Chapter 31: Chapter 31

SCARLET

“Why, that lousy son of a bitch!” Will exclaims as I finish telling him about the unveiling of my portrait.

“Tell me about it. I can’t wait until he and his pack are gone. I thought his daughter Nicole was bad, but at least she was a bitch to my face,” I reply as I pour batter onto the industrial stovetop to make several small pancakes.

“They both sound like nasty pieces of work,” Jo grumbles as she breaks open an egg a bit more forcefully than necessary. I give her a pointed look and nod in agreement.

“Luna,” Tony says as he approaches from his post by the doorway. I look over my shoulder at him and he continues, “Alpha is requesting your presence. Sounds urgent. We need to go.”

I give him a bob of my chin before I turn back to my friends. “Well, I guess I have to go. I’ll try to return this evening to help with dinner,” I tell them as I wipe my hands off on a towel and take off my apron. Jo cleans her hands off too and gives me a brief hug.

“Just keep us posted so we don’t worry. I swear, ever since you found your mate you seem to get into so much more trouble.” She shakes her head in astonishment.

“I’ve noticed, but at least it’s not typically his fault.”

“Neither of you are perfectly innocent in that regard, that’s for sure,” she remarks as she lets me go, and I give a quick hug to Will.

“Good luck. You’re probably going to need it,” Will calls as I head to the car.

We arrive at Kane Enterprises about twenty minutes later, and I’m led to a floor that I’ve never been to before. The elevator doors open with a ding before I walk into a sleek waiting area.

Offices are lined up on the other side with large windows and wooden doors. Most of them are dark except for the one straight ahead. The blinds are pulled so I can only see shadowy outlines of people.

I don’t need to see them to know that something is wrong. Raised voices carry throughout the entire level, and I inhale deeply as I mentally prepare for whatever I’m about to walk in on.

“This is bullshit, and you know it!” I hear Ethan exclaim heatedly.

One of the guards lightly taps on the door before it’s opened by Ethan’s delta, Garrett. He steps aside quietly as we file in.

Ethan and Lucien don’t notice. They are standing on the other side of the room, locked in some sort of argument. “No. This is business,” Lucien states coolly.

“Like hell it is!” Ethan yells back, disdain dripping with every syllable.

The two men that I believe are the lawyers are both trying to calm the situation, though they are clearly at a loss. Neither seems to have any idea where to begin or how to end the quarrel.

I clear my throat, and the two lawyers turn to me. However, it doesn’t attract the attention of either alpha.

“We came here to negotiate an alliance after you decided that the original terms no longer worked for you. I think I’ve been quite understanding thus far,” Lucien states matter-of-factly.

Ethan’s nostrils flare, and his eyes widen. I can easily imagine steam coming out of his ears. He is livid. His alpha aura is seeping out of him, making the others in the room slowly back away from him.

“And you know the reason for that! You knew when you wrote up this contract that there was no way in hell I’d agree to your terms, you condescending bastard!”

Lucien narrows his eyes and opens his mouth to speak before I put two fingers in my mouth and blow. A loud, high-pitched whistle echoes through the room, causing everyone to look at me in surprise.

Even the two Neanderthals stop their bickering to turn to me, both wearing an expression that tells me they didn’t realize I was here. Lucien’s sour look turns into one of joy as he smiles and begins to walk over to me.

“My muse!” he exclaims as he opens his arms like he’s about to hug me.

Before he gets too close, two of Ethan’s men block his path to me as they stand shoulder to shoulder.

“Don’t you dare go anywhere near her!” Ethan instantly growls before placing a hand on Lucien’s shoulder and yanking him back.

“Don’t you lay your paws on me!” Lucien spits back vehemently.

“HEY!” I shout at them, bringing their attention back to me. “Would someone like to explain to me what the problem is?” I inquire as I look between the two alphas with a pointed expression as though I’m scolding two children.

There is a moment of silence as they glare at one another before Ethan comes toward me, squeezing through his men.

He places his hands on my shoulders as he looks into my eyes, and his touch calms the both of us, the way the mate bond is supposed to. A sigh escapes his lips as he releases his anger at Lucien and focuses on me.

“Before the Silver Shadow Pack decided to come here, we agreed on new conditions to our alliance,” he begins before he gestures over to one of the men wearing a suit that I assumed was one of the lawyers. “We wrote up a new contract with everything we agreed on. It just needed to be signed by both parties with witnesses and a notary present. However, Lucien decided to make some amendments to the terms we set.”

“Okay. So, what were the changes? What’s the big deal?” I ask, not seeing what has the two men, who are normally reserved, so worked up.

Ethan seems to hold his breath for a moment as he grits his teeth in irritation. I can tell he’s trying not to blow up again, and I wait patiently for him to explain.

Finally, he lets out a puff of air and continues, “He wants you, Scarlet. He wants you to be his luna and wants me to still take Nikki as mine.”

I stare at him in shock as I try to figure out if he’s serious.

This is completely insane. ~Why in the world would Lucien try to negotiate this? He had to have known that we wouldn’t agree to it, right?~ “I… I’m not sure…,” I begin, though I realize I have no idea what to even say to that. “I mean… you’re kidding, right?”

“My lovely Scarlet, surely you can understand why I want you as my own,” Lucien purrs from his spot several steps away. He’s still barred from getting any closer to me, and I shoot him a glare.

“SHE IS MINE!” Ethan bellows.