MATED TO FATHER, FATED TO SONS-Chapter 12: RUIN ME

AMARIS

Why do all these men want to ruin me?

I pushed passed him, "Thank for the head up, I will make sure I avoid your ruin,"

I paused and glanced at him, "Are you going to stand there and watch me dress?"

"If you want me to,"

"Rowan,"

"Okay, I will wait outside,"

As soon as he shut the door, I let out an exasperated gasp.

I changed into something that didn’t make me look like I had just rolled out of bed, which was harder than it should have been considering my entire wardrobe consisted of things my father’s Beta had packed for me. Things that he said would make me more sexually appealing to the Alpha.

News Flash: Alpha Corvin doesn’t want to be sexually appealed. So this was not the look I was going for, I wanted modest.

Nothing that screamed "I am trying to seduce my stepson who is also my fated mate."

Not that I was trying to seduce anyone.

My wolf made a noise that sounded suspiciously like disagreement.

I pulled on a simple sundress, cream colored with small flowers along the hem, and tied my hair back because I needed the control that came with it.

When I opened the door Rowan was leaning against the opposite wall, hands in his pockets, looking relaxed and in control.

I hate how that is a thing with the Grave men.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No," he said simply, pushing off the wall. "But I appreciate you pretending I gave you one."

I rolled my eyes and followed him down the hallway. The pack house was massive, all high ceilings and wide corridors that seemed to stretch forever.

"How long have you lived here? This place is so beautiful" I asked, more to fill the silence than actual curiosity. "I mean have you ever lived somewhere else,"

"My whole life," Rowan said. "My mother designed most of it. She had a thing for open spaces and natural light."

The way he said it, past tense, made something in my chest tighten.

We walked through the main hall and out into the grounds.

The estate stretched out in every direction, the lawns were beautiful and had a distinct pattern to it.

There were training fields to the left where I could see pack members sparring. Almost like they are preparing for war.

"That is where Ryker spends most of his time," Rowan said, following my gaze. "When he is not causing problems elsewhere."

"Does he ever not cause problems?"

Rowan laughed, the sound warm and easy. "Not in my memory, no."

We kept walking, past the training grounds and toward what looked like the business district of the territory.

Shops lined the streets, small cafes, a bookstore, everything you would find in a normal town except everyone here was pack.

"Gravemoon owns most of the businesses in this part of the city," Rowan explained.

"It keeps us self sufficient. Humans live here too, they just don’t know what we are."

"That must be exhausting," I said. "Pretending all the time."

He glanced at me, something shifting in his expression. "You get used to it. Pretending becomes second nature after a while."

He said it with this familiar sadness to it or was I just reading meaning to his words and desperately finding a connection between us,

I tried not to notice how close Rowan stayed, how his arm would brush mine occasionally, how every time it happened my wolf would perk up like she was being offered a treat.

"There was a war," I said suddenly, the words coming out before I could stop them. "Nia mentioned it. She said someone named Victor almost destroyed the pack."

Rowan went still beside me. Not a full stop, but his shoulders tensed and his jaw tightened in a way that made me regret asking.

"Victor Hale," he said after a moment, his voice careful.

"He had a grudge against my father. Came after us with everything he had. Rogues, mercenaries, anyone he could pay or manipulate. It was brutal."

"When did it happen?"

"About a year ago," he said. "We barely survived. Lost a lot of good people."

I hesitated, knowing I was about to cross a line but unable to stop myself. "Is that the same war your mother died in?"

Rowan stopped walking. His eyes found mine and they were hard in a way I had not seen before, all the warmth gone.

"Don’t," he said quietly. "Don’t talk about my mother."

"I am sorry, I just thought..."

"I know what you thought," he cut me off, but his voice was not cruel, just firm.

"But that is not something I talk about. Especially not with..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Just don’t."

I bit my lip and nodded, feeling like I had just stepped on a landmine and somehow made it out alive.

We walked in silence for a while after that, I wanted to apologize again but I knew it would only make it worse. So I kept my mouth shut and followed him deeper into the territory.

Eventually the buildings thinned out and we were walking through forest, tall trees blocking out most of the sunlight. The air smelled different here, cleaner, like rain and earth soothed together.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You will see."

We walked for another ten minutes before the trees opened up and I stopped dead.

A lake appeared before us, the water so clear I could see straight to the bottom. Sunlight reflected across the surface, making it sparkle like something out of a painting. Wildflowers grew along the shore. .

"This is beautiful," I whispered.

"My mother used to bring us here when we were kids," Rowan said, his voice softer now. "She said it was the heart of the territory. That as long as this place existed, the pack would survive."

He walked closer to the water’s edge and I followed, my feet sinking slightly into the soft grass. The sound of the lake was gentle, just a quiet lapping against the shore that made everything feel slower.

"Thank you," I said. "For showing me this."

Rowan turned to look at me and his expression shifted. The hardness from earlier was gone, replaced by the bright warmth of his eyes and the calm of his presence. He took a step closer and my breath caught.

"Amaris," he said, my name sounding different in his mouth than it did in Ryker’s. "I need you to be careful around Ryker."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean he is not someone you want to play games with," Rowan said. "He is dangerous. Not just physically, but emotionally. He will break you if you let him."

"I am not trying to play games with anyone," I said, my voice not sounding as convincing as I would want it to.

"I know," Rowan said quickly. "I know you are not. But Ryker does not care about that. He sees what he wants and he takes it. And right now, he is using you as a means."

"So yesterday, when he..." I trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence.

"He was testing you," Rowan said. "Seeing how far he could push. And he will keep pushing until either you break or he gets bored. Neither of those outcomes is good for you."

I looked away, staring at the lake because it was easier than looking at him. "And what about you?"

Then came the silence, I turned back to find Rowan staring at me with an intensity that made me nervous, my fingers were fidgeting.

"What about me?" he asked, his voice low.

"You are engaged," I said. "You have a life planned out. But you are here with me. Warning me about your brother while standing close enough that I can feel your breath. So what about you, Rowan? Are you going to ruin me too?"

I didn’t know where that sudden burst of confidence came from.

He did not answer right away. Just looked at me like he was trying to decide something. Then he stepped closer, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes.

"Probably," he said finally. "But at least I will feel bad about it."

My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it. His hand came up, fingers brushing along my jaw in a touch so gentle it made my chest ache.

"We should go back," he said, but he did not move.

"Yeah," I whispered. "We should."

Neither of us moved.

Then Rowan smiled, that warm easy smile that made him look younger, and stepped back. "Come on. Before I do something stupid."

The walk back felt different. We talked about nothing important, random things about the pack, about the territory, about stupid things Ryker had done when they were kids.

By the time we reached the pack house I was laughing at a story about Ryker getting stuck in a tree for three hours because he refused to admit he climbed too high.

"He made me swear not to tell anyone," Rowan said, grinning. "But he was crying the whole time."

"I don’t believe you."

"I have pictures."

I laughed harder, the sound echoing through the hallway as we approached my room. Rowan was still telling the story, his hands gesturing wildly, and I was doubled over trying to catch my breath.

I pushed open the door to my room, still laughing, and I froze.

Alpha Corvin stood in the middle of my room, his dark eyes fixed on us. The laughter died in my throat.

"Father," Rowan said, his voice suddenly losing all the baritone.

Corvin’s gaze moved from Rowan to me. "I see you two are having fun."