Karina stretched out her hand to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, but Zuri swatted her hand away.
“Don’t be stubborn. Your stubbornness will not take you anywhere,” she said. Her voice was so soft, it was almost like she had motherly love for her daughter. Probably she did, but she showed it in a way that Zuri couldn’t understand.
“Leave me alone.”
“I will, after we talk.”
Zuri scoffed. “Everyone wants to talk to me, but no one listens to me.”
“That’s because you don’t know how to talk in their language.”
“What language?” Zuri turned her head and looked at her mother. “Manipulation and physical abuse?”
“We had this talk many times, but it seems, we need to talk about this again.” Karina straightened her back. Her expression turned serious. An expression she would never have when she talked to her mate.
Zuri knew what she was going to say; she should be a perfect luna, she should obey her alpha, her mate, her man, or whatever you call them. It would make your life easier. Her mother had done it and she was living peacefully.
Karina made peace with the fact that Roland slept around. She met with every woman he had been with behind her back, pretending she didn’t know anything. Always being Roland’s sweet little mate.
And she was right, it gave her peace.
However, Karina’s advice right now was a little bit different from usual.
“You are smart, Zuri, you are always the smartest among your siblings.” She started. She pinched her chin and turned her head to face her. The hatred from her only daughter burned in her black eyes. “It goes without saying that we are the weaker sex because we don’t have the same authority, power and strength like those men, like those alphas, but…”
Karina stopped, she caressed her cheek. For a moment, Zuri could see both misery and love in her eyes, but she might be wrong.
“But, we have our own weapon. We don’t need to be in a physical fight to use it.” Karina retracted her hand, the coldness returned to her eyes. “If you want to survive this union, you need to start using it. Use your body if Alpha Xaden is attracted to it. Use your brain if that could make him interested in you. Only then you would be heard. Only then, your voice and your opinion will matter.”
“Nice advice, mother. Is that what you have done to father all this time for him to hear you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why don’t you use it to save me?”
Karina took a glass of water and handed it to Zuri. “Because this is our life, child. If you didn’t learn how to dance to the music, no matter how many times I save you, you will always be tripped. At the end of the day, you only have yourself to rely on.”
***
Roland entered Xaden’s study room. The alpha looked so young, he was only twenty when he was given this pack to rule by his brother. It was six years ago, the same time when his brother ascended to the throne.
His brother doted on him. You could say the king had a soft spot for his little brother, but it didn’t deter Xaden from doing what he was planning to do.
“You should be more careful with your omega. This will be the last time we discuss this.” Roland sat down, his face devoid of any emotions. “Zuri is still my daughter.”
“You don’t need to worry, it will not happen again,” Xaden said, dismissing the topic, but Roland was not willing to brush it off yet.
“I want compensation for this. People will talk and I don’t want them to ruin my pack and my daughter’s reputation for a moment of your weakness.” Roland saw the rage flashing in Xaden’s brown eyes. No alpha would be thrilled to be called weak even if it was just for a moment. He got on his nerves. “You can do better than displaying your infidelity in public.”
“Just like how you hide your affairs and naively think your mate didn’t know any better?” Xaden smiled, because he got back at him. “You are not so na?ve as to think your mate is oblivious to it all, right?”
“She is content with the life I gave her. She didn’t have anything to complain about.” Roland wouldn’t be in his position right now if just a few words from this young Alpha could falter him, he was better than that. “Maybe I can teach you a lesson or two on how to satisfy your own mate, so she won’t have any complaints.”
Xaden clenched his jaw. He threw a dagger look at Roland. His grip on the quill in his hand tightened. He was going to snap it into two, but a second later, his fingers loosened up. This was not a battle he wanted to fight.
“I will punish the omega,” he said finally. “She will not be your daughter’s problem anymore.” He nodded in agreement. He needed Roland and his pack, especially his pack’s wealth for his plan. He was not going to ruin that over something as trivial as women fighting over him.
“Good. I want my daughter to have the satisfaction of watching it happen.” Roland would make sure that Xaden wouldn’t go soft on that woman, just because she was his destined mate. Whatever remained between them wouldn’t make him as ruthless as he was with his enemies. “I want my daughter to be the one to deliver the punishment. After all, she was the one who got hurt because of this.”
“Since when do you care about your daughter, Roland?” Xaden’s voice was cold and calculating.
“She is my daughter, of course, I care about her. Even when other people couldn’t see that.”
Xaden couldn’t tell whether Roland was telling the truth or not. He could lie to add value to Zuri, making it look like he gave something precious to him, thus he could ask for more than he deserved in their dealings later on.
No one could be sure when it came to scheming and manipulation; even a friend today could be a foe tomorrow.
“Fine. She can do whatever she wants to her,” Xaden agreed. The more he denied Roland, the more he would learn something he didn’t need to know. He wouldn’t let Faye become his weakness. He would deal with Zuri later. “Now, let’s discuss the main problem why we are here.”
Roland nodded gracefully, he crossed his arms and leaned his back, looking all relaxed. “Let’s start with the information I obtained from the Three Deadly Ways.”
Three Deadly Ways was a place where the three kingdoms met. The expansive terrain where the lycan’s great palace once stood. It was a disputed land.
None of the three kingdoms wanted to back down in claiming the area as their own.
Thirty years ago, the three kingdoms were united under the lycan’s empire. The lycan dynasty ruled this continent.
But, then a sudden unrest led to a coup that resulted in the annihilation of all the members of the lycan race.
Lycan race was the strongest among the shifters, but there were not many of them and sure enough each of them was a member of the great empire.
However, their dynasty ended thirty years ago when the pregnant lycan queen was killed during the attack, as they managed to get to her bedroom after they took down the great palace.
Roland was one of the warriors who fought in the war. He was just twenty five and his father was still the alpha of the River Creek pack.
And now, the location of the great palace was called the Three Deadly Ways. It was well known that the wealth of the lycans would put even the richest pack in this continent, which was River Creek pack, to shame.
They believed that that valuable treasure was still hidden somewhere in the great palace. As a result, the area became a point of contention, with each kingdom trying to claim it for themselves.
“Khaos will return from the Three Deadly Ways soon. He has served his punishment,” Roland informed Xaden.
“He is not someone we need to be worried about,” Xaden said.
“You might need to think about it again. Don’t underestimate him.” Roland shook his head. “Never underestimate your opponent.”
***
“I don’t want to see you.” Zuri glanced at her father. She watched him enter the room and dismissed Sarah and Esther, who were doing her hair.
Neither of them said anything about that night, nor did they talk about her miscarriage. No one dared to make a peep about it.
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