Showtime

LANDON

Unspoken emotions crackled like summer storms for the longest time until I slowly trained myself to breathe easier. As much as I would like to shift right now, to hunt, to maim and to kill, I knew I had to be somewhere. 

I have a son, a child who was such a splitting image as I was, I could not believe my eyes. My phone beeped with Alex’s message, informing me that my order had been well carried out and Liam was made comfortable in one of the guest rooms on the second floor. 

I looked down at the watch, knowing it would take Elea some time to be delivered to my room. And I could not tame the restlessness of seeing my boy. 

So, I headed down, marching towards the guest room and as soon as I cracked open the door, the boy turned around to face me. He was visibly strained for his age, with wide eyes looking over my shoulder, expecting his mother. And it broke my heart a little when he found out that I was alone. 

With a warm smile, I slowly approached and joined him on the couch. “Hi, Liam,” I said. The plate of half-eaten contents lay abandoned on the coffee table. “Did you like the food?” I asked.  

“Yes, thank you,” he mannered, all polite and soft. 

“Tell me, what’s your favourite food?” I asked, trying to indulge him in a conversation. But Liam was still uneasy and a little scared. “It’s okay, you can tell me,” I cajoled. 

“But…but you are a stranger.” 

“I know we have just met but we can be friends too,” I reasoned.

The boy looked surprised. “Do you want to be my friend?”  

I took his hand in mine, all boyish but structured. “I’d love to be your friend.”  

For a brief moment, he basked in the flitting happiness of having a friend, but it went away as quickly as it appeared. His concern went back to his mother, inquiring earnestly, “Where is my mama?” 

“She is resting. Your mother is a little tired from all that running, and now she is resting.” I lied. I did not feel a single speck of remorse, knowing I had every right to claim Liam and then I was deprived. I was even denied the knowledge of his existence. I had spent years, marinated in unexplained aches in my heart, with the incomplete rejection of a mate bond and forced to endure it all because she was selfish.

Maybe I was the monster, but she was my creation. 

“Did she eat?” Liam’s question sliced through my train of thought as I controlled my shimmering rage from approaching. 

“I think she did.” Forcing out a smile, I tried to distract him. “So, Liam, how would you like to play a video game?” I asked.  

“You have a video game?” His eyes sparkled like jewels.  

“I have many. And since we are friends, we can play with all of them.” 

 Once again, his smile was quickly replaced with hesitance. “No, thank you.”

“Why, what happened buddy?” 

“I want to see Mama,” he demanded softly. 

“Do you want your mother to be sick and ailing?” I asked and he shook his head in response. “Then you have to give her some time to rest. Once she is feeling good, I promise, I will bring her to you. By that time, you can have a nap, enjoy your favourite foods or play some games. Do you see the phone there?” I pointed towards the bed. “All you have to do is dial 555 and express your wishes, and they shall be fulfilled.” 

“Like a genie?”

“Like a genie,” I confirmed. 

I had let him be, wanting him to get absorbed into the surroundings because Liam would be staying here—with his father, with his pack—and not like some rogue wolf when he deserved every damn royalty. I did not care what Elea wanted. She could choose to stay here or not, but then she has to let go of Liam.

And the fierceness I saw in her eyes was enough to convince me that she would rather die than leave behind Liam. 

Then you are stuck here with me, little siren. I thought. 

Marching out of the room, I looked at the man waiting for me outside. “Keep a guard at the door and make sure the kid has everything he needs and wants. Also, inform Alicia to arrange for a babysitter or a nanny or whoever is well-equipped to look after a child. And make sure she is fucking perfect,” I instructed. 

The idiot looked bewildered. He glanced between the door and me, blabbing, “But Alpha…it’s a rogue kid and who knows—” 

In an instant, my fingers clawed at his throat. “Arnold, if I want your opinion, I’d ask. Do the fuck what I said or else,” I snarled and shoved him off. 

His demeanour sobered immediately as he nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”  

I pushed him aside, storming off and then stopped. “And listen,” I said, looking over my shoulder. “His name is Liam, and if I ever hear anything else with which he is addressed, that person will lose his or her tongue. Is that clear?”  

“Yes, Alpha,” came the nervous reply. 

XXX

“Thirty minutes,” I allowed Elea. “That’s all you will get with him.” 

“Thank you.” A sigh of relief passed her lips.

And for the briefest moment, I actually believed that she could be submissive enough to take what she was given. But she and I have played this game before.

She flirted and I believed. 

She blushed and I courted. 

However, one can only play a hand once before the opponent anticipates your next move. And if I were not mistaken she would definitely do something stupid before falling on her ass. 

Once I had her dismissed and the guard put the blindfold on her before taking her to Liam, I made my way to my office. Turning on the computer, I watched as the montage of rectangular screens came alive with the live feed. I poured myself a drink and waited.

True to my suspicions, Elea was always in character. 

Even though my pack house was packed with micro CCTV cameras, all thanks to modern nanotechnology, I had previously set up the audio-video version in Liam’s room. It captured every sound, every expression and every move as Elea went on to hug Liam and then used her son to map out the exit strategy. 

I’d have to give it to this woman. She does not break, even when bent to the extreme. And somehow her spirit makes her more irresistible. Little siren, I smirked. 

Every time I saw her, from every angle, I felt the desire to own her grow a little more within me. Over the years, I harboured a brand of hatred for the woman who stomped on our fated bond and disappeared into the night, a nameless mate, but now it felt different. 

I watched as she got down on her knees, embracing Liam with the pristine bedsheet flowing around her. It had completely covered the dress I had sent for her. 

She will pay for that, I vowed. 

Bringing the glass to my lips, I sipped on the drink and watched her escape plan unravelling. 

I had taken you for a beauty with brains, little siren. I smiled and waited until she made it out of the door. 

It’s showtime, I told my wolf, Luke. 

Downing the rest of the contents, I strode out of the office and let Luke take over from there.