Chapter 3

Farren’s Point of View

The room went from a loud mess to deathly silence the moment I walked in. All eyes turned towards me. Looked me up and down several times. I didn’t miss the lustful smiles. Or the way some men moved themselves inside their pants.

Camilo hadn’t been completely honest with what this room was. Breakroom, my ass. This was a gambling den filled with vipers. Pool tables. Roulette tables. Dartboards. Even beer pong tables. This was the playground of the dark man. A forbidden place, clearly, for any woman. Because even the bartender was male.

Weaving my way through the crowd felt like playing cat and mouse with lions. The room was much larger than I had first thought. Went on and on. As I passed, some men made deranged comments. One man even groped my butt when I slipped by him.

The only table to continue chattering was the table with my brothers. None of them realized I had come in. Damn, even their friends hadn’t looked up to notice me. As if, to them, women were invisible. This sat better with me than all the stares I had felt before.

“Benicio,” I greeted and came to a stop in front of their table. They were playing poker. Had various chips on their tables. Some were black with white embellishments. Some were red. It was unclear to me which one was valued to be the largest chip. Although, what was clear to me was that Benicio was winning this round.

His head cocked up at the mention of his name. From carrying a frown to smiling brightly at his little sister, Benicio was a master of changing his emotions in the blink of an eye. No wonder he was winning. “Baby sister, did mother send you to come and feed us?” He asked, sparkle in his eyes. I nodded. Extended the basket towards him.

“We have our own little red riding hood, it seems,” Leon commented with a smirk. I flashed him a vulgar gesture. But I couldn’t help my smile. This moment felt like my childhood. Calm. Relaxed. Completely different than what I had built up in my mind before coming to Lupitum.

“I never knew you had a sister so fine, Benicio. Makes me regret marrying off my son to that slut he knocked up.” An older gentleman with a goatee said. Benicio flashed him a weary smile. Looked back at me to make sure I was fine. I smiled back at him but felt the strain in my fingers from clutching the basket so tight.

Leon scoffed at the man. Rolled his eyes. Nicolas was the next to speak. “A lot better than the one he had a few months ago. But our sister is off the market, I am afraid.”

There were heavy footsteps behind me. Someone with a long gait and who had no idea how to silence his footfalls. A meaty hand settled on the small of my back. Made Nicolas bristle between clenched teeth. I felt my body run cold. Felt my instinct to run fill me up inside until I could vomit it out on the floor.

“Benicio, my boy, I had no idea you possessed the concubine of the late king as a sister,” the man drawled and stepped into the side of my vision. Maybe in his previous years, he could have been considered handsome. But not anymore. “Farren Torrez, it is a pleasure to meet the jewel of the werewolf capital.” The man mused with a crooked smile. Finally, he let go of my back but took my hand in his instead. The few seconds he took to kiss my knuckles felt like an eternity crawling by.

“Dominique, always a pleasure.” Benicio greeted the man with tight lips. There was a certain weariness to his face. Concern that I couldn’t place.

Stepping out of Dominique’s space, I looked at my oldest brother. Pleaded with him to stand up. When my looks failed me, I spoke instead. “Mother prepared a feast. I packed a blanket, so we might dine on the grass outside. It is such a lovely day out, let us not waste it by remaining indoors. I even-”

“You know, my eldest is of marrying age, Benicio. Seeing as your father is no longer around to arrange a wedding, I might as well speak on behalf of our families. Together they might produce strong offspring.” The dick cut me off. I bristled for a moment. Turned to look at him squarely. Opened my mouth to reprimand him for his insolence. Leon threw me a look then, realizing what I wanted to do.

So, this part of Lupitum hadn’t changed. Women were still currency to strengthen your hold on the underbelly of the world. Exchange and upgrade as you saw fit. Nerezza, my dear sister-in-law, with a fire in her belly, would have devoured these men before dinner.

“I will speak with mother about the idea,” Benicio replied. I wanted to slap him on the back of the head. Tell him that he had no right to such things in my life. This was the first time in years that I had last even been around this side of my family. Priamos would have decked him instantly. I just knew it. My youngest brother would never have tolerated their clear disrespect towards me.

“Do let me know. I feel joining our families could only improve our standing within Lupitum.” With that, the creepy man disappeared. Nodded towards Benicio, the oldest, then Leon, the second eldest. He ignored Nicolas completely. Third born meant nothing. Not to these men.

From across the table, one of their younger buddies cleared his throat. Gave my chest a long look before looking back at Benicio. “She is wearing the Amador crest, Benicio.” As if that should have explained everything.

Benicio gave me another once over. Noticed the necklace hanging between my breasts. His eyes narrowed. But another smile too over shortly after. “it seems you have run into Isabella. The girl always tries her best to guard girls against the brutes in this place,” he looked back at the table and picked up his glass. After a long drink, he continued. “I’ll make a note of it to thank her later.”

“What for? She didn’t give this to me, Camilo did.”

The air was sucked from the table. The men who had been ogling me previously let their gazes drop. Mumbled their apologies. I blinked at them. Whirled my head towards Leon, who was looking at the wall. Somehow, he found it much more interesting than the conversation at hand.

“When did he give you this?” Benicio barely got out. His jaw was flexed. Nearly slammed shut. I wanted, now more than ever, to return home. Act as if this strange day had never happened. Yes, next time I would take a car instead of walking.

“This morning. I told him I was looking for you and he told me where you were. But also told me that some of these men could be…” I trailed off. Took in all the eyes and ears paying attention to the conversation. “unsavory. So, he gave me this necklace to keep them off.” I wouldn’t dare tell him that Camilo was my mate. Fuck, I barely wanted to believe it in the first place.

Benicio stood. Removed all traces of emotion from his face. “I think we need to go and have that picnic outside, don’t you think?” He asked. Leon and Nicolas stood at once. Nodded towards the rest of the table. None of the other men noticed the goodbye. Was too busy staring anywhere else but at us.

I followed my older brother outside. Leon and Nicolas made up the rear. Walked side by side so that I was shielded from view by their hulking frames. Everything had gotten terribly intense within seconds.

Once Benicio was happy with the distance he had put between us and the house, he stopped. Held out his hand for the basket. I dropped it in his fingers. Watched as he opened it up, pulled out the blanket, and threw it open. Next, he carefully unpacked the meal our mother had sent.

“There, you may have a seat, princess.” The pet name was meant to degrade me. I knew they all felt inferior to me after finding out about my life within Makatza. Now, they tried to use it against me. Made me feel as if I was just another little girl playing dress-up. I wanted to scream at him that the only father I had ever known had been the king. Thus, I was truly a princess. Even the thought of his death still haunted me at night. How his murderer was still wild and free.

But I remained silent. Bent down on my knees, then dropped my bottom on the blanket. Leon and Nicolas stayed upright. Ate only what Benicio handed to them. They looked like two over-eager bodyguards. Ready to take a bullet for us at any moment.

“Is there more to this story than meets the eye?” Benicio prodded. Pouring myself some grape juice, I watched him from the corner of my eye. Benicio let go of a soft snarl when I remained mute.

“Come on, Ben, he could have honestly just been protecting her from these goons. You have to be thankful for that, at least.” Nicolas tried. Benicio growled up at him. Shut him up without saying anything. The audacity of this man. Yes, this was why I had gone to Makatza with Priamos all those years ago. Because Benicio was a brute just beneath the surface.

“Bullshit. You know as well as I do that he does things with hidden intentions. What is it that he wants from us simply because he is protecting her?” He used the word her as if it was poison. A killer. Nothing more than a thorn in his side. The lovely brother from earlier was nothing more than an act put on in front of his buddies.

“First of all, I am not a bargaining chip. Never try to marry me off or you will face horrid consequences. Second of all, whatever happens in my life is none of your concern. For all you know I have been banging that man since I got here. Third of all,” I kept my voice flat. Deadpan. Nerezza would have been so proud. Although, it felt as if my heart was going to explode inside my chest. “If I am to bring you food every day. Make sure to come to fetch it at the gate. If my presence around your,” I looked around. Settled on a more appropriate word. “people is a burden to you, I would much rather not be here at all.”

Benicio had flames dancing in his eyes by the time I finished. Leon gave a low whistle and turned his back to us. Nicolas on the other hand had a tinge of pride on his face. Looked at me as if only seeing me for the first time. My eldest brother opened his mouth to speak. But someone else cut him off. A familiar voice I had only come to know today.

“Farren!” Camilo called. My head whipped in his direction. Dread settled at the bottom of my stomach. Great. More trouble. He noticed me on the grass beside my brother. The smile that crept over his face was handsome beyond comprehension. But this was not the time.

“I am a bit busy,” I called back. He waved it off. Came closer anyway.

“Dominique just told me the funniest thing. He said that he was to marry off his eldest son to the Torrezz girl. For a moment I thought, it couldn’t possibly be my mate he spoke of. But alas, it was.” There was murder in his eyes. Held back only with a thin smile. I rolled my eyes at my brother. Looked back at Camilo.

“I won’t be doing any such thing.”

“Good, good. Because Dominique is a great advisor and family friend, it would have been such a great loss if I had to murder him because of this miscommunication.”

His words didn’t terrify me. What terrified me was the way he looked whilst he said it. Calm. Dead fucking serious.