Roland's Demands

"Father, I must speak to you" Roland said, entering his father's private domain, his study, without even bothering to knock.

Damon rolled his eyes. His child was a right pain in the ass sometimes and lately it was getting to be on his nerves. 

"What is it?" he asked exasperated. He really didn't have time for this right now. Not when he was busy organising for this important meeting in a few weeks as well as his regular pack business.

"It's about Serenity" he pouted "why can't I just have her already? What difference does it make if we are married or not? You know I never wanted to get married in the first place" he added and Damon gave a loud groan of dismay.

"Do we really have to go through this again Roland! You know exactly who she is, heck she bears the birthmark which is all we need to prove it! Once your married we take her back home and everything she owns, everything she was to inherit will be yours" he said in frustration "is that not worth the sacrifice" Damon growled and his son gave a hurrumph and sat down, looking just as frustrated on his end. 

"As for touching her" Damon warned "forget about it. After your married and not before. If he finds out you touched her without consent he'll kill you. As it is the marriage is pushing it but he'll have no choice but to accept it."

Roland sighed. He thought his father was overreacting personally but he didn't dare voice it. The last thing he felt like was getting a clip around the ear. 

"You know you could take more of an interest in what's going on in the pack" Damon said with disappointment "and especially with this meeting that's coming up. After all you will be more than just an Alpha soon."

"What's so great about a Werewolf Prince anyway" Roland snapped irritably "he's no more powerful than an alpha and he's not even directly related to the King."

"The King chose him as his heir, so be respectful" Damon snapped. "It's important to give a good impression and he'll be bringing a bunch of warriors with him and his convoy of officials so to speak. Everything has to go perfectly or we'll be black listed as one of the packs to be dissolved and reestablished elsewhere."

"He wouldn't dare" breathed Roland but Damon shook his head.

"He's taking over from the King soon, so his decision is final. Please for heaven's sake" Damon pleaded "don't mess this up."

Roland rolled his eyes as he sat back and folded his legs. "I won't" he muttered "I don't know why you keep drilling me. I'm not an imbecile you know."

Heaven help him thought Damon biting his tongue instead of screaming at his son like he was wanting to. He was seeing more and more lately how spoilt Roland had been and it had turned his son into a pompous twit. His fault for being so lax in his upbringing but now he was a man for heaven's sake and he needed to start acting like the Alpha he was going to be. How else was he going to take over if he couldn't even do that?

"Please just try" Damon said plopping back down on his seat and regarding his son thoughtfully. He could smell Serenity's scent on him and his eyes flashed black for a moment. He better not have done something to her he thought grimly.

Damon took a deep breath. "How's Serenity?" he asked pleasantly between gritted teeth. Roland gave a chuckle that instantly grated on his father's nerves. "Getting more and more beautiful by the day" he said "a lot more than I could say about any of the women here" he complained with his nose crinkled in repulsion. He failed to mention none of the women wanted anything to do with his pompous ass, his father noticed. 

"Did you touch her" his father's eyes flashed warningly and Roland quickly shook his head in response. 

"No" he denied "I kissed her that was all. I know better than to go against your orders" he half grumbled and Damon breathed a sigh of relief. They were so close, if only his son didn't mess everything up. For crying out loud he was acting like a randy teenager instead of a young man. He needed to grow up. 

"I have work to do" Damon told his son firmly "so you can either stay and help me or you can go and do something, anything else that keeps you out of my way. Choose wisely" he added and was not surprised when his son decided to do the latter, quickly making his way out of the study so that he didn't have to do any boring paperwork. Damon was loathe to admit it but he was glad to see the back of him. He was growing tired of Roland's endless complaints and his endless pushing to be able to have Serenity earlier. He knew he was going to have to keep a close eye on him over the next few weeks, especially since the excitement of the wedding seemed to be wearing off the boy. But he hadn't gone to this much trouble all these years to not go ahead with his plan and his son was going to shape up whether he liked it or not. 

Roland stormed out of the study in a rush. Whew, he hated paperwork, hated being confined indoors. It wasn't fun and he especially loathed taking orders from his father. He reflected on his father's wishes not to touch Serenity and pouted. She was so beautiful and she was going to be his regardless in a few weeks time. Why did he have to wait? Nobody knew she was being kept here did they? He began to smirk. His father really was an idiot if he thought Roland obeyed his every directive, every single time he issued them. Serenity was going to be his and his alone. Having her would just cement it wouldn't it? He began to plot quietly to himself as he made his way outside. He might just visit the local brothel in the meantime.