Page 86 of Knotted By the Triad

“Prince Kai.” He bowed exactly as much as etiquette demanded. No more.

“Prime Minister,” I said.

His mouth curved. “I'm pleased my daughter finally managed to convince you to visit. I was beginning to wonder whether the leaders of the Triad had forgotten the importance of family obligations.”

There it was. The same superiority he'd always carried around us. Titles had never impressed him unless they were attached to bloodlines he considered worthy.

“Father.” Mei Lin hurried forward and hugged him.

He accepted her embrace without hesitation. Then her stepmother approached.

“My darling.”

Mei Lin smiled brightly and went into the woman's arms. Her stepmother kissed her cheek.

“You've stayed away too long.”

“I know. I'm sorry.”

“You always say that.”

They laughed. I looked at them. Mei Lin's sisters came next. One hugged her around the waist. Another complained that Mei Lin hadn't answered her last letter. The youngest immediately began asking whether Mei Lin had brought whatever she'd apparently promised during their last correspondence. Mei Lin laughed again.

“I brought it. Stop worrying.”

Her sister squealed and hugged her. I looked at Daemin. He was already watching me. Zian's attention remained on the family. Mei Lin had told us she wasn't close to them. She'd made her childhood sound lonely.

Her stepmother had supposedly tolerated her. Her sisters supposedly resented her. Before we married, every time we wanted to meet her family, to see what they were truly like, she told us her father was busy or that her stepmother didn't like visitors.

She’d told us that her sisters weren't kind to her. She'd said she never wanted us to witness how they treated her because she was embarrassed. Now I knew the truth. It wasn't because her family didn't want her.

It was because she'd never wanted us close enough to discover she'd been lying about her life. Now that we were married, she considered us hers. She no longer had anything to fear. Or so she thought.

“Come,” the Prime Minister said. “Dinner should be ready.”

I followed him without comment. Shortly afterward, we were seated around a long dining table. Mei Lin took the place beside me. Daemin sat on my other side, with Zian beside him. Servants filled the table with food. I didn't touch mine. The Prime Minister ate several bites before looking at me.

“You know, Kai, I've always thought you were the most reasonable of the three clan leaders,” the Prime Minister said.

Neither of my pack brothers said anything. They didn’t even react. I waited.

“You're certainly less hot-headed than your cousin,” the PM continued.

“Zeyan?” I asked.

“Who else?” The Prime Minister chuckled.

“Father,” Mei Lin whispered nervously.

“What?” He lifted his cup. “Surely Prince Kai isn't so delicate that mentioning our King will upset him.”

“Not at all,” I said.

“Good.” He drank from his cup. “Zeyan has always been impulsive. He managed to get rid of a tyrant king and apparently decided enthroning himself was the best idea.”

His wife lowered her eyes. Nobody else at the table spoke.

The Prime Minister mistook our silence for agreement. “Removing Jinyu was one thing. Restructuring the kingdom around himself was another. A man should understand the difference between being capable of taking power and being suited to wield it.”