Chapter Seven

Max

I gulp down the entire glass of whiskey and refill it as soon as I slam it down.

There's a pain behind my eyes that I can't seem to rub out of them. In fact, rubbing my eyes worsens the pain.

A curse leaves my lips and I finish my drink.

Behind me, the door opens. I don't bother turning back to see who it is. It seems there's always someone in my room who has an opinion to give me, as if their 'opinions' can make any of this better.

"Drinking again?"

I roll my eyes to the sound of her voice and pour myself another glass. When she sees this, she rushes to my side and puts a hand on my arm to try to stop me. I give her a black look but she doesn't release me or back away.

"You need to stop this, brother," Veronica says. "Killing yourself isn't going to make any of this better."

"Who says having a few drinks is going to kill me?"

"You know what I mean," she spits. "Everything you do, you exaggerate. There is no limit with you. If you keep this up, you'll drink yourself right into an early grave. I know you. I know how you are."

"If you knew me so well, you'd know that your interference is irritating me," I say roughly. "I don't need people telling me what to do. I'm the Alpha. Nobody tells me what to do."

"How mature," she says, rolling her eyes.

Despite my warning, she takes the bottle from me and keeps it under her arm. I take slow sips of my drink and glare at her over the rim of the glass. She, as always, is unfazed by my anger. It seems she's the only one who isn't afraid of me, but that's only because I would never kill a sibling. Yes, she's my step-sister and we don't necessarily share the same blood which is essential in our world to be considered family, but to me that has never mattered.

Veronica is the only sister I've ever had.

Right now, though, I can't seem to find my love for her. She's annoying me along with everyone else who can't seem to leave me alone. I don't care about what they think. They can say whatever they want; it won't undo the terrible thing that has happened.

It won't mate me to Alaska.

I close my eyes. I always feel pain whenever I think about her. The worst is that I don't know where the pain even comes from. It's just there, and it's a constant reminder of her. The last time I saw her, she was watching me from the other end of the courtyard while I mated with a woman who wasn't her, and tears were running down her face. When I tried to go to her, she ran from me.

"Max?"

I open my eyes and look at Veronica. She's watching me with a concerned expression. She repeats her question. "What are you going to do about the girl?"

The mention of her makes my blood boil. "What's there to do?"

"She's a part of our family now whether you like it or not," she says, watching me closely. I stare back at her in disbelief. "Whatever happens to her could kill you. The bond is too fresh."

"You don't think I know that?" I ask her through gritted teeth. "It's the only reason why she's not dead yet."

"You'll need time to starve the bond," she says. "Only after that will you be able to do what you want."

"Unless she's dead, I can't mate with Alaska," I say, draining my glass. "I know that. So what exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm saying she needs to be taken care of in the meantime," she snaps. "Taking care of her doesn't mean you need to treat her as your equal or even love. Goddess have mercy, that's not what I'm trying to say. I'm saying that there will be a lot of people wanting to use her to get to you and you can't let that happen. You can't give anyone that much power over you."

I rub my sore eyes, feeling the need to have another drink in hopes that it will help me drown out this senseless talk. "She's already on our floor. What more do you want from me?"

"That's not enough," she says. "You have to give her enough protection. You need to make sure that nobody will dare to touch her. If she does right now, you die, too."

"There's no proof of that," I murmur under my breath. When I look over my shoulder, I notice that she's watching me with a murderous expression. "I don't think the bond will kill me. It can't have that much power. I don't love her. She means nothing to me."

"Max," she says in exasperation. "You're not above the laws of nature. It's too soon. I know you're angry but you need to rationalize here."

When I ignore her, she stands from the sofa and walks toward me. Sadly, she left the bottle on the sofa. "Think about this: in a few months, you'll be free to do whatever you want after her death. You'll be with the love of your life and all this will be is a memory. A bad one, but it'll be in the past."

"That's if Alaska doesn't give up on me," I say morosely.

"Naturally, she's upset."

"Upset?" I ask loudly. "She feels betrayed. I mated with someone else instead of her. Do you know how long we planned this? She was to be my Luna. Her family had prepared the move. A strong and important alliance would be formed. All of that went down the drain when that slave whore—"

"Max."

"—decided that she could interfere in my fucking life and ruin everything!" This thought makes me angry enough to stand up and kick the chair I was sitting on. Veronica watches me with narrowed eyes.

"Breaking furniture won't solve a thing."

I make an impatient sound at the back of my throat. "Just leave me alone."

"You're my brother," she says, coming up behind me and embracing me from behind. "I only want what's best for you. I don't want you harmed because of this. The worst already happened. All we can do is stop things from getting worse."

I say nothing.

"Let me take care of this, then," she suggests. "I'll watch over her and take care of her as it should be. You don't have to lift a finger. Just give me permission."

"You can have it," I say. "You can do whatever the hell you want. Just keep her out of my sight or I'll wrap my hands around her throat and end this for both of us."

"You'll do no such thing," she says, kissing my cheek. "You'll behave. And in the meantime, try not to kill yourself, alright? Things will get better. This will all be over before you know it."

I'm not a patient person, so it feels like this will last forever. I can't see this ending. I can't see myself moving forward from this. Veronica leaves my side and is about to leave the room when she remembers the bottle. I was hoping she would forget.

"I'll see you later at dinner," she says, reaching the door. "And you better come down to eat or I'll drag you there myself."

I wave her off and she leaves. I'm alone again and I don't know what to do with myself. I've never been in this kind of state before. I genuinely don't know what to do anymore. Everywhere I go, everyone looks at me with the kind of pity that infuriates me. And if they're not looking at me with pity, it's judgment. How did I let such a thing happen? How did I not notice that it wasn't Alaska who was standing beside me?

How would I have noticed with the veil?

The plan was elaborated well, that's something I have to give them credit for. The idiotic slave couldn't have done this herself, not in a million years. How would she gain access to Alaska's dress? Whoever did this knew the whole schedule of the day, and they even knew that Alaska would be late because of her uncle's health. He had a heart attack on the morning of our mating. It's the reason why she was running late. It's the reason why everything went to shit and I ended up marking a slave as mine.

Why, though? That's what I can't figure out. Why do this? Who would want to keep Alaska and I apart? During our courting, we never noticed people trying to tear us apart. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened. Everything was perfect.

Clearly, there was someone plotting against me.

But who?

I feel despair growing inside of me. I’ve never felt this way before. The feeling gets worse with every passing day. It’s like the feeling has been amplified ever since the whole mating accident happened. I rub my chest, hoping to ease the discomfort there. I don’t know what this is but it’s irritating me. I’m the Alpha of MoonWater. I can’t afford to feel desperate. I have to have the solutions. I have to be the optimistic one. But something won’t allow me to feel this way. There’s more despair and negativity than anything else.

And I can’t change that.

A knock on the door interrupts my train of thought and makes me grit my teeth. "What?" I bark.

"Max," comes the voice of Albert. Hearing his voice makes me feel hopeful. My tone of voice instantly changes when I tell him to come in.

He glances around the room before walking toward me. I turn around to face him fully. He stops a few feet away from me and says, “I have an answer from my sister.”

“What does she say?”

Albert shakes his head. “She doesn’t want to see you. She’s not ready.” My heart sinks and I look away. Albert adds, “You need to give her time. I’m sure she’ll come around.”

“Will she?” I ask sadly. “I’m starting to lose hope.”

“Don’t. I know my sister. She’ll come around.” He clears his throat uncomfortably. “Things will get better once the slave girl leaves the picture.”

“I know that more than anyone else,” I say, closing my eyes so I don’t have to give her a thought longer than necessary.

“You’ve decided what you’ll do about her?” he asks, pacing the floor. “I know there’s nothing you can do now.”

“As soon as the bond is starved enough and it’s safe, I’ll have her executed,” I reply with a shrug. “Veronica says it’ll be a few months.”

“Yes, more or less,” he answers. “I spoke to the monk and he said not consummating the bond will rot it a lot faster.”

“That’s settled, then.”

“Of course, it’ll be crucial for you to keep your distance from her at all times. There will be…temptations. She is still your mate, after all. Whether you like it or not.”

I grit my teeth and ignore how offended I feel by his words. “That’s not something you need to concern yourself with. I’d rather cut my own hand than touch her.”

“I meant no harm,” he says, putting his hands up. “I’m just saying what the monk said. Relaying a message. That’s all.”

“Of course I know I can’t touch her,” I say, irritated. “Nor would I ever do it. I feel nothing but disgust toward her.”

“You’ve had a chance to question her?”

“She insists that she doesn’t know who’s behind it. She remembers faces, that’s all.” I turn my back to him and sigh. “It’s a tremendous waste of time. Being in the same room as her isn’t something I’m particularly fond of, either. She has nothing to say. Nothing valuable, anyway.”

Albert says nothing for a while, then he says, “I pity her, you know.”

I arch a brow as I face him. “And why the hell would that be?”

“She’s perfectly harmless,” he says with a distant expression. “I’ll never forget the look on her face when you unveiled her. She fell to the ground with an expression that was almost…heartbreaking. Like she had no idea what was going on. And then in the room, when you shouted at her and threatened her.”

I say nothing. He looks into the distance again and then looks back at me. “And now she’s being kept under your wing and living in comfort only to be slaughtered like a pig when the time comes.”

“It’s what she deserves,” I say pointedly.

“I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve it,” he argues. “I’m just saying that it’s tragic nonetheless. Anyway, it’s just a thought.”

I scoff. I feel that horrible feeling again, like I think the world will collapse on my head. I wish I had some liquor to burn it all down. But I don’t.

I say to him, “Save your pity. Your sister needs it more.”