Heart of the Warrior (26 page)

He had his life figured out now. All he needed to do was
tell his parents. They were the hard ones. Once he got through telling them,
coming out to everyone else would be easy. Well, Io would still be a challenge,
but even Io wouldn't be as hard to come out to as his parents.

Ari pulled onto the long winding driveway of his parents’
estate and drove up to the house. A few cars were already there. His father
wouldn’t be happy that he was late. Well, shit, he wouldn't be happy about a
lot of things tonight, would he? So, in a way, he was just getting things
started off on the right foot.

He parked and proceeded up the wide steps in front of the
house. The doorman greeted him inside the foyer and waved him past – no need to
check the guest list for his name – and he grabbed a glass of champagne from a
tray and looked around.

"Well, it’s about time you got here." His mother,
dressed in an elegant green gown, appeared from the sitting room and greeted
him with a hug. "We were beginning to worry."

"Hi, Mom. Where’s Dad."

She linked her arm in his and led him through the main hall.
"He’s in the Great Room. Come on, let’s go see him" She smiled and
her eyes twinkled secretively.

"What is it?" he said.

"What’s what?" She tried to sound innocent but
failed.

"You’re hiding something."

She waved her free hand then linked it over his arm.
"You’ll see."

Dinner music played through the home’s audio system and the
entire front hall was decked out in green. Green rugs, green curtains, green
bulbs in the chandelier. A variety of green masquerade masks and hats, no two
alike, lined a long table covered with a green tablecloth.

His mom picked up a hat and popped it on his head with a
tinkling laugh. "Don’t you look handsome?"

The way she said it caused the hair on the back of his neck
to prickle.

"Um, look, Mom. I was hoping to have a word with you
and Dad before the party."

"Certainly, this will just take a moment."

He didn’t want to wait a moment. He wanted to get this over
with as soon as possible, while he still had the courage to do so. That way,
when Sev arrived, he could be by his side without worry. And if his parents
kicked him out after he said what he had to say then he and Sev would find a
party of their own somewhere else, just as long as they could be together.

Just then his father walked through the door on the far side
of the room. He had a stately male with him, along with a tastefully coiffed
blonde wearing a shimmering green sheath.

"Ah, there he is," his father said, seeing him.

The female’s eyes turned toward him and she blushed.

Somehow this all just felt wrong. What was going on?

The five of them met in the middle of the room and his
father shook his hand. "Son."

"Father."

His mom released his arm and stepped to his father’s side.

"Arion, this is Ulrich Fenton. Ulrich is another of the
king’s liaisons. This is his daughter, Persephone. They only just relocated to
Chicago a month ago."

"Pleasure to meet you." He greeted them both,
playing the dutiful part of a politician’s son.

He was just about to remind his mother that he needed to
speak to them when his father altered the course of the night.

"Arion, Ulrich and I have discussed it, and we both
agree." He glanced toward Ulrich, who nodded and grinned approvingly.
"We have arranged for you and Persephone to wed."

Thud.
That was Ari’s mouth hitting the floor,
followed immediately by the abrupt silence as his heart stopped beating. In
fact, his lungs had stopped working, too. Everything in Ari's realm of
understanding seemed to come to a complete halt.

No one noticed, though, and the bad dream of a scene
continued to unfold. His father went on as if nothing was wrong, even though it
should have been obvious Arion was about to pass out…or maybe keel over and
die.

"The ceremony is set to take place one month from
today. Your mother has taken care of all the arrangements."

He glanced from his dad to Persephone then to Ulrich and
back to his dad. His mom turned around and waved at someone on the second
level. Suddenly, a banner – with green lettering, of course – unfolded from the
railing.
Congratulations Arion and Persephone on your engagement!
The
pertinent details of the ceremony – place, time, etc. – followed. He glanced
back at his mom and dad in disbelief.

Suddenly, the soothing piano music playing in the background
sounded like a death march. What had looked like festive green decorations now
looked like something you would find at a funeral.

"Congratulations, Arion!" His mom hugged him.
"This is your engagement party."

Arion was defeated. Trumped by his own parents. He could see
the smug victory in their eyes. They had wanted him to take a mate for years,
both growing more impatient with each passing week. So they had forced his hand,
and at the worst possible time, because he had already taken a mate. But Sev
wasn’t the gender they wanted for their son, was he?

"Um. Mom? Dad? Can we talk privately?"

"Honey, Arion asked if he could speak to us before the
party," his mom said to his dad, sounding as if she only just now
remembered Ari's request.

"Yes, of course." His dad acknowledged Ulrich and
Persephone then ushered Ari and his mom out of the room and into the library,
where he shut the door.

Suddenly, the polite smiles on both their faces disappeared.
He had known their performances in the great room had only been for show.

"You will not back out of this marriage," his
father said before Ari could say anything.

His mom pursed her lips reprovingly. "Ari, it’s time
you settled and started a family. Enough of this pandering from woman to woman.
Persephone is a worthy female, with strong bloodlines. She will give you
political stature and, God willing, your children."

"I didn’t realize arranged marriages still took place
in the vampire community," Ari said, his voice quiet.

"You'd be surprised, Arion." His dad waved a hand.
"It's quite common in the king's inner circle. This is normal."

No wonder few members of the king's council had children.
Without mating, there was no calling, and without a calling, conception became
rare. If many of those pairings had been arranged instead of naturally mated,
it made sense why few children had been born to them.

Ari didn't have time to think about that now, though,
because his own world was crashing down around him. He wanted to shout at them
to go fuck themselves, but they had so successfully throttled him out of the
blue, he only felt numbness. He couldn’t make sense of his thoughts.

His father stepped forward and jutted his chin proudly.
"If you have designs on getting out of this marriage, let me forewarn you
that if you break this covenant Ulrich and I have formed, I will cut you off
from the family fortune. I will repossess your car, take away your house, cut
off your credit, and kick you out. It is your family duty to carry on our
legacy and the family name. You have been unfit to do this on your own, so we
have taken measures to ensure you fulfill your obligation."

And just like that, Ari knew he couldn’t tell his parents
about Sev. His life had never been his to live, had it? He would forever be
held prisoner by the Savakis name, never to live the life he wanted for
himself. Happiness wasn’t something he would ever be allowed to have. What had
he been thinking? Had he really thought he and Sev had a chance? A few days of
bliss and that would make everything all right? Apparently, it didn't.

The fact that he and Sev had mated would be inconsequential
in the eyes of his parents. He and Sev would have to keep their mating a secret
and have an affair for them to remain together. That was the only way this
would work. Arion felt his world crumbling around him, but he couldn't lose
Sev. He reasoned that an affair would be enough. It would have to be enough.

What had started out to be such a perfect evening had now
been reduced to shit.

"Now, what is it you wanted to talk to us about?"
his mom said.

"Nothing." Because his life was nothing now. He
had no life, only misery.

"Well then, get back out there to your fiancé. She’s
been dying to meet you." His father gave him a pat on the back.

"Yes, sir." Could his spine have been any more
yellow? He felt like a chump. A sniveling, weak-ass chump. He wasn't good
enough for Sev. Sev deserved a strong male, not some chicken-shit. And Ari
would always be a chicken-shit.

His father opened the door, and once more their façade of
happy, doting parents fell into place. "Congratulations, son."

His mother hugged him. "We’re so happy for you."

Great. At least someone was happy. Arion just wanted to find
a gun and put himself out of his misery.

Sev stopped in front of the long driveway that wound up to a
house that was bigger than the entire AKM compound. Shit. He knew Ari’s father
was someone important, but this was over the top and not what he'd expected.
The residence intimidated him, and money and fat cribs normally didn't
intimidate Sev. No wonder Ari hadn’t been able to get out from under his
father’s thumb all these years. Someone with that much money exuded a lot of power
and influence. He imagined Ari felt he could never measure up.

Well, all that ended tonight. He drove his Challenger up the
drive, parked and got out, passed his keys to the valet, and trotted up the
steps.

"Last name?" A man behind a podium addressed him.
He had a list in front of him.

"Bannon."

"Lakota?"

Sev frowned. What the hell was his father’s name doing on
the list? "No. Severin." He clipped his response, not caring that the
man had called him Lakota by accident.

"Ah, yes, there you are. Enjoy your evening, sir."
The man gave him a tight, apologetic smile, obviously aware he had
inadvertently offended Sev.

Sev frowned as he walked away from the guy. How the hell had
his father earned an invite to the party? Just as long as he didn’t see him,
there wouldn’t be a problem. He wasn't in the mood for his dad right now.

The place was already crowded, but he only wanted to see one
person. He needed to find his Ari.

He grabbed a glass of green beer and made his way through
the crowds, stepping past groups of people, some of whom wore clothes worth
more money than he made in a year. Too-heavy perfume assaulted his senses,
making him cough as he wandered from the main hallway into the room where
everyone else seemed to be congregating.

Green, green, green everywhere. Someone set a green hat on
his head. He didn't know who, though.

"Isn’t it wonderful?" someone else said.

"I can’t believe he finally did it," said another.

"One of our most eligible bachelors, off the
market." A female passed him on her way out, shaking her head at her
friend.

"I know. And did you get a look at her dress? I wonder
how much that frock cost her?"

What the hell were these people talking about?

He wandered further into the room then turned, looking for
Ari.

That was when he saw it. He almost dropped his beer when he
read the sign announcing Ari’s engagement to someone named Persephone. The room
seemed to spin for a minute then his eyes landed on Ari. He stood behind the
balustrade on the upper level that overlooked the room, his arm around the
waist of a blonde Sev recognized. Who was she? He had seen her before, but
where?

Ari’s eyes were dull, his face almost vacant as he listened
in on a conversation with the blonde and three other people. Her arm slid
around Ari’s waist and she nodded and tilted her head toward him affectionately
and kissed his cheek. Ari glanced at her and smiled wanly.

Anger coiled up inside him. His mated side reared its head
and he suddenly wanted to rip that female apart for touching his mate like
that. He was about to roar up the stairs and do just that when someone gripped
him hard from behind.

"Out. Now."

"Micah?" Sev was momentarily caught off guard.

Trace grabbed his other arm and the two males pushed him
toward the door.

"Let me go," he said, trying to push them off.

"Shut up and fucking chill," Micah said, his voice
quiet.

"Excuse us, please." Sam darted in front of them
and made sure the path was clear.

"What are you doing? Leave me alone." Sev tried to
pull away. He just wanted to go to his mate and pull that bitch off him.

Micah and Trace practically carried him out by his arms and
rounded a corner into what looked like a library.

"In here." Sam waved them in and closed the door.

Only then did Micah and Trace let go of his arms.

He shoved off and snarled at them both. "Let me out.
Let me go."

"No can do, Sev." Trace joined Sam by the door,
arms crossed, making like a roadblock.

Sev needed to get back to his mate. His whole body ached and
shivered, the pain growing and spreading. Finally he doubled over and gagged,
landing on all fours. The pain – the pain was wretched, worse than the other
night, shredding every ounce of dignity he had right there in front of his
teammates and Micah's mate.

Sam rushed forward with a trash can and held it in front of
Sev just in time to catch his dinner. He retched then retched some more,
hugging the can as his stomach heaved and tears of agony streamed down his
cheeks.

Micah knelt beside him and Sev felt something he was sure
was a mistake. Micah was stroking his back. His palm smoothed up and down
gently, trying to comfort him. Had he entered the Twilight Zone? Hell, this was
Micah, for God's sake. Micah didn't do gentle and he sure as hell didn't do
comforting.