"Christ." I watched how he ran his hands down his face in frustration.. In some kind of panic because he had his hands tied. He wasn't really that helpless.. He just had to listen to me till the end to find out that there was a way out of the whole situation.. I cleared my throat silently, taking the chance of him walking in circles to slowly stand up and straighten my legs a bit, because it had been an hour discussing every problem I had in his office and it was a pretty large damn pressure to handle all at once. "Amelia's safe though.. Adam is no longer after her.. He's not that big of a fool not to know that her magic has grown stronger over the years.. Besides, she has the whole Venedocia on her side. They love her. They'll all throw themselves in fire to protect their Queen. She is the one that saved them from the mad king.. The slavery too." I stopped for a second.. I could've been a ruler as well.. My father was the one that taught me how to lead and rule my whole life.. I was supposed to lead the pack when I grow up. And there I was, all grown up, promised to some Alpha that would take that position.. A jackass that would use that power not only against me, but against my whole family as well. Whatever reason my dad had to change his mind about my future, it had to be a big one, a serious one, because I knew he would never sell me out like that. He never respected traditions.. But it seemed like I was meeting some new brainwashed man, not like discussing everything with my own father. I tried pushing the thought away.. I tried leaving that problem on the side for now.. I had to tell him the full story. I had to tell him what kind of a deal Christian was ready to make. It wasn't just me that was in danger though, it was Amelia too, and her daughter.. If we wanted to end Adam, we were all supposed to have each other's back. It was a different kind of war we were fighting. "However, I soon found out that her and I share the same blood.. The blood that Adam is after." I continued, looking back towards my father.. "Your whole bloodline is in danger.. Jack, Marco.. Me.." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Adam has already made his fair choice though.. Since he cannot get the chance to drain Amelia's blood, he aimed towards the next best thing.. The next daughter.. Me. If I die, that won't stop him. And if he succeeds to wake up, he'll aim towards those that put him down." Those that put him down had became people that I truly cared about.. And one of them was Amelia, who was just as much of his daughter as I was. I saw the hurt on his face.. He thought I was telling him all of that to make him see how much he had missed out.. "Lana.." I tried stopping me, like he was about to start explaining himself to me, so I was quick to make myself clear. "I am not telling you this because I want to hurt you, or blame you.. No, I'm telling you this because I am already drawn to him.." All kinds of images went through my head.. That dream I had the previous night.. It all seemed like some kind of a vision. I feared that it would come true. "When I ran to stop that stupid marriage that you're so focused on, I almost walked in that old house.. And that's where Adam is. I keep hearing his heartbeat through some dark magic that his witches had cast on me.. Night terrors that draw me to him.." I sat back down on the chair, unable to find any ease from the things I was admitting. My mind was blank for everything else at that point. It was the most important part of the whole situation. "The Le Boursiers figured that out.. That's why they took me." I stopped, hearing my voice starting to fade. It was a lie that they took me. No one ever did. I hated having to lie that Christian kidnapped me. "And they are willing to make a deal with us.. They're willing to help you keep me safe.. But they'll need the necklace for that." He leaned his hands against the desk in one quick movement, like he stopped himself from banging his fist against the wood in the last second. "I don't have it." The loss of patience in his voice was clear. "I know. It's still in their interest though.. They don't want Adam to wake up, and they'll do anything to make sure of that.." I rose my chin slightly, making sure to keep my voice straight for the next few words I had to say. "They want us to join our forces against Adam.. They'll protect me and your whole bloodline as long as you agree on working with them and not solo or against them.. Not alone against Adam either." I did my best to give those words such meaning as to make sure he took me seriously.. It was the most important part of the whole conversation. When things with Adam became so drastic, I knew I had to tell my father about what was going on.. And Christian was trying to protect me the whole time. But I could not allow either of them to work alone against Adam. I cared about both sides. I needed to unite. Not only I was in danger, but so was my whole family. My brothers.. Annabelle even. And how could any of us allow innocents to suffer because of that monster's selfish needs to wake up and torture everyone all over again.. No, I had to convince my father to put his guards down and trust me on this.. To work with his enemies.. We were all fighting for the same thing. If a war started between vampires and werewolves because Christian and I broke the vow and rule by being together, it would only mean a distraction from the real problem that Adam was.. It would only make them focus on fighting against one another, and that's Adam wanted. Those witches too.. They wanted us to kill one another so they could be the only ones left standing. Ruling. And I was not allowing that kind of a war to ruin all of those I loved. "And what if I don't agree?" His voice filled the room, steady and somewhat calm, even though I noticed how concern he was, how curious he was on how to end it all.. And the hardest part had came. I had to say words that were only a product of a plan Christian and I made, of course with the ideas of his brother, Amelia and Calliope.. But still, this part, I considered way too drastic. I hated that I couldn't just tell him how much I loved Christian and how much we cared for one another.. I hated that I had to say lies just to stop a war, just to have the ones I cared about so much on the same side. But I was ready to fight for them all in whatever way I knew.. I was ready to lie over and over again if that meant keeping them safe. If that meant stopping a war. It was our only chance. I told Christian I wasn't going to be able to say it, but he insisted it would be the only way to convince my father. So I agreed. And now there I was, trying to gulp down the lump in my throat.. Trying to figure out how to say that without choking from that pressure that created over my chest. I inhaled one shaky breath. "They'll kill me. And you, and Jack, and Marco.. And everyone that has a drop of your blood in their veins, just to make sure that Adam doesn't get his key for awakening." My voice trailed.. It almost shook. But I managed to keep straight and focused on the plan. "They'll only have Amelia and Annabelle to worry about after that.. And two people is easier to protect." Once that thick silence filled the room, I knew my words struck him deeply. I kept my eyes on his for a few seconds, trying to read what was going through his mind.. I didn't understand why Christian wanted me to say that.. I agreed, but I always thought that a better way to have my father on our side was to make sure that he know how much Christian actually cared about me.. But he said it was more realistic this way.. He said that he had it under control. He just told me to trust him and do as told. To leave the rest to him. And that's what I did.. After objecting for a while, I agreed to somehow swallowing down those words, saying them to my father, telling him that I would die if we don't work as one, and it seemed to had left him speechless..