When they were out of the room, I pushed off the floor to stand. Saint studied me, anger pulsing violently in the air between us. His jaw ticked, but he didn’t move toward me. Instead, he went to the chair once more, tilting his head toward the bed.
“Sit, now,” he ordered.
I did so, but only because my legs were a little more solid than pudding. Saint’s eyes examined me, and a smirk played on his mouth as I sat, pulling the sheet over my body to hide it from his prying eyes.
“Explain to me how you’re an alpha when I know you were a beta, Braelyn. After that, tell me how the fuck I have a son that you kept hidden from me.”
“I didn’t keep him hidden, Saint. You left, and I found him in the nursery. That’s not on me or my fault. You fucked Cherry and made Chaos.”
“You named him what we had intended to name our son?” he asked, dragging his attention over my bloodied face.
“It seemed fitting since I never intended to have a child,” I admitted. “I was born alpha, but it was latent. It occurred after you’d left.”
“You’re going to get into the bath and wash your body. After that, we’re going to walk out of this room together with you at my side. I’m going to fuck you in the mating tent in the courtyard and finish the claim to seal our mating rite, Braelyn.”
“I don’t think so, Saint. You see, I am protected from being forced into a mating.”
“That only works if you’re a virgin, and we both know you’re not. Your father made damn sure I knew what my sweet, docile mate was doing during my absence. He even brought me pictures to show me you’d not only betrayed me, but you’d become the pack’s whore. That was something I didn’t think possible. It goes to show how much I fucking knew the little bitch I’d been stuck with by the fickle gods.”
I laughed, glaring at Saint as I rolled my eyes. My fists clenched into the sheets, deflecting the look of loathing burning in his expression. The problem with my protection was that it would work against everyone except my mate, which means it wouldn’t protect me from Saint. There was no denying the gods had created him for me, and I for him. It had kept me from being raped or bred by my father, who craved a son, intending to use my womb to achieve his goal of a male heir to the pack.
“I’m not mating with you, asshole. You came here to hurt me. So fucking do it, and get it over with already,” I challenged.
“Oh, it’s not that simple. I came back to take your pack from you. I returned to claim my rightful place at your side, even if I have to muzzle you to do so. You have connections I need and intend to use. Your punishment is a life dictated by me, never knowing when I’ll strike out and hurt you the most, just like you did to me. I fucking loved you. I let you see inside of me deeper than anyone else ever had. You were my fucking heart, and you ripped it out like it was nothing.
“You will walk out of this room and pretend you’re happy with this mating. Because if you don’t, Braelyn, I’ll unleash the boys on the pack,” he growled coldly, rising from the chair to kneel between my knees. “I’ll unleash the ones waiting in the woods, holding those men you were waiting to come save you. I’ll burn this place to the fucking ground, and then when you’ve lost everything, I’ll make sure you’re left in the fucking coals of this worthless fucking home you loved so much.”
Peering into his dark gaze, I knew he wasn’t playing. Saint had returned with a cold, calculated persona he hadn’t had before. The others, his crew, were the same now. They’d enjoyed the bloodshed, craving the kills as much as Saint had when he’d murdered my father and Carlson. Saint lifted his hands, placing them on my thighs as a victorious smile played on his full mouth.
“Smart girl. Go bathe because I’m impatient to fuck my mate. We have ten years to make up for.”
Chapter Five
I sat in my room, inhaling some herbs to calm my anxiety. Eryx watched me from where he leaned against the wall, his dark gaze sliding over the dress I now wore. It wasn’t sheer like a traditional mating gown, but then I hadn’t even owned one until yesterday. My mind whirled with how Saint and his men had infiltrated the compound, slipping past the other packs without detection. Either someone here had helped them, or they’d turned some packs around the mountain against us.
“Are you planning to hide out there until he returns for you?” Eryx asked, his voice coming from right behind me. I spun on my heel, stepping back against the railing of the balcony as he smiled coldly. He reached for my hand, pulling the herb stick away from me before holding it to his nose. “Does this shit help?”
“It calms my nerves and helps to hide what I was from my father.”
“A treacherous bitch?” he snorted, pulling a drag from it then slowly exhaling it.
I turned my attention back to the pack which had already started celebrating. In the middle of the vast, sprawling courtyard sat the mating tent. Unlike the last one that Saint had ripped apart during the fight, this one had black gauze that would offer a layer of privacy. Inside, candles were lit, and sage was burning.
A shiver rushed down my arm the moment Eryx touched his hand against my skin. I jerked away, staring at him before realizing he was handing me back the smoke. Accepting it, I peered at it silently.
“I don’t have fucking rabies, and if I did, you’d have them as soon as he shares you with us.”
“You’re so sure he will?” I asked cautiously.
“A lot has changed since you had us banished,” he snorted, watching as I lifted the smoke to my lips. “You should die for what you and your father did to us.”
I shivered, refusing to meet his stare. I could feel the hatred in the air. His eyes slid over my profile, and then he grabbed the smoke from my hand, inhaling deeply. Peeking at him, I watched the glowing end slowly move closer to his lips. He flicked it, withdrawing a tin from his pocket to produce another smoke.
“Did daddy know his princess was smoking herbs?” he asked, lighting it before handing it to me. I took a drag, coughing violently when it turned out to be marijuana instead of the soothing herbs I was expecting it to be. Eryx snorted, shaking his head. “Saint is going to hurt you. After he’s bored with you, Brae, you will be ours to play with when we want. Do try to let loose a little. No one likes a stuck-up bitch that thinks she’s better than everyone else. That will only make us play with you harder, and no one likes broken toys.”
Eryx’s words made my heart clench, but I didn’t think Saint would do that. He hated me, sure, but he’d always respected women. He loved his mother at one time. She’d raised him until she’d been unable to continue doing so, abandoning him here, vanishing into the night without telling him goodbye. She’d left Saint an orphan, and that had forced the pack to place him into the care of the omegas, where he’d met his crew.
“You shouldn’t have fucked Saint over. He let you in, and you broke him.”
“My father gave me two options—make him hate me or watch him die. My world didn’t exist without Saint in it, Eryx. If my father had told me to rip my heart from my chest or watch Saint die, I wouldn’t have hesitated. I’d have reached into my chest and pulled it out, still beating. You can think the worst of me and make me the villain, but glass houses hide the ugliest monsters. Careful throwing rocks because once you know the truth, you can’t ever go back from knowing it.”