murmured and dropped the paperwork.
Amby shook her head innocently. “Of course not. I can handle him,” she smiled broadly.
I know what that smile meant, it was her way of marking territory. One of the customs of the great Magnus’ family. Once she allows our father to intervene, he will treat her marriage like a business deal, selling her off to the biggest buyer. You see, most people think that Harridan is the only one benefiting from the marriage, but Amby was actually the lucky one. When she first heard that she had to get married to a son of the werewolf alliance (a group of Alphas who run their pack) she was hesitant and refused to agree.
Let me break something down to you, my father is an Alpha leader, and he rules over our pack. In our country, there are five major packs, my father's pack is the biggest, while Harridan's father's pack is the smallest. To preserve peace in the country, the five Alphas came together and formed the Werewolf Alliance. They made a rule that mandated their firstborn child to marry within the alliance. Amby and I are twins, my mother didn't want me to marry any of the werewolf alliance daughters, so Amby was placed in my stead. While I was requested to lead the pack, Amby must get married to a son of the alliance. She didn't like this idea, and all the sons were either playboys or woman beaters. She refused to get married and my father threatened to disown her. Luckily for her, she met Harridan, and he was the perfect son to manipulate, but he wasn't her type. She liked bad guys, and Harridan was too nice.
Amby began to learn things about Harridan to check if she could easily handle him, that was when she found out about his family's condition, and it became her triumphant chip. At that moment, she was also picking on Lydia, whom she considered pretty and superior. Anything she did to make Lydia sad was futile, and when she found out that Lydia had a huge crush on Harridan, she decided to kill two birds with one stone.
So in conclusion, if she or my father ends her marriage with Harridan, she'd have to get married to one of the other alliance's sons, and they're all assholes.
———
“Why did you hit him? What does he do wrong? Cheat?” My father asked with arched brows, and Amby burst into laughter.
“Harridan is easy to handle, Father. You have nothing to worry about,” she assured my father, and when he knew she wasn't going to listen to him, he gave up.
My father, Malcolm Magnus, shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “Fine, but make sure the media doesn't find out, and when you want to leave marks, don't leave them in places that can be easily seen,” he advised with an unreadable expression, but Amby laughed.
“Of course, father,” she said and immediately left the room.
My mother watched her leave, her lips twisted into a snarl. Judging by Amby and my father's interaction, you'd think we have a happy family. But it was all a facade, my father was proud of her because she agreed to get married, not out of love.
“What are you teaching your daughter? She isn't married yet, but you're already teaching him how to beat her man,” my mother drawled each word of hers, and if you listen closely, you'd realize that there was nothing nice about her words. She wasn't scolding Amby, and she wasn't praising her.
My father didn't reply to her, instead, he turned to me, and the expression on his face turned to a frown. He had the same disapproving look he had been giving me ever since I was little.
“Father, are you finally ready for me?” I asked with a calm voice, determined not to show my disappointment.
My father stared into my eyes and shook his head. “Where have you been? I sent my security to track you, but they said your men stopped them, why?” He asked.
“Why not?” I replied rudely, and my mother coughed, trying to call me to order.
My father looked at my mother and me. “Your son's manners still haven't improved. You must be indulging him?”
“Why did you ask to see me? I'm a businessman, I move with time,” I said with a calm voice, and my father shook his head in pity.
“If you don't want to be the next Alpha, I can always replace you with someone better,” he threatened.
The only reason why I still respected my father was because of my sister and mother, he used my behavior to determine how to treat them.
“Alpha….” I have never dreamt of leading the pack, since I was a child, I was told that my duty was to lead, and if I don't, my father vowed to replace me with someone better. So I wasn't bothered by this threat.
“What do you want from me?” I asked him with a grimace.
My father stood up, slowly walking towards me. “Do you remember Rockwell's family?” He asked, his voice in a whisper.
I froze, it was rare for my father to talk about others, much more, Lydia's family. “Remember them in what way? You specifically told Amby and me to avoid their only survivor, Lydia,” I said calmly. He had repeatedly warned me to avoid the children of people who didn't belong to the werewolf alliance. In fact, the first time he mentioned Lydia's name, he told Amby to make her elementary school a living hell. When I asked why, my father said that Lydia belonged to a particular group of people he detested.
———
“That Rockwell's orphan is growing up rapidly and would soon be searching for the truth. Maybe we should employ her in our company, so that we would be able to keep an eye on her.” He said, and although I didn't understand what he meant, I smiled.
“Are you still interested in her, and is that why you came back?” I asked with a straight voice.
“No, there is an upcoming Werewolf Alliance meeting, and my presence is needed,” Malcolm Magnus said plainly.
I had always wondered why my father had an odd interest in the Rockwells, and although I haven't gotten my hands on his secrets, I knew other ways to tease him and make him tell me the truth about Lydia's connection to the alliance.