MATED TO FATHER, FATED TO SONS-Chapter 33: DEATH OF ME
AMARIS
If I were any normal daughter I would be somewhere sulking in grief and wallowing in pain after being told my father died.
But I was not, I had gone to bed last night mentally exhausted from all the Lila and Alpha Corvin drama and this morning Nia had woken me up to inspect the hall in preparation for my engagement party.
A totally normal thing to do.
Honestly, I wasn’t complaining because anytime I thought of my father, just like I was doing now while pretending I knew the difference between a white rose and lillies, I was thinking about one of those times he slapped me or kicked me.
"Isn’t it beautiful?"Nia asked, glancing at the gigantic hall that was being decorated with ornaments enough to feed two dying Nations.
"Well, it’s okay," I responded, clearly not intrigued by the extravaganza on display.
"Okay?" she gasped, placing her palms on her chest heaving. "This is a work of art, Amaris. I spent over a week putting it in place,"
"Thank you," I sighed.
"What’s wrong with you? I know you aren’t the most enthusiastic about getting married but you are particularly gloomy today." She pointed out and she was right, I had not told her about my father’s death. I wasn’t even sure what to say about it.
"I am fine, I am just not in the celebratory mood,"
"You better be, you know how the Alpha," her voice trailed off the edge and I followed her eyes, "incoming, the fiance of the lady you bitch slapped,"
Rowan, I didn’t have to look up because I had already smelled him. His apple scent had already taken over every nerve ending in my body and somewhere inside of me, my wolf was already leaping with joy.
My wolf hadn’t gotten the memo that all the men here we cannot have or be with. She still responded to the twins like they were ours.
"Hey Amaris," Rowan greeted in a calm soothing tone offering a smile alongside it.
He wore a black T-shirt and blue jeans, his dark hair was a bit messy and his eyes had dark circles around his eyes like he had not slept much last night. He didn’t look like his normal composed self. But he still looks so great.
What an unfair advantage to look like a very handsome mess.
"Hey," I casually responded. Even though my heart was fluttering, I remembered that I wasn’t happy with him.
"Can we talk privately," he said looking at Nia.
"You didn’t even say hi to me, don’t worry I am leaving," she said storming off to go supervise the decorations. I smiled at her dramatic flair but he didn’t smile. Not even a flinch.
"I wanted to apologize to you about Lila, her attitude was uncalled for," he simply jumped in.
"Wow, okay. It’s fine she is your fiancee. I get it,"
He looked at me, "Get what? I am here to apologize what are you saying,"
"Apologize," I scoffed, "Yesterday, you acted like I was the problem at lunch when Ryker snitched to your father," I wrapped my arms against my chest and took a step back, placing a healthy distance between us.
He glanced around the room, his eyes marking every soul in the room and when it met with mine, it softened. A softness that wasn’t there previously.
"Can we talk somewhere else?" He asked.
"Where?"
"My room,"
Of course, his room. What is it with these men and wanting me in their room?
"I heard about your dad," he added and something about that statement made my knees go weak instantly.
It was almost like every resistance and fight that I was already coming up with in my mind flew out, replaced with an ache that I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. He didn’t wait for my response and slowly moved towards the exit.
I followed him and with a quick glance I saw Nia’s piercing gaze on me. I shrugged it off and followed him behind.
I was grateful that the hallway that led to his room was either deserted or empty. His room was not so far from Ryker’s room but it had a very reasonable distance from Alpha Corvin’s room.
He opened the door and ushered me in, my pace dragged as I took in the sight of his room..
Rowan’s room was the opposite of his brother’s in every way that mattered.
Everything had a place and everything was in it, books arranged on shelves with their spines straight and their pages visibly read, the bed made with the kind of precision that suggested it happened the same way every morning without thought, nothing left on chairs or floors that did not belong there.
A grand piano sat in the far corner by the window, dark and polished, the bench pushed out slightly and a single page of sheet music curled at the corner of the stand, the only thing in the room that looked like it had been touched recently and often.
It was the room of a man who kept everything in careful order, which told me more about Rowan than anything he had ever said out loud.
I stopped in the middle of it and turned to face him.
"You look surprised," he said, finally a smile on his face. He was standing more than three feet from me leaning slightly towards the closed door but I could still smell him and a heightened fragrance of him.
Maybe because I was in his room.
"Not surprised," I said, my hands trailing through the rack of books that sat on his shelf. "Mesmerized,"
He smiled but this time it was a full smile, pulling himself up from the door and taking a couple of steps stopping right behind me.
"Why? You see me as the guy with no personality, the law keeper,"
I chuckled at the sound of that, "I am sure exactly what I thought or expected," I paused and veered around to face him and I regretted it instantly.
That was when I realized, I was just an inch from him . His breath was on me and I knew how dangerously close I was, though he was towering over me.
"I don’t really know so much about you, with Ryker it was easy because he didn’t hide it," I said in a low tone.
"You think I am hiding?"he asked and something about the way he said it sounded less like a question and more of an enquiry.
"I think you are not showing all of yourself," I whispered.
He took a step closer to me and that was when I became painfully aware that I was stuck, my body had angled towards the shelf behind me and he was standing right in front of me.
"Tell me, Amaris. What is it you want to know about me and I wouldn’t hide anything," he paused letting the word stretch, "From you,"
I swallowed a gulp, my head tilting to meet his gaze and holding it. I knew whatever I said next, I was going to regret it. My wolf had already left her corner against my rib, wanting our mate.
"Everything, I want to know everything," I responded, my voice barely above a whisper.
His eyes brightened but he didn’t look away, neither did I. "Are you sure," he asked.
Somehow I knew we were saying one thing and meaning another. "Yes,"
His hands came up to my face and tilted my chin towards him. He leaned in and his face stopped as soon as our nose touched. His hot breath was on my face, I could hear his racing heart, or was it mine. I wasn’t sure but our hearts were beating fast in synchrony.
He waited for about three seconds. Maybe I would pull back. But I didn’t, I couldn’t.
His lips gently touched mine
His lips touched mine softly at first, testing, and then his hand slid to my waist and pulled me in closer and whatever restraint he had been holding onto dissolved
His tongue parting my lips and finding mine, circling it slow and thorough, his other hand coming up to cup my jaw and tilt my head exactly where he wanted it, and I felt my fingers curl into the front of his shirt and grip it because my legs had stopped being reliable.
He kissed me like he had been thinking about it, his thumb tracing slowly along my jaw, his arm firm around my waist keeping me pressed against him, and my wolf was absolutely beside herself and completely unhelpful.
I pulled back and looked at his face, at his eyes still closed and his chest rising and falling faster than normal.
What I had just done landed on me all at once.
His fiancée had slapped me yesterday.
His father was the man I was supposed to marry.
His brother had his mouth between my thighs two nights ago.
"Shit," I breathed, pressing both palms flat against his chest, "what the hell am I doing."
He opened his eyes and reached for me, "Amaris—"
I was already at the door, pulling it open, stepping through it, not looking back because looking back was how people made decisions worse than the ones they had already made.
The door clicked shut behind me running as fast as my leg could carry me.
These men were going to be the absolute death of me.
