Chapter 018

Roman POV:

Audrey persuaded me to walk back into the mall alone so she could join us all a few minutes later with some flimsy excuse. I'd been against that, my wolf wanting to be near her instead, but I knew in that moment that it was probably best to do as she said. I had no idea why she was so afraid of Diane, but I was willing to go along with what she said.

The first thing I noticed was the manner in which my to-be mother-in-law was dressed as she gushed over her child's dress.

“Aw, look at my baby!” Diane was saying as I walked in. She was teary-eyed, but I didn't miss the disguised glare she sent my way. Instead of responding in that moment, I went to stand beside Julian and observed the situation.

Diane was decked in a terribly official suit, like she was going for a diplomatic mission. Knowing her, she wasn't dressed like that without purpose, and I noted my Beta glaring at her with suspicion.

“Roman, darling!” the she-devil suddenly said in a fake, high-pitched voice. “Could you come here for a second?”

In my head, Julian groaned. “I still can’t believe I’m going to watch you call her mother.”

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I said nothing as I was dragged away.

“Where were you just now?” she demanded the moment we were out of earshot. “You left my baby alone!”

“She wasn't alone. Julian was with her.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “And I went to get some fresh air. The perfume here is quite strong. She's perfectly fine.”

Her stare was malicious. “She wants you to be there every moment.”

“Well, that's virtually impossible, don't you think?”

She scoffed and took a step forward. “Nothing is impossible, darling. Nothing at all. We are the ones who give ourselves limits.”

For some odd reason, I found myself thinking that she wasn't just talking about my staying with Tanya. Alarm bells began to ring. “Why are you here, Diane?”

She switched to a surprised look and placed a hand over her mouth before going all dramatic. “Don't be ridiculous, Roman! My daughter is trying dresses on for her big day, and I wouldn't show up? What kind of a mother does that make me?”

‘A scheming one,’ I wanted to reply. Instead, I sent her a glare.

“You could have come with us.”

She laughed and waved a hand through the air. “No, no. I didn't want to interrupt you younglings’ talking time. I hear it's quite uncomfortable when the elders are among you at that moment! I didn’t want to be the sourpuss at that moment!”

No one says sourpuss anymore. I groaned inwardly.

I was about to reply when I saw Audrey walking into the mall. Her scent hit me like a truck, and my wolf became alert. But I couldn't risk Diane noticing it - my mate had seemed very frightened when she mentioned her.

My mate. I smiled inwardly. That was cute.

Audrey was completely oblivious of the events happening around her because I watched as she walked into the store we'd just left without setting her gaze on her stepmom at all.

“Are you even listening?”

Diane's frown brought me to reality, and I was very grateful that she probably hadn't noticed Audrey either. “I’m sorry…what were you saying?”

“I've made some additions to the guest list, and I thought you might want to know. My family is quite large, and it'd skipped my mind that many of them would want to attend my baby's wedding to the Alpha.”

I blinked. “Okay…?”

“Oh, and I just want to warn you ahead of time that there are a lot of them.”

This was getting very confusing. “You've mentioned that already, so I've agreed, and I’m expecting a large number. I don't think…do you have the list here?”

“I should. Hold on.”

She rummaged in her bag for a moment before pulling out a folded piece of paper. I took it from her and calmly went through it, stopping only when I saw a very suspicious name.

“Marcus B. Henderson, is your relative?”

I thought I saw her freeze for a fraction of a minute. Then she nodded. “Distant cousin. He's a sweetheart, that one.”

The Marcus Henderson I knew had spearheaded the war five years ago between his pack and mine. I stared long and hard at that name, then decided there could be two Hendersons whose first names were also Marcus.

At least, I did, tlll I saw Sylvester ‘Serpent’ Glaser. On the paper, it was written as Sylvie Glaser, but I wasn't stupid.

Diane was definitely up to something.

However, I didn't mention the second name, though I found about ten more names of men and women known to be ruthless throughout the American Wolf Guild. When I asked her about another one, she told me he was her biological uncle, her father's brother.

Please. They were from completely different states in the country.

“Looks good to me,” I said to her, handing the list over to her. She breathed a sigh of relief, but there were daggers in her eyes as she pulled me back into the room.

“You see those names?” she whispered. “Make a mistake during the wedding, and they'll hunt you down. Tanya will be alright by the time she knows she was avenged.”

I knew she'd planned something. But I didn't think it was this sinister. “Understood.”

“Good.”

I'd known that she was capable of terrible things, which is why I'd accepted her contract, but she was now going above and beyond to make sure I fulfilled the clause. I either married her daughter or died.

“Audrey!” she cried when we'd entered the store. I saw my mate go rigid. “Where have you been?”

“Oh, Diane.” Audrey shifted uncomfortably. “I was…I went to ease myself.”

Tanya pouted and gave her a playful jab on her side. But it must have hurt that it was supposed to, because I saw her wince. “You abandoned me here for that? And it was such a long time, too!”

My mate looked like she wanted to run away. “I…I'm sorry. I'd do better next time, Tanya.”

“You'd better,” Diane said, and the threat in her voice was barely masked by a fake laugh. But I'd heard it loud and clear, and the fear in Audrey's eyes made me question what exactly Diane had over her.

But when I thought about what the she-devil had just revealed outside, I knew that she was capable of many things beyond blackmail.