Page 35 of The Forgotten

Taking a breath, I focus on his words.

“She’s difficult,” I reply without hesitation. “I don’t know that she’ll make a good wife for us.”

I’m still trying to save the woman, despite the fact that she doesn’t seem to have any self preservation. I was headed downstairs to keep my father company while a steadysoundtrack of Gareth and Olivia fucking played around me. I will be fucking my hand to the memory later, but it’ll be my dirty little secret.

“You’ll bring her to heel,” Dad says, shrugging. “If not, I’ll happily break her neck the way I did Gareth’s mother.”

I doubt you’d be able to hear a pin drop in the room after his confession. I always wondered, but he never said either way until now.

“I adopted Gareth after I killed her, and had the paperwork backdated,” he continues, shrugging. “It was disturbingly simple, honestly. Don’t tell Gareth, please. It’ll upset him.”

“Ah, yes, it definitely will,” I murmur, my heart pounding despite my passive features.

“Don’t kill the omega before you get a child from her, though,” Dad says, his words slow and steady. He’s always spoken like this, which means that only Maddox can speak to him on the phone without getting frustrated.

Unless he specifically needs to talk to anyone else, Maddox handles it. Is that fair? No. But, he’s the older brother and that’s what he does.

“If she’s on birth control, put this in her drinks to ensure that it flushes her system,” Dad adds, pulling two baggies full of some type of drugs from his suit pocket.

“What will it do to her?” I ask, refusing to take it. “A puking bride could put a crimp in things.”

My father’s frown turns into a grin as he nods, showing that he understands my concern.

“It’ll make her have to piss a lot,” he shrugs. “The drugs interrupt the birth control medication, much like antibiotics do.”

That doesn’t seem so bad,I muse. Taking the baggies, I hide them away.

“Crush two and put them into her drink. It’ll dissolve completely and is colorless, odorless, and doesn’t have any typeof flavor,” Dad explains. “I need the baby to be yours, Aled’s, or Maddox’s, Cai. You know I love your brother as if he were my own.”

The unspoken wordsbut he’s notfeel as if he shouted it, and I nod to show that I understand.

“Dad,” Maddox says, followed by Aled. “Olivia will be joining us soon.”

“Is Gareth with her?” Dad asks, confused.

“She’s a runner,” Aled explains, shaking his head in disgust.

I know he’s not actually annoyed that Olivia would run far and fast if given the chance. No, he’s upset that Gareth is standing against him.

“Ah,” Dad murmurs, standing to hug both of them. “Up, son. This just means you get an extra hug.”

Chuckling under my breath, I relax slightly and stand to hug him. The blow to my rib takes me by surprise and I stiffen, as he covers it up with a boisterous slap on my back. Fuck, that sucked.

I guess this is his way of reminding me to keep my mouth shut. I hear him loud and clear. Coughing slightly, I back up and we all sit down. Aled gives me an odd glance as I shift in my seat to keep the pain minimal. I wish my father’s form of discipline was a surprise, but it’s not.

I simply allowed myself to be lulled into a false sense of security, which means I deserved the punch.

“I was telling your brother here that I expect a grandchild from the girl as soon as possible,” Dad says, his hand waving in my direction. “I know Maddox said that she’s older, but if she can have a heat, then she can get pregnant.”

Recalling the conversation Maddox had with Olivia, I realize that he’s right. Olivia is on blockers, which probably also includes heat blockers.

“I will want a paternity test when the baby is born,” Dad says seriously. “I need one of you to be the father, as my biological sons.”

“Of course,” Maddox says, his eyes narrowing as he processes that. We need to find a way to get Olivia to want to fuck us. Flushing out her birth control may help her work the rest of her blockers out of her blood stream so that we can trigger her heat.

I may not like what my father is mandating, but I will do it.

“Then it’s settled. A wedding in four days and a pregnancy,” Dad grunts. “I told Maddox that I don’t care if she’s drugged to get her to the altar. It’ll be too soon for her to be pregnant, so it won’t affect anything. I also want to sample your omega.”