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“I’ll be back in a minute and I promise you we’ll continue this conversation,” I said, reluctantly tearing myself away from him.
Crossing the room with my wolf ready to take over, I headed toward Armand Clément, my father’s greatest rival and the alpha with whom I made my deal. In exchange for my release from the mafia world, I agreed to give him my father’s illegal businesses.
For it, I would keep the businesses I had created from scratch. On top of that, his pack would offer my family its protection. I had considered it a win-win. He got what he and my father had shed blood over, and I would be free to have what I had built… and Dillon.
Hil, my mother, and I would owe him nothing else. We would never have to see him again.
Yet, here he was flanked by two of his henchmen and a stunning blonde who was young enough to be his daughter. Fighting back my urge to shift and tear him and his wolf apart, I approached him standing close enough to smell his changes in scent.
“What are you doing here, Armand?” I asked not giving him an inch.
“Remy, I’m here to pay my respects,” he replied with a hint of sarcasm.
“Bullshit. If you wanted to show your respect you wouldn’t have stepped foot onto my father’s territory.”
“But this isn’t your father’s territory anymore. It’s mine. It’s all mine. Thanks to you.”
“And our deal was that you would back off and let us live our lives.”
“No,” Armand corrected with a smirk. “Our deal was that I would treat you like a member of my pack. So, I’m here… for my pack.”
I stared at his smug face wanting to bury my wolf’s teeth into it. I couldn’t, though. Not here. Not now.
“Cut the crap and get to the point, Armand. Why are you here?”
The scar-faced man with a body built on indulgence, released a snake of a smile.
“That’s why I like you. You always get right to business. Okay, here it is. I’ve been doing some research. It turns out that the businesses I allowed you to keep are worth a bit more than I would have guessed. My accounts say more than a billion.”
“You mean the businesses I built from scratch without my father’s help.”
“No, I mean the ones that you built on the back of your father’s empire—an empire that is now mine.”
“That’s not the way it worked. My father had nothing to do with my companies.”
“But his money did. Money that came out of the blood of my pack, at my expense.”
I clenched my fists, struggling to keep my wolf calm. “Armand, I gave you everything else. What more do you want?” I demanded.
His eyes glinted with mischief. “Actually, what I want is to make you a generous offer. I won’t ask you for the share of your businesses that many would say I deserve. Instead, I’ll give you a way to ensure that no harm will ever come to anyone you love.”
“And how’s that?”
“By uniting our families.” He gestured to the young woman standing beside him. “I want you to marry my daughter, Eris.”
I stared at him stunned, then laughed. “You’ve gotta be kidding.”
Armand’s face hardened. “This is not a joke, Remy. Marry my daughter and our families will be connected by more than just business. I don’t offer this deal lightly. Refuse and I will take it as a great insult.”
My gaze traveled from Armand to the beautiful woman beside him, then to Dillon, who was watching intently from across the room. I knew what Armand was suggesting, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t.
“Look, I appreciate the… offer, but I can’t marry your daughter.”
His eyes narrowed. “I suggest you reconsider, Remy. You don’t want to insult me. Not about this. If you did, there will be… consequences.”
Hearing his threat, my wolf readied itself. Quickly weighing my options, I looked around the room again. I was in an impossible position. I couldn’t risk the safety of my family, nor could I put Dillon in danger. But marrying Eris would mean giving up any chance I had with Dillon, the man I loved.
How could I do this? I couldn’t do it. But how could I not do it?
