SEQUEL: FOUR

"And I'm only still here because I'm a selfish bastard," Roman said bluntly, leaning forward to puff a smoke ring in Alina’s face. "But do you have any other personality than being an unbearable Daddy's girl?"
Alina’s eyes widened in shock and without thinking she lifted her hand and struck out at Roman.
He caught her hand with ease, a smug smirk on his face that never touched his icy eyes. "Do that again and I'll make you regret it."
Alina pulled her hand free of his grip, "And I'll warn you to watch your words, you do not want to get on my bad side."
Roman actually didn't doubt that, Alina was an awful person without even trying. He didn't want to see how bad she got when she actually put in the effort.
He leaned back, putting the expanse of the glass table between them again. He also put away his cigar, they were adults, they could attempt to be civil to each other at least.
"Now, regarding the clause of our mating…"
"I'm not going to have your child!" Alina interrupted him, her voice firm.
Roman was relieved that he had put away his cigar or he would have crushed it in his fist. "I want that more than anything as well."
"At least we agree on something." She huffed self-importantly, crossing her bare slender legs.
"It doesn't matter if we agree on it or not, it's not optional," Roman stated, feeling his gut churn at the thought of having to sire an heir with Alina.
Alina looked like she had a lot to say about that but she pushed it back down, keeping quiet.
"But that aside, we should discuss the other causes…"
Alina uncrossed her long legs and rose to her feet. "I don't care what you decide to do," She announced grandly, "I'm sick of this conversation, I'm going to bed." She rudely said, sashaying out.
Roman quietly watched her leave, he should have probably made an effort to try to stop her but he didn't trust himself to keep a firm hold on his temper. He never tagged himself as someone with a short fuse but Alina was the kind of person who could get a rise out of a slab of rock.
He pushed both his hands into his hair, his long fingers massaging his scalp. *'Why did he think this was such a great idea again?'*
They hadn't made any progress whatsoever. What should have been a peaceful period of discussing what they wanted their mating to entail had morphed into an explosive argumentative session complete with physical attacks.
Was this his payment for going after Lukas in a bid to ruin his happiness? Because it seemed a tad unfair a retribution for what he had done.

-^-
Alina stomped back to her hotel room, her heels clicking against the polished marble
floors with a vengeance. She didn't bother checking for her father before retiring to her room because she knew he would still be out.
Her father was always so capable, he was the strongest most powerful person she ever knew. She had never once thought that he would have to retire someday, she always thought that he would live forever.
But now that the thought was brought to the forefront of her mind, she couldn't shake it off. She had said it in the heat of the moment but she knew that there was no way she could actually take over.
Alina had immediately known that the moment that her father made that proposition, she would have to agree. She also knew that his hand had to be forced for him to go that far.
She wouldn't hesitate to jump in front of a moving train to save her father so there was no question of her not accepting the proposal. Roman however was the one person she could not stand.
He was an infuriating bastard who should be more grateful about the opportunity being presented to him, yet he remained his stupid smug self.
*'How dare he call her an unbearable Daddy's girl?'* Her hand itched to slap him again as she remembered the phrase. She knew she would have to control her impulses to hit Roman from here on out because he struck her as the kind of person who didn't respect her father’s standing.
It was another reason to add to the endless list of why she hated him. Her father was awesome, a wonder among other werewolves, why wouldn't anyone respect him?
She ripped her crown off her hair with a vengeance and threw it on her dresser, her bag and the rest of her jewelry followed suit. She kicked off her heels and stormed to the bathroom as she undid the zipper on her dress.
Alina had never considered mating anyone, she was always going to be with her dad like they always had been. And even when the thought of mating crossed her mind, the only person she could ever stand to be with was Lukas but that tart of a human had ruined everything.
She showered briskly, the steaming bath doing nothing to soothe her anger. She dried her hair in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection.
Her dark roots were coming in again, she would have to schedule another session with her hairstylist. She lifted a handful of her hair that was still soft and healthy although she had bleached it so many times to count, she knew that her hair stylist deserved all the praise.
Why did she start bleaching her hair again? Right, it was because Lukas preferred blondes, that had been close to a decade ago. She had been fifteen, stupidly rich, and had the freedom to do whatever she wanted.
Lukas didn't magically fall head over heels for her and deep down she knew that was what would happen because he only cared about finding his Fated mate, even then when they were so young and it felt like nothing but a myth.
She supposed it was because his parents had been Fated mates, but even then, they had died when he was really young, how could they influence his life that much?
Alina dropped the hair dryer on the counter with a resolute clink, her bathrobe wrapped snugly around her. She had previously intended to stay for the conference although she wasn't permitted to attend, she would stay because of her father but now she didn't want to anymore.
There was no reason to stay after all, her father wouldn't pay her attention and she didn't want to face Roman again. She replaced her bathrobe with a silk nightdress, getting on her bed.
A look at the clock told her that it was almost midnight, she was certain that she could call her best friend, Madeline right then and the other would pick up because she was a total night owl but Alina didn't feel like talking to anyone that night.
She was so upset that it made her eyes sting with tears. She had agreed to a political mating to someone she hated for her father’s sake, would he finally agree to go on that vacation with her?
Alina laid down quietly for a few seconds then she sat upright, ripping her blankets off her body. She picked up a pillow and hurled it across her room with a scream of rage, doing the same with the next pillow, and then the next.
She wanted to tear into the pillows and the very bed as a way to expel all of her anger but unless she shifted, her human fingers couldn't manage that.
She ran out of steam before she actually when through with it and shifted into her werewolf form to rip her hotel room into shreds, exhaustion claiming her.
An hour later, the door to her hotel room was gingerly opened, and a man with graying side burns quietly walked in. He didn't seem too surprised to find his daughter laying fast asleep at the center of her bed that she had made a wreck of.
Instead, he picked up a pillow and gently placed it under her head, and then picked up the sheets as well to cover her with. He leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead, a weary light in his eyes.
Alina had every right and reason to be angry at him but she never was. Every time he turned down a request to spend time with her, every time he couldn’t make it to a special event in her life, she was never angry.
Anton had to do all that to get all the accomplishments he had made but he had done that at the expense of his only child. It was too late to try and fix things, he had ready set the ball rolling. But if he had the chance to go back in time, he would prioritize his daughter over accolades.

-^-
Roman remained in the lounge for several minutes after Alina stormed out, puffing through cigars like they contained oxygen. This was already a mess from the start, and he wasn't the type to go back on his word but he also wasn't willing to get on a sinking ship.
He hadn't thought to suggest it before but after the explosive failure of trying to communicate with Alina, his hand was forced.
As a clause of their mating contract, he would have it arranged that if things were still this bad between them after six months, they would call it off. There was no saving a building completely consumed by fire after all.
He finally pushed up to his feet, the lounge slightly foggy from all the cigar smoke. He had already spent too much time thinking about this, he needed to get some sleep because he had to be up early for the conference the next day.
The punches he had gotten from Lukas was nothing compared to spending five minutes alone with Alina. She was the furthest thing from the sweet, loving mate he had always dreamed of.
Roman retired to his hotel room, but before then, he went past the hall where the dinner party was held, just because. It wasn't entirely surprising to find Anton seated with two others, having a discussion.
He had a lot he wanted to say to the European Alpha King personally but he had a feeling that if he spoke to Anton, he would end up calling the mating off.
No, what he needed to do right then was get some much needed sleep, and maybe the situation wouldn't look so hellish when morning came.