AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dickhead: Not now. They can watch. You’re mine.
I release a breath and straighten my back, handing my bag to Holly. She grins at me, giggling maniacally, happier than I have seen her in a long time. I guess funerals don’t have to be sad, after all.
My phone chimes.
Sexy Beast: You look like you need a hand, baby. Wilder said I can’t help you unless you ask.
Me: He said you can’t participate. You’d only get to watch.
Sexy Beast: That’s the last time I’ll ever try to cheer his ass up. Get ready for a long night. I’m claiming you next.
Smirking, I wag my finger at him as I take a small step forward in the direction of the stairs leading to the garden. The thirty feet suddenly looks like a mile, and I try my best to not wobble. I regret picking out the stilettos. I didn’t think I would be walking anywhere.
I use whatever I can to hold onto, steadying myself with the backs of empty chairs until I reach the wall that overlooks the property. The quiet terrace suddenly erupts with soft music, and I catch sight of a dozen servers coming out with silver platters covered with dinner plates.
Wilder chose the perfect time to need attention, because the guests will now be distracted with consuming their fill of the finest foods our pack has to offer.
Reaching the top of the stairs, I peer down the stone steps before me. Twenty stairs look like a hundred from this point of view, and I slowly make my way down, my stilettos shaking as I clutch the railing, my vision blurry from my intoxication. I regret the third glass of champagne. The second one too. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I’m not sure I’m going to make it all the way to the gazebo.
I stop a couple steps before the pathway that leads to the garden. “Wilder?” I call, hoping I project my voice like I think I am. “I need your help. I’m too drunk.”
“Here, miss. Let me help you.” The familiar voice stabs me in the heart as a figure appears from the right side of the staircase.
I focus my gaze, seeing my uncle for the first time up close in years. The edges of my vision shadow, and I try to take a step back, hitting my heel on the step. I lose my balance and fall forward, only to have him catch me. His scent triggers my panic, and I scream, flailing my body in an attempt to escape.
This can’t be happening.
This can’t be fucking happening.
“Let me go!” I yell, swinging my hand but missing him.
Commotion breaks out from above, and I catch sight of Arsenio, Enzo, and Desmond all rushing down the stairs.
“Get your hands off my omega or lose them,” Wilder says, his voice deep and growly with his anger. “This is a private affair, and you’re not welcome here.”
I gasp a dozen breaths, reaching out for Wilder as my uncle loosens his hold on me. Arsenio reaches him first and locks his arm around his neck, dragging him back. Spectators line the balcony, curious about what’s going on. All I can think about is the smoky smell of cigarettes and musk now clinging to me, my uncle purposefully leaving his scent on me.
“Kill him. You have to kill him. He’s a monster. He killed my parents. He killed the men who were supposed to be my pack.” My voice shakes with my words. “He tortured me.”
“I’d suggest you reconsider, King Wilder. We both know that she still belongs to me, and I must agree to give her to you. She is not the unclaimed omega like the Pack Regimes assumed. If you kill me, you’ll have to hand her over to the pack I had previously chosen.” Uncle Rommel remains placid in Arsenio’s chokehold, not fighting him, proving that he’s not a threat and giving him no reason to kill him immediately with all the witnesses. He knew exactly what he was doing, showing up uninvited to Winston’s funeral.
“Watch your mouth before I cut out your tongue. You’re testing the wrong pack.” Arsenio shakes my uncle, tightening his hold.
“The negotiations were to take place tomorrow. You’re trespassing here tonight, and that gives us reason to arrest you and punish you as we see fit as the authority of Gilded Sands.” Wilder pulls out a blade and aims it at my uncle.
“I’m family. I have the right to be here.” Uncle Rommel focuses his gaze on me, trying to lock me in his stare.
I turn my head away and hide against Wilder’s neck. He’s doing this on purpose. He’s tormenting me because he didn’t get what he wanted before. He’s pissed that I didn’t just bow complacently and accept my fate. I’m my mother’s daughter, after all. She denied him, choosing only to be with my dad. She didn’t fall into the role of the perfect omega, and neither will I.
“You lost that right the moment you betrayed your pack. Kinsey belongs to us now. We have already made it formal. No member of the Pack Regimes will go against us for a lowlife like you. You have no ties here.” Enzo gets in front of Uncle Rommel, blocking his view of me. “Now, we’ll escort you out. If you fight, we’ll drag you and show just what happens when you test the new kings.”
“Careful, Mr. Enzo. I know all about you and your pack and the activities you allow your omegas to participate in. I know what kind of connections and deals you make behind the back of the Pack Regimes. It would be a shame if word got out that you were allowing omegas in your territory to pass as betas.” A wicked grin crosses Uncle Rommel’s face as he challenges Enzo.
Desmond grabs the back of his brother’s shirt, yanking Enzo a couple of feet away before he charges. He’s baiting him on purpose. He wants us to make a scene.
“Just get him out of here. He’s trying to get to us, and we can’t let him.” My voice comes out stronger than I think possible, and I wiggle in Wilder’s arms until he sets me on my feet. He holds me by my waist, resting his chest on my back, and I pull him forward with me, now sober and more confident with their protection.
Seeing my uncle again was my worst fear, but I feel impenetrable and invincible in this moment. Holly was right. My alphas make me stronger.
