Claimed by the scarred Alpha

VIVIANNE

The word hung in the air for one suspended moment. Then Bastien turned and walked out of the dining room. His footsteps echoed down the hallway until a door slammed somewhere in the distance.

Heat flooded my face. I looked at Armand, at Rémy, at Lucian. All three of them stared at the empty space where Bastien had been standing.

"I apologize for his behavior." The words came out automatically and hollowly. "I’ll go talk to him."

I stood before anyone could tell me not to and followed the path my son—my sister’s son—had taken out of the room.

I found him in the west wing corridor, pacing like a caged animal. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, and his shoulders were rigid with tension I could read from ten feet away.

"Bastien."

He spun to face me. "Don’t."

I moved closer anyway. "I understand you’re upset—"

"I’m not doing it." His voice came out flat and final. "I know I’m selfish for it. I know that as an heir to this pack, I’m supposed to give everything for the cause of this stupid pack, but I’m not a martyr like my sister."

The words hit harder than they should have. I thought of Margaux in that red dress. The terror in her eyes when she realized what was about to happen to her.

"I don’t want to marry someone I don’t love." Bastien’s hands came out of his pockets, and he gestured sharply. "Is that so wrong?"

"Do you have someone you love?"

His jaw worked. He looked away from me, staring at something over my shoulder that only he could see.

"Why would I tell you that?"

"Because I’m your mother." The lie tasted bitter. "This pack is a priority, but so are you."

He laughed. The sound came out harsh and broken. "I don’t know if I can trust that."

"Bastien—"

"Look at Margo." He turned back to me, and his eyes were wet. "She didn’t want to marry that monster, but we pushed her anyway. I thought my neck would be safe after that happened. But it turns out none of us are."

My throat closed. I reached for him instinctively, but he stepped back.

"What pack is she from?" The question came out desperate. "Who is she? If her standing is acceptable, I’ll do my best to make it happen."

He stared at me for a long moment, and something like hope flickered across his face before dying just as quickly. "She’s not from another pack."

"Oh." The syllable fell between us. "So she’s here. In Beaumont territory."

He nodded once and seemed to hate immediately that he gave me that information.

"Shanelle?" The name came to me immediately. The Beta’s daughter and Margaux’s best friend, who’d been following Bastien around since they were teenagers.

"Goddess, no. She’s like a younger sister to me." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in a way that made him look younger than his years. "The woman that I love... she’s classes lower than me. I know I’m fighting a losing battle, but I love her, Mom."

The truth clicked into place with horrible clarity.

"An Omega."

I said it quietly, but he flinched like I’d shouted. Tears burned behind my eyes. I closed the distance between us and pulled him into my arms before he could protest. He was taller than me now, but in that moment, he felt small and breakable.

"It’s alright." The words came out choked. "It’s alright."

He sagged against me. His breathing hitched in a way that told me he was crying even though he was trying to hide it.

"I can’t promise you what you want." I held him tighter. "But an Omega would be acceptable as your mistress. This doesn’t need to end unhappily."

He went rigid in my arms. Then he shoved me back hard enough that I stumbled.

"I don’t want her to be a mistress." His voice came out raw and dangerous. "Do you hear yourself? Do you hear what you’re saying to me?"

"Bastien—"

"No." He jabbed a finger toward me. "You don’t get to hug me and tell me it’s alright and then offer me scraps like that’s supposed to fix anything. Like that’s supposed to be enough."

His chest heaved with each breath. Tears streaked down his face, but his expression had twisted into something furious.

"I love her. Not as some dirty secret I keep hidden in the shadows. Not as someone I fuck when my real wife isn’t looking." His hands shook at his sides. "I love her the way Father should have loved you. The way a person deserves to be loved."

The words hit like a slap.

"That’s not how this works." My voice came out pleading. "You know that’s not how this works."

"Then the system is broken!" He shouted it loud enough that someone down the hall might have heard. "The whole thing is rotten and broken, and you’re asking me to just accept it. To put a ring on some Texier girl’s finger and keep the woman I actually love locked away like she’s something to be ashamed of."

"You’re being naive."

"I’m being real with myself!" His voice cracked. "I’m being honest. Perhaps I might be the only honest person in this entire cursed family!"

"Come back to reality." I forced the words out even though they felt like swallowing glass. "If this comes out, you know what could happen to her. You can’t feed her delusions that she’ll somehow become your Luna."

"I knew you wouldn’t understand."

I went back to hold him even if he resisted.

"Of all people, I would be the one to understand." The confession slipped out before I could stop it. "Who is she?"

"Why would I tell you? So you can scare her off?"

"Yes, because her life is in danger now." My voice cracked. "If you tell me, I can keep her safe."

"Why?" He looked down at me with my sister’s eyes. "Because Father would find a way to hurt her."

"Yes." The white lie was brutal and simple. "The will of an Alpha should bend and break the back of an Omega. It’s the way of the world."

"But you brought up the bride idea." Accusation dripped from every word. "This is your fault."

The words hit like a physical blow.

"Is it your personal Omega?"

He froze. Every muscle in his body went completely still.

"Fuck." The realization washed over me in a cold wave. "It is her."

He broke from my grip with enough force that I stumbled back a step. "Please leave her alone, Mother."

Then he was gone, disappearing down the corridor and leaving me standing alone in the empty hallway.

I had to get that girl out of the estate. I had to hide her somewhere safe before Lucian figured out what stood between him and his plans. Before my brother decided an Omega’s life was worth less than his ambitions. As usual.

I turned and started back toward the dining room on shaking legs.

I ran into him before I’d made it ten steps.

A gasp tore from my throat. My entire body started shaking so hard my teeth rattled.

"Luuuucccciiiian."

He stood directly in my path, blocking the hallway with his presence. How long had he been there? How much had he heard?

"Where is Bastien?" His voice came out mild and conversational. "Did you talk to him?"

"He escaped me." The lie came automatically. "But I’ll talk to him later."

I tried to move past him, but his hand shot out and latched onto my wrist. His fingers dug into the bone hard enough to make me wince.

"Why is he so against the idea of marriage?"

"Because men aren’t as moldable as women." I kept my voice steady through sheer force of will. "You know this. I told you it would happen."

"I disagree." His grip tightened fractionally. "Your daughter didn’t want to marry into that pack, but she did. She was disadvantaged, and even she bent her knee. He’s a man who will have the upper hand in this arrangement..."

I pulled against his hold, but he didn’t let go as he continued to piece his shit together.

"...Why wouldn’t he want it?"

"That beats me, Lucian." The words tumbled out too fast. "Not everyone is like you."

His eyes narrowed. He pulled me closer, close enough that I could smell his cologne and the coffee on his breath.

"Don’t tell me he’s doing this for an Omega whore."

My blood turned to ice in my veins.

He’d heard everything. Every word. Every confession.

"Yeah... I heard... Every word."

Fuck!!! Fuck!!! Fuck!!!

"How dare you keep secrets from me?" His voice dropped to something dangerous. "We’re family, sister. Have you forgotten this?"

"I’ll handle this." I tried to sound confident and authoritative. Like I had any power at all. "Let me handle this."

"I think not." He smiled. The expression made my stomach twist into knots. "I will."

He released my wrist and stepped past me.

I stood frozen in the hallway. My wrist throbbed where he’d gripped it. My heart hammered so hard I thought it might crack my ribs.

Not again.