Chapter 217: The invisible hands

C/W: made up political conversation/trafficking

Roman’s POV

My eyebrows draw together at the mention of a deal I can’t recall.

"A deal?" I ask quietly and he starts to laugh. The things I know about him make me feel like there are invisible hands pulling back his flesh. Instead of a face I see only muscles and veins on a skull.

I’m going to be sick again. I force myself to put on a neutral face. He and his friend, Julian, are scaring me.

"Of course, a free PR from you for my governorship campaign in Winslow. Remember?" he says and I swallow the bile crawling up my throat. "You’re allowed in Winslow?" I ask.

Didn’t the Deus family raze the place to the ground? If they did and they were able to force him out...how can he come back? What did the Deus miss during their attack?

"Come son, let’s talk in your father’s office" Julian says and the need to throw up returns. "I would rather not have this meeting" I say quickly and mom places a hand on my shoulder.

"He just returned home. Why not postpone the meeting? He might be tired" she says and the men look at each other like this is an urgent meeting. I get up too fast and almost fall back into my seat. I’m too tired to do this.

I may appear weak, but it’s how I’m built. I feel and I feel deeply. I have to deal with losing Noah, my first love, to a man we called the devil for years. I have to deal with the fact that my own father is the devil. And I have to deal with playing the role of the devil in place of my father.

As I turn into the corner, I find Lucas standing there with my towel around his waist. The alpha’s eyes are empty and dead he looks at me. I want him to hold me like he held me in the car on our way, but he doesn’t look like he’d touch me even with a ten-pole stick.

"Go back there" he mouths and when I open my mouth to ask why, he presses his finger to my lips.

"Go back" he mouths again and I shake my head in refusal.

"I can’t stomach it" I say in a small voice and his face morphs into the expression of the man who cut down my cherry blossom trees with a chainsaw.

"Fucking be a man" he whispers harshly and I suck in a breath. The harshness in his whispers hits me like a punch and I nod. I turn my body around to return to the dining room.

Mom is talking with the men, they are talking about the weather, so I swallow to brace myself for the talk.

"Let’s talk" I say in a hoarse voice and Noah’s father’s smile spreads. He’s delighted. I hate him so much. Together we approach my father’s home office, and invisible hands wrap themselves around my neck.

"You’re the man of the house now, Roman. Isn’t that so?" the Julian man asks and I swallow again. This is the only action I’m able to carry out. My hands shake as I unlock the door.

The office is in the exact condition Dad likes it. It’s cold enough to make you rub your palms over your arms every ten minutes. It’s cold enough to ward you away mentally. My dad always wore thicker clothes. He was really a wolf in sheep clothing.

I kill the AC and we settle together.

"Go on, sit on your dad’s chair" Goldsmith says and I opt for sitting on the table. I might lose consciousness if I sit in that chair.

"What are we discussing today?" I ask.

"I just returned from the market in Bangkok. Your father had a very nice retailer there...it’s sad that he’s gone" Julian says and I frown. "Bangkok? What does dad buy from there?" I ask.

Goldsmith and Julian look at each other before speaking. "You see son, what we’re about to introduce you to is something your father should have done long ago. We save the world by keeping the...hungry men satisfied" Governor Goldsmith says.

"I’m afraid I’m not following" I say.

"Let me do the honors" Julian says and leans forward.

"Have you seen the decline in the world since ’omega right’ activists started to rise? Yes. These omegas are ruining things and the more they think they deserve a right, the more we alphas want to subdue them" he starts to explain.

"Back in the days before your father was born, omegas were made to take a knot and say thank you. Haven’t you seen that the alphas who follow the old-world lifestyle are the most successful?" he asks and I swallow again to push down the log in my throat.

"Old world lifestyle?" even the word makes me sick. I’ve read enough of it. Omegas are treated as properties, they can’t speak for themselves, can’t fend for themselves...some are traded like animals.

"We trade omegas to soothe these powerful alphas with the money to cover their tracks. You know how certain people with special needs have to get animals? Yes. We supply these alphas all around the world omegas...we have branches everywhere. Winslow brought the consent age of omegas to sixteen...are you okay? you look sick" Julian pauses when I blanch.

I am sick. I feel sick. I am going to hang myself.

"We have a lot of men in this business. Your father used to supply us with a form of cover. Moving omegas about for sales is hard. Winslow is one of our favorite markets and people trap, so we need Goldsmith back in his city" Julian points to the old man.

Why...just why? So all those tourist hot spots and ’natural beauty’ of Winslow were traps all along?

"Why...why are you doing this? You have an omega son. Noah wouldn’t like this" I say before I can stop it.

"My son knows what to expect as an omega. Pain is only pain because you haven’t been taught to embrace it...I can’t have my son suffer, which was why I signed him to you" he says like it makes a single sense.

’Play a role, Roman. Expose things to the Deus. I need to gain their trust’ I remind myself.

"What do you need me to do?" I ask with a dry throat. The hands are closing around my throat. The dizziness is unbearable.

"Help me win the election" Goldsmith says with a serious look on his face.

"You can’t have an election if you’ve been forced out of your own city, what if the Deus show up again?"

"We can do that with the help I’ve gathered. I have legal assistance from three other governmental bodies. Julian has secured Mafia support, now all I need to do is make sure I have my people on my side, and then...I can rule again" Goldsmith explains.

"And if he rules...more money for us. He has networks of supplies in the city...so many networks waiting for him" Julian adds.

Oh goddess...oh Goddess.