40

                                    

                                          
Word Count: 1841
~Hunter
 
"Well then, shall we get to it then?"
 
I keep my shoulders back and my head high as I survey the long table father has used for negotiations in the past. Before I ran away, I would be told to keep my head bowed and my stature meek to impress dignitaries.
 
Now, not even father can give me instructions I'll adhere to.
 
I've come to realise he won't beat me because he is anticipating a very public wedding. Everyone knows Vinn's character, but they won't want to be seeing a beaten woman at such a public event.
 
"Yes. I would like to have my mate home with me by this evening," Kaan muses, adjusting the stack of papers in front of him.
 
Him and Tay sit on one side of the table, my father and I on the other. My brother and Vinn haven't been invited to join this meeting. Father clearly anticipates this being an ugly affair.
 
"I'm afraid I cannot allow Livia to go with you," father says smoothly, smirking down at me, but I give him no reaction.
 
Kaan doesn't even flinch. "Why not?"
 
"She was originally promised to Vinn, and I must fulfil that agreement or be in breach of it. If I am, then he can take a great deal from me," he supplies.
 
"Substitute it with your other daughter. She seems more than willing."
 
"Emma is the youngest and therefore the least valuable." He rests his ageing hands on the table, one finger tapping against the polished surface. "I promised Livia to him, and I will see this agreement through"
 
I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
 
Emma would be perfectly suited to Vinn and he knows it. He wants to do this to ruin my life, because seeing me suffer is like a game to him.
 
"You are breaking a great deal of laws stealing my wife. Plus, Vinn and her union wouldn't be binding, even if they did go through with it," Kaan reminds him coldly, the tension in his body becoming more evident with every word passed.
 
"Then you shall annul your marriage." Father shrugs like it's obvious. "I mean, who will  enforce these laws you speak of?"
 
"Me."
 
I shudder. Kaan's voice booms through the room with authority I haven't heard come from him before. His warning is clear: he will start a war if it is necessary to take down the plague that is my father, and he will not apologise for it.
 
"You? You're practically a boy. You have no idea what the cost of war is," father says through a gruff laugh. "And over a girl, no less."
 
"My wife. My mate," Kaan corrects. "Wars have started over far worse."
 
Father rubs his jaw, weighing up his options. Frustration has quickly chased his amusement away, and now, he's realising he's not going to be able to talk his way out of this so easily.
 
"Fine, since you're so unwilling to be reasonable, then I will be forced to play my hand."
 
Kaan doesn't even blink. "How so?"
 
"Agree to annul your marriage to Livia, or I kill your sister." Father casually gestures to Tay, who stiffens in her seat. The angered frown she had on her face has melted into one of fear, especially as three of the guards in the room step forward, hands on their weapons.
 
"What?" Tay squeaks.
 
"Father-"
 
"Quiet." He hushes me with a cold stare. "I have endless soldiers and guards at the ready. If you are going to start a war anyway, I may as well take out someone close to you."
 
"I don't believe you," Kaan states firmly, although his apprehension can't be hidden. This is his sister. He isn't willing to take a chance on someone this important.
 
"Is it worth the risk?" Father taunts.
 
"You will face the wrath of many Alpha's if you hurt my sister," Kaan states, giving his sister the most reassuring look he can manage. "Tay is a Noble. She is protected."
 
"Not here, clearly." Father smirks as he motions wide to encompass more than just this room. "I'm losing the respect of everyone, were I to let you leave here with my daughter. No child of an Alpha's run's away from her obligations and gets away with it."
 
I swallow thickly. This is all about punishing me.
 
"You won't kill my sister," Kaan challenges. He may be calling my father's bluff, but he looks ready to launch himself between any of these guards and her.
 
Father sighs through his nose, his eyes narrowing as he considers his next move.
 
"Then I'll kill your mate," father decides.
 
I freeze, feeling the eyes of all the guards shift to me. A single word from my father will send them hurtling at me.
 
Kaan shakes his head. "Now that's just ridiculous."
 
"She has betrayed this family beyond repair," he explains, turning to glare at me. "A harsh lesson should be taught."
 
It's unbelievably tempting to grab the pencil off the table and slam it into his throat, but I know that would result in an entire army's worth of soldiers coming down upon me. Even Kaan wouldn't be able to protect me from that.
 
"Kaan," I warn lowly, drawing my mates attention to me. "He will do it, he will kill me. Leave now and take Tay with you."
 
If he leaves, I can find my own way out. I've done it before, so I can do it again, and my motivations this time are so much greater. I just need him and Tay to be safe.
 
"I can't...I won't."
  
"Please. He won't hesitate to kill me. He would rather watch me die than let me leave and be happy," I insist.
 
Kaan knows this, but he's hesitating.
 
My father's smirk is violently smug. He's probably been fantasising about killing me since I was born. I've always been tough with him, pushing his authority when there is nothing he hates more.
 
I give Kaan a hard look. He can't help me here. I assured him last night that if it came to this, I could get myself out.
 
He just needs to trust me.
 
There's a long, painful silence as his jaw hardens and his eyes darken. He looks at Tay, then my father, and then back at me.
 
"Alright fine, we'll go," he eventually concedes.
 
"Of course you will." Father claps his hands together. "You have far too much of your father's cowardice."
 
"I would rather my mate alive than dead," Kaan says carefully.
 
He's restraining his anger remarkably well. It's for my sake, clearly. The moment he turns on my father, is the moment the guards turn on me.
 
"All the relevant papers to have this marriage annulled will be redrafted and sent to your home. Sign them promptly and have them sent back," father says with a wave of his hand.
 
"Kaan..." Tay breaks off, not wanting to leave here without me. Kaan shakes his head at her, trying to convey something I can't understand.
 
His gaze returns to my father, burning hot. "If I ever see you again, I will kill you."
 
He only smiles. "I'm sure you will."
 
***
 
I lie in bed on my side, legs curled up to my chest.
 
Witnessing Kaan leave has torn out a part of me I thought I had under control. That familiar loneliness I became accustomed to as a child has settled over me again, especially as night has drawn in.
 
"Well this is just horrible news," Emma groans as she flops down on the bed.
 
"I'm so sorry to inconvenience you," I mutter.
 
She has only just come to learn that Kaan wasn't able to get me out of here, and that I'm still going to be married to Vinn. From her perspective, Kaan is going to annul our marriage, and she is going to miss out on being with the man she wants.
 
She twists her head to look at me. "It's not like I want you unhappy."
 
"Then why did you make my childhood miserable?"
 
"Because you never listened." She kicks off her shoes, sighing irritably. "Father is a good man, he cares a lot. You put him far too much growing up."
 
I shake my head. I never understood where she got that opinion from. She experienced many of the same horrors I have, and yet, she thinks they helped us.
 
Consider what has become of us, I have to disagree.
 
"He beat us," I remind her coldly.
 
She slips her legs under the covers, smoothing her hair back. "To teach us what we were struggling to learn."
 I roll over so I'm facing the wall, not wanting to see her judgmental face a moment longer. "Just shut up and go to bed, will you?"
 
She falls silent, and for a while I think she has fallen asleep.
 
"I'm sorry about your mate..." she whispers.
 
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying not to let my emotions over come me. "Whatever."
 
"If you're thinking of escaping, you're going to have a much harder time," she exclaims knowingly.
 
"Yes I know. He has guards infesting the entire forest."
 
"He has soldiers posted all over the Pack. There is no free place for you to run to," she muses. "You would have to be incredibly sneaky."
 
I frown. Her tone is strange, and it sounds like she is trying to convey a message to me without actually saying it. I roll back over to face her.
 
"What are you implying?"
 
"Carts come in and out of the manor everyday carrying all sorts of goods." She picks at her fingernails. "Most carts get checked thoroughly, but not the rubbish being taken from the place. Probably because it smells so bad and the guards don't want to sift through the sacks."
 
"So?"
 
"So, someone could, theoretically, hide in the back of the rubbish cart that leaves daily, and get out of here. The dump is in a secluded area. One could jump out and make a run for it through the fields. It would be quite the trek, but they could make it to Alpha Kaan's border."
 
The look she gives me tells me everything I need to know. She isn't doing this for my sake, but that doesn't matter to me. She may espouse the same cruel values as my father, but she will go against his word if it is for her benefit.
 
"Interesting." I bite down hard on my lip to hide my smile.
 
It's the perfect plan, if I can pull it off.
 
"Just know, that if you're caught, you're dead," she warns, rolling over in a way that signals to me that she doesn't really care if that's the case.
 
I pull the covers to my chin. "I won't get caught."
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~Midika 💜🐼