SEQUEL: THREE

Anton chose the sofa opposite the one Roman chose, Alina gracefully settling down beside her father.
Now that they were all seated, it was up to Anton to start up the conversation regarding what he wanted to speak about.
The European Alpha King straightened up, squaring his shoulders. He wasn't the type to be made antsy by anything but this particular topic was such a sensitive topic for him because he was wary about how it would go.
"As I said earlier, I have a proposition for you…" He started slowly, testing the waters.
Roman threw a knowing glance in Alina’s direction, demanding an answer for her presence.
"A proposition for the both of you," Anton corrected.
This made both their eyes narrow, ice blue eyes and dark eyes appraising each other.
"It's merely a suggestion but nonetheless one that I've had on my mind for quite some time now. And right now, when we're on the cusp of a possible breakthrough, I believe it's the right time to bring it up."
Every word Anton Costin spoke further filled Roman up with dread. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what the Alpha King was building onto but he kept quiet in the hopes that it was something else entirely.
"I'm not the type to beat around the bush so I'll just say it bluntly. I want to propose a mating between the two of you-"
Before Anton could get all of his words out, the two individuals involved immediately protested, anger darkening their faces. He held up a hand to keep them quiet.
"Hear me out first before you air your opinions," He calmly said, unfazed by how violently they had reacted to his proposal, he had expected this outcome.
"As I said, it's merely a suggestion and the final decision is up to the two of you, just as it is up to you two to decide how the mating will go… if it'll happen at all." He quickly corrected himself when that nearly caused another outburst.
"I don't see why we have to beg him when he'll be the only one benefiting from this," Alina grumbled with her arms crossed, her glass of champagne was long forgotten on the glass table, water droplets condensing out the outer rim of the cup which dripped down the slender stem.
"On the contrary, we both stand to gain equally from this. If anything, this is a selfish suggestion on my part." Anton corrected.
"You're just saying that to be nice, it's no secret that Roman has always had sights set on being the European Alpha King…"
"Alina," Anton scolded softly.
Alina swallowed the rest of her words but she did this with a dark scowl directed at Roman who had been quiet the entire time.
Roman had more or less predicted the proposition that Anton had made but it still caught him off guard nonetheless.
It made him wry. Just a little over an hour ago, he had been smoking on the balcony thinking about his future and now this proposition was thrown right on his lap. Was Fate trying to tell him something?
It was simply impossible though, Alina and he were the furthest from a match any two people could be. Although he admitted to being unable to offer love to anyone who wasn't his Fated mate, that didn't mean that he would go for someone he outright hated.
"What do you think about this?" Anton asked, lacing his fingers together, his elbows resting on his knees.
The only obstacle to this was Roman himself. He would hate to do it to his only daughter but if it came down to it, he could influence Alina’s decision.
However, with the way he expected the conference to go the next day, this was absolutely necessary to ensure that werewolves would never be brought under the control of humans. Bigger territories were far more difficult to subdue.
Besides, he might think of Roman as someone who used underhanded measures to get what he wanted but the one thing he was certain of was that the British Alpha King always protected what was his.
"I think that I need more details," Roman said bluntly. If it were any other night he would have turned Alpha Costin down without a second thought but it had to be the very night that he came to the decision to stop searching for his Fated mate.
This made Anton perk up, if Roman hadn't outrightly turned down his suggestion, it meant that he was actually considering it.
"As I mentioned earlier, it's up to the two of you to define what exactly you want." He said, straightening up. "My only requirements are that you merge our territories and become the true European King…"
"But what about you, Dad?" Alina interrupted, disbelief in her wide eyes.
Anton smiled slightly, "I'm an old man, it's a feat beyond my power."
"Then I'll take over in your place, you don't have to hand everything over to… him." She said with derision, rolling her eyes.
Roman let all of Alina Costin’s snide remarks roll down his back, far too occupied with trying to come to a decision. However, Alina made it a very difficult choice to make, the werewolf princess was aggravating.
"That's not the only reason I brought up the suggestion." Anton countered, looking expectantly at Roman. The British Alpha King has gone strangely silent.
"So this is a political mating?" Roman clarified.
"If that's what you want," Anton answered openly.
Roman clicked his teeth in anger, "What I want is to turn down this suggestion…"
"Then you should, as I said, no one is begging you." Alina lashed out.
"Alina!" Anton called in a much louder voice, disapproval in his tone.
This quieted down Alina but she wasn't completely silent, grumbling under her breath.
"I apologize for that," Anton said with a wince.
Roman waved a hand, he knew exactly what Alina was like, it was exactly why he was spending so much time just to make up his mind.
"So a political mating?" Anton latched on when they both went silent for too long.
Roman could see why Anton wanted the merge between their territories to happen so badly, it was the sole reason he was still seated although that was the very last thing he wanted to do.
"It's the only deal I can settle for," Roman said, a tad cruelly.
"I don't appreciate being treated like ruined goods," Alina spoke up again after remaining silent for a while.
"That attitude of yours could ruin anything," Roman replied without planning to.
"You've got a lot of nerve mentioning that when you're far worse…"
"Please!" Anton interrupted their budding argument, massaging the sides of his head.
He was starting to actually consider that this might not work at all because they would have to have a child together to produce an heir to the throne. But if they couldn't even stand to have a polite conversation with each other, he couldn't imagine that happening.
"I'm starting to think that Alina isn't interested in this mating," Roman said with a forced calm.
Alina scoffed, "So now you're going to pin the blame on me when you're the one making snarky comments."
"Every single thing you've said this night was said with spite." Roman lost his calm facade fast.
"I think we should come to a decision first," Anton spoke up.
Once again, he hoped that he wasn't making a terrible mistake but regardless, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make for the future of werewolves. Hopefully, with time, their animosity towards each other would fade completely.
"So a political mating it is?" He clarified.
Alina sulked, "If that's what you want, Dad."
Anton's heart burned, he wished he could deny his daughter’s words.
"Sure." Roman muttered in a very lackluster manner.
It was like they were both agreeing to be thrown into prison and not to do something as wonderful as becoming mates.
Anton really wished he had another option but this was all he had. He rose to his feet with a grave expression, feeling like he aged a month for every minute he spent in the lounge.
He supposed that this could be categorized as a success as he didn't think that he could actually convince Roman to go through with this.
"I'll let you two get acquainted and come to a decision of what you want to have drawn into the mating contract. I hate to leave but unfortunately, I have a late night appointment." He concluded before striding out of the lounge, leaving them both behind.
Alina eyed up Roman who was seated directly across from her, the silence in the lounge heavy between them. A few minutes passed in this manner and neither of them looked willing to break the silence which only stretched on.
She stretched forward a slender hand which was covered in glittering bracelets and rings to pick up her champagne glass from the slender stem.
The abandoned drink had long warm and now tasted tart but she needed something to occupy her hands and ground herself so she brought the rim to her lips.
Roman couldn't believe that he had agreed to mating Alina, a political mating but a mating nonetheless. It was too late to take his word back now but even if he could, he wouldn't because their mating stood for more than their feelings on the matter.
He dipped his hand into the inner pocket of his suit jacket to pull pit a cigar, having Alina glare at him from the other side of the room was a very grating experience, he needed something to distract him.
Alina’s scoff caught his attention, "How rude," She muttered just as he was about to light up.
Roman had actually been so distracted that he prepared to light up a cigar without thinking, and if it were anyone else, he would have stopped. But Alina drove him to the edge of his patience and he wanted to get back at her.
He blew a mouthful of smoke in her direction, his eyes cold. "How are you enjoying your warm drink?"
Alina’s fingers tightened visibly around the slender stem of her glass at his words, her eyes angry.
"I'm only agreeing to this because of my Dad!" She blurted out shrilly, anger making her hands tremble.