Page 42 of Red River

River stood there, pale and in shock, pressed against the glass doors of the patio. All his kids ran to the door, watching Igor’s inept attack on me.

"You’ll hurt yourself punching with your thumbs tucked under your index and middle fingers," I said, keeping my voice neutral, staying calm while he kept swinging at me.

"Shut up, shut up! You bastard!"

"Effective punches don’t come just from the arm alone, Igor. For a punch to have real power, you need to use your whole body, twist your hips—"

Igor ignored me and kept trying to break through my guard. Finally, I’d had enough.

One of his sloppy punches gave me the perfect opening. I grabbed his arm and pulled him past me, but I didn’t let him fall. I caught him by the neck and twisted him into a chokehold from behind.

I pressed his body against mine to immobilize him. He struggled in vain; my forearm restricted his movements and made it hard for him to breathe.

"Are you done? Can we talk like adults now, or are you going to make a fool of yourself?"

"I hate you!" Igor yelled, still trying to break free, but his lanky body was no match for me.

"I appreciate your honesty. At least we know where we stand. I can hold you here, but how long can you keep this up?"

"Igor," River groaned painfully. "Please, what are you doing? Archer is our host, and you’re being rude and ungrateful!"

"You already paid him for his hospitality!"

"No, Igor. I went to his room to pay him, but he refused."

Silence fell. Igor panted for a moment, still running on adrenaline, but his strength was waning. Eventually, he slumped slightly in my hold, and a sound like a sob escaped his throat.

"Why, Dad?! Why are you doing this to Father? He loved you!"

River’s eyes filled with tears. "Igor, your father is gone. Archer has offered to help. He is your guardian. Thanks to him, you can stay with us. You won’t be taken away—"

"Why did you kiss him when Father was still alive?"

Now was my time to interject.

"I kissed him, Igor. Your dad had reservations. I wanted my first kiss with him. I always liked him, and he was my brother Sam’s best friend. It was my initiative, not your dad’s."

"You forced him, held him? Did he struggle?"

River squeezed his eyes shut.

"I didn’t struggle. But it happened once, Igor. It never happened again, and I know it was wrong, unfair to your father. But I also want you to know, I’ve always liked Archer, when he was a kid, he even proposed to me. Now we’re free, and if something happens, we won’t hurt anyone."

"Really? A kid proposed to you? That sounds just silly, Dad! What about respecting Father, your actual husband, not an imaginary one? Of illegal age!"

The fact that I kept Igor in a loose chokehold had an unexpected effect; my energy somehow influenced him. I felt a kind of resignation and even slight submission in his body.

"How long should I mourn before I can get involved with another man?"

"Surely more than a month! You two were High Mates, but now, straight from his bed, you’re landing in Archer’s?"

River squeezed his eyes shut—I could see he was on the edge, fighting with himself and… losing.

Suddenly, bitter words burst from his mouth, "Straight from his bed? You have no idea what you’re talking about! Do you know that your father and I haven’t slept together for the last seven years?! Ever since Lake was born! Not even during my heats!"

Igor froze, and I have to admit, so did I. We both looked at River, whose face was red, tears streaming down his cheeks. He must have really reached his limit; his hands were trembling, his whole body extremely tense.

"I’m not even mated to him!"

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