Page 24 of Targeted By Temptation
My wolf snarled, but Riggs placed a hand on my shoulder and whispered to cool it.
“Reign came willingly.” My mate’s palm swam with sweat. “He's not a prisoner.”
“Then let him speak for himself.” Viktor's gaze moved from me to Reign. “You.” He beckoned as if my mate were a dog. “Step forward.”
“I… I… can’t.” Reign swayed, and I propped him up with my body, worried he was going to keel over.
“You can do this. We’re right behind you.”
“Be the man I know you aren’t,” Kalen snapped.
Those words must have fueled a fire in Reign because he strode forward, arms at his sides. Instinct and my wolf told me to drag him away and run for our lives, but we’d pay for it, maybewithour lives.
Viktor watched him approach while Kalen looked smug.
“Well?” Viktor asked. “Ezra Grey claims you're his fated mate, and that you weren’t forced to go with him. Is that true?”
Whatever Reign said next would determine whether we walked away or if blood would be spilled.
I trusted him, but I was helpless. We all were. Everything hinged on what Reign told them.
“Tell them the truth, boy.” My belly roiled as Reign’s father used the word boy to describe the man his son was. “Tell them how you belong to the Stravons. How this was all a misunderstanding.”
Reign clenched his fists as everyone on the other side glared at him.
“Speak,” Viktor yelled.
12
REIGN
I took one step forward, my legs trembling, my fear palpable. I needed to remind myself that my mate was only a few steps away, that he wasn’t alone, his family stood by his side. After that, I could take another step despite being absolutely terrified.
My mate is here. His family is here. They will not let anything happen to me.
And it was true. All of it. Only I could feel the tension rolling off my mate. He wasn’t so sure. He put on a brave face, and he meant every word that he said, but there was some second-guessing going on in his head. I may have only known him a short time, but I could sense it.
It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in him. He was strong and would do everything within his power to protect me. That didn’t change the fact that not only were we here with the freaking mob but also my father.
And how fucked up was it that I was standing with all these shifters, shifters who admittedly did some really bad shit, and my biggest fear was my father? But it was.
He might not have had fangs and claws. He might not have had a criminal past that everyone could point to because, let’s face it, there was no way he was clean. There was some criminal shit in his background. And frankly, he was the worst of the lot, which was saying a lot based on what I knew of the family I was meant to marry into.
What my father did have was power. Power in high places. I wasn’t clear on how high but it went to the federal level. He wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all he had if it didn’t.
My father never shared the details with me, intentionally keeping them locked away. The sick part was that he wasn’t keeping it from me to shelter me, to protect me the way a parent should. He didn’t care about that. He kept it from me with the full intent of keeping me from being able to do what I’m doing now, which, in his eyes, was rebelling.
And it was a rebellion, I supposed. But not for the reasons he thought. This wasn’t to get back at him. I’d always preferred staying away over pissing him off. No, this was me finding the person I was meant to be with and fighting for that love. This was me finally believing I deserved better, enough that I was going to do something about it.
The Alpha came closer to me, a growl ripping from more than one wolf behind me. I didn’t know if they were growling as a warning to him, or to reassure me they had my back.
Victor held his hand up, and the noise stopped. “Enough of that.”
He walked around me slowly. I felt like his prey. That feeling only grew as he closed in with each trip around me. After threefull trips around, he leaned in close, too close for my comfort, but at least a few inches away, and inhaled deeply.
When my mate did that it was hot and made me feel like I was the sexiest, most desired omega on this planet. When this Alpha did it, I wanted to puke. And I may have if he hadn’t taken a step back, returning my personal space.
“Hmm. Explain to me, please. You scent like him, but you’re not marked. He says he is your mate, but you’re not marked. He’s responding as if you belong to him, but you’re not marked.” His tone was information-seeking, not hostile. He was legitimately confused and also right.
