Page 99 of Wolf Roulette
“Father,” he said. “No more.”
“Your potential mate and I must come to an understanding,” Alexei replied.
Consider me surprised that the guy’s face could display love, but it was there for his son. If I squinted, he almost looked caring.
Sascha folded his arms. “IfAndie consents.”
A refusal lingered on my lips, but the fisherwolf’s last comment spun in my mind.Your potential mate and I must come to an understanding.
There could be merit in that.
“You can have your word, old wolf.” I held up five fingers to Wade inside the car.
I followed Alexei to our bench and sat. I missed this spot by the stream. It had a way of carrying my worries away.
He took the seat next to me. “My son is happier.”
Would he like a play-by-play of why? Or…
Alexei sighed. “You told him how you feel.”
“Is that a problem for you?”
“It’s a problem for both of you.”
I agreed. “It’s bound to end in ruin, isn’t it?”
Wrath rolled off the wolf beside me. “Is that funny to you?”
“It’s the least funny thing in the world. Would you prefer I cry?”
Sascha’s dad was strange. In some ways, he saw more than his son. In others, he was so blind.
The fisherwolf gazed at the stream. “I’d have preferred you left Deception Valley long ago, but that time has passed.”
I glanced at the ancient Luther. “Your son has one chance to find his mate to become immortal and have children. Why would you get in the way of that? You appear to love Sascha, but you work against him. Do you hate the Ni Tiaki so much?”
The old wolf’s blue eyes were so different to Sascha’s. “I will always hate the races that cause this pack harm. Vampires. Demons. Witches. Humans most of all. Live through centuries of failed negotiations with a tribe who cover their greed with a supposed love of the land and then make your judgements. My son deserved better, and there is no way for him to find happiness now. Not without one of you making a compromise so severe that bitterness will poison your future. I choose a happier and shorter life for my son over a long and miserable one. Immortality isn’t everything, young wolf.”
At least someone saw just how dire things were for me and Sascha. His words were oddly comforting. And I’d give him one thing—hardly anyone in my life had ever spoken so honestly to me. What if Ragna had sat down like this?
Or Herc.
Ormewith Rhona?
I could respect the effort he was making—if not the fact he’d rather Sascha die than be with me. “I haven’t lived through two centuries of Victratum. I haven’t even lived through one year of it. The benefit of that is I don’t carry two centuries’ worth of prejudice. I see your concerns and share some of them. I’m going to find a way to solve this for Sascha and me.”
Alexei scoffed. “Like what?”
Wouldn’t he like to know? I was done taking his bait. “Here’s my proposal. When I fix everything, you agree to pack away the last few centuries and start afresh, no matter what it takes.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Or is your hate for the Ni Tiaki stronger than your love for Sascha?”
He tensed.
I waited.