MATED TO FATHER, FAT Chapter 72: DOUBLE DOWN

Chapter 72: DOUBLE DOWN

RYKER

Amaris was testing my patience.

She had no idea who she was dealing with, no understanding that when I told her to say no I meant just that, a simple refusal, not this brilliant addition about Alpha Corvin having to impregnate her himself through traditional methods.

Now my father was probably too dumbfounded to speak.

I pressed my ear against the bathroom door trying to hear through the thick wood, my breath held while I waited for whatever reaction was about to happen. The silence stretched out long enough that I started wondering if they had both just walked away without saying anything.

Then Alpha Corvin finally spoke and his voice sounded hoarse, shaky in a way I had never heard before.

My father was always brooding and imposing, always controlled even when he was furious. But right now he sounded genuinely thrown off balance.

"What has gotten into you woman?" Corvin demanded. "First it was the stunt you pulled proposing to be used as bait, now this. Are you actually insane or do you have a death wish?"

I could picture Amaris standing there contemplating her next move, deciding whether to retreat and apologize or double down on this insane gamble she just made.

"I said what I said," Amaris responded and I could hear the tremor in her voice even through the door. "If you want an heir you will have to do it yourself. I am not some lab rat."

Holy shit, she was doubling down. This girl has more balls than half of the Sentinels in this pack.

"Think very carefully before you speak to me," Corvin’s voice had gone cold now, that dangerous calm that usually preceded violence. "I am the Alpha here and I can easily return you back to your pack."

My chest tightened because that was the threat I knew was coming, the nuclear option my father always kept in reserve when people defied him.

"Return me then," Amaris shot back. "I am not afraid to go back."

The words landed like grenades and I had to physically stop myself from bursting out of the bathroom to drag her away from this conversation before she completely destroyed herself. She is a complete nightmare. I was beginning to see the that she had some suicidal tendencies.

"You would rather go back to a pack that treats you like a slave than stay here?" Corvin sounded genuinely confused now.

The pause that followed was excruciating. I hated that I could not see their expressions, could not read body language or gauge whether Amaris was terrified or determined or already regretting everything.

"Yes," she finally answered. "Evil is evil. Here or there, there is no difference."

I heard my father exhale and I knew exactly what was coming next, knew the sound of him giving up on trying to reason with someone.

I bowed my head against the door and waited for the inevitable.

"So be it then," Corvin stated flatly. "Since you want to go back, I will have them escort you by sunset. Get your things ready."

No.

The word screamed through my head but I could not say it out loud, else I would reveal I was hiding in the bathroom listening to this entire disaster unfold.

Amaris did not respond immediately and I wondered what was going through her mind, whether she was experiencing regret or relief or terror.

"Good," she finally managed. "I would rather go back than stay here."

What kind of woman was this?

What kind of person chose to return to abuse and degradation rather than accept the alternative I had given her?

Alpha Corvin did not say anything else, just walked away based on the sound of his footsteps fading down the hallway.

Then I heard Amaris’s smaller footsteps practically running in the opposite direction.

I hesitated, making sure my father was truly gone before cracking the door open and peering out. The hallway was empty so I slipped out and immediately started after Amaris, my longer stride eating up the distance she had put between us.

She was already at her door when I caught up, already pushing it open and stepping inside.

I shoved my hand against the wood before she could slam it shut, the impact reverberating up my arm.

She whirled around to face me and her eyes widened when she saw me forcing my way into her room.

I pushed inside and slammed the door behind me with enough force that the frame rattled.

"Leave my room," she snapped immediately. "I don’t want to talk to you."

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, advancing on her.

She backed away toward the bed. "I am following your advice."

"I told you to say no," I growled. "Not tell him he has to fuck you."

She stopped retreating and glared at me. "Me saying no is the same as saying he has to—" she made air quotes with her fingers, "—fuck me."

"No it is not the same," I countered.

Her expression shifted into aggravated fury. "You are as crazy and delusional as your father. Please leave my room."

I walked toward her and she tried to back away further but she was already at the bed with nowhere left to go. I reached out and even when she tried to dodge around me I caught her wrist and pulled her against my chest.

"You are going to tell him you are sorry," I stated.

She was pressed against me, her hands trapped between our bodies, her face turned up to glare at me. She was not struggling as much as she should have been, was not fighting to get away with the same energy she had used when I first grabbed her.

"Why the hell would I apologize to him when I was just following your brilliant advice?" she challenged me.

I grabbed her chin with my free hand and tilted her face up, lowering my head until our lips were barely touching, just the whisper of contact that made her breath catch.

"We are just getting started," I whispered against her mouth. "Why the hell would I want to let you go back to the Stormshadow pack?"

Her eyes searched mine. "Is everything just a game to you?"

I moved my mouth to the corner of hers, barely a kiss. "Tell me you didn’t enjoy playing last night with me."

She tried to pull away but I held her firm. "I didn’t. Especially when you left me just because you found out your father would never know you had fucked me."

The accusation hit its mark because she was right, because I had walked out like a coward the second my revenge became pointless. I had my reasons but right now, I needed her here and not there.

"Well," I murmured, trailing my lips along her jaw, "here I am. Right back with you."