Chapter 39

(**Sebastion’s POV**)

Waking to my office with Alexei following close behind me feels like I am going to my dad’s office when I was in trouble as a kid. There is a ball of nerves in my gut as I overthink what he is planning on saying to me. What is he thinking about? Is he going to tell me I am not good enough for Irina like her brother has? What did he think we he found us in that rest stop yesterday with my scent all over his daughter?

Imagining myself in his shoes makes me fidget with my fingers. All these years he thought his daughter was dead. Finding her alive and well in the arms of a stranger must drive him crazy. My scent all over her proving that we are lovers. What did he think when she introduced me as her mate? The tension in my shoulders is giving me a migraine as I think of what I am about to face.

A deep chuckle sounds from behind me as we reach my office door. Turning around, I see Alexei just shaking his head at me. “What?”

“Relax, Alpha Sebastion, I can sense your nervous energy. Come, let us talk, and maybe I can ease those nerves.”

Nodding my head with a sigh, I open my office door and motion for him to go first. Instead of going to sit behind my desk, I chose a chair in front of my desk. Giving Alexei the option of the sofa or the other chair. Thinking of water, I stand up and walk to the mini fridge in the corner to grab two bottles. Handing him one, I sit back down, gripping the bottle in my hand.

“Give me an outline of how my daughter was thrust into your life. She glossed over how Treadstone captured her, broke her down, and used her for his personal gain. When asked how she met you, there was hesitation on her face. We have yet to discuss it today. Your sister is a piece of work, by the way.”

Knowing that Arianna would be a topic eventually, I lower my head with a heavy sigh. “The day I met your daughter, she came to Drakos Enterprises for the open position for my new personal assistant. My last one found her mate and moved on. What neither she nor Treadstone knew was I was changing my entire staff and upgrading my building security. I was made aware of The Collectors by a friend, so I made changes to protect my business and my family.”

“What was he sending her there to do?”

“Lure me in with her body, trap me once I was hooked, then capture me and my sister. His words to her were exact. Fuck me brainless, then make me complacent so he could capture me. He wants me, my sister, and Drakos Enterprises.”

“What happened that first day?”

“Her cover was blown the second she tried to go through the metal detector at the front door. It is also a heat sensor. No human runs as hot as werewolves to. Her scent said one thing, but her heat signature said another. They took her straight to my security holding area. The second I smelled her scent I knew who she was to me. She had tried to maintain her cover, but when I walked in, her wolf peeked through and recognized mine.”

Alexei nods his head but remains silent, wanting me to continue. So, I tell him everything that happened in my office on the day Irina came into my life. When I finished, I open my water and take a long drink. My mind is racing as I think of what could be running through his head.

“Thank you,” Alexei says after a few minutes of silence.

That simple statement takes me by surprise. “What for?”

“You believed her. You could have rejected her story and her, but you believed everything she said. Why?”

“She is my mate. One that I do not deserve. I knew about The Collectors but never thought they would come for me. When she told me what happened to her and that Treadstone holds her daughter as leverage, something in me snapped into place. I know what it is like to have someone take your child for personal gain. It is one of the worst feelings a parent can have.”

I can see that piqued Alexei’s interest immediately. “You mate did something horrible to your son?”

Shame washed over me as this man, and so many others before him assumed Gia was my mate. What will he think of me when I tell him how weak-willed I was to choose her over my true mate? Only one way to find out, “Jace’s mother wasn’t my mate.”

“You cheated on your true mate?” His voice held outrage of the thought of me not respecting the mate bond when the truth was even worse made me flinch.

“Yes, I did, but there is more to it than just cheating. Gia, Jace’s mother, was my first love. I met her when I was just a kid and we grew up together. Our friendship turned into more. By the time I met my true mate, Gia and I had been lovers for years. I didn’t want to find my mate because I was selfish and a fool. There was no way that I was giving up my heart.”

Alexei’s face softened for a moment before it hardened again. “What happened to her? This Gia? Does she still warm your bed at night? Will my daughter have to fight for her rightful place as your Luna?”

“Gia is dead.”

“How?”

“I killed her.” The pain I expected to feel never came. The knowledge that I killed my best friend, lover, and childhood confidant no longer gives me that sharp pain in my chest. I am still sad that she pushed me to it, but I know I will move past it.

Alexei’s brows shoot up as I tell him I killed her. “Why?”

“For this story I am going to need something stronger than water to help suppress the rage I still feel at what she did.” Standing up, I walk to the minibar in the corner. Grabbing two tumblers and a bottle of bourbon, I walk back to my seat, fill both glasses and hand him one. Downing the drink in one gulp, I then launch into my story of naïve blind loyalty, betrayal, and death.

“So, are you using my daughter’s problem with Treadstone to redeem your past behavior? What about your true mate?”

“Our bond was broken when I died. I let her go to have a happy life with the man she loves. Parker is a good man. He was there for her when I refused to be her mate. He loved her for who she is and not the mate bond. The Moon Goddess blessed them with being mates now. As for Irina, I am not using her to redeem myself. I want to free her from Treadstone, give her back her daughter so she can finally have some peace. Whether we end up together in the end of all this is up to her. I will let her go if she chooses not to stay.”

I can tell that last part surprised him. I mean every word. I will let her go, even if her leaving kills me.

“Do you want to know why Pavel hates you?”

“Because I am alive while the man that he loves is dead.”

“How did you find out?”

“He found us in the boathouse this morning. Irina said some things to him and from the look on his face we both knew it was true. He was in love with his sister’s mate.”

“Gustav returned his feelings. They never really acted on it, only a few stolen moments here and there after Gustav and Irina were mated. Gustav respected the mate bond, and eventually he fell in love with Irina. It wasn’t the instant love match she thinks it was. For her she had always loved him, for him it was Pavel. After they were mated and the bond grew, he loved her as more, but I could see what she couldn’t. The way his eyes would wander to Pavel’s at family gatherings. The way he would look at Irina with love, but also with frustration. He was torn because he really loved them both on a level he shouldn’t have.”

“Did he tell you?”

“I confronted him about it once, about a year before Zasha was born. He was shocked I knew and promised to devote himself fully to Irina. He distanced himself from Pavel. They moved into their own house, and shortly after I noticed the change in him. He seemed lighter in spirits, like someone had lifted a weight off his shoulders. Not long after, Zasha was born. The love in his eyes for his mate and daughter was something that made me proud that he made the right choice.”

Pain lance through my heart as he told me all of this. “Does she know Gustav loved both her and Pavel?”

“Not that I am aware of, unless Pavel tells her today. There is something else she doesn’t know. The day the hunters came, Gustav was with Pavel. I saw him come out of my son’s house half naked with Pavel’s scent all over him. The reason I am telling you this is that she needs to let the illusion of Gustav go. He wasn’t what she thought him to be.”

“So, you want me to break her heart by telling her that her mate slept with her brother the same day he died?”

Irina’s orange blossom scent invades my senses as the door opens. Her face is pale and I can tell she heard what I just said. I would do anything to wipe that pained expression off her beautiful face. As much as it pains me to think of her time with him, I know she loved Gustav. This will break her heart.

“Pavel lied to me! He just told me everything, but left out the part where they crossed the line between friends and lovers. How long did you know, papa?” Her voice is cold and hard. The tears glittering on her lashes make me want to wrap her in my arms, to soothe the pain away. I look away from her instead.

“I am going to leave you two to discuss this. I have my own family drama to deal with.” Standing up, I walk to the door, brushing past her as I leave the room.

“Sebastian, we need to talk.” She calls to me as I walk away.

“Later,” is all I say.

Swiftly, I walk down the hall to find my father. There is one place I know he will be, so I make my way there. Aries growling in my head to go back to our mate and make her feel better. Shoving him down, I continue towards my parents’ rooms, ignoring my feelings and those of my wolf. With all the drama going on in my house, I need some advice from my father.

Knocking on the door to his library, I wait patiently for him to tell me to enter. Something that he instilled in me at a young age. Knock on a door, wait for permission to enter, never barge right in. I have kept to that where he is concerned. At the sound of his voice telling me to come in, I open the door and enter. My father’s library is filled with floor to ceiling bookshelves along three walls that are packed to almost bursting with books. First editions of classics, tomes of werewolf laws and lore, and copies of books by his favorite authors. An enormous fireplace takes up the remaining wall with a long sofa and recliner facing it.

My father sits in his old beat-up leather recliner that faces the fireplace, a book in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. He looks up at me with a frown, “Was wondering when you would seek me out. Your mother was just here in a rage. Arianna is back.”

“I know I made her co-Alpha, but her behavior since Irina came into my life is not befitting of that title. She is acting like a harpy.”

He sits his coffee mug on the small table next to his recliner, “Sit down. Let’s have a talk.”

I walk in and sit down on the long sofa.

“Making your sister co-Alpha was a gracious gesture, but also a foolish one.”

“Why?”

“Because you have a mate who will one day be the Luna of this pack. There can’t be two Alphas and a Luna running a pack.”

I never thought of it like that. When I decided to share the leadership with my twin, I didn’t have a mate, nor did I think I ever would have one after all my selfishness. “What should I do? She is going to want Natalia punished for hitting an Alpha. I think it was justified since she was insulting her Luna.”

“Strip her title away. Arianna is my daughter, but she needs to get a grip and not take her fears out on an innocent woman and her family. I talked to Alexei last night. I remember the news of their pack’s devastation. It is in the records at the council.”

“She will hate me if I do that.”

“Doing it now or later makes no difference, Sebastion. It is a title she can’t keep, and she knows it. Irina will outrank her when she takes her rightful place as your Luna, and that will piss her off for a while, but she will get over it.”

“Irina doesn’t want the title. She just wants to be safe and with her daughter.”

“Well, the title is still hers whether or not she wants it. Until then your mother is still acting Luna and she agrees with me.”

“Should I punish Nat for slapping Ari?”

“Yes, but let her off lightly since she isn’t an official member of our pack yet. Now go find your mother, Flint, and Justin. Do what you know needs to be done. Then have it out with your twin. She needs to know that her behavior is unacceptable and how much she hurt you but her actions. Stop holding back with her. Not sharing that stuff with Gia is what put this distance between the two of you. Though I fully understand why you stopped talking to her about Gia.”

“What should I do about Irina?”

“What do you mean?”

I tell him everything the transpired last night and then just now in my office.

“Give her space to process all of it. She will either seek you out or wait for you to come to her. If it is the latter, give it a day and then deal with it. Women are fickle creatures with matters of the heart. Growing up with Ari, I thought you might have figured that out by now.” He says the last part with a chuckle, then goes back to reading his book, effectively dismissing me.

I may be the Alpha, but he still radiates power that demands respect. As my father, I give it to him. Standing from the sofa, I leave him to his book. I mind link my mother, Flint, and Justin to meet me in the gardens. I need to inform them of what is going to happen before I request my sister’s presence. This will not be fun.

I do not want to break my sister’s heart, but I know that I have to.