“You can’t keep me in here!” I flared at him. “And my mom will never let you just give me away to some random Were!”
“Your mother has no say in this matter,” Marcus said grimly. “I am the Alpha of this household and I judge matters of punishment and retribution here.”
“So you’re going to kill your own son for something that isn’t his fault?” I demanded.
My stepfather closed his eyes briefly, as though what I was saying to him had finally struck home. But when he opened them again, their pale gold depths were as cold as ice.
“He must die for what he did,” he said in a voice with no inflection at all. “He has broken the Unbreakable Laws of our people. His actions are monstrous and must be punished.”
“No, you’re the monster.” I pointed at him with a shaking finger. “What you’re doing now might fulfill the Were Law, but it’s cruel and unnecessary and evil!”
Marcus only stared at me.
“Tomorrow night,” he said. “Jacob will be executed at the same time you are being brought up as a prize at the pack grounds.”
Then he slammed the door behind him and I heard a click as it locked.
THIRTY-SEVEN
There was no getting away.
Two guards were stationed outside my door and another was pacing below my window, so I couldn’t use the trellis either. Someone had swiped my phone, too, probably in the scuffle of grabbing Jake, so it was impossible to call or text for help.
I tried sending a message on my laptop, but someone-doubtless Marcus—had changed the WiFi password. I was absolutely stuck—a prisoner in my room—and there was no getting out.
When I finally accepted that, I lay on my bed and cried. Mr. Binkers, who had been hiding under the bed during all the shouting and screaming, came out and sat on my pillow.
I know some people say dogs are the only animals that care if you’re upset, and cats don’t give a damn, but that wasn’t true of Mr. Binkers. He curled his soft body around my head and purred, his rusty purr doing his best to comfort me.
I appreciated his effort, but nothing could make me feel better now. I was devastated at the idea of losing Jake—my one and only Fated Mate—the man I loved, I now realized. He was going to be executed at the same time I was being given away to some strange man I didn’t even know! I could barely wrap my head around either fate, though I thought I would rather be executed with him than be forced to go with a stranger.
I was lying there, all cried out and feeling hopeless, when there was a soft tapping at my door and my mom came in.
“Oh, sweetheart!” she exclaimed, giving me a distressed look. “Are you all right?”
“Am I all right?” I croaked incredulously. My throat was hoarse from crying so much. I swiped at my red and swollen eyes as I looked up at her. “No, Mom, I am not all right,” I told her. “Because your husband is about to kill the man I love and give me away to some stranger so I can have his babies and never leave his house the rest of my life!”
“Oh, sweety, you don’t mean that!” she said anxiously. “You couldn’t love that horrible Jacob—not after what he did to you!”
“We were being held at gunpoint!” I shouted at her—or tried—my voice broke in the middle and the last word came out in a hoarse whisper. I cleared my throat and tried again. “It wasn’t Jake’s fault—none of it!” I told her. “He tried to protect me—he was the only one who kept me sane while we were locked in that attic together!”
My mom shook her head.
“No. No, I can’t believe that,” she protested. “Marcus told me—”
“Marcus is being completely unreasonable!” I snapped. “He keeps going on and on about the ‘Unbreakable Laws’ and how we must be punished for our crimes. Mom, he’s going to kill his own son if you don’t stop him!”
“I can’t stop him, Ani! He’s the Alpha—I’m only the Omega!” she protested, wringing her hands. “Oh, I was afraid something like this was going to happen! That’s why I asked Marcus to do the Adoption ceremony—to keep Jacob from hurting you!”
“Wait a minute—you’re the one who made him do that damn ceremony?” I demanded.
I didn’t want to believe it but then I remembered Jake saying something about that as well, back when I still thought he and everyone else in the family was crazy for thinking they were “Royal Weres.”
“You did do it, didn’t you?” I said, looking at my mother. “You made it so Jake and I would never be able to get together!”
“I didn’t trust him!” she cried, squeezing her hands together so tightly the knuckles went white. “I thought he would hurt you! And I didn’t want you to have to go through a Heat Cycle like I had. When I went through my first one, after meeting Marcus, it was terrible. I didn’t want that for you, sweetheart! So…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “So I told Marcus I wouldn’t marry him unless he made it impossible for you and Jake to ever, er…be together.”