Councilman Vye walked ho with his jaw tight and and his mouth clenched all the way as he walked ho. Every step of his radiated his anger.
The mont he crossed the threshold of his house, the first thing he did was call for his daughter as he shouted, "Ramona!"
He watched as she raced down the stairs, still dressed in the dress from the celebration and stood before him, trembling," Yes, Father?"
He stared at her sternly and frowned. She was already twenty-two and losing her youthful beauty. While she was the most beautiful girl in the Stormhold Pack, that Oga who had followed the Prince’s was not half as bad looking. If she had a little more at on her bones, the slave oga would actually be more beautiful... which was not good...especially if... No. He shook off the thought and turned to Ramona, gesturing, "Sit."
He nodded approvingly when she sat without question, and he sat down beside her. Trying to keep his voice as gentle as possible, he asked, "Where have you progressed with His Majesty? You accompanied him at his ho almost all of last month, did you not?"
Ramona stiffened. Her fingers clenched together in her lap and she lowered her gaze, trying to avoid her father’s stare.
Every ti she returned from the Alpha’s estate, he asked her this sa question. Every ti, she gave him the sa answer.
Because Alpha Lance... he was different. He did not claim her the way her father expected. He kissed her, yes. He touched her, yes. But nothing more. He had not consummated their bond.
Her father called it shaful, a humiliation that her fated mate seed not to desire her. She’d thought so too. She had seen it every ti, how new mates would enter mating heat.
Yet Prince Lance had spoken gently to her, and assured her that he wanted to wait. He had told her that because she was destined to belong to all three of them, the bond could only be sealed when she accepted them all together. Until then, he would not force her, even if desired her more than anything.
She knew her father wanted her to seduce them separately and force the bond as soon as possible... but her fear of Prince Kael was too strong. So, she was content with the way things were for now. For a mont, she felt guilty towards her father but then, she shook her head. No. Their arrangents were between her and her mates. Her father need not worry.
Silently, she darted a glance at her father, her lips pressed together, and gave the smallest shake of her head. She knew what his reaction would be. She knew the disappointnt that would shadow his face, and then the lecture about how it was necessary for her to establish her relationship soon or how it would weaken and destroy their pack. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, prepared for the lecture.
But, in the next mont, a loud voice made her jump. Horrified at the loud sound of sothing breaking, she opened her eyes and could barely make a sound at the sight before her.
Her father had slamd down upon the table with such force that the wood groaned and had already split beneath the blow, cracks spidering across its surface.
Ramona jumped and she could feel her body trembling.. Her father’s rage was no small thing. She rembered all the beatings she had endured over ti. The only reason she had been spared the last four years was because of her status as His Majesty’s future mate.
Lowering her head, she kept her eyes fixed on her lap, her breath caught in her throat. She dared not move, dared not speak. Shivering, she sat in silence, wondering if her father would revert to his old ways and take a stick to beat her...
Unexpectedly, he looked at her calmly and then patted her head. She flinched but kept still. "F... Father..."
Raymon Vye’s hand lingered on her head for a mont before he pulled it away and Ramona breathed a sigh of relief.
"Listen to , Ramona," he said, the man said, as he stared at his daughter intently, "Ti is not a luxury we have. Every day that passes without the bond being sealed is a day wasted, a day our enemies can use against us. You will not sit idle and pretend this can wait. You will do it-and you will do it fast."
Ramona bit down on her lip, her head still bowed, but her chest rose and fell in uneven breaths.
She wanted to protest, to say that things were not so simple, that Alpha Lance had promised to wait for her, that she was not ready for what her father demanded. But her voice refused to co.
"You hear ?" She nodded at the sudden raising of his voice and nodded as he continued, "You must seduce them. One by one, if you must. Use your beauty. Use your wit. Use whatever it takes to make them bend to you. The bond must be sealed imdiately."
Ramona’s fingers twisted together in her lap, nails digging into her skin. She kept her head bowed, but her heart pounded painfully in her chest. Seduce them? All three? She could barely stand the thought of Kael’s presence, let alone giving herself to him.
Raymon studied her silently for a long mont, his eyes narrowing.
"You will begin with Prince Kael."
Ramona’s head shot up before she could stop herself, her eyes wide in horror. "Father-"
Her voice cracked, the rest of her words died on her tongue even before they ford.
But her father caught the look on her face, and his own hardened as he gave her a deep stare and warned," Make sure you do things right this ti. And if you fail, then mate or no mate, I will make you pay. Understood?"
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