Avenging The Triplet Alphas
Chapter 41

Loki's POV

"You have this all wrong, Ethan. I have to admit." I began. "Of all the women at your disposal, you just had to fall in love with a pregnant one you knew nothing about beforehand?"

"I thought you three would understand why I did what I did," Ethan looked at me intently before holding Jonathan and Elijah's gaze as well. "When you claimed Arielle to be your mate, she had nothing. She was a poor outcast and on the receiving end of many of your friends' bullying back in high school but you chose her. Why did you do it back then?" He finished, clearly taunting me with his words.

"Because she wasn't pregnant with another man's child," I replied coolly. "You know this before acting selfish and you have had it at the back of your mind that someday, this would happen."

"If I'm being honest, I thought you three would never bother to ever show up considering you left her at the altar and sent her away with nothing. If it wasn't for me, she'd be working as a slave right now or worse, dead."

"You think getting her to marry you would serve as your compensation for saving her life?" I scoffed. "Haven't you heard our words, Ethan?"

"A Van Tyson always comes back for one of its own." I smiled smugly as he gritted his teeth, forcing the words out.

"That's right," I nodded calmly. "We're back now and we're taking her home and our son as well."

"You can't buy me off. No amount of money would pacify Arielle's absence in my life, none." He wagged his finger at me.

I was starting to push him towards the edge, I only had to apply a little more pressure and he would throw himself off the cliff.

"Are you certain about that?" I began in a mocking tone. "Because I know it runs in your family, Ethan. You can't deny it, history cannot be changed."

"Keep my family's name out of your damn mouth," Ethan glared at me. "You should be careful not to cross the boundaries of our very fragile relationship."

I was used to getting threats, I had gotten a shitload of them over the years and they all had one thing in common, none of them fazed me in the slightest and it would not start now.

"You're becoming overly sensitive now, Ethan. Everyone knows the story of your uncle who in his thirst for power and wealth decided to wage an internal war right here in your pack."

I picked my words carefully, purposely lingering on each to make sure they had the devastating effect I was hoping they would have.

"You eventually succeeded in taking him down but your parents were deaf already as a result of his greed. I'm trying to picture how you felt, not overly ecstatic, isn't it?" I glanced at Ethan's face. He was struggling to keep it together underneath his face. "And if I remember correctly, you had a mate." I trailed on, the tension in the room was visible. Suddenly, I had the upper hand after being dealt no cards.

"But the promise of money was enough to pull her away from your side and into your uncle's bed. So when you say you can't be bought, I know it's a lie."

"I have to give it to you, Loki." Ethan cleared his throat as he spoke, he sounded hoarse. My words had gotten through to him but I wasn't done just yet.

"You did your homework before coming here, it's quite impressive. But like I said earlier, my worth has no price."

"We're all whores, Ethan. Our worth's can be bought by the highest bidder, name a price and it's all yours."

I brought my glass cup to my mouth and took a sip and all through this while, I kept my eyes on.

"Arielle loves me and that's all I need," Ethan answered. "We're getting married in a couple of months from now, become mated and we'll live happily under my roof without any interference from the three of you. You had your chance and you all messed it up, second chances don't count exist and I'm afraid to admit that you've wasted your time coming down here only to get rejected in person."

"What has Arielle done to you?" I laughed out loud, Elijah and Jonathan joining in as we shared a common look. "Goodness gracious, take no offense whatsoever about my next question but I must ask this, are you this stupid or you're just in love?"

"You dare insult me in my home?" Ethan was beside himself with rage but that wasn't all there was to his rage. He was becoming increasingly worried that he wasn't going to have the upper hand here.

"I didn't mean it that but I just had to get it off my chest." I dabbed at the sides of my eyes. "But the whole story was ridiculous, I couldn't hold myself from laughing my a*s out."

"Arielle has been here for our a year and I'm guessing you've been in love with her for half of that period and you've been engaged for a few months as well. Don't tell me you've been gullible all through these past months?"

"I have no idea about what you're talking about." Ethan frowned. "If your grand plan is to come into my home and put your crazy ideas in my head then you have it all wrong."

"Arielle had you wrapped around her little finger," I chuckled. "You claim you're both over heels in love with each other but you're not mated yet and it's been what? Four, five months?"

"We're taking it slow, there's no need to hurry up about that. It's not going to change how we feel about each other or the outcome of what will happen in a few months." Ethan tried to assure me.

"Do you how long it took Arielle to mate with us despite her initial attempts at turning us down?" I asked Ethan but he remained silent, I figured he didn't want to say anything he wasn't sure about. Given he had been sounding so sure about a lot of things, I figured that Arielle left this part out."

"It took her less than 24 hours, that's what love is. Pure, undiluted, and not forced." I finished.

"It doesn't change anything," Ethan repeated, shaking his head. "We've both been scarred in the past and it's only logical for us to be more cautious this time around."

"I have to give it to you, Loki." Ethan cleared his throat as he spoke, he sounded hoarse. My words had gotten through to him but I wasn't done just yet.

"Love doesn't work with logic. We're werewolves just in case you've forgotten your true identity. First, we're primal, the desire to claim what we desire supersedes everything else. Our wolves don't do logical thinking, it's against the rules of being a werewolf and you know tradition."

I was slowly pushing him to the cliff and he was dragging his feet to the edge.

"I can see the eagerness in your eyes, your eyes glow with desire each time I mention her name and it's pretty obvious that you don't want to wait till you get married before you claim her. That is just some bullshit story you came up with to cover for her reluctance to mate with you."

"Your imagination has been running wild all morning, Loki." Ethan laughed but it seemed forced and it didn't reach his eyes.

"Do you know what they often say about first love, Ethan?"

I tore my gaze away from him as the servants brought in breakfast, it consisted of trays filled with eggs, bacon, and cheese. I could see a few with pancakes and maple syrup, Arielle's favorite so I guessed she was going to join us for breakfast after all. "You know better than to believe in fairytales." Ethan's reply forced me to look back at his face. "Prophecies like that have no place in the real world."

"You might be right," I began, shrugging my shoulders. "Or you might be wrong as you've been for most of the morning."

"You're one cocky bastard." He spat out and I smiled to myself. It's neither a Loki show without making someone feel intimidated nor turned off by my show of feeling superior as I always have been.

"While you might be right, you can't argue the fact that there's always every hint of truth in prophecies like that especially when you consider the fact that it's the major reason your relationship has failed to progress despite your efforts in trying to paper the cracks and facts."

"You can say whatever it is you want to say but when you're all said and done, when you must have had your fill with making mockery and sending subtle jokes my way, you'll stand up and leave just the same way you came into my house, empty. Arielle and your son will remain here and I will continue to be a vivid presence in their lives while you'll eventually fade away as time passes, don't forget that."

I smiled to myself. He was starting to crack, just as I predicted. Love could be an Achilles heel or it could be the most powerful motivation one could ever have, but in Ethan's case, I have succeeded in making it able to strip him bare and he was all mine for the taking now.

I opened my mouth to speak but a familiar smell wafted into my nostrils and immediately, we all turned in unison towards the door. Arielle was here.