Page 25 of Fall of the Alpha

25

THE ALPHA’S OFFER

Paldon

Impatient to see his daughter, Paldon sat tensely at the table he’d been led to, his mate’s hand in his. She was practically quivering, her breath coming in fast, rapid pants. Not because she was scared.

She was too anxious to see their daughter to be scared.

Paldon was scared and very aware of how vulnerable they were.

He should have never allowed Bella to go into the territories. Screw Grigori and his shitty assurances that no one knew who Bella was to him. They’d protected her for so long, then it was all gone in the blink of an eye… Paldon didn’t fool himself. He knew he had his enemies, even in the zone.

But he’d thought his daughter was safe.

She should have been safe.

Paldon glanced over his shoulder. There were two doors in the room, one behind him where guards stood and one on the other side of the room that he could see from his seat. There were no guards on that door.

The guards behind him were Alphas. He was sure of it. They emanated violence. Threat. Intimidation. He’d never been more aware of his Beta status. This was why he hated the Zones. Hated being around the Alphas.

His own guards had not been allowed inside. Both he and Carina had been patted down—searched—before they’d been allowed inside. When he’d protested, he’d been told that he could leave if he wanted. Carina had immediately said she would stay and held out her hands while the female Alpha had run her hands over her briskly but thoroughly. Unable to stomach his mate doing something he could not, Paldon gritted his teeth while the male Alpha with the icy blue eyes did the same.

From the male’s looks, Paldon was fairly certain he was the son of the old Warlord. Jeffos. That maniac. In a lot of ways, the Wolf was easier to deal with. He’d lulled Paldon into a sense of complacency over the years. Which he was paying for now.

The door across from them opened, and Paldon and Carina jumped to their feet… Paldon recognized the Alpha who walked through the door, even though it had been years since they’d set eyes on each other. The Wolf was a little older, a little greyer, but still a force as he swaggered into the room. His presence hadn’t diminished at all—if anything, it had grown.

Paldon felt Carina quail beside him, leaning toward him, as her senses registered the additional threat.

Or perhaps it was the way his hard green eyes rested on her before turning his gaze to Paldon. Forcing himself to remain calm, Paldon lifted his chin as the Wolf moved to take the seat across the table from them.

Malachi. Think of him as Malachi.

Sometimes, it helped to think of him by his name rather than the moniker he’d been given when he’d defeated the old Warlord and taken over his territory. It made him feel like less of a force of nature and more like any other male… but then Paldon would look at him again, and his stomach would quake, his instincts screaming at him to run, despite the blockers…

The Wolf was the most dangerous of the Alphas, and even the blockers couldn’t completely stymy his effect.

“Sit.” The Wolf waved his hand as he sat down.

Carina sat down automatically, pulling Paldon with her. He gritted his teeth. He might have tried to stay standing a little longer, just to prove he could, if not for that.

“Paldon.” The Wolf’s green gaze flicked over to Carina again. “Carina.”

Was it Paldon’s imagination, or had the Wolf’s voice actually softened, just a touch? Perhaps he could use that, but he also had to put on a show of strength. The Wolf needed to know that just because he had Bella, he couldn’t push them around. Paldon was responsible for more than his own daughter; he was also responsible for the entirety of Zone One.

He couldn’t forget that.

Bella

Watching her parents sit down across from Malachi on the vid screen, Bella chewed on her thumbnail. A gentle hand reached over, taking her wrist and pulling her nail away from her mouth. She shot Alek a sheepish look. He slid his fingers through hers, giving her something to hold on to.

It hurt seeing her parents like this. Seeing the pain on her mother’s face. Her mother looked as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment. Throughout Bella’s life, her mother had always been the greater presence. Though Bella knew her father cared, it was always done from a careful distance. Knowing it was for her own protection had only helped the feeling of rejection so much.

Even now, she could see that her father was stoic, while her mother was on the verge of devastation.

“Can we see Bella?” her mother asked before her father could speak.

On the vid screen, it was hard to see details, but Bella was sure he clenched his jaw in annoyance. She could almost see the muscle in his jaw ticking, the way it did when he was frustrated and holding it back.

“Likely very soon,” Malachi said, making Bella’s chest clench. He’d promised she’d be able to see her parents. “Though some of that depends on you.”

Another hand came down on her shoulder, and she knew without looking that it belonged to Cora, who was standing behind where she and Alek were seated.

“It’s a negotiating tactic,” Cora murmured. “If you want to see them, he’ll make sure you get to see them.”

“He’d better,” Bella muttered under her breath, causing Alek to look at her askance. But then Alek didn’t know that the Wolf had asked her to be his queen. Bella didn’t intend to sit quietly while the Alpha male made every decision without her.

She’d agreed not to be in the room when her parents first met with him, only because she understood he was worried about her safety. But she’d insisted on watching the vid screen so she could hear what was being said. She wondered…

“She is watching.” Malachi pointed behind him at where the camera was located, answering her unspoken question of whether or not he would tell them that she could see them. “And she can hear everything that’s said here.”

Her father stiffened. If she hadn’t been watching him so closely, she might not have noticed it.

Bella hated doubting her father, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he would prefer she wasn’t listening. That way, he could say whatever he wanted. Knowing that she could hear him put an extra burden on him.

But it was only fair.

They’d be talking about her, after all.

“Is she okay?” her mother asked at the same time her father spoke.

“What is it you want?” Frowning, her father glanced over at her mother, reaching out to put his hand atop hers as though to tell her to quiet. Her mother didn’t look back at him; she was staring too hard at Malachi.

“Bella is unharmed,” Malachi said, answering her mother first—and she didn’t think she was imagining her father’s annoyance at the order. She supposed it was the truth. Though, on that first day in his territory, she might have argued the point with him. “And I want a number of things. A revised treaty. Alphas and Omegas allowed into Zone One, instead of one-way traffic. An ambassador in Zone One. Grigori’s head on a plate.”

Next to Bella, Alek jerked in his seat the same way her father did. Now, it was her turn to squeeze his hand. He pressed his lips together, not looking at her. Not looking at Cora when she reached over to put a comforting hand on his shoulder as well.

The more they’d learned about Grigori, the more Bella could understand why Malachi would ask for such a thing… but the male was still Alek’s father. She couldn’t imagine how he was feeling right now.

“Grigori’s head, you can have,” her father said with a snort. “I should have never listened to him in the first place. He’s brought me nothing but trouble since he came to Zone One.”

“I think you mean since you traded his information for a life in Zone One,” Malachi replied, his gravelly voice sending a shiver down her spine. “You took what he offered willingly, then you armed him in hopes he would assassinate me. Instead, he killed the Omega who would have been my mate. Do not deny it.”

“I do not.” Her father shrugged. “It was not personal. And trust me, I was very disappointed he missed you.”

Bella sucked in a breath. Why was her father antagonizing Malachi? That was practically a threat! She also wondered what Malachi meant by the Omega who would have been her mate, though she wasn’t surprised to hear that there had been one. He was an older Alpha, after all. It would have been more surprising if he’d never had an Omega he wanted to mate.

Rather than waiting for Malachi to answer, her father continued.

“And I suppose you’ll want an ambassador from Zone One here as well? A hostage for good behavior?” The sarcasm threaded through his voice made it clear what he thought about that.

“I won’t need one. We’ll seal this treaty with a mating. Your daughter to me.”