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Jagger backed away as the door swung open, and Nikolai stepped in, shaking his head. “Really, Princeling? This is becoming monotonous. ”
“Take me back. ”
“No. ”
Jagger bit down hard on the inside of his mouth to stay quiet as they faced off. He wanted to rail against him, but he knew Niki would only throw him back on the bed and humiliate him again. He had to try to reason with him.
“Why did you take me? Why didn’t your stepbrothers simply take you and leave us in peace? Was it for revenge?”
“You’re my mate, Princeling. You know that—you agreed to mate with me. ”
“I agreed to let you fuck me, yes. What has that to do with anything?”
Nikolai looked at him in outrage. “What are you talking about? Are you trying to say you didn’t know what mating with a Lycan meant? I asked you if you knew and you replied you did—rather arrogantly, I might add. ”
Jagger flushed. “You changed into a…a…monster. I saw you. I had no idea about that. ”
“Jagger, I’m Lycan. What you saw was my wolf form. I changed when Lucas attacked you—to stop him. We can change our form whenever someone threatens us or our mates. ”
“But I thought the stories about Lycans changing into wolf creatures was just a myth. I never knew it was true!”
“It’s true,” he said quietly. “We shift. ” Nikolai took a deep breath. “Jagger…”
Jagger made a move to jump to his feet and was pulled back down by Nikolai. He puffed out a breath and folded his arms across his chest. “Just stop talking! I can’t stay here! Wherever this is! You have to take me back. My father needs me, Niki. I can’t just leave him. He must be beside himself right now!”
“Your father is a grown man, Princeling. He’ll be fine. ”
“No, you don’t understand,” Jagger said, shaking his head.
“Then suppose you explain it to me. And I mean everything—from the theft of our shipment to the whole hostage thing. And speaking of hostages, exactly who is being held by the Nilaniums?”
Jagger dropped his gaze and sighed. “They have my mother. ”
“Your mother?”
Jagger nodded. “My mother is a healer. She’s skilled at nursing and using natural elements to cure diseases. She has a reputation for her cures. About six months ago, the Nilaniums came to the castle while my father was away on a hunting trip. They told my mother that one of their men had contracted some kind of disease and asked for her help. She could never turn down anyone in need, so she agreed to let them bring him in. If my father or I had been there, we never would have allowed her to consort with any of them. Of course, when they all came in, they overpowered her guards and took her out of the castle with them. They have kept her prisoner ever since. The bastards ask for more and more tribute to be paid to them every week to ensure her safety. ”
Nikolai shook his head disbelievingly. “And you never notified the Alliance? Never asked for help?”
“We don’t belong to the Alliance of Planets—never have. They wouldn’t have helped us. No, we were on our own, and that’s probably why the Rogers targeted us to start with. ”
“So who made the decision to steal from us to get the tribute?”
“My father. ” Jagger’s head came up at Nikolai’s sound of disapproval, and he clenched his fists. “You don’t understand! This has been hard on him—he’s not himself. My mother is…everything to him. When he told me he’d promised a shipment of bauxite to the Rogers and had no money to pay for it, I agreed to help him. I know it wasn’t right, but what could I do? We would have paid you back eventually. ”
Nikolai didn’t say anything, but the look on his face said he didn’t believe a word. Once again, Jagger tried to jump to his feet in anger and once again, Nikolai jerked him back onto the bed. Jagger lost his temper again and took another swing at Nikolai. Nikolai caught his fist in his hand and took him down to his back, pulling his wrists over his head. “Let me up! Let me up, damn you or I’ll…”
“Stop trying to fight me. You need to learn pack discipline, and there’s no time like the present. I’m an alpha, and your mate. That means you submit to me, and make no mistake, you will submit. Lower your gaze and expose your throat. Do it now!”
Jagger trembled in his arms, his gaze shooting daggers at Nikolai for a long, tense moment. Finally, he dropped his eyes and turned his head. Nikolai’s voice was quiet but firm. “I’m going to let you sit up again, but you will remain calm and stop jumping to your feet to run away. Do you understand?”
Jagger cast him a sullen glance, and muttered something under his breath.
“What did you say?”
“I said, I understand. But I hate you for this!” The minute he said the words, he felt a hard twinge in his stomach. A quick flash of anger flitted across Nikolai’s face, but it was quickly gone. He gave him a steady regard.
Nikolai’s lips twitched and he bent to whisper in his ear. “You can hate me all you want to, but you will do as I say. Sit up, love. ”
