Page 41 of Fated to be Enemies

I chuckled, no longer giving him my attention and instead looking at the ceiling. “Doubtful, Mathis. Very doubtful.”

He sat at his own desk, back straight, hands clasped on the tabletop. “You think I care about you holding them hostage?” He looked at someone off screen and laughed. “You’ll get nothing from me, so there’s no discussion to be had. You have nothing I want. Unless you’re telling me she’s mated or dead, I don’t want them back.”

“I believe you,” I said, grinning while still not making eye contact. “That’s why I wanted to let you know Dannika is mated.” From my periphery, I saw his mouth fall open. His hands unclasped and he leaned forward, again looking off screen. Perfect. “To me.”

I turned my head, wanting to relish in the way he struggled to process what I’d said.

His face twisted in anger, and he growled. “What did you say?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“You heard me. Dannika is my mate. It’s the weirdest thing, I know. So soon after she rejected Markus too.” I removed my arms from behind my head, looking down to inspect my nails. “That’s why I saved her from your assassination squad. I couldn’t lose her. I won’t.” I looked at him from the corner of my eyes, smiling, and it was real. I was happy to make him squirm in anger. “And you know what that means, Mathis.”

It meant he couldn’t touch her. He couldn’t barter for her return just to execute her. Every bounty on her head and his team of killer mutts would have to be called off. Finally, he would be forced to acknowledge her position publicly. And there was nothing he could do about it. She was untouchable and out of his reach.

He shook with barely contained rage. His palms lay flat on the desk, his nails extending and digging into the wood. Red crept up his face, and his eyes flashed a bright purple, a sign of a shifter’s overwhelming desire to shift. His wolf was desperate to come out and attack.

I winked at him.

Taken aback, he snarled. Then his demeanor suddenly changed. The tension in his expression fell to a cool mask of confidence. His claws retracted, and he ran his fingers through his hair, shaking off the ire. What it meant, I didn’t know. Then he dropped it on me.

A glimmer in his eye shone while a cruel sneer appeared. “I thought better of you, Elias. That you would learn from past mistakes.” He straightened his tie, cracking his neck. “Remember the last time you played games with me. I don’t recall that it worked out so well for you. Or rather, it did, I suppose. Just not so much for your sister.”

I dropped my legs from my desk, slamming my hands on the table as I stood up. My fangs shot out and my blood boiled. He smirked. Ysa hissed at me, grounding me and reminding me to keep my cool.

“The Houses know of my mate bond, Mathis. You’d do well to remember your place. I know how you got there. One step over the treaty line is all it takes for your world to come crumbling down,” I said in a low voice. “Touch her and I will end you.”

He shrugged. “Give my respects to your mother. I do hope she gets my flowers every year.” He winked in return, then the screen turned to static.

I picked up a crystal ball paperweight and threw it where his face had been. The glass shattered on impact, splintering pieces that flew outward. The sphere went straight through the wall, smashing into the concrete barriers under the drywall.

I shouted, and the volume of my anger shook the windows.

Ysabeau stood wide-eyed, jaw slack. “I can’t believe he went there . . .” She paused, unsure what to say.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was Mathis, after all. I hadn’t expected it, but I should have. He knew damn well I knew it had been him. I had no proof, and he knew that too. It was my fault my sister was dead. He may have been the one to do it, but I’d put her in the vulnerable position. I’d put her in that monster’s path, and I hadn’t been there to stop him.

Guilt, regret, and unbridled rage filled me.

He’d taken her from my family. In so many words, he’d threatened to do the same to Dannika for no other reason than hatred for her. Pissing me off was a bonus.

“He was goading me. I took the bait,” I said through gritted teeth.

“He was trying to rattle you.” Looking me up and down, she added, “And it worked.”

I shot her a glare. “The flowers and my mother. What’s he talking about?”

Ysa shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Find out,” I ordered, and she understood that the urgency in my voice meant I wanted an answer today. I had a feeling I knew. I just wanted to be wrong. “I don’t care if my mother tells you or if she wants to tell me, but make it happen.”

“Consider it done,” she whispered, her eyes downcast and shadowed by sadness that had not been there before. I knew she was thinking about my sister. Claudette had been her friend. Sometimes I’d wondered if there had been more to it than that, but I’d never asked. If Ysa wanted to share that part of her, she would. I wouldn’t pry.

I dropped back down into my chair, rubbing my fists against my eyes to put pressure onto the oncoming headache. That hadn’t exactly gone according to plan. It didn’t mean I’d stop. He’d rattled me, yes, but I’d done the same to him. It was why he’d gone as far as he had. That was how much I had gotten to him with the news of Dannika. And that meant I’d laid the foundation.

A knock came, and Ysa went to the door. She dipped her head, thanking them. Then she turned to me. A grim look covered her face. She crossed the room, heading to the windows, scanning the landscape.

“What now?” I asked.

“Dannika is out with Markus again,” she whispered, side-eyeing me. “We have to get that under control. This is the third time I’ve seen them together. She is your mate, Elias. You can’t afford for rumors to spread that it may not be real.”

---