The DarkNess Within Him | ✔

Chapter Twenty Nine

The orange juice sticks to my skin even more fiercely now. It hammers at the layering of my epidermis, taints the fine body hairs and poisons the pores. The more I sit here staring at this man, this Alpha, the more the orange juice makes it a point of duty to bring me intense discomfort.

Ever so rigidly, I turn to look at Kian. His cheeks are without colour as he stares at his father wide-eyed. His tunnel vision is zoned in on the man who gave him life as he clenches his fists atop his thighs with a forcibly tightened jaw. He doesn't speak. He only looks at his father with a bridled tongue and eyes that communicate volumes while his father ignores him and stares me down from across the small decorative table.

The muscles in my throat pull when I open my mouth to speak. Talking suddenly feels foreign, distant and completely out of reach. Even breathing feels abnormal and joints relax with a severe limpness that has me wanting to collapse in my bed and wait for the moon to take me. A part of my brain registers anger but is quickly over-ridden by a lack of reaction. A brutal lesson on the part of self control resurfaces in my memories, serving as a wet cloth to dampen the intense emotion and slowly, the thought of it escapes me.

When my lips agree to move, I finally speak. Each facial movement is it's own constraint.

"I'm sorry. Did you just say that you intend for me to marry your son as a prerequisite for you to ally with me?" I ask incredulously and despite the dullness of my voice, the air around us vibrates from my Alpha wolf's rising temper. The itch in the back of my throat starts and if this man wasn't an Alpha, I would have surely growled by now.

He nods firmly and his son's fingers dig into his own thigh with urgency.

I feel my father's eyes on us all.

I take in a lofty breath, my bowels threatening to turn as I begin to wonder what to even say.

Alpha Brian seems to notice my unease because he says "Surely you have heard of arranged mating, haven't you?Not all marriages begin with love or a mate bond."

"I don't believe in being marked by a man that isn't my mate Much less when I don't even know him." is all I say, adding the last part in a very low tone. My mind is so bewildered by this prospect that my thoughts refuse to solidify itself. It refuses to hold any ground.

"I thought you left your mate." He only reminds me, cocking his brow. Kian's eyes refuse to meet mine. "Or do you plan to return to him?"

"No." I affirm with a shake of my head "But I have beliefs. I believe having someone mark you who isn't your mate will have dire consequences. I believe that the moon will punish me and by all I hold dear, I swear that I've been through enough!"

"Sacrifices must be made as an Alpha and sometimes, those sacrifices includes doing things you never would have considered prior. I don't believe in divine punishments. Damien's pack runs on arranged mating. There are no consequences to it."

"Oh really?" I question with a raised brow and slanted lips "Didn't you marry your mate, Alpha?"

He doesn't answer.

"If you were marked by and also marked your very own mate then how can you be so sure that there are no consequences whatsoever to bearing the mark of another? Bearing the mark of someone who isn't yours?"

A flicker of consideration crosses his cerulean blue eyes but he quickly masks it with a decided and unwavering gaze.

"I'm not forcing you to make a decision now, Alpha Kayla. This is a decision that requires alot of thought, I know this. But don't decline the option without even considering it. At least get to know my son first. Let him court you and then decide whether or not he is worthy enough to place a mark of your neck."