Matt had taken off, finding solace in a nearby park. He sat on a bench, his gaze lost in the distance, glasses perched back on his nose.
“Hey,” I said, taking a seat next to him.
He glanced at me, his jaw tightening, but didn’t respond.
“Let me guess, my nosy sister sent you,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
Honestly, I didn’t know much about Matt. We hadn’t interacted much before. He was always a bit of a loner, and I hadn’t made much of an effort to get to know him.
With so many people in this family, each with their own opinions and crises, it was easy for someone like Matt to get lost in the chaos.
He served as a warrior on the guard. Milly once told me it was a requirement for the main family ascending to the throne to serve with the guard for at least one season. It was meant to keep them grounded.
“Nope,” I said, leaning back on the bench. “Just came to see if you needed to talk.”
“What’s there to talk about? My mate ran away from me. I’ve waited my whole life to meet my mate, and she ran away from me.”
His voice was filled with hurt beneath the tough exterior.
“That’s why I’m here. You forget your sister wasn’t so keen on the idea of me in the beginning either.”
I didn’t miss his eye roll behind his glasses. “Yeah, and then she accepted you because you took a beating from a king for her, and you two have been happily fucking every damn minute since.”
His outburst didn’t anger me. It was a hard pill for a wolf to swallow, the idea that their mate might not want them. Rejection from a mate could drive them to madness.
But to suggest that our mating had been all sunshine and roses was a bit hurtful.
“Well, she also died briefly,” I mumbled.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearing his throat. “Sorry, that was a bit insensitive. I shouldn’t have lashed out like that,” he muttered, rubbing his neck.
“Don’t worry about it. All I’m saying is I understand what you’re going through, and it isn’t easy. I almost went insane in the months it took Milly to come around.” I shrugged.
I felt for Matt. He was the forgotten sibling right now. Alex got a human pregnant, and Milly was in the firing line because she’s the oldest.
Matt got pushed to the back because he was the only one without a problem at the time.
“Well, at least you know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s definitely supernatural.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well, she ran away from you.”
His gaze slid to me slowly. “Thanks for reminding me. I’d almost forgotten,” he snapped sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes. “Because she knows what you are, dumbass. Now you just have to figure out why she deemed it necessary to run away. What kind of stories has she been told about our kind?”
He paused, clearly not something he had considered. There are a lot of superstitions surrounding our kind in the supernatural world.
It wouldn’t surprise me if she has been told something or even experienced something unpleasant when it comes to our kind.
“Come on, we should head back before anyone else accuses Alex of being a deadbeat,” Matt muttered, standing up.
The rest of the afternoon passed without incident. I wish I could say the same about the evening.
Milly and I were summoned to Diego’s office as soon as we got back.
“Dad? What’re you doing here?” I asked.
We assumed being called to Diego’s office meant something to do with the latest threat Milly’s family was facing. I didn’t expect my father to be involved.
“There are some things we need to discuss with you both. Please sit,” Diego motioned to the nearby chairs.
Milly sat with a huff. “Well, spit it out then.”
Diego leaned back in his seat. “Mother wants you both to ascend to the throne and for Noah and me to step down.”
My mouth fell open in shock. “She wants us to join the packs? Why?”
“She believes that if you both ascend to the throne and join the packs, then you will have access to the power necessary to overthrow her father,” Diego said, resting his chin on his fingers.
“No.” Milly sat back in her chair, crossing her arms and legs.
Dad looked over at her. “What do you mean no?”
“No.” She shrugged. “Our lives are starting to turn into a badly written TV show. No, I’m not feeding into any more bullshit. Either we have the power or we don’t. What the fuck is our union going to do?”
“She says the exchange of power that will happen with your union will provide enough to power the packs and help put an end to her father’s terror.” Diego shrugged.
Milly narrowed her eyes at him. Dad and I exchanged nervous glances.
“No, I’m done with this. She’s the one he has beef with, she can deal with him.”
“Milly,” Diego warned.
“No! When does it end? Hmm? Creating a pack that large before we are properly prepared and ready will cause a war! The other packs will want to know why we rushed this union, they’ll come looking before we know it more innocent blood is being spilled all because Grams has daddy issues!” She was on her feet now, leaning across the desk.
“I died, Dad. Died and the only reason I came back was because of Aunt Gia and Grams wants us to lay our lives on the line again?”
“It’s for the good of the family, Milly.”
“FUCK THE FAMILY.”
“Milly,” I cautioned.
Diego was on his feet now. “What did you say?” he snarled.
Milly held her ground and glared at him. “Because of this mad man, Axel and Reign are orphans, Axel was kidnapped. Maddox displayed powers that have never been seen again by the way, which is weird. Storm was almost executed because of her teachings. I fucking died and a madman alpha was controlled by witches in attempting to break my mating bond! Our lives are a joke right now and I am tired of it! Let her deal with this alone!”
She turned on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
“I’ll talk to her,” I muttered into the silence and followed Milly out the door.
Truth be told, I wasn’t sure how this talk would go, but I had to try anyway.
