Liam let out a breath. Eli’s confidence in him stunned him.
“You’re sure of that?” He asked.
“Nothing about the future is certain but I do know this. I won’t let you turn Rogue, Liam. I want you to be there for me, for our future kids.”
Liam ran his fingers through Eli’s hair. He kissed his mate on the mouth and wondered how the hell he got so lucky.
10
Steve
“You already had trouble reeling in your Omega. Now you tell me you still haven’t found him? Christ, Steve. It’s been two weeks.”
Steve Bonner finished his glass of wine. His father wasn’t done ranting. Steve listened with half an ear. In his experience, his old man could go on like this for the rest of the night.
He snapped his fingers at one of his father’s numerous maids. She neared him, looking apprehensive. Every member of the household had every right to be edgy. It wasn’t just his father’s mercurial mood they had to face, but also his.
“Get me a bottle of whiskey,” he told the maid.
She scurried to obey.
“Lloyd Reeves was furious,” his father went on. “Neither he nor I could comprehend how you let this happen.”
What the hell was his father saying? Steve had no control over Eli’s actions. Eli left for reasons unknown to Steve. In his mind’s eye, he imagined Eli silently laughing at him and clenched his fists.
Rage boiled inside him. Steve was pissed but he had no outlet for his anger in his father’s house. The maid returned with his drink. Steve didn’t bother with the glass or with manners.
It was just he and his father tonight. They had no other guests to entertain. He downed the bottle. Shifters didn’t get drunk easily but with enough incentive, Steve could accomplish his goal.
He just wanted this entire nightmare to be over.
“Lloyd shouldn’t have given me his defective son in the first place,” he said with a snarl.
Alcohol made him a little braver.
“You have no idea what that useless Omega put me through.” Steve added.
Eli had always been mouthy from the start. When Lloyd Reeves presented the Omega to Steve and his father six months ago, Eli had been obedient. Eli kept his gaze down during the entire meeting, as was proper.
It was all a damn act because once Eli was in his house, the Omega finally showed his true colors. Eli wasn’t broken in after all and he was ill-trained.
“Stop whining like a little bitch. I thought I raised a better son,” his father was saying.
A little bitch? Furious, Steve finished the rest of the bottle and yelled for another. The maid nearly dropped the bottle and he yelled at the clumsy fool.
“Give that to me,” he told the maid.
“Are you paying attention, Steven?” His father demanded. “Because I’m starting to think this is all a joke to you.”
A joke? Did his father really think he wanted Eli to leave? Why should he continue listening to this senseless drivel anyway?
Steve had it with his father’s admonitions. He was a grown man, an Alpha. Steve had his own house and ran his own business.
Well, technically, he was the CEO of a shipping company his father handed down to him. Still, his father had no right to order him around anymore.
“Or maybe you’re not man enough to discipline your Omega,” his father added.
That broke the final straw. Steve growled, his left hand turning into claws. He slashed at the table cloth. Then he shattered his plate and glass.
Hearing expensive things shattering and breaking, always put him in a better mood. Eli would always cringe whenever he broke something.
The Omega always looked like he had something to say to him but in the end, wisely kept his mouth shut. He hated to admit it, but he missed his punching bag.
Steve had only started getting violent recently with Eli but what did it matter? Eli existed to serve his needs. Steve could do whatever he wanted with his damn property.
“Stop throwing a fucking tantrum. You’re no longer a pup,” his father said with a sneer.
Steve wished he could wipe that arrogant look off the fucker’s face but he remembered he couldn’t. He willed his anger back and let it continue to stew inside him.
His father made it clear Steve would only get his inheritance once he secured the family bloodline. It wasn’t his fault that Eli was spoiled goods.
No matter how many times Steve seeded Eli, the result was the same. His equipment was certainly working fine. Steve had gotten a couple of Omegas pregnant in the past. He paid them generously to keep their pie hole shut.
They weren’t important. Unlike Eli, they didn’t come from a prominent shifter family. Lloyd Reeves should have his son checked.
Oh, Lloyd had given him the necessary papers that assured Steve and his father Eli was fertile. Maybe Lloyd Reeves had faked those tests. That was probably it. Lloyd and his son probably wanted to make Steve and his father laughing stocks of society.
“You will continue to handle this situation on your own. Lloyd and I don’t want this news getting out to the press. If they heard my only son couldn’t even hold onto his Omega, our reputation is finished.”
His father fixed him a glare.
“I expect better results soon.” His father added.
Steve didn’t give two shits about reputation.
“I’m on it,” he said. “I have a PI who’s closing in on Eli’s trail.”
An outright lie. Steve had nothing but he wouldn’t be able to leave his father’s house if he admitted his failure.
“When will you hear from this PI?”
“Tonight or latest by tomorrow morning.”
“He better have good news, because I don’t think our family could continue to endure this embarrassment. Fix this problem, Steve, and do it fast.”
He silently seethed. Steve endured his father’s rants. It was close to midnight by the time the wretched old man released him from dinner.
Steve drove back to his townhouse, more livid than ever. Eli’s stupid face wasn’t there
