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“Yeah, to numb the fucking awkwardness,” Kinsey whispers, her voice a breath near my ear.
“On it, asshole.” Arsenio appears with a bottle of wine and a tray of glasses, ensuring the staff doesn’t enter.
I stand up, stealing the bottle, forcing Kinsey to hold onto me for dear life. I fucking love feeling her legs and arms tighten around me, and my mind wanders to thinking about how easy it would be to hike her dress up to fuck her. I pour enough glasses for everyone and down one in one swallow, pouring a second.
Fucking fuck. We need to get this shit over with. King Winston purposefully prolongs the silent torture by holding his glass up.
“Let’s make a toast to new beginnings,” he says, smiling at Holly, his jaw clenched.
I mutter the words, downing my second glass. Kinsey sips hers slowly, her eyes glued to King Winston as he sets his glass on the coffee table. Holly clutches the stem of her wine glass, and if she were any stronger, she might break it.
Something shifts on Holly’s face, and she scoots to the arm of the couch, putting space between her and our dad. She opens and closes her mouth, her anger radiating from her with the scent of paprika and something hotter. King Winston flares his nostrils, picking up on her anger.
Fuck me. This was a huge mistake.
I slide Kinsey onto the chair and stand up, rubbing my hands together. “Dad, Holly’s still trying to process everything that happened. Why don’t you give her some space? She’s been through a lot.”
King Winston whips his attention to me, his rage growing by the second. I expect him to yell. I expect him to throw punches.
He surprises the hell out of all of us by drooping his shoulders and shaking his head, his scowl smoothing out. “I know, and I’m sorry. It’s unfair for me to expect to pick up where we left off after everything.”
I swear everyone holds their breath.
“I’ve made some grave mistakes as your father and pack leader, Holly. I can’t blame you for acting out of desperation. I had no idea you were so unhappy with the thought of bonding with the Righteous Waters Pack.” King Winston reaches out and touches Holly’s knee. “I had no idea—”
“No idea? You had no fucking idea? I told you! I begged you to change your mind and choose someone else.” Holly heaves a breath, her body shaking. “They didn’t want an omega to bond with. They wanted to use me to get to our pack. They wanted to destroy our kingdom.”
King Winston doesn’t respond. He doesn’t look at Holly or acknowledge what she says. He’s a fucking coward. She deserves more than his steely facade.
“So I planned my death. I wanted you to feel the pain that I did. I wanted all of you to think about what happened to me for the rest of your lives.” Holly narrows her eyes at our dad. And fuck. She’s convincing. I can almost feel her wrath as if it is directed at me. I know she’s doing it to clear our names, so that we don’t get held responsible for helping her, but it makes me feel like crap.
“You couldn’t have done this on your own, daughter.” King Winston remains calm, his face only showing remorse. But I can tell he’s acting. This is an interrogation, after all, but Holly is taking control of it so he can’t trick her or make her mess up. And I’m fucking proud of her for it.
“Of course, I couldn’t have. I had nothing. You took away everything from me. The only thing I had left was my order, and I used it to my advantage. I convinced one of the staff members to help me. He took me to his alpha, and she helped me pass as a beta...until she realized her brother was growing too fond of me. Betas can’t have an omega, even if I was passing as one. So he betrayed me. He betrayed us.” Holly turns her glare to King Winston, meeting his eyes. “I shouldn’t have expected anything more.”
“Who was the alpha?” King Winston reaches out and grasps Holly’s chin, making her stiffen.
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I’m out of that awful club. That we could have the new beginning that you want.” Holly’s mouth trembles, her eyes watering.
My chest tightens, seeing the sadness flicker across my sister’s face. Kinsey laces her fingers through mine as if she knows that I need her to help support the rest of our pack.
King Winston growls, his muscles flexing as he surprises us by jerking out his hand and lacing it around Holly’s throat. “Tell me who the alpha was!”
Holly swings her hand and smacks King Winston across the face hard enough to send his head turning sideways. I launch across the coffee table, crashing into my dad at the same time that Arsenio pulls Holly out of his line of wrath. I pin King Winston down on the couch, fisting my hand and preparing to punch him.
“Everyone, calm the fuck down. We’re all in shock right now.” Wilder grabs my shoulder, getting me to release our dad. “Come on, brother. Let him go.”
I glower, refusing to back down.
“You’re leaving, Father. You’ll give us all some space, and you’ll let Holly tell you her side in her own time. I’m sure there’s a reason she isn’t quick to talk. She has been through a lot, and I won’t allow you to push her when she’s in such a fragile state.” Wilder holds his hand out to our dad, waiting until he finally relaxes and waits for me to get off, so my brother can help him to his feet.
I don’t know how Wilder does it. All I can think about is clobbering our dad for trying to use force to get answers from Holly. I can see that Arsenio and Desmond are holding back as well. If Kinsey wasn’t now clinging onto Desmond, he would be by my side, proving that just because his order manifested as a beta doesn’t mean that he can’t be as powerful as an alpha. Especially when we’re together. We’re a pack. This man standing before us isn’t our father or our king. He’s a fucking coward. His reign will end.
King Winston adjusts his suit jacket and dusts his hands on his pants. “You’re right, son.” Turning, he looks at Holly with Arsenio. “My dear daughter, you have my sincerest apology. My anger wasn’t intended to be directed at you. I’m just so upset about the time we lost and the grief we’ve been put through.”
Arsenio squeezes Holly, stopping her from responding.
“I’ll walk you out, Father.” Wilder touches between our dad’s shoulder blades, guiding him toward the foyer and grand entrance leading out.
