Chapter 14 Chapter 14
IRIS
I had never been so confused in my life.
Darius knew how to leave an impression. What did the kiss mean?
I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand him. I didn’t understand why my body had reacted before my mind could catch up, why my heart had done something reckless and loud in my chest when his mouth touched mine. It didn't feel like a mistake. That was the worst part.
And now I was supposed to pretend it hadn’t happened.
We rode back to the pack house in silence. I stared out the window, watching the world blur past, trying to erase the hold he had on me.
Keeping it from Vickie felt wrong. We didn’t keep secrets. Not one this big. Every time she glanced at me, I felt like she could see it written on my face.
But how could I tell her?
Your future husband is my mate.
And he did things to my body no man ever did or ever could. To make things worse while she was picking out a wedding dress he kissed me.
Maybe I was overthinking it. Maybe the mate bond was having the same effect on me it did on him and it was a mistake.
The car came to a stop. Father stepped out first, his hostile demeanor returned the moment we left their gaze. He didn’t look back at us. Didn’t even acknowledge we were there.
He just walked away.
Vickie watched him go, then let out a sharp scoff. “Wow. That’s it?” She slammed the car door shut. “Now that he’s done using us, he doesn’t even have the decency to speak to us.”
I opened my mouth. Closed it again.
Words felt useless. Everything I wanted to say tangled together and refused to come out in any sensible order.
Vickie turned to me, her brows knitting. “You’ve been quiet…”
“I’m tired,” I said automatically.
She didn’t buy it. “You’ve been this way since the night with Tony.”
My shoulders stiffened.
She softened her tone, just a little. “I can’t blame you, I’d change too if I found my boyfriend cheating with a girl whose father paid to seduce him.”
If only that was the case. If only it wasn’t worse than she could possibly imagine.
“It’s fine, I’ll recover,” I lied and began walking toward the house.
“I don’t want to get married.” Vickie blurted abruptly.
I stopped.
She kept walking for two steps before realizing I wasn’t beside her anymore. She turned back, jaw tight, eyes shallow.
“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with a man I can’t stand.”
I swallowed. “Vic…”
“I mean it, Iris.” Her voice cracked just slightly. “Every time I think about it, I feel trapped. Like I’m being shoved into a life that doesn’t belong to me.”
Something twisted in my chest. I moved closer to her. “I know,” I said softly. “I really do.”
She scoffed. “No, you don’t.”
I hesitated, then said the truth I was allowed to say. “I wish I had a choice too.”
Her face paled, realizing I was also in her shoes. One day father will find a man for me and it would be revisiting this hell but being the main character.
She let out a breath, running a hand through her hair. “I need a drink.”
I shot her a look. “Vickie.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t start.”
“You can’t keep doing this,” I said.
She waved me off. “Please, I’ll lose my mind without it.”
Then she turned and walked away, her steps quick, decisive, like she didn’t trust herself to slow down.
I stood there and watched her go, my chest tight, my secrets pressing heavier by the second.
I felt sick the longer I stood there watching Vickie disappear down the corridor.
When things got tough, she usually got tougher. But this—this marriage—was hollowing her out from the inside. I could see it.
And somehow I was making it worse.
I went to my room and stripped out of the gown, like it was evidence. I pulled on a loose T-shirt and a pair of worn pants, tied my hair into a messy ponytail without bothering to smooth it down.
The sun was low in the horizon so there was still time to dark and I decided to use it.
I had a lot of hobbies, reading inclusive and tonight I wanted to lose myself in someone else’s world. To distract myself from the chaos revolving around mine.
It was empty when I slipped inside, the tall shelves casting long shadows across the floor. The familiar scent of old paper and polished wood wrapped around me, grounding in a way nothing else had been all day.
I moved between the shelves, fingers trailing along spines I’d read a dozen times. My thoughts were still scattered when I heard footsteps.
A familiar mint and cedar scent brushing my nose.
I leaned back slightly, peering through the gap between shelves.
And like I suspected Father just walked in and next to him was a man I hadn’t seen in a long time.
Napheal.
His beta.
He looked… angry.
“This marriage shouldn’t even be in question,” Napheal said, his voice low but sharp. “You’re marrying your daughter to the underworld wolf.”
My breath caught.
Underworld wolf?
The name sent a chill down my spine. I knew Darius had a reputation but that? That sounded like something whispered to scare children into obedience.
I pressed closer to the shelf, curiosity taking over.
“You make it sound far more dramatic than it is.” Father retorted unbothered.
Napheal didn’t smile. “You know exactly what he is. What his pack is capable of. Aligning ourselves with them—”
“Is necessary,” Father cut in smoothly. “And profitable.”
“He’s not like other Alphas,” Napheal insisted. “There are stories—”
“Stories,” Father echoed, dismissive. “That’s all they are.”
“And if they’re not?” Napheal snapped. “If he hurts her?”
“They won’t,” Father said calmly.
The certainty in his voice made my stomach twist.
Napheal frowned. “How can you be so sure?”
Father leaned back against the table, crossing his arms. “Because they have no reason to.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is when you understand the situation,” Father replied. “I have evidence on something that can ruin his family’s reputation”
The word hit me like ice water.
Napheal stiffened. “Blackmail?”
“Yes.” Father said it like he was discussing the weather. “Which means they won’t risk upsetting us. Not when they need this alliance as much as we do.”