~ISSA
“Your niece is full of surprises,” Deucalion said as he took a seat in the big brown leather chair behind his desk in his home study.
He did not seem to be upset that his eldest daughter was still healing from Yulia’s unexpected fire power.
I shrugged. I had no reply for that. “How is Iris?” I asked.
“Embarrassed,” He replied.
“She is out of the hospital?” I asked.
“Left that same night,” Deucalion said with a hint of pride in his voice. I could not blame her. I would feel embarrassed if I got my ass handed to me by a much younger werewolf. “She was hoping to see you,” He added.
“For what purpose?” I asked.
I had no desire to hear anything she had to say, not after what she pulled. Deucalion had heard the slight irritation in my voice and smiled.
The large doors of the Study were pushed open and in walked Iris. I was a bit surprised to see that there were no burn marks on her. As if reading my mind. “Magic and medicine,” Deucalion said.
“Issa,” Iris said as she saw me. “Did you come to see my father or me?”
“Your father and I have unfinished business,” I replied.
“I see,” she said, clearly offended by my answer. She took a seat beside me and crossed her legs. “Your niece almost burnt me to a bloody crisp and you are not even bothered.”
“You came into my home and you behaved like an animal, going as far as to attack my guest,” I reminded her.
“She was just a human,” Iris replied.
I hated the way she referred to Lana as a mere human almost declaring Lana an animal that was not fit to be in her presence. It irritated both Iran and me.
Perhaps because she was Yulia’s best friend.
“My guest nonetheless, you clearly showed that you had no respect for me or my home,” I retorted coldly. “And you want us to be together.”
Iris clamped her mouth shut and looked at her father who just shrugged. She had nothing to say the moment I made her realize that I was disappointed in her actions.
“That is the first time someone actually shut you up,” Deucalion said to Iris.
He was enjoying himself.
The door opened up for the second time and Andrea sauntered in. Her eyes grew cold and distant the moment she saw me. The last time we had spoken, I had said some really dark things to her and our interaction had been as minimal as ever.
I heard Deucalion sigh wearily as his second daughter approached where we all sat.
“Hello, Daddy,” Andrea said as she fixed herself a drink.
“What did you do?” Deucalion asked.
Andrea feigned confusion as she drank. “I do not know what you mean,” she said after a few gulps of her whiskey.
“He means which of our rivals did you sleep with?” Iris replied.
“Non today, I have had my fill of them all, sister,” Andrea answered. “So, were you able to fuck Issa yet?”
“I am still working on it,” Iris said.
“Stop, you are not his type,” Andrea mocked.
“Really, and what type do you think he prefers?” Iris asked.
Andrea shrugged as she leaned on the cabinet. “Younger.”
“Okay, that is enough banter for today, and it is rude to speak of my guest like he is not present,” Deucalion said.
“You are wasting your time,” Andrea told Iris with a wink and left the study.
“So, you are not interested in me because I am old?” Iris asked as she looked at me in disbelief.
“I am not interested in having this conversation with you,” I told her firmly.
“There is someone else, is there not?” Iris pressed.
I looked at Deucalion. “So, what was the proposal you had in mind?” I asked, ignoring his first daughter.
“I will find out who it is, Issa,” Iris said. I could hear the threat in her voice.
“It would not change anything, Iris,” I replied. “Even if there is someone.”
“Excuse us, daughter, you have a company to run,” Deucalion said, dismissing her.
Iris glared at me for some moment before she stood up and walked away.
“I did not raise her to handle rejection,” Deucalion said.
“There is no manual on raising a child, Duke,” I replied with a shrug.
Deucalion slid a shiny round engraved object towards me. “As a sign of good faith,” He said.
It was the moon key. What was stopping me from knowing more about Yulia’s biological parents.
I looked at it without making a move to touch it. “What is the catch?” I asked.
“That offends me, Issa,” he replied.
“You are a businessman, Duke, and everything you do is a plan within a plan,” I said.
“Look, Issa, I tried to use you as a means to further my goals, and I was too blind to see that you could also see what I was doing,” he stated.
“So, you are not even sorry you thought of me as a chess piece, you only feel bad because I had a brain to see through it,” I replied.
“Okay, you are not making this apology thing easy,” Deucalion sighed.
“That is because you have never been in a position to give one, ever,” I shrugged as I let him know. “Being an Alpha and all.”
“So, you can’t really blame me for doing what I did,” Deucalion replied.
I shook my head. “I have never blamed you for that, and I never will,” I said. “I was just a bit disappointed that you saw me like everyone else does.”
Deucalion’s face grew thoughtful. “How does everyone else see you?”
“Do you know how many families have offered up their daughters to me?” I asked him.
He cursed silently. “I see what you mean, you did not think I would ever be one of those families,” he said.
“Do you know the Rasputin Werewolf Clan?” I asked him.
“Yeah, the Russians,” He replied.
“They offered their twins. Everyday of my life, people are always trying to make me part of their plans. If it’s not my cock, it’s my life, I hate it so much,” I revealed to him. “So, when you did it with Iris, it pissed me off.”
Deucalion sighed. “Then you should really take the moon key, Issa, because you need it more than I do and there is really no catch behind this gesture.”
I took the moon key, it felt warm in my hand.
However, I knew Deucalion was not being entirely honest. He wanted something.
He wanted Yulia.