Page 1 of Mated to the Kingpin

Chapter 1

Liam

You need to calm down.”

I can’t stop the bark of bitter laughter that escapes me as I turn to face my father. My father who’d been the boss and alpha of the O’Reilly family since I was a pup. The man who I’ve always looked up to, wanted to be just like him so I could run the family like him one day. A day that shouldn’t be for decades.

“How am I supposed to calm down when the fucker who put you in that chair is already setting up his challenge to take over the family?” I demand. Fuck, I want to put my fist through something. Preferably Ronan’s face. Multiple times.

“Liam.”

My father, John O’Reilly, didn’t say anything until I met his steel blue eyes. Despite his physical injuries, his mind has lost none of the sharp edges or lessened in fortitude. Gods know how I’d handle breaking my spine and losing the ability to shift into my werewolf form. I know he’s struggled with his recovery. I’ve caught him staring out the window, lost somewhere in his head, or glaring at his legs like he could make them work again by sheer force of will.

If anyone could will paralyzation away, it would be my father. He had brought the O’Reilly family name back from nearobscurity here in Savannah. He put the Irish back on the map of power players. He fought hard and dirty until the Italians and Russians respected the Irish once again.

“We don’t know for sure that Ronan had a hand in the attack,” he tells me. “I know you want someone to be punished. Do you think I don’t? But right now, the most important thing for this family is for you to step up and lead. You think your cousin had something to do with this?” He gestures to his long legs. “Then you cannot let him win by taking your rightful place as leader in the family business.”

I glare at my old man. Everyone’s always told me I’m the spitting image of him. He has more than two decades on me at 57, but no one would mistake him for being weak. I share his large frame; when he could stand, we both stood close to 6’3”. I’ve got his hard jaw, though I’m clean shaven where he’s always had a beard. He’s always been larger than life and to see him brought low, to be unable to even shift into his werewolf form? It’s fucking heartbreaking.

“I’ll kill the motherfucker who did this to you, Da.” My voice is thick but I’m not ashamed. I’m my parents’ only child, not for lack of trying. There’s no one else who can get justice for him. No one else to trust the family business to.

“Son.” There’s a sharp reprimand in the single word that has me straightening. This isn’t just my father speaking to me. This is the family boss, my boss.

I let out a rough breath, settling myself and controlling my anger like he’d trained me all those years ago. We may be werewolves but we are not beasts. Our control separates us from animals, who operate on nothing more than instinct.

When he’s satisfied, he leans back in his wheelchair as if it were the chair behind his desk in his downtown office. Even now, injured, my father exudes authority.

“Where is your loyalty?”

“To the O’Reilly family and you, Alpha” The words are familiar, spoken by years of habit.

“Have you given your blood oath under the full moon to obey me as your alpha?”

“I have, Alpha.”

“Then, as your alpha, I’m ordering you to drop the investigation into my attack and focus on securing the future of the O’Reilly family and our business. You will take up the mantle I’ve been training you for. You will not allow this family to fall into the hands of Ronan Lynch, is that understood?”

This time, I’m able to keep any bitterness out of my voice. “Yes, alpha.”

Seeming to be satisfied, he nods once before glancing towards the door in silent dismissal. I turn on my heel, already considering how those in the pack will handle the news of me stepping into the role of alpha. My father was a good alpha, but there are people who’d rather see our endeavors controlled by the Lynches. Ruthless werewolves who have yet to find a line they would not cross.

“Liam.”

I halt just before the doorway, shifting my head towards the side enough to let him know I’m listening.

“You know that being alpha means you must marry, and soon. If you don’t have a wife, you won’t be accepted. You must show that you will carry on the O’Reilly legacy.”

My nostrils flare in distaste at the reminder. I’ve given everything to this family and now I’ll be giving up my bachelorhood.

“Understood,” I answer and leave his office before he decides to make more demands on me.

As I head down the stairs, I keep an ear out for my mother. She’ll know just as well as my father that I need to marry to be Alpha. She’ll have a list of appropriate women for me;women who know of our world; not just the darker side of our businesses but the fact that us males can all shift into a creature of nightmares on command. If I’m lucky, I can escape the estate before she catches me.

I don’t want any of them. No matter how gorgeous or wealthy they are. There’s only ever been one woman for me and I gave her up a decade ago for good reason. If I marry someone on her list, then it’ll be a loveless one. I’d do my duty, welp children with her, and then be satisfied with my fist for the rest of my life. I wasn’t raised to forsake any vow I make.

I make it to the white marble floored foyer, steps away from the front door. Then my mother is beside me, a hand on my arm. Her touch may be gentle, but it stops me as if she’s yanked me from the edge of a cliff.

I bite back the growl threatening, knowing that just because I’m almost 33 doesn’t mean Ma won’t tan my hide for disrespecting her. I was taller than her by the time I was twelve and even now, she only comes up to my chest. Her hair is a pale strawberry blonde, the color of dawn just before it disappears into the blue of the day, without a hint of silver yet. Her hazel eyes are as sharp as my father’s, though hers are surrounded by wrinkles that crinkle when she laughs. She once told me they’re the signs of a life well loved.

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