53: The Ties that Bind

Quincy St. Martin

The two brothers follow me out without any resistance or question. Good! They know when to keep their mouths shut when I’m feeling particularly violent. We walk out of the building, and I head straight for the wooden bench underneath an oak tree not too far from the building.

I walk back and forth in front of the bench, trying to calm my raging violent inner self, which is fighting to come out.

Both of them stand in front of me quietly. This is the first time I notice that they’re both almost the same height now. When did Jorden grow so tall?

After a while, Jorden sits on the bench, while Jonah remains standing. Both brothers are still watching me warily. I stop and face them, still frowning. Thinking.

“I want to talk about your father,” I tell them. “What do you want to happen to your father?”

“What is there to talk about? Is it even our decision to make at this point?” asks Jonah.

“You’re forgetting that you’re talking to our future queen,” says Jorden.

I just roll my eyes. “I think there is a huge possibility that he might be found guilty. He might be executed. I don’t think I can get him off scot-free, nor do I want to, but we can negotiate a lighter sentence for him…if you want.”

“I’d rather he be tried and prosecuted fairly for all the crimes that he committed,” Jonah says firmly, but I see the hesitation in Jorden’s eyes.

“Jorden?”

“My father is not a good man. He did a lot of vile things,” he says, his body hunched in resignation, but his chin juts out in determination. “He made his bed. Now he must lie in it.”

Jorden never had a good relationship with his father. I know he was beaten quite frequently when he was growing up to ‘toughen’ him up.

Still, the man is his father. It must still be hard for him to say this.

“What about Trey and his mate, Emelie?” I ask Jorden. Trey is his best friend, and he’s a good guy. I used to date him until he met his mate, Emelie.

“He wants to join Emelie’s grandparents’ pack. The alpha is here.”

“Okay,” I say. “That’s good. I hope they’ll be happy.”

I take my seat on the bench after Jorden and Jonah leave. The sky is gray, and the air seems cooler. Nobody is around, and everything seems so quiet. So peaceful. Which is why I almost jump when I see Lord Archer leaning against the oak tree, quietly watching me.

“Your uncle—” he says.

“Beta St. Martin,” I correct him.

“Beta St. Martin,” he amends. “He tried to kill you before?”

“Yes,” I tell him. “Twice…no, three times.” I don’t know why I’m telling him this.

I’ve never talked about it before. I rarely even think about it now. If I didn’t talk about it or think about it, it never happened.

“The first time was when I was just a day old, but my Nana stopped him. The second time was when I was seven years old. Some woman told him I took a toy from her little boy and then beat him up. It was the other way around.”

The boy had been three years older than I was and a lot bigger. He took a little toy car Jorden had lent me, and then he pushed me to the ground and called me a filthy human. So I had gotten up and pushed him right back and called him a stupid dog. He beat me up pretty good, too, after that, but I was fast and managed to run off with the little toy.

I was mighty proud of myself until Beta St. Martin showed up at the edge of the forest where I was playing by myself. He beat me to within an inch of my life. Literally.

I still remember his face, red with rage and loathing. He hadn’t just wanted to kill me. He had wanted me to suffer.

He snapped my skinny arm like a little twig and bashed my head against a tree. He didn't stop beating me up even after I passed out. The pack doctor didn’t think I’d make it at first. I was broken everywhere. My lung was punctured, and my skull was fractured. I was bleeding and black and blue all over, whimpering at the slightest touch.

I remember Nana looking after me day and night for months afterward. I remember her tears. I remember her gentle, loving hands feeding me, bathing me. My Nana…

I remember drinking my food through a straw for a week because my jaw was locked.

I later learned that Jonah was the one who had found us and stopped his father from killing me. Jonah was just sixteen then.

I don’t know how he had stopped his father, but I stayed away from Beta St. Martin after that.

“And the third time?” Lord Archer dips his head to peer into my face. He’s now sitting next to me on the bench.

“Huh?”

“The third time that he tried to kill you,” he reminds me.

“Oh.” Now I remember I’m in the middle of telling him my story. “The third time was a few months ago, a day before I ran off.”

The day he’d had his hands around my neck.

“Jorden saved me then and helped me run away,” I say. “I have no doubt at all that he would have finished me off if Jorden hadn’t interfered.”

“I’m sorry you have such a dreadful family,” Lord Archer says quietly.

I don’t like anybody to feel sorry for me. I shrug my shoulders.

“Jonah and Jorden are great,” I tell him. “My Nana was awesome too. So, I’m pretty lucky, actually.” I smile up at him.

There are so many people who have it much worse than I did.

He smiles back. His expression is almost admiring.

“So, that’s my life story, I guess. Thanks for listening, Lord Archer,” I add, feeling awkward and shy suddenly.

“Gideon,” he says.

“Huh?”

“My name is Gideon.”

“Oh. Uh, okay. Gideon.” I remember the ornate carving of the letters GA on the lid of his pocket watch. His initials. Gideon Archer.

“There you are, my love,” says Caspian, slowly approaching us. His eyes measure the closeness at which Lord Archer is sitting next to me.

Penny, Serena, Genesis, and Constantine are trailing behind him. Darius, Lazarus, and Agent Smith are talking to my cousins, and Alpha Gordon is not too far away.

“So, how’s everything going?” I ask him. That possessive, feral look on his expression makes me nervous.

Instead of answering me, he pulls me up to my feet. He grabs my waist, leans in, and covers my lips with his. This kiss is possessive and branding. Claiming. He cups the back of my head and moves his lips against mine demandingly. His tongue pushes my lips apart and plunders inside.

My knees give way. If he weren’t holding me up with his arm tightly around my waist, I’d have fallen like an old rag onto the ground. Just as I’m about to lose all my thoughts, he pulls back and… Holy smokes! I’m flushed and breathless. Both of us are.

The rest of the lycans don’t seem to care since they continue talking as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. I guess it’s a normal thing for them since all of them are mated.

Lord Archer seems to be attentively listening to what Constantine is saying, but his lips are curled up into a strange little smile.

I pull Caspian away to the other side of the building as soon as I feel like my feet are strong enough to carry me.

“What was that all about?” I whisper to him.

I’m a bit miffed because... Hmm, why am I miffed again?

Seriously, I can’t think straight when his bright green eyes are staring at me with that smoldering, possessive, and hungry look.

“That was me reminding some people, especially Lord Archer, not to fish in my lake. Not to set a trap in my forest. Not to get too close to what’s mine.”

My mouth drops open. “Wha... I’m not your lake or your forest!”

“Of course you are.” His smug smile is maddening. Ughh!

“And Lord Archer was not doing any fishing or setting any traps. You’re crazy.”

“Of course, he’s not. He wouldn’t dare fish or set a trap in my territory. I just made sure of that.”

It’s official, he is crazy. This feeling I have for him leaves no room for anyone else. Besides, Lord Archer is not even interested in me. He was just curious, and we were just talking.

“Well, since you know he’s not going to do any of those things, what’s the problem?”

“The problem is he fancies what’s mine, and that’s unacceptable.” His dark blond eyebrows pull down into a frown.

“He’s not even—” Oh, I give up! I’ll never win this argument.

***

By 3 p.m. we’re back at our hotel, including Jonah and Jorden. We are all very hungry. It’s a relief to see a big buffet waiting for us in the dining room.

The smell of food is mouthwatering. The servers in crisp white uniforms and black aprons are standing in line by the buffet table. There are servers standing behind our chairs by the long dining table as well.

Caspian is very attentive, transferring everything that he thinks I might like from his plate onto mine. Sometimes, he even feeds me some of his food. He makes me feel like I am the only person in the room.

After that, we all head off to an area in the huge lobby where a comfortable sofa and chairs are grouped together next to a roaring fireplace. Servers bring trays of drinks as everybody relaxes. I think everybody needs it after the day we just had.

Caspian pulls me to him, and I rest my head on his shoulder. I’m always sleepy after a big meal.

“I think we all should head back to California tonight,” says Darius. “Unless there’s anything else you want to do here?”

“I think we’re good to go,” agrees Lord Archer. “We’ll let the council do its job.”

Clicks of high heels hitting the stone tiles echo from a distance. A few of us lift our faces to take in a new scent. It’s not someone I know.

Jorden shoots me a questioning look.

Soon, a beautiful lycan woman in a stylish, tight, long, red silk dress walks in. The slit opens almost up to her crotch with every step that she takes.

Her dark brown hair falls in shiny waves down her back. Her hips sway as she walks, and her dark blue eyes take us all in. Assessing.