Free Web NovelChapter 162: Marry My Daughter
"We had other concerns to handle in the meantime," Damon replied with gritted teeth. "As I said, there were issues of vampire attacks―"
"Save me the spiel," Alpha Thorton interrupted. "Vampire attacks could never stand up against the consummation of a mate bond, nor the crowning of a Luna. However, what I’ve heard from Fangborne were stories of your own promiscuity, a harem of beauties waiting at your beck and call. You do not strike me as a man who values the concept of fated mates, so spare me your excuses."
Wow. Alpha Thorton didn’t pull any punches when it came to hitting where it hurt. I was honestly surprised that he read Damon pretty well. If this was a mere two months ago, it would have been depressingly accurate.
"It’s not an excuse," Damon insisted, an angry red crawling up his neck. I sensed he was about to explode soon. "And I do care about the issue of fated mates." freёwebnovel.com
Alpha Thorton shot Damon with a look of disbelief. "I would believe it if your brother was the one who said this, since he actually brought his fated mate along with him, a frail human she might be."
Blaise and I were both startled in surprise at being addressed. Alpha Thorton actually gave Blaise and me a look of approval, before giving Damon a dirty glance.
"My daughter has chased after you for years, and you have spent that time dangling her on a string, giving her just enough hope to stop her from giving up on you while you toyed with other women. As her father, enough is enough. Marry her and make her Fangborne’s Luna, and you’ll have your food."
"What if I don’t?" Damon asked impulsively. "What are you going to do?"
"Then don’t blame me for being heartless," Alpha Thorton said evenly, crossing his arms as he gazed at Damon. "Thunderstrike has a lot of connections. If you get food from us, you might not be able to get food from elsewhere either."
The implied threat was loud and clear. If Thunderstrike refused to send us supplies, we would be hard-pressed to find anyone else who would offer and risk offending them. Damon’s eyes darkened and he clenched his fists in anger.
"Thank you for your time, Alpha Thorton," Blaise interrupted smoothly.
He stood up in a hurry and he gave a polite bow, grabbing Damon by the arm to stop him from doing something he would sorely regret afterward, like leaping past the table to deck Alpha Thorton in the face. I also got up and gave a polite bow.
After all, it would be very awkward if I remained sitting here alone while Blaise dragged Damon away.
"May I talk to my brother about this? You have sprung this on him too quickly, he needs a little more time to adjust to this idea of being married, to begin with. How about we give you our answer a while later?" Blaise asked, giving Alpha Thorton a beseeching look.
Alpha Thorton stared at Damon’s face, which looked like it was oscillating between rage and shock, his mouth open wider than my own when I first caught sight of Thunderstrike’s abode.
"I’ll give you three days to deliberate on this decision," Alpha Thorton agreed reluctantly, sensing that Damon was not going to contribute intelligently to any conversation. "You are dismissed. The guest rooms are at the end of the corridor."
"Thank you, Alpha Thorton, for your generosity," Blaise said, not even taking offense at being dismissed like a child. There were some battles that were not worth picking.
"Come on Damon, let’s go," Blaise said as he hauled his brother away by the arm.
"I can bring you there!" Dahlia volunteered, but Blaise and I frantically shook our heads.
"It’s fine, there’s no need to trouble you," I said, holding out my hands.
"We’ve got it covered," Blaise added. "We’ll see you soon."
"Let them go, Dahlia," Alpha Thorton advised. "What is three days compared to a lifetime?"
That statement sounded more like a prison sentence, and Blaise and I finally herded Damon to the empty room, where he all but slammed the door, seething with barely repressed rage.
"So... what are we going to do?" I asked, "Are you going to tell Dahlia the truth about us?"
Truthfully, I had no idea which was the right course of action to take. Honesty was usually the best policy, but having multiple fated mates was practically unheard of. Alpha Thorton seemed to be a traditionalist; the thought of two werewolf brothers sharing a single human as their fated mate might be too much for his old heart to handle.
Damon’s face clouded and he let out a pained groan. Clearly, he had similar thoughts. "If only things were that easy. Alpha Thorton would simply force me to reject you and marry Dahlia instead. It’s not as though you have any family left to argue for your interests."
I nodded; even if my father were alive, I had a feeling he wouldn’t care if it meant not ending up on Alpha Thorton’s bad side.
"And since you aren’t Fangborne’s Luna yet, there’s no big taboo against it," Blaise added with a frown. "It’s one thing to oust an already enshrined Luna from her position, but you’re only my fated mate, the mate of a Beta."
"Don’t sell yourself short," I said with a small smile. "You’re not a bad catch at all."
"Thanks," Blaise smiled in reply, and Damon clucked his tongue irritably, drawing our attention back to him.
"That’s all well and good for the both of you― you’ve even got the approval of Alpha Thorton. But that also means that in his eyes, there is no need for me to be involved in your relationship."
"Maybe you can pretend to not be interested in women," Blaise suggested. "We’ll make Elijah your partner instead."
"It’s a little too late for that," I pointed out. "Alpha Thorton seemed to think that Damon was too interested in women. He had such a bad impression of Damon in the past. Damon, what did you do to earn his ire?"
