MATED TO FATHER, FATED TO SONS-Chapter 35: ABSOLUTE PSYCHO

ROWAN

Why the hell did I kiss her?

I have a fiancée. A woman who cried in my arms this morning, who wants to move our wedding forward because she cannot imagine facing whatever is coming without me beside her, a woman who loves me, and I had just stood in this room and put my mouth on another woman like I had completely lost the plot.

I ran my hand through my hair and exhaled hard.

I knew the fated mate bond was doing what fated mate bonds did, pulling and gnawing and making a fool out of every sensible decision I had ever made, but I genuinely believed I was stronger than some ancient pull written in the stars by a goddess with questionable judgment.

Apparently not.

The door hit the wall with a thunderous crack and I did not even flinch because there was exactly one person in this pack who entered rooms like he was conducting a raid.

Ryker.

"What was Amaris doing in your room?" He asked, his tone sounded angry and I wondered why.

He hated Lila and also Amaris.

I sighed as much as I wanted to tell him how this bond is messing me up and turning me into a man I didn’t recognize who could kiss another woman despite being engaged to another. I knew Ryker was volatile.

His reaction wasn’t certain. He could be a good understanding brother one minute and a total asshole the next.

"When will you start having the decency to knock," I finally said, veering around to meet his glare.

He was really angry, enraged.

But why?

"Why do you care?" I asked, wanting to know what exactly it was that was that was driving him to bark this loud.

"You were the one going all high and mighty on me about how I should reject her and now seeing her come from your room," his voice was a bit lower. He still stood at the center of the room. His fist was still clenched.

It was not often one gets this kind of reaction from Ryker. It was always two things with him.

It was either he didn’t care at all about something or he cared too much . There was no middle ground, it was always the extreme and staring at him now with his eyes darkened and his shoulder and chest heaved. His fist clenched. It was hard to tell which it was.

"Relax, Tiger." I said walking towards him and placing my hands on his shoulder, "Her father died and I noticed she wasn’t in a good mood and I had to talk to her about it," I lied, I had no other option. It wasn’t a lie in particular that was my reason for having her in my room but my motive changed course mid-way.

"Her father is dead?" He asked and this time his voice, tone and everything had softened up.

"Yes," I replied, "So take it easy on her,"

"I didn’t know," he replied, almost sounding remorseful. Which was also strange.

"Well now you know," I said, "and also what do you think we were doing, you do know I am engaged."

He looked at me, arms still crossed, jaw still tight, "Are you still engaged to that bitch."

I scowled at him, "Don’t call her that."

"You mean I shouldn’t call her what she is," he said, completely unbothered by my scowl, he never was.

"Despite your best effort," I said flatly, "I didn’t break up with her."

He rolled his eyes and his expression shifted from unbothered into a frown. "Let me guess, she denied it."

"No," I said, watching his face, "she didn’t actually, she admitted it, said it stopped the moment she met me and that Cole was the only one."

The laugh that rolled out of Ryker was slow and genuinely evil, the kind that started somewhere in his stomach and took its time reaching his mouth, the kind that meant he had already decided what he thought and found my position deeply amusing, "And you believed her."

"Yes I do," I said, holding his gaze, "you know absolutely nothing about trust or relationships Ryker so I wouldn’t expect you to understand any of this."

He opened his mouth and I raised a hand, "Don’t."

He closed it, still smirking, then turned toward the door like he was done with the conversation and with me entirely.

"Ryker." He stopped but didn’t turn around. "The full moon is approaching."

He turned his head slightly, just enough to show he was listening, "So."

"So we need to reject Amaris before then," I said, "both of us, together."

He turned around fully this time and looked at me with the specific expression he reserved for things he considered beneath his intelligence, slow blink, slight tilt of the head, the works, "Not this again."

"I am serious."

"And I told you I wouldn’t," he said, "and I meant every word of it."

"Why not," I pressed, "give me one reason that makes actual sense."

He stared at me for a long moment, something moving behind his eyes that he wasn’t putting into words, "Why the fuck would I do that," he finally said, like that was a complete and sufficient answer.

"Because," I said, keeping my voice as level as I could manage, "if we don’t, you remember that night we ended up in her room, that will be the absolute top of the iceberg of what the full moon is going to drag out of all of us and you know I am right."

Ryker was quiet for exactly two seconds.

Then the smile came, slow and wide and the kind that had never once in his life meant anything good for anyone involved, "Well," he said, already turning back toward the door, "I can’t wait then."

He walked out without another word.

I stood in the middle of my room staring at the empty doorway.

Ryker was going to get us all killed.

What an absolute psycho.