Chapter 9

Blossom POV.

As the new escape date neared, another unforeseen complication arose. One morning during breakfast, our uncle announced that a handyman would need entry to our suite the next morning to install bars on our windows, along with the other rear windows of the house. Our uncle claimed he had been hearing noises in the night coming from the rear of the house and he did not want to risk a break-in.

Diana and I hid our panic as we choked down some of our breakfast, then asked to be excused. We would need to plan Diana's escape for that night. There was no more time to waste.

That night, we waited 30 minutes after our uncle came by to check on us and lock our door. I helped my sister to slip out of the far corner window of our bedroom, then held my breath as Diana lithely descended the trellis to the ground, two stories below. I dared not call out, though my heart was breaking. Instead, I waved spiritedly as my sister set foot on the lawn and turned to look up at the window before heading into the dark of night. We could not have had our room light on and raised suspicion, so I was unsure whether my sister could even see me, but I kept waving for several minutes after my sister was out of sight.

I then left the window and sat on Diana's bed, where we had arranged a mound of pillows under the covers to fool our uncle, should he check on us at some point in the night.

I had felt so utterly alone that night, and sadly, the feeling had never gone away entirely since. Diana was the only family I had in this world, at least as I saw it. And now I had lost her as well. I was happy for Diana, but I was sad—so very sad—for myself.

As I turned from thoughts of Diana back to the process at hand, I felt my inner wolf telling me that Dean, too, is alone and much like me, wants to get rid of the control his powerful family tries to exert on him—particularly his father. I saw it in his eyes and felt it in my heart.

I knew that feeling so very well. I recalled when Diana and I were still very young, not long after we had first come to live with our uncle, he used to test us to ensure we understood he was in control. For example, he would tell the young girls that he was going to treat us to ice cream, which we normally did not get. We naturally became excited in anticipation of our treat. That's when he would pull the rug out from under us and say he had changed his mind. If we showed any sign of disappointment, we were punished.

Even now, I could make no sense of my uncle's twisted logic and his tortuous games. I knew his goal, however, was to break us so he could more easily control us. He wanted to manipulate all areas of our lives, seemingly for as long as he lived. Alejandro had us tutored at home so he could control what we learned as well as whom we encountered. He chose all our clothing and personal care items and even dictated our hairstyles and the décor in our living quarters. The only food we consumed were meals our uncle had approved.

Our parents' estate and wealth, which should have been passed down to us, was instead handed over to our uncle. He explained that he could better control how it is spent because we were not to be trusted to make sound decisions. Yet, to our knowledge, he never spent a dime of it on us when we asked.

I wondered sometimes where my uncle's need to control us came from. As I got older, I saw that not only did he try to control all aspects of our lives, but also dwelled constantly on how he could accumulate more wealth in ways that avoided him having to earn it.

I glanced at Aries, who met my eyes and glared at me with such intensity, I felt ill at the pit of my stomach. It was obvious he disliked me even before things got to this point. I found it odd that he had agreed to the arrangement in the first place, but perhaps he'd had a weak moment when approached by my uncle.

While my uncle had shown signs of utter despair when the process began to derail, Aries on the other hand simply looked even more determined to take back full control of whom his son would marry. And that someone would not be me if he had any say in the matter, which he most certainly felt he did.

I wondered how else he had manipulated his son over the years and at what point Dean had begun to put an end to it. Unlike the relationship I had with my uncle, where he continued to manipulate me, I sensed that Dean was ready to draw a line in the sand.

And why wouldn't he? It was Dean who was the strongest, most powerful alpha werewolf in New Orleans, not Aries. Why should he continue to bow down to his father's whims at every turn when he bows down to no one else? He is feared by so many of his enemies, yet Aries has the nerve to think Dean should still fear him. Dean should not continue to be obligated to his father, and I was betting that he was beginning to realize it. I could easily see the tension between the two of them, hidden precariously just below the surface.

I was suddenly aware that Dean was looking right at me. His gaze had softened just a little, but I still saw little emotion behind his eyes.

"Are you ready to start?" he asked me. His words startled me from my thoughts. It was then that I remembered the here and now. This was my chance to speak to Dean directly and propose a resolution, one I hoped would move us forward, yet remain cognizant of Dean's desire to continue honoring his dead wife as the only one he felt he could ever truly love.

"Yes," I began. "First, let me ask. Was it your intention to marry my sister Diana?

"No, not at all!" Dean quickly replies. "It was only due to the demands of our two families that this whole process even started with your sister."

I paused for a second to gather my courage. Dean's response to my next question would determine whether I would escape from my uncle or go back to his home to receive his wrath and continue to have my life manipulated.

"I can accept your love for your deceased mate," I began slowly. "It is then your choice. You can continue doing as your father dictates and see whom he next forces you to marry. Or, you can simply—marry me."