Page 15 of Fat Betrayed Mate
"Mr. Wright," I manage, my throat suddenly dry. "I don't know what—"
"Don't insult my intelligence," he cuts in, his voice deceptively calm. "I've had her followed. I know about your... summer activities."
My wolf rises in response to the threat, hackles raised beneath my skin. I force it down, maintain control. Edward Wright is human—Fiona's human father—but he’s dangerous in ways that have nothing to do with physical strength.
"Fiona is an adult," I say carefully. "She makes her own choices."
His laugh is a cold, brittle thing. "My daughter has always had regrettably poor judgment. Like her mother."
He approaches, each step deliberate, stopping at the base of my porch steps. Close enough that I can smell the whiskey on his breath, the expensive cologne that doesn't quite mask his contempt.
"Let me be clear," he continues, eyes never leaving mine. "This ends now. Tonight. You will never see her again."
"That's not your decision to make."
His smile doesn't reach his eyes. "No? Let me tell you about decisions, Thomas. Years ago, I decided I couldn't tolerate my wife's... animal nature any longer. The shifting, the primal urges, the embarrassment of being married to something less than human."
Cold washes through me. "What are you saying?"
"Wolfsbane is remarkably effective when administered gradually. It weakens the shift, then prevents it entirely. Eventually, it poisons the body from within." He straightens his already immaculate cuffs. "The doctors called it an autoimmune disorder. No one suspected otherwise."
Horror rises like bile in my throat. "You killed your wife?"
"I freed her from her baser nature." He waves a dismissive hand. "Unfortunately, Fiona inherited her mother's condition. I've tried to help her overcome it, but she resists guidance."
"You're insane," I whisper, my fingers curling into fists.
"I'm pragmatic," he corrects. "And now I'm offering you a choice. End this relationship immediately, make her believe you never cared for her, or I will ensure she meets the same fate as her mother."
The world tilts beneath my feet. "You wouldn't hurt your own daughter."
"I would save her from degrading herself with an animal." His eyes harden. "She could have a respectable human life, a proper marriage. Instead, she's rutting in the woods withyou." His disgust is palpable. "I won't allow her to breed like an animal.Withan animal."
"Fiona is a shifter," I say through clenched teeth. "Like her mother. Like me."
"A condition that can be... managed. And part of that management includes keeping her away from the likes of you." He steps closer, lowering his voice though we're alone. "You have until tomorrow. Make her believe you want nothing to do with her, or I promise you'll never see her again. Because she'll be dead."
He turns to leave, then pauses.
"And if you tell her about our conversation, I'll know. I have eyes in this town, even among your kind. If she hears a word of this, I won't wait for the wolfsbane to work."
I watch him walk away, my body frozen, my mind racing through impossible options. He's human, I could stop him, I could warn Fiona, we could run—
But I know now what he's capable of. The cold calculation, the patient execution of a years-long murder. The complete absence of love for his own family. If I defy him, if I try to take Fiona away, how long before he finds us? How many resources does he have? How much is he willing to destroy to control his daughter?
It’s not worth the risk.
I’ll break both of us if it means she’ll be safe.
***
"There has to be a way," I insist, pacing the length of Nic's office. "Some loophole, some exemption. You're the Alpha, for god's sake."
I never talk to him this way. I’m respectful to a fault. Maybe this will make him see that I’m losing my mind.
Nic sits behind his desk, his expression sympathetic but firm. "I've looked at every angle, Thomas. The lottery is binding—backed by pack law and generations of tradition. I looked into every angle when this wasme,if you recall."
"Fuck tradition," I growl, my wolf pushing dangerously close to the surface. "You changed the trials, didn't you? Made them less barbaric. Why not change this, too?"
