Chapter 8 Chapter 8 My Fake New Mate

Christina's POV

Interesting, introducing me to a man who's clearly over sixty and has buried several wives. The kind of man who would definitely make headlines in the human world as a textbook example of 'husband is usually the killer' in those spousal murder cases.

Wow, it's a miracle I've survived to 24 without being poisoned by my own parents.

I snorted."You've officially lost the plot.You're pimping me out to a man who probably gets the senior citizen discount."

"Watch your tone," my father snapped, his Alpha voice making the glasses on the table vibrate."Leonard Shaw is a shipping magnate who controls three major port terminals in Highrise City. His pack may be smaller than ours, but his business acumen is unparalleled."

I stared at him. "So, this is it? I dump Niall and suddenly you're throwing me at the next Alpha with a functioning heart valve?"

Dad's jaw tightened."The Crescent pack invested in you for twenty-four years, Christina. Elite education. Social training. That lavish coming-of-age ceremony. Do you think all that was free?"

"Send me an invoice then," I shot back. "I'll pay back every penny, but I'm not selling myself to the highest bidder just so you can recoup your investment."

"You misunderstand your position," he said ruthlessly."This isn't a negotiation. The pack needs stability after your little... tantrum with Niall. Leonard provides that opportunity."

My mother sat beside him, silent as a museum exhibit, stirring her tea like she was trying to create a whirlpool to escape into. Supportive in the way that meant she'd watch him throw me under the bus for his business deals and then hand me a bandage for the tire marks.

"That wasn't why I came back," I said, redirecting. "Why the hell did you call my boss? You got me fired."

"That was the price of disobedience," Dad replied coolly. "You don't get to disrespect the pack's arrangements and walk away unscathed. Actions have consequences, Christina."

"I'm never marrying Shaw. Or any other creep you drag out of your Alpha contact list."

Dad's expression didn't change, but the room temperature seemed to drop. "You'll fall in line. You always do."

"You've already cost me my job. I don't even live at home anymore. There's nothing else you can take from me."

His smile was slow. Cold. The kind that reminded everyone why he was Alpha. "Don't be so sure. You like your apartment, don't you? Shame if your landlord suddenly received an offer he couldn't refuse for that building."

My stomach dropped faster than an elevator with cut cables.

"And that best friend of yours... Ysolde? Her parents' little family business still depends on our supplier network and territory protection. The Carlisle pack is what-a tenth our size? They'd never survive winter without our support."

I stared at him, stunned. "You wouldn't."

"Would you be willing to risk it?"

The way he said it made me certain that he meant every vile syllable.

Franklin Vance didn't just run The Crescent pack; he was a shrewd businessman with connections throughout Highrise City's corporate world. The kind of man who turned networking into an art form, building alliances that stretched from pack politics to boardroom deals. If he wanted to destroy someone's livelihood, one phone call was all it took. And my father had never hesitated to weaponize those connections.

As his daughter,I was just another commodity in his portfolio-something to be traded, leveraged, or liquidated for the right price.He was basically running a high-end escort service, except instead of a street corner, his office had mahogany furniture and a killer view.

So unfortunately, I didn't have a choice.Not really. I couldn't let Ysolde get caught in the crossfire of my family's twisted drama. If someone had to go down, it wasn't going to be her.

So I went on the offensive.

"I can't marry that old creep," I said, with all the conviction of someone who just bet their life savings on a horse named 'Maybe Tomorrow.'"Because I'm already engaged."

My fatherr's teacup froze midway to his lips. "You what?"

"Found a new mate," I repeated, casually inspecting my nails like I wasn't making this up on the spot. "Met someone incredible. Very powerful Alpha. We've been... making it official."

Even my mother looked up at that, her eyes wide as dinner plates.

Dad set down his cup with a sharp clink. "That's not possible. You were engaged to Niall for years. You broke it off last week."

"Well, it's been a productive week," I said, flashing my most deranged pageant smile. "Turns out, I'm quite decisive when I finally get a say."

"Who is he?" Mom finally spoke.

"You'll meet him soon enough," I said, lifting my bag and stepping toward the door. "I'll bring him home for dinner sometime. And I promise, he'll make your Leonard Shaw look like a small-time player trying to run with the big dogs."

Dad rose from his chair, his Alpha presence filling the room. "Christina Vance, you are not walking out of this house until-"

"Until what?" I turned, summoning every bit of courage I'd never known I had. "Until you threaten more of my friends? Go ahead. But then I'll make sure my new mate knows exactly how you treated his chosen female. I wonder how that would play out at the Elder Council."

The bluff was so enormous it practically had its own gravitational pull. But the mention of the Elder Council, where Alphas settled territory disputes, made my father hesitate just long enough.

"This discussion isn't over," he growled.

"It is for today," I replied, and walked out before he could use his Alpha command on me.

Back at my apartment, I collapsed onto the sofa like a house of cards in a hurricane.

"FUCK!" I screamed into a pillow.

I was furious. Not just at my father, whose high-handed, Machiavellian meddling had earned him a prime spot on my personal shit list, but at myself.

Because after all these years of therapy,self-help books and telling myself I was immune to his manipulations... he still got under my skin like a splinter you can't quite dig out.

And now I'd gone and thrown a bloody mate into the mix like I was auditioning for a supernatural rom-com, minus the romance, the comedy, or the actual mate. My father would sniff out the lie in three business days, max. Probably sooner if he bothered to check with his connections.

Akira paced nervously in my mind. "We need to find someone. Fast."

"I know, I know," I muttered aloud.

I needed to make my little lie true. Somehow. I needed an Alpha who oozed enough power and dominance to make my father think twice about his precious Leonard Shaw alliance. Someone untouchable. Impressive. Preferably with enough bite to make my father second-guess every threat out of his mouth.

Too bad every eligible Alpha I knew who fit the bill was either mated, morally bankrupt, or part of Niall's inner circle.

"Moon goddess help me," I groaned, burying my face in a throw pillow.

Then, just as I was ready to spiral into a full-blown panic attack, a face floated into my mind.

Blue eyes. Sharp jawline.

My next-door neighbor. Who had proposed to me just hours ago.