Defy The Alpha(s) novel Chapter 406

Chapter 406: Honor Tradition

Violet was seated in Irene’s office, flanked by Griffin, while her two husbands sat on the opposite side. They hadn’t stayed until the end of breakfast and now it was time for the truth.

Irene began first, a sigh escaping her lips. "First of all, I want to apologize. It was never my intention to keep you in the dark. I had planned to have this conversation with you after breakfast, if only..." She paused, turning slowly to narrow her eyes at her husbands. "If only they had kept their mouths shut."

It was Arion who dramatically shrunk into his seat like a schoolboy caught passing notes, while Aeron remained stoically unbothered, his arms crossed like a wall.

Irene rolled her eyes and turned back to Violet. "As you’ve heard, we, the East pack, are ’religious people.’" She lifted both hands and wriggled her fingers in air quotes, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "At least that’s how most people mock us."

"But I like to think of it as being more connected to the goddess than most packs, and it’s no wonder she continues to bless us. When you forget your creator, you edge closer to destruction."

Violet nodded slowly, unsure where this was going. "So... how does this explain the Cnái-ah-"

"The Cnáimhseáil Anama," Irene corrected her gently.

"Yes. That." Violet gestured vaguely. "Griffin said it’s to invoke the goddess’s blessing. But the goddess already blessed us with the mate bond. So what other blessing are we talking about exactly?"

"Yes, the mate bond is a gift," Irene agreed. "But gratitude matters. And when we show our gratitude to the goddess, she blesses us further with life, protection, children — females, to be exact."

She let that hang in the air.

"Why do you think the East pack has more pure-blooded females than any other packs?" she added.

"Oh." Violet blinked, stunned. So they were thanking the goddess so they could have female babies. Fantastic. She was doomed.

Irene went on. "Since the ceremony binds you not only to your mate but to the East pack, we often take it as a marriage rite. In summary, the goddess blesses your union, and you’re officially one of us. "

Great.

It was worse enough that Roman had left her because of the "mate bond", if the rest heard she was "practically" married to Griffin, she didn’t know how they’d take it.

"Soooo," Violet dragged the word out, hesitantly, "I can’t skip it? Like maybe do it later?"

"No," Irene said flatly, her smile not reaching her eyes. "For Fated Mates, it is recommended to be performed immediately after the mating fever. Trust me, it helps strengthen the bond."

"And ensures you’re not a threat to our son," Aeron added from his corner, his eyes hard.

"Dad. Chill," Griffin muttered under his breath.

Arion laughed, far more relaxed than the others, and slung his arm lazily around Aeron’s stiff shoulders. "Don’t mind the paranoid fool. "He said, "He just doesn’t want a repeat of what happened during our time."

"What happened during your time?" Violet asked.

Arion looked at Griffin. "You haven’t told our mate about our love story?"

Aeron growled low in warning. "That wasn’t a love story."

"Oh, please shut it, you romance killer," Arion dismissed him, waving a hand. Then he turned fully to Violet with an excited gleam in his eyes. "Don’t worry, I’d tell you how we ended up in this cozy little domestic arrangement. Now, where do I begin..."

Aeron groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Griffin chuckled, whispering into Violet’s ear. "Every time he starts this story, I want to gouge my ears out too."

"Just tell the story, Arion, and try not to add too many embellishments." Irene warned him.

"Irene, love, you wound me. You know my words are the gospel truth, albeit delivered with a bit more flair." Arion winked.

Irene scoffed, then turned to Violet. "These two husbands of mine were sent to kill me because some smaller packs under the East didn’t want a woman leading them. They wanted my squirm of a brother, the one they could easily control."