Forbidden Temptation My Mafia Fiance's Alpha Father (Brooklyn and Aden)

Chapter 29 Brooklyn

I realize, suddenly, that although Remington is my real father, I am terrified of him.

That if this is what he's like the first time meeting his daughter, then I can't imagine the kind of things my mother must have gone through. The moods she must have experienced, the cruelty, enough to make her pack up and leave him, to give up everything she'd ever known to keep me away.

And yet here I am, in the place she was so desperate to leave behind.

I know I didn't have a choice. I know Aden threatened Stephen and Jolie. But somehow, I wish I could have fought harder against all of this.

"You cannot hurt him," I say through gritted teeth. "He let me go."

"That doesn't change the fact that he stole you in the first place."

I clench my fists by my side. How much denial could a person be in? Stephen didn't steal my mother. She ran. And that's Remington's fault, not his.

"Enough." Almost as if he knew I was about to say something I'd deeply regret, Aden's voice rings out behind me, cool and calm. I close my eyes in relief at the sound, remembering he is still right there. I know, deep down, he won't let anything happen to me. "There is more to discuss."

Remington's angry eyes flash toward him. Unlike Aden, he chose to be an Alpha. He didn't cast it aside. Aden is beneath him in rank, but he isn't acting like it. Still, Aden holds his ground.

"The good news, Remington, is that our engagement pact is going to hold up, after all these years. Your daughter is engaged to my son." He nods at Hudson, who steps forward. "I anticipate that the wedding will be swift, within the next few months, if it can be arranged."

My father's growl is low in his throat. I can only imagine how his pack, those that do his dirty work, fear him.

"This is a trick," he says. "How can they be engaged, when you just found her yesterday?" Hudson is the one who answers this time.

"We met before, by some miracle," he says, standing up straighter. "We were already dating, actually." No mention, conveniently, of the fact that we broke up well before this ring ever landed on my finger.

I look between Hudson and his father, and then over at mine, and suddenly realize that this was always the plan. To give Remington back his daughter and claim her as their own, in one swift moment.

This giant, sparkling ring on my finger was never really about our engagement. It was a way to mark me. To show clearly who I belonged to.

Now they have the one thing Remington wants more than anything: the last remaining piece of his lost love.

And Hudson must be in on it all.

I am suddenly so angry I could scream. It doesn't matter what I want, whether or not I want to marry Hudson. Because Hudson, too, is a player in this game, moving me around like the pawn that I am, even though he is a pawn, too.

I open my mouth to say so, against my better judgment, but Remington interrupts me.

"Good," he says, looking between the three of us. His eyes are still wary, like he's playing along, waiting to see how all of this plays out. "A uniting of the families will do a lot for us both. I've looked for my daughter for so long.

He turns his attention back to me and I see his face soften. Truly, he is a man of many moods and swift changes.

"What a momentous evening. Meeting my long lost daughter on the eve of her engagement to an organization, a family, worthy of my own pack." He takes both my hands in his own, kissing them quickly. When he releases me, I give him a small smile, though inside I am twisted and confused. Then, I surprise myself by speaking, despite my wariness around him.

"I-I'd like to know more about my mother," I say in a rush, before I can lose my nerve.

He raises his eyebrows, surprised. I continue.

"Stephen-my dad-he didn't talk about her a lot. It made him sad. But, if you wouldn't mind, I'd...like to know more." It's an obvious request, but my heart is beating like mad in my chest.

He nods slowly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "And I'd like to know you more, Brooklyn. You are my daughter, my blood. It's only right we should spend some time together, get to know each other." He glances at Hudson here for a moment. "Though I understand your fiancé is your priority now, as a husband should be."

I look between them, not understanding the politics. But Remington continues before I can figure it out. "We'll spend some time together," he says, rocking back on his heels and considering me, a little fondness on his face. "Get to know each other. And, though it may take me some time" he rubs his hand across his chin, frowning and considering, "I'll do my best to tell you what I can of your mother. She was...a remarkable woman."

I give him a small smile and his eyes go sentimental, soft.

"Brooklyn," he says softly. "You're so beautiful. Just like her."

I bite my lip, tears coming to my eyes.

One thing was for sure I wanted to know more about my mother, about what drew her into this world, what forced her out. Knowing more could open so many doors to the mysteries of my life, my identity. But at what price would that knowledge come?