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“Yeah, the message I received gave me that impression. Everyone stays out here until I’m done in there.” Xander told them before disappearing inside the bar.
My curiosity overtook me as I watched the rogues obey my mate, nervously. Their energies were enough to put me on edge. I had to get inside that bar to make sure that Xander was all right. Whoever was in there, making his friends nervous, couldn’t possibly be a good person to leave my mate alone.
I dashed around to the back of the bar, where the trashcans were located. I found the kitchen door slightly ajar. Carefully and as quickly as I could, I opened the door the rest of the way and slipped inside. The room was empty. There were no signs of meals being made, despite the time of day. Not even the sound of footsteps moving about the kitchen could be detected. Still, I moved carefully and kept my body low as I made my way to the bar and the sounds of muffled speech, coming from the area.
“I thought I told you to get rid of him.” I heard Xander growl.
“Tristan will only leave when the job is done. It’s either you do it, or he does it. I made myself clear the last time we spoke.”
The other voice sounded older and gruffer than Xander’s. Instinctively, I knew it was his father. I slipped beneath the swinging door of the kitchen and behind the bar. I found a slight wedge between the bar and wall to peer out directly at the booth where Xander and I had sat the last time we were at the bar.
At the booth was Xander with his back to me; across from him sat three people. An older man who looked like a less attractive version of Xander glared at my mate, his fists clenched on top of the table. To the left side of the older man sat another rogue, although his scent differed from that of Xander’s rogue family. Xander didn’t seem happy to see him on his right side. I finally could see the witch who had been working with the rogues this entire time. Black veins decorated her pale skin as she watched Xander with a bored expression.
I could feel the power radiating from her and did my best not to gulp at the enormity of it. She looked young, but I could feel the age in her power. She was an ancient witch; and where there were ancient witches in the world with that much dark magic, there was sure to be danger.
Chapter Seventeen
Xander
“I told you I had a plan and that I could handle this,” I growled at Dad.
Tristan smirked at me from the other side, a challenge in his eyes as I argued with my father.
“I told you he will take over your plan if you failed. Your time is running out, Son. You either take care of the Rigel family or we will step in.”
I slammed my fist into the table and let out a snarl. “None of you will get in my way!”
Dad growled back as he stood and pointed his finger at me. “Watch your tone with me, boy! I’m the leader here, not you! I set the plans, not you! If I say your time is up, then it is up!”
Minerva reached up and touched Dad’s arm, his expression softening a bit at her touch. As he sat back down, she looked at me and frowned. “You have her mark?”
Her eyes locked onto my shoulder where Liberty had marked me; the spot tingled as my attention moved to it. The memory of that night surfaced. I covered it with my hand and nodded.
“Yes, she gave me her mark.” Dad leaned forward and sniffed me, his lip curling into a hideous smile.
“I assume they have scheduled the coronation,” she continued.
I glared back at her, refusing to answer.
“Yes or no, Son,” Dad growled out.
“Yes,” I answered with a growl. “They have scheduled my coronation.”
“Then you will kill her and her family that day. When is it? We can plan for a raid on the packhouse.”
I felt the color drain from my face as Dad excitedly began planning for his invasion on the Rigel pack. It wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted my pack there, yes, but I wanted them in celebration of both Liberty and me. She was my mate, and those closest to me already knew the truth. They had already accepted her. They had already agreed to join me in the pack without bloodshed and to accept Liberty as their Alpha alongside me.
“I must admit, Son, that this plan of yours seemed crazy at first. I would rather you stuck to the plan of killing the Rigel bitch like we had planned, but pretending to be her mate and making her believe it enough to mark you. It really is a perfect plan. Your mother would have been proud.”
I looked up at Dad and saw pride in his eyes. It was the pride I had always longed to see, yet it didn’t fill me with the joy I had hoped for, and I knew why. I wanted him to look at me with pride for having Liberty as my mate. I wanted him to accept her as my mate once and for all. I wanted us all to be a family. The way paired mated families are meant to be combined and shared.
I knew then, as that feeling of heartache came over me, it was time to tell my dad the truth.
“Dad, I didn’t pretend,” I said. I looked him in the eyes.
“What?” Dad looked confused. His head was tilted to the side.
“I didn’t pretend to be her mate. I did not tell you the truth. The reason why I didn’t kill her that night was because I discovered that she is my mate. I won’t kill her, and I won’t kill her family. The cycle of killing for the power of this pack must end, and The Fates seem to agree, Dad. Liberty and I are fated mates, just as you and my mother were…just as Orion and Diana are.”
