Fated to the Warrior Wolf (The Hunted Omegas #3)

39. Gael

THIRTY-NINE

Gael

“ A re you kidding me right now, Gael? I’m your fiancée, and you’re more worried about what some trashy piece of ass—from bum-fuck nowhere, by the way, I asked around—thinks instead of taking a damn minute to speak to me? Just wait until my father hears about this. He’s going to tear you a new asshole.”

Celeste had dropped the sweet, enraptured bride-to-be act the second we were out of the castle, her true venom coming out as I dragged her down the driveway toward the guardhouse.

I closed my eyes as the fury tried to get the best of me, fists balling up at my side, and spun toward her.

“You don’t get to say a word about her, do you hear me?” I threatened, unable to stop my eyes from glowing as I spoke. She lifted both hands innocently, as if she hadn’t been cussing me up and down for several minutes straight.

“Right, I forgot. I’m supposed to wait patiently while my fiancé runs around and fucks every random mutt in the western hemisphere with a nice pair of tits. Sorry, I forgot. Prince Gael gets to do whatever he wants, while I’m stuck in my father’s house, waiting for him like the good, little, chaste wife he deserves.”

Chaste? Hah. She’d been fucking her father’s gardeners before I’d even formally met her at my eighteenth birthday party. I knew because I’d walked in on her more than once. And even then, Celeste had made it very clear that I was too scrawny for her tastes, and she was no more pleased with the match than I was. I could still remember the first time it happened.

She was in the pool house, glittering skirts pushed up and bent over the back of a couch while some guy railed her. This is how a real man fucks, Gael. Watch awhile. You might learn something .

Pretty sure the emotional scars of that were never going to leave me, but I had done my best to forget she existed. Hell, I’d gone about as far away as I could on the globe to escape her.

But our damn fathers had a gentlemen’s agreement , which meant I’d been trapped before I drew my first breath. The first son and the first daughter of the family lines were betrothed at birth as part of a treaty set up centuries before I existed.

The only escape? A fated mate bond, complete with mate marks, before age fifty. Until then, I was free to go out and look for my mate.

Otherwise, I was doomed to wed this shrew, and she took every chance she could to rub it in my face. We’d never even kissed. I refused to count the time she’d cornered me in a hallway right before we left for Alaska. She’d shoved her tongue down my throat while trying to grope me as I fended her off—because apparently, another ten years and seventy pounds of hard-earned muscle was up to her standards, the bitch.

This was never supposed to happen. I’d met Leigh, and we were mates. Soon enough the marks would come in, Kane would have blessed our bonding, and I’d mail the evidence to my old man with a smile, the potential union to Celeste severed forever.

I was never going to force Leigh to meet her, let alone deal with her barbed tongue. Especially not while she was pregnant.

The reminder of the stress this was causing her and our little girl had me grinding my teeth again. I didn’t have time for this. I had to get Celeste off the property as quickly as possible and get back to Leigh, so I could explain this whole fucking mess and beg her to forgive me.

Celeste wasn’t worth arguing with. She could twist the truth like it was an Olympic sport and she a gold medalist.

I turned away from her, blocking out her continued insults until we reached the guardhouse. I didn’t let go of her hand, because if I did, she’d bolt back toward the castle.

Anything to steal every scrap of happiness I have.

“Andrei!” I barked, my wolf riding me hard as I slammed through the door.

“Gael. What’s wrong?” Andrei was on his feet in an instant, his brow furrowed with concern.

“Celeste is banned from the castle, permanently, on orders from the high alpha and high alpha mate.”

His eyes went round at the declaration, but he nodded without a word and kicked into action. “Martin, update the logs. Snag her photo from the camera system and add her to the no-entry list. We’d also like a thumbprint.” He held out a digital pad, and I rolled her thumb across as she tried to snatch it free.

“You can’t treat me like this! We’re going to be married, Gael. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Where’s her driver?” I ignored her screeches of protest and attempts to snatch her hand free of mine. Like hell was I giving her a chance to bolt until this was done. Thankfully, Andrei was efficient and did her other thumb in a flash.

“Idling down the driveway. We can escort her down so you can get back inside, if you’d like,” Andrei offered. “I personally guarantee she won’t be allowed back inside the gates.”

“Thank you, I would. I need to speak to Leigh.”

Andrei nodded, casting a sideways glance toward the fuming Celeste.

I finally dropped her hand, turning to leave. But I paused, hand still on the doorknob. It was time to put this to bed, once and for all.

“Celeste, you should inform your father that I’ve found my fated mate. Leigh and I will be bonded, and if that’s not enough to see you off, you should know—she’s pregnant with my pup. I don’t ever want to see your face again. But look at the bright side. Now you’re free to go find yourself a real man .”

Her face blanched, true shock on her features the last thing I saw before I slammed the guardhouse door without looking back.

The castle was deathly still when I walked back inside. Cristian was grim faced, but still gave me a nod as he opened the front door for me.

“Master Starling, I have the household staff collecting Miss Belém’s pearls. Would you like them, or?—”

I held up a hand, stopping him in his tracks. “Cristian, it’s Gael. Master Starling is my father. And as far as the pearls go, box them up and ship them to their estate in Portugal. Or hell, light them on fire and shoot them across the border with a slingshot. I don’t care, but I’m not dealing with any more Beléms—Celeste or her father.”

“Yes, sir. As you wish.” He nodded deferentially, and even that made me bristle. I hated when people treated me differently because of who my family was. It was why I didn’t tell anyone. I was more than happy to be Kane’s second, head enforcer, and nothing more. The major perk of my job was easily blending into the background, where nobody wanted a favor or to speak with me about anything other than pack safety. I wasn’t a politician, and I sure as fuck wasn’t a pampered prince, even if it was in my blood.

There were a lot of reasons I never went home.

“Where are they?” I asked, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling being called sir gave me.

“I believe they’ve retired to the high alpha’s suite.”

My only response was a grunt as I jogged off, trying to figure out how to explain it all to Leigh.

But when I hit the family wing, I skidded to a stop in front of the clustered males of my pack, having a heated argument.

“What’s going on?” I asked, scanning the pack bond for any sign of an issue, but finding none.

“They kicked us out,” Dirge snarled, teeth bared and eyes glowing. His wolf was still a little too close to the surface, but I didn’t take it personally.

“I know I’m up the creek, but why are you three in trouble?”

“Because we knew you were engaged and kept your secret,” Kane supplied drily. His mouth was in a thin line, and he wasn’t happy, but thankfully, he knew the full story and didn’t seem angry with me.

“I’m sorry. I’m going to clear all this up. I told Celeste that Leigh’s my mate and she’s pregnant. If that doesn’t seal it for her and get her to back off, I don’t know what will.”

I wasn’t going to think about the fact that if Leigh and I didn’t get marks soon, there could still be trouble. Surely the Goddess wouldn’t give me my mate and then not give us the marks to prove it before I had to marry someone else, right?

Supportive nods around the group bolstered me as I stepped forward and knocked on the door.