Page 27 of Red River

Igor stayed silent. I knew he really wanted to hate me, but it was probably hard for him to hate me as much as he had planned because he seemed to like the room. Slowly, he turned to face me.

Our eyes met. I knew he was thinking hard about what he should say next.

"Nice place, I’ll admit. But I never cared about having my own room. I cared about my father being alive. About keeping our family together."

"I completely understand. Those are the right priorities. No rooms, no houses, no pools in the world are as important as family."

"I don’t trust you. I know Sam a bit, but I don’t know you. I only remember what he told us about you over the years, and it wasn’t good."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What did Sam gossip about me?"

Igor pursed his lips and spoke in a challenging tone, "He said you are a fighter—or that you used to be. You fought in the ring, beat up other alphas. He mentioned you had lots of casual flings with different omegas. He also revealed you’re a hacker, and you work on the edge of the law. You have to admit, it doesn’t sound good."

I laughed, genuinely amused. "Yes, I trained in Muay Thai and competed a few times at the state level, but I quit in my third year of college. It’s just a hobby, though Sam always hated it, like many omegas. And I have hacking skills, but I work as a security tester. As for the casual flings—Sam really got that wrong. I’ve had a few normal relationships. You should form your own opinion if you want to be a true alpha, not just parrot what other people gossip about," I added in a slightly teasing tone, knowing this might resonate with him.

An omega’s perspective on such matters as martial arts or hacking could differ from an alpha’s. And he was still thinking in stereotypes, which was why I put it that way.

Igor stayed silent, his greenish eyes boring into me with intense focus.

"Your dad is very worried about whether we’ll get along, you and me. I don’t expect you to treat me like a father, but if there isn’t a basic level of respect between us, your siblings and your dad will suffer the side effects of the chaos."

"Say it straight. You want me to listen to you and not talk back—no complaints, keep my mouth shut, right?"

I laughed and bared my teeth. I took two steps closer to him and saw him tense up. Slowly, I shifted my gaze to his neck, at the side that was visible above the collar of his T-shirt.

His glands were still not fully active—pale and flat. It would take two to three more years for them to fully mature. I watched his neck, and my silence made him uncomfortable. Finally, not fond of my closeness, he backed away, instinctively raising his hand to cover his right gland.

"What? What are you staring at?"

"Do you know that a lot of betas exhibit early alpha traits? But their glands never fully mature. There's even a term for this condition—Alpha Misfire. Are you sure you’re not one of them?"

"Where are you going with this?!" His eyes showed near panic.

"Some things need to mature before they reach their full potential. Like good wine and cheese. So, they wait in the dark—not pushing forward, not pretending they’re ready. Are you only pretending, Igor?"

He was motionless for a moment.

"I wanted to save my family! Do you get that? Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy! I wanted to be a man for my dad, to make sure our family survived!"

"Don’t you think you may also need saving yourself? You’re not an adult alpha. Your glands aren’t ready yet. You need to be patient, Igor. I want you to trust that I’ll do everything to save your family, even if you couldn’t."

Igor exhaled bitterly. "We’ll see. I’ll be watching you."

"It’s only fair. I think your dad has already served your meal. Wouldn’t want it to get cold. Let’s go downstairs. They’re probably convinced we’ve killed each other up here."

My smile was slightly crooked.

He shrugged but walked past me and headed for the door. When we entered the kitchen, everyone seemed to sense a slight shift in Igor's energy. He sat at the table, his portion already waiting for him, while his brothers had almost finished already.

I noticed River's eyes darting between me and Igor, probably looking for clues about how our confrontation went, but Igor's face was neutral.

Our gazes met, and I gave River a reassuring smile.

As Igor ate, I saw River stand by the fridge and turn his back to us. For a moment, he pressed his hands to his eyes, and I couldn't tell if he was wiping away tears or just overwhelmed by nerves.

Meanwhile, the boys compared the features of their rooms, discussing colors and the views from their windows. Only Igorremained silent, focused on his meal. There was a strange sense of isolation around him; the others seemed to avoid speaking to him, as if he carried a contagious disease.

Had their attitude toward him changed after everything that happened, seeing him as wild and unpredictable? I blamed Thomas for filling Igor’s head with the idea that he had to take on the alpha role in the family. It was irresponsible to impose such a burden on an immature alpha.

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