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I suppress a sigh.
Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve.
There is nothing to be done about that now. What’s done is done. But I will do better next time. I can’t protect Kaden the way he protects me in a fight. But I can keep him safe by making sure that our enemies never surprise us in the first place. And I will.
So I draw in a determined breath, give Anton a smile, and reply, “Yes, I’m fine.”
He smiles back. By the wall on my left, I can feel Mikhail’s gaze once more drifting to me, as if he constantly needs to check to make sure that I’m actually here. My brothers can be overprotective and a downright pain in the ass sometimes, but they love me. And I know that they only want to see me happy and safe.
“This should never have happened,” Dad says from where he is still angrily pacing back and forth across the hardwood floor. “I should never have let you enroll at Blackwater.”
“What?” I blurt out, completely baffled. Whipping my head around to face him, I raise my arms and motion at the hotel around us. “The attack didn’t even happen at Blackwater.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s the situation in itself.” Coming to a halt, he pins me with a stern look. “I should’ve married you off the moment you turned eighteen. Then none of this would’ve happened.”
Staring at him, I shake my head. “You can’t be serious.”
“You are the one who isn’t serious!” he snaps back, stabbing a hand at me. “In case you didn’t know, I get updates from your instructors at Blackwater. And do you know what they tell me? That you’re failing almost every single class that isn’t purely theoretical. So what are you doing at Blackwater? You’re not there to get stronger so that your future husband can’t take advantage of you. You’re there to party and have fun!”
I can’t really argue with that one since he is in fact right.
“It’s time to stop playing around at Blackwater and come home,” he continues. “And instead get serious about finding a suitable alliance.”
Anger courses through me, and I shove to my feet. The chair scrapes against the floor behind me and almost topples over from the force of the movement. Anton and Mikhail cast worried glances between me and Dad, as do my cousins and my uncle. Their eyes dart back and forth as if they’re watching a tennis match. A tennis match where the tension in the room is so thick that it’s practically crackling between the white walls.
“You want to marry me off for an alliance,” I begin, staring my father straight in the eye. “Then here’s one. Kaden Hunter.”
The twins suck in a breath between their teeth.
Dad clenches his jaw. “You are not marrying Kaden Hunter.”
“Why not? You saw what he did in that dining room. He would kill for me. He would die for me. No one else could keep me safe the way he can.”
“He’s a Hunter.” Dad practically spits out the name.
“Exactly.” I hold his gaze unflinchingly, keeping my voice level and not backing down. “You’ve been trying to marry me off for an alliance. Wouldn’t an alliance with the Hunters be the best one of all? Not only will you never have to watch your back around them anymore, you will also gain a powerful ally.”
Anger still pulses on his face as he opens his mouth to no doubt refuse again. But then he pauses. A considering look blows across his features as he narrows his eyes. Mikhail slides his gaze to him as well.
“Again, you saw what he did in that dining room,” I continue. My heart is pattering against my ribs, but I feel like I finally have them right there on the edge. They just need one more shove in the right direction to land on my side. “He almost got himself killed protecting me and he only stood down once you walked into the room and he knew that I was safe.”
Dad rubs a hand over his jaw, thinking.
“Not to mention what happened in our basement,” I add. “You saw how Kaden reacted. He would have let you cripple him rather than leave me.”
He sucks his teeth.
“I have Kaden wrapped around my little finger,” I push. “Trust me. If I say jump, he jumps. What better leverage could you have over Jonathan Hunter than me controlling one of his sons?”
Schemes swirl in Dad’s gray eyes as he stares at the dark night outside the windows while absentmindedly drumming his fingers on his arm. Everyone else in the room watches him in silence, waiting for his decision.
My relationship with Kaden isn’t at all what I just made it sound like, but my father would never understand if I told him the truth. So I played the one card that I know he understands. Power and control.
At last, he tears his gaze from the stormy night outside.
My heart leaps as a proud smile spreads across his lips and he slowly turns towards me.
“My daughter.” Holding my gaze, he lets out a soft breath. “I’m sorry that I haven’t truly seen you until now. You are a Petrov. And as dangerous as your brothers.”
