MATED TO FATHER, FATED TO SONS-Chapter 42: BLAME IT ON HIM

ALPHA CORVIN

The last of the dignitaries filed out through the main doors, their voices still carrying back into the banquet hall with false laughter and empty promises about future alliances. I stood near the entrance nodding at the appropriate moments while my mind was already three steps ahead planning damage control for whatever chaos tonight had created.

Amaris lingered in the corner trying her best to smile at the departing guests but failing spectacularly. Her mouth curved up at the edges but her eyes stayed flat and bored.

She hated them and she was terrible at hiding it.

I walked over to where she stood, her posture screaming that she wanted to be anywhere except here. "You can at least pretend to like them," I muttered, keeping my voice low enough that only she could hear.

Her amber eyes cut to me. "I am trying my best. I am not used to kissing ass." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

I wanted to laugh at that blunt honesty but I crushed it down. "Let me walk you to your room."

"Is that necessary?" she challenged, already moving toward the hallway.

"Yes," I responded, falling into step beside her. "Now that we are officially out there as an engaged couple, there will be talk. What kind of Alpha would I be if I didn’t walk my future mate to her room?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled, the expression so obviously fake it was almost insulting. "Oh how noble of you."

I stretched out my hand and after a moment’s hesitation she took it, her fingers small and warm against my palm. We started walking through the empty hallways, our footsteps echoing off stone walls.

There was an ease that came with her presence despite the fact that she was trouble wrapped in a beautiful dress. I had tried not to look at her all day, had forced my eyes away every time they wanted to track her movements across the room, but I had failed more times than I wanted to admit.

She looked more than gorgeous tonight.

The black ball gown fit her like it had been designed specifically to make men lose their minds and her hair falling in those loose waves made her look softer than the sharp-tongued woman I knew she actually was. The file Beta Marco had given me about Amaris Storme had not covered any of this.

It didn’t say she was a tyrant who did the opposite of what she was told. It didn’t mention that she talked back with a wit. It sure as hell didn’t prepare me for the fact that I would be practically raising and grooming her.

And it definitely didn’t say she would be this out of this world drop dead gorgeous.

Amaris leaned closer to me as we walked and I tensed, unsure what she was doing. I thought after what I made her witness today she would be shaky and terrified of me, would flinch away from any contact, would treat me like the monster everyone said I was.

But she wasn’t scared.

Or at least she didn’t appear to be.

Or maybe she was just better at hiding it than I gave her credit for.

"You know," she started, her voice quiet in the empty hallway. "Darius used to bully me while we were growing up."

I glanced down at her, studying the side of her face.

"There was this time he made me eat food from the floor like a dog," she continued, her tone casual like she was discussing the weather instead of childhood trauma.

Understanding clicked into place for me as I got what she was trying to say beyond the words. This was a revenge arc for her.

"So you were pleased when I asked him to lick your feet," I prompted.

She went quiet for a moment, her fingers tightening slightly around mine. "I didn’t feel sympathy for him at all," she finally admitted. "I tried to but I didn’t because I know the kind of horrible person he is."

"So he deserved it?" I pressed.

She stopped walking and turned to face me fully, her amber eyes meeting mine without flinching. "Yes. Every bit of it and more."

I looked at her, really looked at her, and saw something I recognized. Rage.

A type that made you willing to watch the world burn if it meant the people who hurt you burned first.

"Do you really want to know what happened to your father?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes."

I studied her face trying to determine if she actually wanted the truth or if she wanted a pretty lie she could wrap around herself. Her expression gave nothing away.

"I don’t know," I answered honestly. "All I know is that when he died, the rest of your four brothers tried to kill Darius for the throne." I paused. "He sought my help so I intervened and based on my power he got the position."

Amaris processed this information, her head tilting slightly. "So you basically own him now."

We had reached her room and I stopped in front of the door, turning to face her fully. "I don’t do things without personal interest, Amaris. Everything is business for me."

She looked down at the floor and then back up at me, those amber eyes making it impossible to look away. "Including this marriage?"

"Especially this marriage," I confirmed.

She went quiet and for the first time since meeting her I wished I could read her thoughts. Her face was a blank slate, giving nothing away, and it frustrated me more than it should have.

Then she moved.

Stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, pulling herself against my chest in a hug that came out of nowhere and caught me completely off guard.

I stood there frozen, my arms hanging useless at my sides while my brain tried to process what was happening. She was warm and soft and smelled like peaches or was it berries.

My head was screaming at me to either push her away or pull her closer.

I did neither.

Just stood there like an idiot while she hugged me.

She pulled away after what felt like both seconds and hours, stepping back with a small smile. "Thank you for today."

Before I could respond, before I could form a single coherent thought, she turned and disappeared into her room. The door clicked shut behind her and I stood there staring at the wood like it held answers to questions I didn’t know how to ask.

My heart was beating faster than it should have been. It was practically a marathon in there.

A throat clearing behind me snapped me back to reality and I spun around to find Beta Marco standing a respectful distance away, his expression carefully neutral.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I am fine," I lied, my voice coming out rougher than intended.

The elevated heartbeat from the hug still pounded in my chest and I hated that she had this effect on me, hated that a simple gesture had knocked me off balance.

"Is everyone gone?" I demanded, needing to focus on something that made sense.

"Yes," Marco confirmed. "But I need to inform you of something."

I looked at him and read the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands were clasped behind his back like he was bracing for impact. "What?"

"Two of my men said they saw a man who looked like Victor Hale today."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut and whatever elevated heartbeat I had from Amaris’s hug skyrocketed into something that felt dangerously close to heart attack.

Victor Hale.

I never thought I would hear that name again. We had spent a year rebuilding what he destroyed, a year pretending he was dead so the pack could sleep at night without fear.

"Are they sure?" I kept my voice level, controlled, giving nothing away.

"They are ninety-nine percent sure," Marco responded. "I tried to look for him on the CCTV cameras but it seems Victor purposely avoided where the cameras were."

Of course he did. Victor was many things but stupid was not one of them.

"Where are Ryker and Rowan?" I needed to know where my sons were, needed to know they were safe even though I would never admit that need out loud.

"I saw them going into Rowan’s room," Marco answered.

I nodded and started pacing, my mind already running through scenarios and contingency plans. Victor being here meant something was about to happen.

"Alpha Corvin."

I stopped pacing and turned to face Marco.

"Don’t you think it is time you tell them everything?" he pressed, his voice gentle but firm.

I paused, considering it for half a second before dismissing the idea entirely. "They don’t need to know everything."

"How long will you keep taking the blame?" Marco challenged, stepping closer. "How long will you let them hate you for something that was not your fault?"

I looked at my Beta, this man who had stood beside me through the worst moments of my life, who knew every secret I carried, who watched me shoulder blame that did not belong to me and never once told me to stop.

"They need someone to hate," I finally responded. I started walking toward Rowan’s room.

"I am perfectly fine being that person."