According To Plan
Romain
Fury scorches every inch of me, not leaving a single corner inside of me untouched.
Soren drones on and on about how nobody would want someone like me as a father and Brent offers no response. He simply glares at me while Soren speaks. I keep glancing over at Em, who's standing near the entrance with a look that shatters me completely.
Her hair is short. Soren...I know he's behind this, and it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. Her resemblance to Cade is uncanny at this point, and my insides twist at the thought of what he intends to do to her.
Why did she come back? How could she have done such a thing?
"The thing you don't know about Brent," Soren continues, jolting me out of my thoughts, "is that those boy here would do anything to please me. He's been this way since he was little, isn't that right? He would do anything to grab my attention. I was impatient with him at times, but I blame that on all the responsibilities I had. After my father's death, I had to give up my selfishness to lead this pack. If it weren't for Cade, I would've lost my mind."
A heavy silence settles upon us. He's trying to humiliate and mock Brent. That's enough to enrage me. "You don't have to say these things to him. What are you getting at? Don't you ever get tired of running your mouth? He's just a boy. He doesn't have to see any of this."
Soren steps forward and throws a punch at my face. "Don't you tell me how to raise my son! I deem what's right for him, not you!"
I turn my head, glaring at him as pain explodes behind my swollen eye. He's lost his fucking mind.
It isn't safe for Brent here.
"Brent, do you want to leave?"
"No," is Brent's clipped response.
"See? Now, where was I? Ah, yes. We were at the part where my son would do anything to get my attention, and though I never appreciated him before, things have certainly changed between us, haven't they, son?"
"Yes."
"Now, we get along and he will be my successor," Soren continues. I don't see the point of this at all. "And as my successor, he'll need to learn to be a man. To witness death and all forms of misery. Moreover, Brent will be the one to decide what happens to you."
Emmalee sucks in a breath. "Soren."
"You stay out of this, Emmalee," he grits out, trying and failing to keep his tone pleasant. "This is between the three of us. How can you decide what gets to happen to this rogue mutt? No, Brent should be the one to do it. Are you going to take that choice away from him?"
"Enough!" Emmalee exclaims, rushing forward.
"Em," I say, though she ignores me. Instead, she marches right up to Soren and says, "We had a deal! You let Romain go and keep my son out of this!"
"Which son? The one you abandoned to live the rogue life? Admit it, Emmalee. You wouldn't have come back if it weren't for Romain. You were happy to leave him here to live your life. Isn't that right? What kind of mother does that? Do you think Brent still sees you as one?"
I frown. What's Soren trying to do, manipulate Brent into hating us? He makes no sense.
"Of course he does," she hisses, voice thick with emotion. "Come, Brent. Let's head outside."
"Brent stays!" Soren bursts out, anger flashing in his eyes. "Stay out of this!"
"No!" she exclaims. "I've let this go on long enough. There are things Brent doesn't have to know! What are you trying to do?"
Soren clenches his jaw as he glares at Emmalee. The tension in the room is so thick you could cut it with a knife. I've never felt more helpless than I do now, watching this man bully my family into submission. I meet Brent's gaze once more, wondering what's going through his mind. I can't tell it by looking at him.
Good.
If I can't, then Soren can't, either.
"Come, Brent. Decide. Does the rogue live or die?"
Several beats of silence pass. Emmalee is crying now.
"Die," Brent finally says, looking over at Soren.
"Brent," Em says, horrified. She's so stunned by Brent's answer that she doesn't react quickly enough to Soren striding toward me, blade in hand, until he's standing right in front of me with the edge of the blade cutting into the skin of my neck.
A shriek escapes her lips. Soren says in warning, "Now, Emmalee. If you come anywhere near me, I'll cut his throat right here."
"We had a deal!" she exclaims, sobbing. Her eyes bulge when she sees blood trickling down my neck. I can't even breathe properly without feeling the knife cut deeper.
"Yes, and what a deal it was," Soren claims. "Only you get to benefit from it, isn't that right? What about what Brent wants? Doesn't it count for something? He's the future Alpha of this pack. He's engaged to the daughter of the most powerful Alpha in the eastern lands. He can't have known associations with rogues. You didn't think of that, did you? You never do. How will this impact Brent's life? You're not thinking of him, are you? Yet you claim to be a good mother."
"That's not true! Brent, please, I know you're angry, but you can't let Soren do this."
"Why not?" Brent asks. "So, what my father is saying is true, then?"
"No," she whisper before stepping toward him. "No, of course not."
"She's a liar, son," Soren claims. "You'll come to realize that when you grow older. Everything about your mother is a lie."
"Soren!" she yells. "Stop this!"
"Or what?" he challenges. "He killed Cade. Why should he live? Aren't you ashamed, picking him over your own brother? What kind of image will your son have of you? How will he remember you? You don't think, do you, Emmalee? You never figured out how to think!"
Her eyes meet mine and for a split second, I see her make her decision. I blink at her. No, she can't interfere. This is all part of the plan. If she steps forward and Soren hurts her, what will we have accomplished?
I gulp nervously and the blade slices my skin even more. Blood trickles down my neck. "Em," I manage to say. "Don't."
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Soren asks her. "Imagine what it felt like to me. I was there, watching him die. How does it feel, Emmalee?"
I meet Soren's gaze and watch as fat tears roll down his face.
She rushes forward, preparing to shift, but Soren is quick. Em shifts and the blade cuts deeper into me, but Brent, anticipating his mother's impulsivity, steps forward before she does, and—as we'd planned earlier—buries the knife he had with him in Soren's side before twisting it.
A howl of pain leaves Soren's lips.