“So, any questions?” the don asked casually as he lounged at the long dining table like he was right at home in Xerxes’s mansion.
There was an awkward silence.
No one said anything.
A few minutes earlier, we’d all been feasting at the table and laughing.
I momentarily forgot my annoyance with Xerxes as Lucinda and Jess peppered me with questions about my blood powers.
Jax was explaining to Jala how we’d defeated the fae queen, and Ascher was asking Jinx questions about her observational skills.
The seven of us all sat at one end of the table, talking and catching up.
The other side, aka the drama-queen side, was not doing well.
Xerxes stewed in silence with a stormy expression darkening his face.
I was doing my best to ignore the moody omega and the complex dynamic between us that I couldn’t even begin to process.
Next to him, Aran had a sweatshirt wrapped around her head because “if she heard one more story about what happened with her mother, she was going to puke and stab someone.” She kept itching aggressively at her back, and I wondered if she had a bug bite.
Cobra scowled next to her with a carving knife clenched in his hands. Apparently, he was still pissed that we’d followed him into the initiation room.
Everyone ignored the three of them.
The lunch had been going great—at least on our side of the table—until five seconds ago, when the front door had slammed shut and the don had stepped into the opulent dining room.
Surprisingly, he hadn’t immediately murdered everyone.
His massive six-foot-five frame was clothed in an expensive black suit, and it was impossible to miss the outlines of the guns tucked into his waistband. Skull rings decorated his fingers and flashed as he sucked in the smoke of his cigarette.
Wrapped around the base of his throat, his white snake was much smaller, a moving necklace that hissed and slithered in a circle.
The “Loyalty” tattoo across his throat rippled as he took a long drag from his cigarette.
He casually pulled out a seat at the head of the table and leaned back.
Walter sprinted in after, the don gave him a single look, and the butler snapped his mouth closed.
“No questions?” the don repeated, and his casual inquiry shook everyone out of their stupor.
Cobra pointed a carving knife at his father. “What are you doing here?”
Everyone waited.
The don chuckled, and his shoulders relaxed as he waved his cigarette around. “I just wanted to congratulate you all. I’m pleased that I didn’t have to dispose of everyone like I had planned. It is rare to have one alpha pass the first initiation test, let alone four and an omega. I’m impressed.”
No one smiled.
The don smirked and raised his eyebrows but said nothing else, just lounged back in his chair like a king addressing his subjects.
Which he was.
After five minutes of awkward silence, I asked, “Why are you really here?”
Patience was never my strong suit.
The don turned and speared me with his gaze.
Sweat broke out across my body.
His youthful features made him look like Cobra’s older brother, but his emerald eyes were his tell; they were perpetually more snake than man, like his beast was overtaking him with age.
I swallowed thickly and tried to give off “I’m not prey” vibes.
Any good predator would sense fear pheromones, and the man before me was on the top of the food chain.
Finally, the don stopped filleting me with his gaze and looked around the room. He took a moment to stare at each one of us, including the teenage girls.
Jinx was the only one that met his gaze.
The don even smiled at Noodle, who was tucked under her arm and hanging upside down dramatically.
I shifted closer to Lucinda and grabbed her hand under the table. She squeezed it back.
She looked over at me, mouth open slightly like she wanted to whisper something, but she closed her mouth and said nothing.
We all waited.
After what felt like an eternity, but was probably ten awkward minutes, the don’s deep and slightly lisping voice was startlingly loud.
“I’m here for three reasons.”
He blew out a perfect ring of cigarette smoke. It transformed into a serpent in midair and circled above the table.
Creepy.
“First, I wanted to discuss the initiation. The first trial was the hardest to pass. Bravo. The second trial will be the most painful and the third the most revealing. You will begin the second trial tomorrow. It’s a long process, and everything will be explained at the gym. A car will arrive at dawn to pick you up. This trial I think you will enjoy.”
He smiled, flashing elongated canines.
“If you don’t, then you won’t survive in this realm. The third test must be completed by the next equinox, three weeks from now.”
He took another long drag of his cigarette.
“Also, since you’re all ignorant of recent events, rare half-breed females are rumored to be appearing in the different realms. Any woman suspected of being a mix of two species must be immediately brought to me. They are all on the city’s wanted list. Although, I suspect this is more rumor than truth. Fear mongers love to whisper about the return of the female half-breeds and the end of the realms.”
The stillness at the table was deafening.
Of fucking course.
If the patriarchy could just not for literally one day, I would appreciate it.
The don stared at me.
Wait, he’d said something about fear and the end of the realms. Am I a messiah of the apocalypse?
I’d never even heard of female half-breeds existing.
Just after I’d discovered I was one, it only made logical sense that I’d be a plague bringer of doom that was wanted.
It spoke to the general trajectory of my life.
Frankly, I was only mildly surprised by my new status as a wanted pariah.
When I’d infected an overpowered evil fae queen with my blood and made her obey me, I’d had a hunch that it wasn’t a good thing.
But a razor blade bit my gut as I realized this definitely just wasn’t my problem.
My sister’s red eyes, Aran’s black eyes, Jinx’s screech, Jala’s and Jess’s unnatural bright colorings.
I calmly gnawed on my fingernails and considered the merits of flipping the table, throwing the girls behind me, enslaving the don with my blood, and fleeing to a different realm.
The don turned toward Cobra and smiled casually, like he had no idea of the turmoil his words had caused at the table.
“Also, as alphas, you must all join packs if you are to live in this city. Even independent alphas form packs at eighteen to keep them from going feral. There will be no exceptions.”
He snarled “independent” like he was talking about the lowest forms of life.
Cobra scowled at the don. It wasn’t hard to imagine him as feral.
“Most alphas have years to choose their packs,” Xerxes said softly, his jaw clenched tightly.
I kept forgetting he’d grown up in this foreign world.
The don’s calm voice changed into a lisping rasp. “Most alphassss grow up in the realm and know the rulessss. They don’t jusssst arrive after yearssss of absence.”
Xerxes glared back and said nothing, anger radiating off him in a dark wave.
His anger from earlier was now boiling over, and his face contorted with malice. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sold me out as a half-breed.
Cobra reacted to his father’s threatening demeanor with his own warning snarl.
Yep, 100 percent feral.
I opened my mouth to bring up the pesky little fact that we were kidnapped, but decided against getting into a fight over semantics with the leader of the Mafia.
Abruptly, the don’s demeanor grew more relaxed.
He arched a dark eyebrow and chuckled like he found his son’s menacing scowl cute. “I have scheduled meetings with suitable alpha packs for all of you. You will each begin meeting with the different—”
Cobra held up his hand and cut off his father. “No. We have a pack. I will bond with the alphas and omega at this table.”
Jaws dropped.
Xerxes turned and stared at Cobra like he’d never seen him before.
Jax sighed heavily and rubbed his hands across his eyes like he wasn’t surprised.
I’d bet all my money they’d discussed it last night, and Jax had advised Cobra to ask us like a civilized person.
Instead, Cobra just squinted at all of us like he was daring someone to disagree.
No one said anything.
Sweat dripped down my pits and streaked uncomfortably across my rib cage.
They legit couldn’t bond with me. Not only was I apparently a wanted half-breed, but also, what?
This wasn’t good.
I rubbed my clammy palms across my leggings.
Cobra wasn’t dumb, and he’d definitely realized the situation. I tried to make eye contact with him and shake my head, but he purposely didn’t look my way.
This was too much, too fast.
Not only was my entire existence apparently frowned upon (honestly, no one was surprised), but a pack seemed like a big deal.
My intuition told me it wasn’t a platonic relationship.
Moon goddess, I was still a virgin.
Never forget the fact that they were overbearing assholes who called me a possession and made me want to tear out my hair half the time.
How did one politely blurt out that they didn’t want to bond without offending people?
At the same time, the thought of bonding with strangers made my skin crawl. I couldn’t imagine not spending my days with them, no matter how difficult some of the days were.
But still, bonds were for an immortal’s life; that much I knew for sure.
“Good, then it’s settled. We’ll form the bond now. Cut your palm and hold it up to the man next to you. Pass the knife around. You all must mix blood,” the don ordered.
Shockingly, Cobra obeyed and held his bloody palm up to Xerxes, who sat beside him.
We seriously were going to do this right now?
Didn’t anyone want five minutes to think it over? Make a pros-and-cons list, cry dramatically into their pillow, attempt to drown themselves in the bathtub, fight the don to the death?
There were still options.
Xerxes stared at Cobra for a long moment, then turned his head to me.
Suddenly, he took the butcher knife, slashed his palm, and slapped it against Cobra’s open cut.
I groaned.
This was what happened when men refused to deal with their emotions.
I knew I should have purchased those “healing your mind and body through writing” journals back in the fae realm.
A loud crack echoed, and Xerxes’s and Cobra’s heads fell back, eyes wide open like they were possessed.
Black rings glowed around both men’s pupils.
For a split second, my mind tricked me, and I saw galaxies in the glowing dark circles. They reminded me of something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
As soon as it started, it ended, and they both sat up, gasping.
The don’s eyes flickered to snake eyes, and he leaned forward with a furrowed brow as he stared at his son. “Interesting. Very interesting,” he muttered.
My gut twisted. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that hadn’t been a normal bonding.
However, the don immediately ordered, “Good, now go around the table.”
Whatever had surprised him made him eager to finish it quickly.
I didn’t like it.
But before I could gain the courage to say anything, Xerxes bonded with Ascher. As their eyes burst with light and shadows, I realized what had eluded me the first time.
The bond looked like a lunar eclipse.
Then the don ordered Ascher to bond with Jax. Too quickly, the process repeated itself.
The men were all too happy to slice open their palms, pupils glowing with the antithesis of sunlight.
Finally, Jax turned toward me.
He passed the knife forward, but the don lunged across the table and took it before it touched my hand.
I still hadn’t decided if I was about to bond or stab someone with the knife, because I was more of a split-second decision type of girl.
The don’s relaxed attitude was gone, and the small snake around his neck grew until it was thicker than my torso.
It turned and hissed at me.
Rearing back with my palms up, I shuddered as the snake stared at me.
“What the fuck!” Cobra hiss-screamed. Jax roared, and Ascher let out a creepy bleat. Xerxes pulled out his twin knives, and Aran’s eyes turned midnight black beside me.
What the hell was Aran?
“Stand down, or I will kill one of the girls.”
Out of seemingly thin air, the don produced a glowing gun and pointed it directly at Jess’s head.
Cobra spat onto the table. “What the fuck is the meaning of this? We did what you wanted, Father.” He said “father,” like it was a filthy curse word.
Jess gnawed on her lower lip nervously, but for the most part, seemed unconcerned about the massive weapon pointed at her forehead.
Which made sense, since she’d grown up with Jinx.
The don rolled his eyes like he was bored.
“I told you that you needed an alpha pack, and you chose the men at this table. If you had asked, I would have explained that I can’t let you bond with a female alpha. You need to produce an heir, and only female omegas can breed. Most don’t like the competition of another woman in a pack. Male omegas are no threat.” He gestured toward Xerxes.
His words were a sucker punch to the gut.
At the same time, my shoulders slumped forward with relief. I couldn’t put a target on their heads by bonding with them; the whole half-breed thing was still a heavy, unspoken issue.
Also, wanted list aside, I wasn’t 100 percent sure that I wanted to bond my life to overbearing men.
Forever was a long time when you were an immortal alpha.
“I only joined this pack because of her,” Xerxes snarled and threw his plate against the wall.
Ascher’s horns lengthened on his head. “Same.”
A low grumble sounded from Jax’s throat. “We are not forming a pack without Sadie. It’s not up for debate.”
The don smiled. “You already did.”
His large white snake showed off its wicked fangs.
“If you bond with Sadie, I will put a bounty on her head. Serpentine City is not a nice place. She’ll be slaughtered within the hour. Also, the needles Spike stabbed into your necks contained enchanted trackers. You physically can’t leave the city limits without my permission. If you try, you’ll explode. From the inside.”
If I’d been standing, my knees would have given out.
Upsetting.
Also, who was going to tell him that there was already a bounty on my head because I was a half-breed?
Not me.
The don continued casually, “Also, if you bond with her, the enchantment will notify me, and I will immediately put a hit out on her.”
The men deflated at once, shoulders slumping.
I turned to him. “What is your problem with me?”
The don smirked. “It’s not personal, just alpha politics. The don’s son needs to produce the city’s next heir with an omega female. You get in the way of that. But I’m still very excited to have your skills in my Mafia.”
Did he know about my blood skills? Or was he referencing my tiger form?
The don, with the mammoth snake still around his neck, got up and walked away. He casually said, “Moon Goddess, bless us all,” without a backward glance.
His absence didn’t relieve the tension in the room.
The harm was already done.
After thirty seconds of the most uncomfortable silence of my life, I pursed my lips and asked the obvious question. “So we all agree to not sell out a certain half-breed to a certain snake someone, right?”
You could never be too sure these days.
Jax growled loudly, Cobra hissed, Ascher muttered an expletive, and Xerxes just kept glaring at me.
Ascher’s amber eyes glowed like they were on fire. “How the fuck could you even ask that?” He stalked away from the table.
The other three men shoved in their chairs and followed him.
The energy rolling off them was that of death and destruction.
Aran threw a grape at me and distracted me from staring after the men’s departing figures like a pathetic hussy.
Four teenage girls sat at the table in various states of shock.
“What?” I asked Aran.
“No one is going to sell you out to the don. Don’t worry.” She waved a piece of chicken around to emphasize her point.
Walter stood behind her and pointedly looked at the ground like he wasn’t listening.
My shoulders slumped forward, and I banged my head against the table.
The men were now in a pack without me? Check.
I couldn’t join said pack without putting a target on all of us? Check.
Half-breed females were on Serpentine City’s most-wanted list? Check.
Aran chuckled, and it distracted me from my depressed thoughts. She grumbled, “But if you snore, I might just turn you over.”
“Excuse me?” I gasped at my best friend.
She rolled her eyes as she itched at her back. “Oh my sun god, Sadie, lighten up. It’s like a funeral around here. I’m joking.”
I shoved a bread roll in my mouth and said in a muffled voice, “So do you want to talk about why your eyes keep glowing creepily black? Doesn’t seem very fae of you.”
My mouth stilled as I swallowed thickly and thought about it. “Wait, how did you actually remove your mother’s heart? I never asked.”
Aran flung her chair back. “We are not talking about it.”
She stomped away from the table with her head held high and shoulders back like a prissy princess.
Which I guessed she was.
I slumped forward and slammed my forehead against the table again for good measure.
Maybe I could kill myself through blunt force trauma?
Lucinda patted my back softly.
Jinx grimaced and stroked her ferret. “You all need professional mental health help.”
I rolled my eyes. “Obviously.”
