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Armand’s meaty hands clutched my bicep pulling me aside and snapping me back to reality. I was about to tell him to go to hell and face the consequences when he lowered his voice speaking from one wolf to another.
“I can see that you’re torn. Maybe there’s someone else you would prefer to be with?”
“Get to your point,” I insisted not about to discuss my feelings for another guy with him.
“My point is that we are alpha’s even if one of us doesn’t have a pack. And wolves like us can’t be contained. I wouldn’t expect you to be. All I would expect from you is a wedding and an heir. Past that, who is to say what you do? Live your life without insult to me and I wouldn’t care what your wolf gets into.”
I stared at Armand stunned. Was he proposing that I cheat on his daughter?
“In my pack, it’s a tradition,” he confirmed making me hate him more.
My wolf raced fueled by anger and helplessness. I again considered refusing when I looked at his henchman. His scent told me he was on the verge of shifting. So was his partner. Armand had come ready for bloodshed. I couldn’t let that happen in a room full of people I cared about… and Cali.
With my thoughts racing towards panic, I gritted my teeth and said, “All right!” It came out before I knew what I was saying.
“What was that?”
My jaw clenched after taking a moment to consider the situation. He had me.
“I’ll marry your daughter,” I told him stunned by the words coming out of my mouth.
Armand’s smug smile returned. Quickly walking away from me, he addressed the room commanding everyone’s attention.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have great respect for the man we are here to honor today. We might have had our differences but the time for disagreements is over.
“To that end, I would like to announce happy news on an otherwise sad day. It is the engagement of my daughter, Eris, to Remy Lyon, a union that will allow peace and prosperity to flourish for all. Let our once bitter rivalry end here and let our great families now become one.
“Let’s hear it for the new couple,” he demanded smiling from ear to ear.
Polite, confused applause filled the room. Disbelief was etched on my family’s faces. It was surreal. What had I done? The reality of my decision didn’t hit me until a shocked Dillon caught my eye. His disappointment and hurt were inescapable.
The tingling excitement I’d felt about talking to him was gone. Replacing it was a hollow, aching emptiness. I’d given up my chance at love. And for what?
But staring at him, I realized that after coming so close to having him, I couldn’t just let him go. Even if I couldn’t be with him, I had to have him near me. I knew I had to offer him something.
“Dillon,” I called out, as he headed for the back door looking like he was about to cry. He stopped. Catching up to him, I wrapped my hand around his bicep. He was so small. Pulling him close, he refused to look at me.
“Is that what you were gonna tell me? That you were gonna marry that woman?” he spat mired in jealousy.
“No. It wasn’t that at all.”
“So you just weren’t gonna say anything about it?” he said finally looking me in the eyes.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What then?”
He had a point. What was I going to tell him? Should I tell him that I had just sold my soul for the life of everyone in here? It was the truth. But not even I had such a martyr complex.
No, I had had other options and I had made my choice. Now I had to live with it. But that didn’t mean I would let Dillon go. According to Armand, I didn’t even have to. Though, my proposal for him to be my boyfriend probably had to change.
“Would you consider working for me? I could use someone I trust in my businesses.”
He hesitated, his gaze locked on mine. Caught off guard, he looked confused.
“Remy, you know I’m still in college, right? I’ve got at least a year left before I graduate.”
“But, it’s about to be summer break, isn’t it? And when you graduate, you’re gonna need work experience. So, to that end, I would like to hire you as my…”
