40
Ayrie’s outburst makes him grin like it’s the greatest compliment he could have ever received. I wrap my arms around my two babies as this huge man stares back at my daughter. She called him the bad man. The way she’s standing in front of us with her arms out as if to protect us from him has my stomach cramping. She’s told me about the bad man in her dreams–the big man who tries to take her from me.
“You must be Ayrie,” Knight’s father says calmly.
He’s an intimidating sight. While Knight’s size is just as terrifying, he’s never used it to intimidate me. However, this man has no problem with that. His green eyes are almost neon compared to Knight’s but their features are nearly identical. “Go away, bad man,” she says sinking back into Aizen. He takes her hand in his the way he always does.
The man’s eyes are on her lips. Gently he reaches for her only to be stopped by Knight’s hand. His father looks up at him and growls.
“Don’t touch her without her permission,” Knight warns him. The man sighs and nods.
“I’d like to see the inside of your mouth, my little princess,” he tells Ayrie. “I promise to step back if you allow me,” “You no bite me?” she asks him with a sneer clear in her tone.
“I’d never hurt you,” he smiles. “What is that accent?”
“Their first language is French. We lived in France up until now,” I explain.
“Avez–vous apprécié votre séjour en France, petite princesse ?” he asks and she nods. “Puis–je voir, s’il vous plaît ?” he reaches for her again. “Ouvre la bouche,”
Ayrie opens her mouth slowly when he pinches her chin. His eyes flare red when he pulls back. He stands up. The air around him becomes suffocating. I put the tines up onto my lap immediately.
“Who did that to her, Nathan?” he demands. Aizen’s arms immediately go around Ayrie’s waist.
“Ruin,” Knight answers quietly.
I cover their eyes when this huge man reaches for Knight gripping onto his face and shoving him until he slams him against a table covered in pictures of my dad and his family.
“And what did you do about it, boy?” he growls angrily.
“Shit,”
Knight’s brothers both look away sympathetically, but it’s more than obvious that they’re not going to be doing a single thing about the situation. I stare at the back of the man who seems to be the reason why Knight is so isolated from everyone who adores him.
“Hmm? Is that fuck still alive?” he pushes.
“Yes,” Knight says tightly. The man shoves him and turns away growling.
“Do you know what they used?”
“Black wolfsbane,” Knight spits out a mouthful of blood on the floor.
“Why? When?”
“Four months ago,” I answer. “I didn’t-” I hold them both to me. “I didn’t know,”
“This is not your fault, Phoebe,” he calms down but doesn’t turn to face me. “Do you know who issued the order?” “They’re under Xochtl’s protection,” Knight answers him.
“That fucking bitch,” he growls. “I should have killed her too. Have you told her she needs to release Phoebe from her contracts?”
“She fired her,”
“Fired her?” he laughs evilly. “She fired you?”
“Yes,” I nod. He cranks his neck making it pop loudly.
“Do you think it was Xochtl or Clementine?” he asks Knightly.
“Clementine. Xochtl didn’t strike me as someone who would do that to a pup Ayrie’s age. But she knew and looked the other way,”
I also didn’t know that and my departure from Royal Threads just hurts that much more.
“Of course, she did,” he huffs. “This is your fault, Nathan,” he growls. “You let that fucking idiot poison your mind. He’s made you soft,” he shoves him again. “Look at you,” he looks him over with contempt. “Weak,”
40
“Stop,” I say unable to keep letting him belittle Knight that way.
Knight doesn’t look away, nor does he move to disrespect him. Not because he’s not angry. The fire in his eyes speaks for itself, but he doesn’t want to scare me or the kids. His dad moves away from him.
“What do you plan to do?”
“I’m not risking my mate and pups by starting a war with her,” Knight holds his stare. “And neither will you,”
“Always running away from who you are,” his father shakes his head disapprovingly. “Come home, Nate. Let me train you. Allow me to help you become the alpha you have always been. You are my son. You? place is with us,” he looks back at his two other sons. “I’ve missed you. We all have,”
“Don’t speak to me like that. We both know I will never accept you and my wolf finally sees you for the fuck you are. I will never go back,” Knightly growls at him.
“There you are,” his father grins. “You are hurting her. She is the mother of our future and you have failed her from the start. Fix it. I will deal with the rest,”
“I said no,” he growls. “It’s none of your business,”
“She is my granddaughter,” he roars so loud the glass around us vibrates. The twins shrink into me. Both of thern hold onto my shirt tightly. “She could have died, Nate. The boy would have died a slow and painful death. You would have followed,” he grips Knight by the back of his neck. “You can hate me all you want, but it’ll never hang the truth, Son. You are mine just as Cory and Desmond are. They hurt us and I will have their blood for it,”
“Arnold, please,” Knightly looks up at him. “I’m not strong enough to go to war with anyone. I know what they did. I need time. Don’t take this from me,”
His father releases him, straightening up as he lets Knight’s words settle. He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. The trembling in the man’s body calms and he nods. Knightly looks up at me almost ashamed of what just came out of his mouth and I’m hoping that he’s only said that to appease his raging lunatic of a father.
“The more reason for you to come back with me, Nate,” he finally says.
“No,” Knightly tears his gaze from me. “You got what you wanted. We should clear out. These people don’t need us to stay,”
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