Sold To The Billionaire Alpha
Chapter 39

Orion

Truth be told, I was not that enamoured with Talus. He was pretty crass and probably a full-blown alcoholic. However, his interest in Orchid seemed genuine. I was certain he hoped he was her father. My wolf certainly seemed convinced that he was our mate’s father. I was not so sure. I needed those paternity test results back as quickly as possible.

Orchid’s birthday party was no longer a surprise but she was thrilled nonetheless. We hosted it the very same night after some much needed alone time between my mate and me. Her really peculiar friends were there along with Orchid’s mother who seemed riddled with guilt. I watched closely to see if Talus and Orchid’s mother interacted at all. I saw some recognition in their expressions when their eyes met but no intense fireworks or even a spoken word between them. Orchid’s human father agreed to pass through the portal to make an appearance. Orchid hugged him lightly. I knew their relationship was heavily strained by what he had done. I felt like I was to blame. Orchid’s dog Mighty was there. Those three cats who did not want to play with me were also there sort-of. They disappeared and I sent highly-trained guards after them. The cats thwarted the guards easily and came strutting back when they were ready. My mother and father were also present. My mother’s mouth was pressed into a thin line. She made no real effort to hide her displeasure. My father was a bit more on the jovial side. Perseus and Rose were all smiles and were very helpful.

Orchid herself was radiant beyond compare. She looked so beautiful in her gold cocktail dress. She even obliged Kat and put a tiara on. She kept trying to take it off for pictures but Kat kept snatching it back and re-crowning Orchid. Soon, I would put a real crown on Orchid’s head. I smiled to myself at the thought.

Many high-ranking pack members were there but I had deliberately neglected to invite the Marys as a peace offering to my mate. She had been through enough and she found them so annoying. To be perfectly honest, dear reader, I too found them somewhat annoying. They were the universally annoying type.

Bisa and Magnus were present. I had grown to trust both of them especially where Orchid was concerned. I had wanted to extend an invitation to Thaddeus, Timbre and their mates but it had been on short notice and we had not confirmed that Talus was Orchid’s Dad yet. I did not want Orchid to get her hopes up too much and then have them dashed. I knew she would take to Thaddeus and his associates.

“Thank you,” said Orchid softly, hugging me and snapping me out of my thoughts.

I held her tightly to me.

“You’re welcome, Baby. It’s no trouble,” I murmured.

The party was being held in the same ballroom we had used for my brother’s engagement party. I had made sure there were orchids and roses everywhere. Those flowers had become fast favourites in the mansion ever since Perseus and I had brought home our mates. I spotted Orchid’s friends removing two of the centre pieces. Kat jumped when she turned around and saw me.

“Um, the flower arrangements are so beautiful! We just wanted one each to remember Orchid by,” said Kat nervously.

Remember her by?

“You’ll see her again. You can visit her here again. We’d be happy to have you,” I said in earnest.

I glanced at Kat’s purse. There was a bunch of grapes hanging halfway over the side. I recognised the grapes from some of the more elaborate centrepieces. Kat looked stuffed the grapes inside and zipped up her handbag snagging a grape that was not properly inside. The grape squirted its juice onto my shirt. Lucky me.

“Ohh! I’m sorry! Let me get a wet wipe for you!” She said.

“No, no, that’s fine! Relax,” I said, patting her on the shoulder.

I went to the nearest bathroom, a large unisex one for guests when we were entertaining. The bathroom was L-shaped and one had to turn a corner to get to the long line of stalls. I stopped in my tracks at the entrance because I heard hushed voices. Voices I recognised. Two uninvited girls both named Mary. I grumbled inwardly. I remained out of sight, curious to hear what they were about. Someone was with them. A third woman.

“What if he really is?” Asked one of the Marys.

“It won’t matter. The outcome will be the same,” whispered the other Mary.

“So it’s done?” Asked the third very familiar voice.

My heart threatened to skip a beat. Were they plotting something together?

“Yes, it’s done,” said the first Mary.

“We gave him more than enough incentive,” said the second Mary.

“Good,” said the third voice serenely.

I had to peek to prove it to myself. My mind refused to believe the identity of the third voice. I edged silently towards the bend in the wall. My heart was racing. I hoped they could not hear my heartbeat or smell my scent. The music filtering in from the party was loud enough to cover most sounds. I was only able to decipher their conversation because my hearing was exceptional even for an Alpha. I peeked at the long line of stalls, sinks and mirrors. There she was, gazing into the mirror as if spell-bound while the Marys stood near to her. I did not want it to be true. I had hoped I was mistaken. The third voice belonged to none other than my mother.

Orchid

Talus asked me to dance. I gladly accepted. I usually hated dancing. I was self-conscious about it but he was a surprisingly good leader and a patient teacher. He guided me gracefully across the dance floor and a crowd of simpering pack members gathered around us. I knew word must have gotten out somehow. People must have put two and two together. They were probably suspecting that Talus was my father. The story of the Alpha’s human mate going into heat had spread through the mansion and all the staff here would have phoned home with the gossip. I did not even mind. I grinned at Talus.

“You look lovely,” he said, smiling.

“Thank you,…um…Talus,” I said, hesitating a little. A small part of me wanted to call him ‘Dad’ but I did not want to seem needy or unstable. I had only just met the guy.

“When will the paternity test results be ready?” Asked Talus.

“It takes anywhere from two to five days usually but Orion is going to have it expedited so I guess we’ll get it in two days,” I said.

Talus nodded.

“Well, I know science is the thing nowadays,” said Talus.

I snorted with laughter.

“Yeah, it’s pretty important,” I chuckled.

“But…um…my wolf is pretty smart. His instincts are sharp. He says you’re my pup…my kid…my daughter, sorry,” said Talus, tripping over his words a little.

I smiled. I sniffed the air discreetly so he would not think I was judging him too harshly. I did not smell any alcohol on him.

“I’m trying to quit,” said Talus suddenly.

“Oh…I…I wasn’t,” I began but Talus cut across me.

“It’s ok. I wouldn’t want someone drunk all the time if they were my Dad. I’m trying to cut back. Quit is too strong a word,” he said in his rumbly voice.

“Ok, I appreciate that,” I said, hoping he really managed to stay sober. “I really do,” I added earnestly.

He smiled. The song ended and he awkwardly let go of me and shuffled away without saying anything.

“Talus!” I called.

“Yeah,” he said, turning around.

“For what it’s worth, my wolf thinks you’re my Dad too,” I said.

“Great minds,” he said, tapping at his temple with his index finger and winking.

I giggled. I tapped on my temple with my index finger and winked too.

Orion

I did not want to ruin even a second of Orchid’s birthday party and my other surprise for her. I knew I was jumping the gun a little but I just could not wait. I would not mind if she asked for time. She could have all the time in the world but I wanted an idea of her feelings and I wanted to profess mine. I wanted to declare my love for her in front of everyone. I just hope she did not run for the hills.

I would tell Orchid about my mother’s strange meeting with the uninvited Marys after tonight. Perhaps, first thing in the morning. I was still trying to understand who was the “he” they were talking about. Me? Talus? Perseus? Someone else? What were they up to? The conversation had been pretty vague. I was thinking of confronting my mother outright before I went to Orchid.

“Orion, are you ok?” Asked my Luna, her eyes filled with concern.

“Yes, Luna,” I purred, kissing her forehead. “Once you’re ok, I’m ok,” I assured her.

She smiled brightly.

Orchid’s huge birthday cake was wheeled out at that very moment. She gasped. I grinned at her expression. It was a huge cake with seven round tiers. It was a confetti cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. Orchid had told me she loved flowers as cake decor but she had not specified which kind when I had picked her brain so the chef had overladen the cake with real edible flowers as well as flowers made from sugar and others made from icing. It was almost impossible to tell the sugary flowers from the real ones until you ate them. The chef had done a phenomenal job.

“Cut the cake with me?” Asked Orchid.

I grinned at her and helped her cut a large frosting-filled chunk. She fed it to me. I cut a more manageable slice and fed it to her.

“You should have eaten your birthday cake first! You did it backwards!” Complained Kat, who had taken a break from collecting bunches of grapes from the larger centrepieces. I had a feeling all of those grapes would end up in a home-made wine with too high of an alcohol percentage to be enjoyable. I made a mental note to keep Kate away from Talus and vice versa. They would be a terrible influence on each other and something told me they would be fast friends if they got to talking.

I spotted Daisy, busy explaining disaster preparedness, to some of my pack warriors. Daisy and Kat had still not had the “werewolves exist” talk with Orchid or me and I was not sure if we were going to have it anytime soon. It was not as though we went around bursting into our wolf forms in the middle of dinner so they had not seen anyone shift. Kat found it suspicious how “buff” all my “staff members” were. She asked me if they took steroids and what kind of pre-workout they used? I told her I had no idea what she was talking about.

The girls would be leaving tomorrow morning anyway. If I could just get them back to through the portal in one piece, all would be fine. I had hired a professional to assist me with Kat and Daisy. The moment I had realised Orchid was in heat, I had known the party would be postponed and I would need help keeping Kat and Daisy calm without Orchid to explain anything to them. While Orchid and I had spent the days of her heat together in our room, a very skilled wizard had been brought in to tweak the memories and dispositions of Kat and Daisy keeping them patient and relaxed until the party. He would help get them home in a cooperative manner. He was here at the party keeping an eye on things as well. A thought occurred to me. He would be the perfect person to discover what my mother and the Marys were up to without alarming Orchid or confronting my mother directly. I marched right up to the wizard. He said, “Excuse me,” politely to the person he had been conversing with.

“Alpha,” said the wizard respectfully with a bright grin.

He had such peculiar eyes, two different colours, one blue and one green and though they seemed to change colours at times, they both changed colours so that they never matched each other. I ushered him away from the other guests and lowered my voice so that we might be discreet.

“Fox, I have another important job for you!”