Page 6

Mind your place.

Mother waits until the men are occupied, then pinches me hard enough to bruise. “Must you act like a moron? It’s standard to have a failsafe for a contract with so much at risk. Your pack is just trying to protect themselves.”

“From what?” My throat burns from defying my alpha’s bark for those two measly words.

“From you.” She brushes my hair back, frowning at the curls she’s never liked. Too wild. Too uncontrollable. “You’re so young, Daphne. They don’t want you running off without a way to get their money back.”

That’s the problem. I have no clue what they’re talking about. “What money?”

“The series of their devices using exclusive Barnesworth software will bring in revenue for everyone, but the Parkers needed a moresecurereason to come to the table. So, we gave them one.”

Me.

“The payment is for our software, but also for you.”

The bridewealth.

My lips go numb. “How much?”

Speaking doesn’t hurt as much this time, and I wonder if it’s intentional on Jacob’s part or if an alpha bark has time limits. I need to do some reading later.

Mother brushes me off like she always does. “It doesn’t matter.”

It does if I’m expected to pay it back if I ever want to leave. “How. Much?”

“Fifty million.”

My stomach rolls, and it takes everything in me not to puke.

I never curse. Never speak an un-ladylike word, butwhat the actual fuck?!

Even with a sizeable inheritance from my grandparents, there’s no way I’ll ever be able to pay that off. Money I didn’t know about becomes an anchor around my throat.

Mother wraps a gentle arm around my shoulder. Like a flower desperate for sun, I sink into her synthetically perfumed warmth, loving the feel of her when it’s something I’ve never had. “Don’t fret. This is normal for arrangements like this. Besides, if you keep your alphas happy, there won’t be any problems. Right?”

“Right.” Lucky for me, they’ve outlined exactly how I’m supposed to do that.

The bitterness feels wrong and the unsettled tension in my gut begs me to walk away, but I can’t. I won’t leave the men I love because a contract is a little off-putting. Not after waiting so long to have them. Besides, who says we’re going to follow it to the letter? Maybe we’ll get home and they’ll rip it up, telling me it was all a ploy to make me theirs.

“What do they get from all this?” I ask. The words come easy, thank god.

“Other than the money? Your alphas walk away with ParkerTech, though Charles will still run the day-to-day operations while they oversee him.”

Ah. That makes so much sense. With control of the company, Jacob can exact whatever revenge he wants against his father. He probably wasn’t even part of the contract negotiations, which means my idea of them ripping it to shreds is more realistic than I thought.

I should’ve trusted them.

I owe Jacob an apology later.

The panic recedes. My alphas have a plan. They want me. Have even when we weren’t sure I’d ever present. The money was just a means to get what they wanted: a way to screw over their dad and me.

Everything’s fine.

“Good girl,” Mother murmurs when my cheeks are dry, back straight. “Remind them who they waited for.”

Merger clarified, Taylorson shuffles the pages. “Lastly, any businesses created and maintained by any party throughout the duration of the bonding will remain property of the parties involved. This will allow Pack Parker to keep their finances separate and allow Miss Barnes to maintain her own financial stability in the case of?—”

“We get it. Everyone keeps their shit. Can we finish? We’re going to be late.”