Olivia’s POV
I stopped dead in my tracks, and twelve pairs of eyes stared at me with malicious intent. My stomach churned, and the faces smiled wickedly.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?…”
Jonas’s father, Donovan, got up from his seat and walked slowly towards me. My heart nearly stopped beating. The glee on his face seemed to come straight out of a horror movie.
“…Olivia darling, what brings you here?”
I gulped and took a step back. I looked around the room and saw Jonas’s brothers staring at me with seductive smiles on their faces, their bodies itching to pounce on me.
“What are you all doing here?” I said fearfully, accessing the danger level in the room.
I had just escaped from my dungeon and the door I took led here: Jonas’s family’s meeting room. Were they in on all this? Did they know that I had been kidnapped?
“I want to see Andre. Where is he?”
I tried to speak confidently, but my voice wavered, giving me away. Donovan’s grin turned to a slight frown, and he cocked his head to one side, taking me in with apparent disdain.
“You still want to go back to that man? after all he’s done? Didn’t you see the video?…”
He proceeded to whip out his phone, but I stopped him right there with an open palm; I already knew what he wanted to show me.
“So I guess you have seen it. Poor thing. Well, I guess I cannot stop a man and his desires. It is not my fault that he seems to have taken a keen interest in my daughter, Lilian; she has always been a beauty. But you, my dear…”
He stretched his hand forward to stroke my face, but I flinched; his sadistic grin returned even creeper than ever.
“…Are exquisite, a gracious work of art with untapped potential, potential that my family and I can help you grow so that you can get back at that bastard that betrayed you.”
I obviously knew that I couldn’t trust them but I was curious to find out what had happened in the dungeon a few moments ago.
The wolf inside me was snarling ferociously, but I was able to tame her. I needed to get information, so I decided to play at Donovan’s game a little longer.
“What do you mean by potential?” I asked suspiciously. Donovan took his seat and gestured for me to sit down beside him. I declined and kept standing.
“Help yourself,” he said with a smile. “You’re such a stubborn girl but I do admire that about you. Certainly, you don’t expect that you escaped that dungeon with raw power? Looking at your tiny frame, it is safe to say that you lack the physical prowess to do so. But nonetheless, you awakened a hidden power inside of you, a power that my family knows all too well, a power that we can nurture.”
“Tell me about it,” I demanded.
Tiny fragments of my confidence returned. Jonas’s brothers grinned, seemingly enjoying my apparent cooperation.
“We would do that, darling, but you see, that’s not how deals work. To give you this sensitive and important information, there is something that you have to do for us first, and I believe that you’re more than capable.”
“And what is that?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow.
He pressed his fingertips together and regarded me keenly.
“I love the way you think. It is a small request, an offer of marriage. You marry our son, Jonas, of whom I think you are well acquainted, and we will give you the information that you need. We will train you on how to control your powers, and all you need to do is marry our son, look pretty, and serve our pack in “every” way.”
There was a thick silence in the room as Donovan, Jonas’s brothers, and all the advisors in the room stared at me, eagerly waiting for an answer.
I was astonished but did my very best to hide it. So they were in on this. They captured me so that they could force me to marry Jonas.
“So this is what all this is about? You captured me so that you could force me to marry your son! Is that how low you cockroaches are willing to stoop?!”
Donovan scoffed in amusement and shook his head slowly.
“Cockroaches? You, my dear, are very sharp-tongued. However, no, we didn’t capture you to force you to marry Jonas. We captured you to show you how much of a pig Andre is. The terms we are giving you are simply for your own good. We are offering you riches, a better life, a better spouse, all that you deserve, and Andre couldn’t give you. We are even offering you an opportunity to get back at him. In all, we are simply looking out for you as we would one of our own. And all you have to do is say ‘yes’ and marry our son.”
I was almost tongue-tied. How could they lie to me so effortlessly?
The tension in the room didn’t reduce, and everyone was still eagerly looking at me, waiting for an answer.
My anger began to simmer. These liars! Did they really expect me to follow their plan?
“I will never agree to your plan. Do you really think I believe that Andre cheated on me with your slutty daughter? And even if he did, I have no interest in marrying a family of kidnappers and two-faced liars who are simply trying to exploit me! If all of you knew about this, then that means Jonas knows about it, too! That is more than enough reason to give up the thought of marrying him!”
And just like that, the mood of the room plummeted. Angry faces glared acidly at me.
Jonas’s brothers’ faces were clouded with murderous intent while Donovan stayed in his chair, looking thoroughly disappointed.
“Maybe you aren’t thinking clearly, Olivia, and can’t seem to read the mood of the room and assess how much leverage you have. You are in no position to negotiate with us, and I need to remind you that you’re in a room with twelve people more powerful than yourself. Now that I have graciously laid out your options, maybe you’re in a better position to make the right decision. Marry. Our. Son. And let me warn you, this wasn’t a request.”
” I rather claw my own heart out than marry your son! All of you can go to hell!”
Donovan frowned, and hellish anger sprung up in his deep golden eyes.
“You know, that is the similar mistake that your mother made and look where it got her.”
“Javier, grab her…”