Arranged

13

"There's no way she'll sell to you."

"I'll buy the land that it sits on. Rick sold it last year and leases it from the owner."

"Look, I know you're upset-"

"I'm not."

"Why don't you wait, talk to Edric about it, and make your decision from there."

"Because I know that prick made her sign a prenup. If I don't act now, the lease could be transferred to his family and not my mother and they'll muscle her out of the house and business."

"So you're not doing it for revenge?" He asked skeptically.

"Do I strike you as the revenge type?"

"Sometimes."

I scoffed. "I'm not. I'm doing this for her even if she doesn't want my help."

He nodded as he watched the road. We made it to Fresno relatively quick. It felt like we were driving back into reality. I didn't know what the future held for me and Dominic since I assumed it would be nearly impossible to be with him at the palace. God, I felt stupid for starting something with him when I hadn't thought it through. I knew Edric didn't care, but there were plenty of other people that did and I seriously doubted Dominic wanted to have sex with his cousin's wife just down the hall from him.

It was a shitty situation and I only had myself to blame.

"So, how is this going to work?" I asked awkwardly.

"What?"

"This. Us," I clarified.

"I don't know," he mused. "What are you expecting?"

I shrugged. "I haven't thought that far. I really didn't think you would have sex with me."

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "You are pretty difficult to resist. I honestly don't know though."

What I really wanted to ask was if he was going to be with anyone else. I wanted to know what he expected. Hell, my crippling social anxiety was screaming at me to keep my mouth shut, but I wanted to know. Needed to know.

"What do you expect?" I asked. I was proud my voice didn't waver at all. I hid my uncertainty well which was something I had never done before.

"I don't expect anything. I would like to have a relationship with you, but I think we both know that's not possible."

I glanced up at the hotel. Anatoly and Alexei waited for us and I knew our conversation was over. They were within earshot and I couldn't risk them knowing anything. I didn't know when we could talk or be together again, but my guess was not for a long, long time.

In that moment I hated myself for ever marrying Edric. He could go around with the person he loved doing whatever the fuck he wanted because no one would suspect anything was amiss. I couldn't even have sex with another person for fear of persecution.

I knew being a royal was going to suck, but I didn't think I would find someone like Dominic to make being a royal the actual worst.

But like Edric said. It wasn't about what we wanted. It was about ruling.

Alexei and Anatoly didn't bother waiting for us to get out of the car. They quickly approached and Alexei pulled my door open.

"We have a problem," he said sternly.

Dominic and I stepped out of the car, confused by Alexei. I had never seen anything besides stoicism from him and there was true concern laced in his eyes.

"What happened?" Anatoly's thick Russian accent asked Dominic.

"What do you mean?" Dominic asked carefully.

"Amina," Alexei started. "Your mother is dead."

I heard him. I did, but I couldn't process his words. He just said it and ripped it off like a band aid, but I didn't believe him. He had it wrong. We just left there an hour before.

"But I just saw her," I said firmly. "She was fine."

"We received notice that her in laws found her at home. They are accusing Dominic of murder."

"What?" I breathed.

"You need to be very clear about what happened there," Alexei said. "Edric is flying in, but he won't be here until early tomorrow morning. The American pack is demanding Dominic's arrest."

"The hell they are!" I was outraged that they thought they could arrest Dominic for no reason other than an accusation.

"It's alright," Dominic assured me. "The smart move is to appease the pack for now."

"If we allow him to be arrested, what happens?" I asked.

"They could try to expedite his trial."

"Can't I just refuse?" I tried. "We're both royals."

"Any interference from you or the ruling family will be seen as favoritism and could eventually collapse the system," Dominic cut in. "I'll be fine. They have no evidence that I did anything."

"You're sure?" Alexei asked.

"I didn't kill her," Dominic defended easily. "I'll turn myself in and this will be dealt with when Edric gets here."

I bit my lip. I had an awful feeling about the entire thing. I didn't want Dominic to turn himself in for a crime he didn't commit. There was no telling what Rick's conniving family said.

"Why are they accusing him?" I asked.

"I don't know," Alexei admitted. "All that matters is we keep them off your path."

I scowled at his response. I was probably biased when it came to Dominic, but I wasn't going to let him take a death sentence to try to stop Rick's family from accusing me.

Showing anything more than outrage would have been stupid. If I showed that I was afraid for him or cared on any level besides professional, it would put us both in serious danger. Everything would be even more complicated and probably worse. I had to let him turn himself in. It was the only way to buy some time.

That didn't mean I had to like it.

Three uniformed weres stepped out of the hotel and swiftly moved to our group.

"Am I the only one here that sees through this shit?" I demanded. "This is obviously some sort of revenge plot! How were they already here if she was supposedly killed less than an hour ago?"

"Be that as it may, an accusation was made and we have to follow the law," Alexei said tightly.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness," Dominic said pointedly. "Everything will be worked out when the prince arrives."

Panic welled in my chest. I worked to suppress it to no avail. This was happening whether I liked it or not.

"Fine," I conceded.

Dominic was arrested and the officers took him away in an unmarked vehicle. I didn't like this one bit and needed to find out why it was happening. The obvious reason was Rick's family retaliating, but killing my mother was extreme.

If she was even dead.

The entire thing seemed suspicious to me. A large part of me didn't believe she was dead at all. Something inside me screamed that she was still alive and I clung to that.

And if she was dead, I didn't know how to handle it. She hated me, but she was still my mother and I would always regret what happened between us.