THE CRIMSON HEIRESS

Chapter 2. The Signature

Liana

He was already sitting when I walked in.

Alpha Dan. My father.

You asked for me," I said, looking down at my feet.

He didn't look up.

I couldn't call him Dad. Not the way I used to. The last time I called him that with any warmth in it he looked through me like I wasn't there. Like the word cost him something he hadn't budgeted for.

"Yes I did." His deep voice filled the room and pressed down on my shoulders.

"You called for me," I said. Keeping my voice even. Keeping my eyes steady. Giving him nothing he could use.

He said nothing.

I stood there and felt the room get smaller.

Lucky Mia. She never had to earn a single look from him. He just gave them.

"I have got news for you Liana." His voice came out flat. Final. The kind of voice that didn't ask. It was announced. "That's why I summoned you. You're getting married to the son of Alpha Trey of the Midnight River Pack. Charlie."

My head shot up.

"What did you just say?"

Before I could say another word Blake stepped forward from the corner where he'd been standing so still I hadn't seen him. His jaw was tight. Eyes on me. Something desperate in them that he was trying to hold back.

"Liana," he said quietly.

"No." I looked at my father. "No. I won't marry him."

My voice came out shaky but I said it.

Dad didn't say a word. His eyes drilled into me with something I had no name for. Not anger exactly. Colder than anger.

Footsteps behind me.

The door opened without a knock.

Mia slipped in with a faint smile playing on her lips. She walked in like she had every right to be there, her gaze going straight to my father before it landed on me.

"Is she done?" she asked, her tone almost casual. Like this had already been decided before I walked through the door. "Did she agree?"

A cold weight settled in my chest.

The pieces fell into place too fast.

This wasn't a surprise to her.

They had arranged this together.

"Ahh," Mia said when she saw my face. The smile spread into something cruel. "So the heiress finally has something to say. After everything at the wedding you still have the nerve to stand here and argue?"

I wiped tears from my face with the back of my arm and steadied my voice.

"You're right," I said, looking at her with everything I was still holding together. "I was shameless. To ever believe any of you had a heart."

Her smirk faltered. Just for a second, replaced by something raw and startled.

She hadn't expected me to fight back.

"Aww don't worry sis," she cooed, her voice dripping. "You'll have plenty of company where you're going. Midnight River's walls are very lively, I hear. Or maybe you'll end up sharing a bed with the beast they've chosen for you."

She tilted her head, smile going darker.

"Rumor is he kills anyone who gets too close. Just be careful."

She watched the color leave my face and smiled like she was enjoying every second of it.

"You sold me," I said. Turning to face him. "Your own daughter. With a blade at her throat. And you call that a father's decision."

He hit his fist on the desk.

"You came into this world and took the most precious thing I had. You cost me everything the moment you arrived."

His wolf rose to the surface. I felt it before I saw it. The air changed. Heavier. Hostile.

"I'm hurt too," I said, my voice breaking. "She was my mother. She died giving birth to me. I didn't choose that. Not a day goes by that I don't wish she was still here."

"Shut your mouth." His voice dropped into something worse than a shout. "You have been a burden since the day you were born. The sooner you're out of this pack the sooner I can breathe."

I couldn't breathe.

Blake moved.

One step toward me and then Blake stopped himself the way he always did when our father's aura filled the room. Four minutes older. Future Alpha. And still stopped by the same thing I was stopped by.

Fear of what happened when you pushed too far.

"I won't marry Charlie," I said. My voice was shaky. "I won't."

Mia's expression changed instantly.

Eyes going hard.

"I'm done listening to you," she said flatly. "Let's just finish this."

She grabbed the collar of my dress and pulled me forward. The fabric tightened around my throat as I stumbled.

"Mia let me go!" I grabbed her wrist and twisted it.

"b***h!" She released me and slapped me hard.

My head jerked to the side. Cheek stinging. I tried to run for the door.

Someone grabbed me from behind.

Blake.

Blake held me back, his face twisted in pain. Like he was doing the only thing he believed he could do and hating every second of it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered near my ear. "Liana, I'm sorry. Just sign it. Please. Just sign it and stay alive."

"Sign it. Now." My father's voice dropped into a growl.

Mia grabbed my hand and shoved a pen between my fingers, pushing it toward the paper on the desk. Pain shot up my arm as Blake held tighter. My fingers trembled. The pen tip hovered over the line waiting for my name.

Then a cold blade touched my neck.

Sharp. Unforgiving.

I froze.

"Sign it," Mia whispered near my ear, her voice low and steady. "Or I'll open your throat right here and tell them you did it to yourself."

The blade pressed closer.

Just enough to make my breath stop.

My hand moved before I could stop it. Clinging to the pen like it was the only thing keeping me alive. Tears blurred everything, spilling down and soaking into the paper below.

The ink spread as my name formed in uneven strokes.

By the time I finished it was already done.

My signature sat there in dark ink beside his.

Charlie. Son of Alpha Trey. Midnight River Pack.

"Blake."

Nothing.

"Look at me."

He looked up.

"How long have you known."

He didn't respond.

"How long, Blake."

"Three days," he said quietly.

Three days.

I stood with that for a moment.

Three days of him calling me. Checking on me. Sitting beside me on those steps with his shoulder against mine.

Three days of knowing.

"You held me," I said. "You knew what was in this room. You sat with me and you held me."

He didn't deny it.

"I didn't have a choice."

"You had one." My voice went flat. "Three days ago."

His mouth opened.

I walked past him.

There was nothing left to say to someone who chose the pack over you and then held you like he hadn't.

I had signed my own death sentence.