I stood up slowly, shaking off Rhodes and Katy’s hands, as I went to Remy’s side and leaned against him. His arm circled around my waist, anchoring me to his side.
“I’m here,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm even as my heart beat frantically in my chest.
“Skye,” Damien greeted. “Good to hear your voice.”
“Define willingly,” I demanded, hung up on that word.
“You will bind yourself to the Norwood pack if your mate should fall,” Damien explained, and there was no hiding the glee in his voice. “A marriage should do it.”
Remy’s low growl filled the air.
“And who am I marrying?” I asked. If he said Trace, I would throw up.
Damien laughed again. “Why me, of course.”
Okay, that was actually worse.
My fingers dug into Remy’s shoulders before he could go off.
“Last I checked, you were already married,” I pointed out, pointedly ignoring the looks of astonishment and fury from my friends.
“We can both agree that you would be a trade up in the mate department,” Damien said, almost clinically. “My wife is old and has only given me one heir. She’s of no use to me.”
So, I was what? Just there for breeding potential? Gross.
My wolf hated the very thought of someone else touching me to the point I felt physically ill.
“And if I say no?” I asked softly.
“Then I kill all of your friends in Windale and take you by force when I attack Blackwater,” he replied, a smile in his voice.
Remy’s growl turned into an all-out snarl, and I slapped my hand on the mute button.
“Remy—”
“No,” he bit out, his eyes more wolf than human as he looked at me. He stood up, the chair rolling back into the wall as he towered over me.
“He’s right, Skye,” Rhodes said firmly. “No fucking way.”
I framed Remy’s face with my hands. “Baby, I need you to trust me.”
I could feel his teeth grinding together beneath my palms.
“He can’t have you,” Remy grit out slowly, his chest heaving. His hands clamped onto my waist hard enough to bruise. Like I might slip through his fingers and into Damien’s hands if he wasn’t touching me.
“He won’t,” I said softly, begging him to relax a bit. “Are you going to lose?”
He blinked slowly at me through a fog of rage.
“Are you going to lose?” I repeated gently, sweeping my thumbs across his cheeks.
“No,” he answered finally, his eyes calmer as they searched mine.
“Then we tell Damien what he needs to hear to make this happen,” I went on, my tone low and soothing. “I’m yours.”
A shuddering sigh hunched his shoulders as he nodded. “Okay.”
I reached past him and took the phone off mute.
“Deal,” I replied evenly, my eyes still locked on Remy’s.
“Wonderful,” Damien crowed. “May the best Alpha win.”
“I’m sure he will,” I said evenly, my gaze never leaving Remy’s.
Remy swallowed and grabbed his chair, sitting down once more but pulling me onto his lap. He cleared his throat. “Griffin has agreed to host the challenge in Windale. He’s agreed to cede his pack to whoever the winner is.”
“A wise decision,” Damien replied. “I would hate to rip apart the very thing I seek to claim.”
“So, we have a deal then?” Remy ground out.
“I suppose,” Damien agreed nonchalantly. “Oh, but that was only part of my condition.”
“What now?” Remy demanded.
“So impatient,” Damien tsked, his tone utterly patronizing and annoyingly condescending. “My son.”
“Trace isn’t my problem,” Remy replied curtly.
“But his happiness is mine,” Damien lamented with another chuckle. “And he’s taken a particular fondness to someone from your pack.”
Oh, no.
My head snapped up in sync with Remy’s as we stared at Rhodes.
“I believe her name is … Larkin?”
Rhodes jumped up, but was immediately held back by Dante and Katy. Will stepped in as well to help wrangle the beta who was seconds from shifting and losing control.
“Bring her as well. I don’t want my son to have to wait for us to come and collect her.”
“Larkin isn’t part of this,” I snapped, feeling the same spike of fear Remy must have when Damien looped me into this mess. It was one thing to gamble with my own life, but it was a whole different thing to include someone I loved.
“I’m making her part of this,” Damien shot back. “She comes as well, unless you’re withdrawing the challenge? In which case, I’ll have my men in Windale by nightfall.”
I pushed Remy’s hands off of me and quickly went to stand in front of Rhodes. His dark eyes were practically feral.