Chapter 3: Blackmail

Nikolai had to be hearing things—his mother couldn’t have just said what he thought she’d said. He growled out, “No fucking way,” at the exact moment the Federation colonel cried out, “Oh, hell no!”

Nikolai glared at her, only to find a pair of big brown eyes scowling right back at him.

Nikolai growled again and showed his teeth for good measure. The growl of a Werewolf when his blood was high was a truly frightening thing. It was low and guttural and far from a sound any human could make. He saw the colonel’s eyes widen with alarm and fear as she took a hasty step backward. Good. She needed to remember who she was dealing with. Obviously, his mother had gone crazy thinking he could ever enter into a marriage contract with a bitchy Federation colonel, no matter how good-looking she was. It was ridiculous. Ludicrous. Impossible!

He’d noticed the woman when they first came in, of course, distracting himself from the boring talks by admiring the way the woman’s round, perky ass filled out the tight uniform trousers so deliciously. She was wearing the insignia of a colonel, a rank in the Federation army that was quite high from what Nikolai remembered. He sneered at those foreign symbols, a force of habit, but still noticed the woman’s beautiful face. Young, maybe in her late twenties, and far too young to have actually earned her rank, but then she was the President’s daughter. It did explain her presence in this meeting. Nikolai had wondered why she’d been included—she wasn’t high ranking enough to have a legitimate purpose for being there.

Nikolai had just been idly considering whether or not the good-looking woman and the President were having a love affair when all the yelling started, and he snapped his attention back to what was being said. The insults to his mother had made him furious. He had jumped up to face the threat and found himself staring right into the colonel’s pretty eyes.

The Federation officer had a strong jaw, which probably meant she was quite stubborn, and high cheekbones and black curly hair that was cut short for a woman as beautiful as her, in Nikolai's opinion.

There was a tiny bit of curl at the back that Nikolai had noticed, and suspected that this colonel hated it. She should have looked less feminine with a stern face like hers, but her lips were so full and luscious and that mouth was too passionate for grimness. Not to mention that she had quite the longest eyelashes Nikolai had ever seen. It made her beautiful, and he knew without doubt that the little colonel would hate that if he say those compliments.

Nikolai tipped his head and twisted his lips into an evil smile. This gorgeous little human—a Federation colonel—instead of her sister as consort? Come to think of it, he would enjoy “consorting” with the colonel. Mostly because he knew how very much the little colonel would loathe every second of it. Nikolai thought with pleasure of the colonel on her knees for him, those pretty luscious lips wrapped around his cock. He shifted as the cock in question grew larger at the idea. Yes, he’d fuck this little colonel. And he’d make her like it so much, she will always come and beg him for it.

“A-akari, my daughter?” the Consul said, looking from one of them to the other. “But how could that be…I mean,?”

His mother smiled and shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with it right? She's unwed and she's also not promised to another.” He patted his son on the shoulder and glanced wickedly over at the colonel. “Your Daughter will be the prince’s consort and raise his children as their mother. She would have to undergo body alteration, of course, under the strictest conditions, because humans were incapable of getting pregnant with a Werewolf. She’ll be the Queen of the king one day, so there can’t be any question of who the father of her children is.”

President Kingston blanched and the colonel went white. Then she began gesticulating wildly at her father. “I can’t even believe we're having this conversation! I’d like to remind you that I am an officer in the Federation Army. I’m not listening to this bullshit!” She turned on her heel and stormed to the door, slamming it so hard behind her that it bounced back open and hit the wall. They were all quiet as they heard the heels of her boots clacking furiously down the corridor.

Beatrice turned serenely back to the President. “So how quickly will you be able to make the arrangements for the wedding?”

“But you heard her! I-I don’t think my daughter will…”

Beatrice waved away his concerns. “She’s more sensible than that. Give her a moment to think things through and then go and talk to her. Remind her of what’s at stake. I feel sure she’ll come around, considering the consequences of a negative decision on her part and considering how much you all have to gain by her cooperation.”

Without waiting for an answer, Queen Beatrice strode for the door, and Nikolai followed him. But then she paused at the door as the President sputtered and shouted after them.

“This is little more than blackmail!”

Nikolai figured his mother would give the President the last word on the subject, and he wasn’t disappointed “Blackmail is such a harsh word. Think it over, and we’ll expect your answer within an hour. After all, this whole thing was your idea. You’re the ones who begged us for the treaty. As for your daughter, sò she’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that she’s saved her people from utter destruction and degradation. Won’t that be a strong enough incentive for her?”

She turned back around and Nikolai followed her, grinning a bit. His mother certainly did know how to make an exit.

They got halfway down the hall before Beatrice took Nikolai's arm and leaned heavily on it. “I think I’m getting too old for all of this. Next time, your father is coming with us, and I won’t take no for an answer.”

“What about one from me? Will you take a no from me, mother?” Nikolai asked softly.

Beatrice turned her head up to look at him. “Oh, don’t you start, Nikò. I know that the girl is unpleasant, but she’s beautiful, don’t you think?”

“Beautiful or not, I have no wish to force myself on anyone. Or to force her to be altered. She seems to hate the idea.”

“Oh, Niko, don’t you think I understand that? I would never ask you to do such a thing, and I don’t think it will come to anything like that. Surely you know me better than that. I think she’ll see reason and agree to the marriage. I did once, and I too was once an officer in the Federation army, ” she said, mocking the colonel’s overbearing tone.

Nikolai laughed softly. “She is such a pompous little bitch, isn’t she?”

Beatrice nodded and then sighed as she laid a hand on Nikolai's arm. “I love your father dearly, but he’s a Werewolf to his core. If we return without a marriage contract in hand, I shudder to think how insulted he would be and of what he might unleash on the Federation.”

She sighed heavily and leaned a little more on Nikolai. “I put on a front in there for Kingston, but I am still human, no matter what that sarcastic young woman said about me. I gave my total allegiance to your father a long time ago, and I did so willingly, but of course, I’m still human and still torn. I’ve been working toward a day when this terrible war would be over ever since I became Queen. I’m still hoping for it. Can’t you see your way clear to doing your duty? Can’t you at least try to convince her? For me? For all the lives that will be saved once this interminable war is finally over?”

Nikolai shook his head and sighed. His mother was so shameless, she would pull out all the stops to get his way on this, including playing on her son's feelings. Still, she recognized the gravity of the issue. Millions of lives did depend on it.

Leaning over, he kissed Beatrice's forehead. “I know what you’re doing, but I won’t fight you on this, mother. If the colonel agrees, I’ll go through with the wedding and the wedding night. But only if she consents, and I think she’s a long way from that. I don’t think she likes the idea of a Werewolf as a bed partner. And she doesn't like the idea of having my babies even less.”

“She’ll do it,” Beatrice said, her face set and determined. “Just leave everything to me.”

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