The master bedroom felt quieter than usual that night. Kyros had carried me upstairs after we got home, but instead of immediately tearing each other’s clothes off, he sat on the edge of the big bed and pulled me gently onto his lap.
I was still wearing my crumpled cream dress, and I could feel the dried evidence of everything we had done earlier sticking to my thighs.
I rested my head against his broad chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
“Daddy…” I finally whispered, tracing a finger along the collar of his shirt. “We really did that, didn’t we? Mom saw everything. She saw you inside me.”
Kyros let out a slow, heavy breath. His large hand rubbed soothing circles on my back, but I could feel the tension in his body.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, voice low and rough. “She saw. And she’s not going to stay quiet about it, Freya. Your mother is a proud woman. She’s going to try to make this as difficult as possible.”
I lifted my head to look at him. “I’m twenty-two years old. I keep saying it because I need to remind myself… and everyone else. I’m not a child. I chose this. I chose you. But… It still hurt when she looked at me like that. Like I was disgusting.”
Kyros cupped my face with both hands, his smoky green eyes serious. “You are not disgusting. Not even a little. What we have isn’t clean or simple, but it’s real. I’ve wanted you for months, baby. Fighting it every single day. Now that it’s out… I don’t want to hide anymore. But I need you to understand how messy this could get.”
I nodded slowly, biting my lip. “The pack elders?”
“They’ll have something to say,” he admitted. “Some will call it a betrayal of the arrangement. Others might see it as me being weak. An Alpha is supposed to be in control… and right now, I’m struggling to control anything when it comes to you.”
I shifted on his lap, straddling him properly so I could look straight into his eyes. “Then let them talk. I’m not going anywhere. I seduced you, remember? I wanted my Alpha stepfather so badly that I walked downstairs in a tiny tank top with no shorts on purpose. I called you Daddy knowing exactly what I was doing.”
A small, tired smile tugged at his lips. He leaned in and kissed me — slow, deep, and full of emotion rather than just hunger.
“You’re braver than you should be,” he murmured against my mouth. “And far too tempting.”
We stayed like that for a while, just kissing and holding each other. His hands roamed over my body, but gently this time.
We were tangled together in the middle of his large bed, my dress long discarded on the floor.
His big hands roamed gently over my bare skin as he kissed me like he was trying to memorize every second. For a little while, the rest of the world disappeared. It was just his warmth, his masculine scent, and the steady beat of his heart against my chest.
“I don’t care what anyone says,” he murmured between kisses, his voice low and rough. “You’re mine now, Freya. My girl.”
I smiled softly against his mouth and whispered back, “Hun.”
He groaned quietly and pulled me closer, deepening the kiss. His hand slid down to grip my thigh, pulling it over his hip as the heat between us started to build again.
Then his phone rang.
The sharp sound cut through the quiet room like a knife. Kyros ignored it at first, kissing me harder, but it rang again,
With a frustrated growl, he reached over to the nightstand and picked it up. His expression changed the moment he saw the screen.
“It’s one of the elders,” he said, voice tight. He answered the call, keeping one arm wrapped around me. “Yes, this is Kyros.”
I watched his face as he listened. His jaw clenched. His body went rigid beneath me. Whatever the elder was saying, it wasn’t good. After a short, tense conversation, he ended the call and tossed the phone aside.
“Your mother didn’t waste any time,” he said darkly. “She’s already spoken to two of the senior elders. They want to see me first thing tomorrow morning.”
I sat up slowly, pulling the sheet around my chest. “And me?”
Kyros looked at me, his smoky green eyes conflicted. “They haven’t asked for you yet. But I doubt that’ll last long.”
The warmth we had shared just moments ago suddenly felt fragile. I leaned in and kissed him once more, softly this time, before sliding out of bed.
“I need to do something,” I said, reaching for my dress. “I can’t just sit here and wait for everything to explode. I’m going to see Mom tonight.”
Kyros sat up quickly. “Freya, that’s not a good idea right now. She’s angry.”
“I know,” I replied, slipping the dress over my head. “But I’m not going to hide in your bedroom while she tries to destroy what we started. I should face her.”
He watched me for a long moment, then nodded reluctantly. “Take one of the guards with you. And come straight back home after. Our home.”
I walked over and kissed him again, longer this time, letting him feel how much I meant what I said. “I will. Wait for me.”
`
The drive to the upscale apartment complex where my mother was staying felt longer than it should have. My heart was pounding when I knocked on her door.
She opened it after a long pause. Her eyes were cold, red-rimmed with anger and exhaustion. For a second she looked like she might slam the door in my face, but instead she stepped aside.
“You have some nerve showing up here,” she said sharply as I walked in.
I turned to face her, standing straight. “I’m not here to fight, Mom. I’m here to talk. Woman to woman.”
She let out a bitter laugh. “Woman? You’re my twenty-two-year-old daughter who was bent over your stepfather’s desk with his c**k inside you. Don’t talk to me about being a woman.”
The words stung, but I refused to flinch.
“Yes, I’m twenty-two,” I said calmly. “Old enough to make my own decisions. Old enough to fall in love with someone. What you and Kyros had was a business deal. We both know that. But what I feel for him… it’s real. And he feels the same.”
My mother stared at me like I was a stranger. The silence stretched between us, heavy and painful.
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” she finally whispered, her voice shaking with fury. “You’ve ruined everything. And I’m not going to let you destroy his position or my reputation without a fight.”
She took a step closer, eyes blazing.
“So tell me, Freya… are you really prepared for what’s coming next?”