I stared at my father, waiting—praying—for him to sayjust kidding, orrelax, hijo, I was just messing with you.

But of course, he just stood there, arms crossed, looking smugger than a cat that just knocked a vase off the table.

I rubbed my temples. "What sort of verdict was that?" I asked, exasperated. "That doesn’t even make sense!"

My father raised a brow. "Explain."

I gestured wildly, as if that would somehow make him understand the sheer stupidity of what he’d just said. "You don’t just get married for the sole purpose of producing children!This isn’t medieval Spain! What’s next? You’re going to start arranging marriages between infants so they can secure alliances for the pack?"

"Axel." His voice dropped in warning, but I wastoo far goneto care.

"No, seriously," I continued, pacing now, "what if I don’t even like Rosa? What if she doesn’t like me? What if..."

"You think you get to have anormallife?" my father cut in with a death tone. "You are my son. The Alpha’s son. That means your life is about duty, not personal preference."

I let out a short laugh, feeling like I was hearing the most absurd thing of the season. "Oh, so we’re just throwing free will out the window now?"

My father pointed a finger my way. "You lost the right to ’free will’ the moment you decided to challenge your brother."

I was about to argue when Álvaro, who had been oddly silent... probably from the brain damage I’d given him—suddenly stepped forward, straightening his shirt.

"I accept!" he announced, voice filled with false bravado. "The moment I wed Camila, I will do everything in my power to produce an heir."

Tch. Clown.

I turned to him, disgusted. "You make it sound like you’re about to start abreeding program."

He smirked. "I just know how tocommitto my responsibilities, hermano."

I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly saw my own brain.

My father, of course,beamedat Álvaro, like he’d just wonSon of the Yearinstead of being the single most irritating creature to ever exist.

"That’s good," he said approvingly. "In that case, I’ll call Don Diego now and inform him of the new development."

Wait.

What the fuck was going on exactly? How did I move from realizing María José might like me, trying to help her so that her life wouldn’t get ruined from my silly mistake to getting married to her sister?!

"Whoa, whoa,whoa," I cut in, waving my hands gingerly. "Let’s not betoohasty. No need to call anyone just yet..."

"Enough, Axel." My father’s tone was final. "In a week and a half, we’ll hold an engagement ceremony for both of you. And sixteen days after that, you’ll be married."

I choked. "Sixteendays?"

He was even going to have us married the same day as Álvaro and dummy Camilla?!

My father smirked and I knew at that moment that he was enjoying my misery. "Since you started this battle, youmustsee it through."

I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing like a dying fish.This cannot be happening.

My mother, with her delusional heart, gasped happily and clapped her hands together. "Oh, Axel, Iknewyou’d finally settle down!" She looked near tears. "And with your childhood sweetheart, no less! Rosa issucha sophisticated woman, cariño. You will not regret this."

I nearly swallowed my tongue. "No—no! This isn’t happening. I’ll find a way around it."

My father scoffed. "Enough with the nonsense. It’s Rosa or Emilia. Pick."

I clenched my jaw. "There could be another Luna wolf in the pack somewhere—"

"WHAT OTHER CHOICE COULD BE BETTER THAN ROSA?" my father roared, his voice echoing off the walls.

Shit... man’s really pissed.

Even Álvaro flinched.

I swallowed hard. I was soscrewed. How could I make out with one sister, bite her, drink her blood, mark her even if I wasn’t sure what sort of mark it was... and plan to get married to the older sister just a few days later?

What wasMaría Joségoing to think?

Would she hate me? Would she think Iplannedthis? Think I used her?

I had been trying to help her, trying tofixmy mistake. And in the process, I had somehow become thebiggest scumbag of all.

My father breathed out that things were finally going as planned, arms still crossed, looking like a man who had just struck the greatest business deal of his life.

"Don Diego ownsthousandsof acres of land," he mused, stroking his chin like he was considering an investment portfolio. "His wealth spans across industries—livestock, textiles, steel production. He controls a vast army of warriors, some of the best-trained in the country."

I narrowed my eyes. "And?"

He smirked, as if I were the world’s dumbest student struggling with basic math. "And iftwoof my sons marrytwoof his daughters, it further strengthens our alliance. It secures our future."

Oh.Oh.

I stared at him in dawning horror.

This wasn’t abouttradition. This wasn’t aboutduty.

This was about Don Diego’s money. By the Moon, could this man get any greedier? He was so disgusting and never failed to show it.

I bet Luis would have his head should he hear him speak right now. It was only sad that my cousin was soft and in such a state, he couldn’t even hurt a fly.

I was pretty sure when he was fully healed, all those years of sitting in a wheelchair would have softened him even more.

He was one of the reasons why I was doing this. I would fly him out of the pack, and make sure he received adequate treatment and received healing.

If I had to grovel at the feet of a healer witch, I would. If I needed to pay human doctors a fortune to heal Luis, I would.

Right now, no one was making an attempt to have him receive treatment, and that was the reason he was still in that bloody pitiful state.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com