Allister was enjoying himself and laughed again.
"He was born Alpha. No one will ever be able to exercise authority over him. But I believe you can soften him up. I know you. And everything you represent is the opposite of him. He needs you in his life to balance him out. He knows he has no limits and finds no reason to limit himself. You will become his motivation."
"I don't want to become anything of his."
"He doesn't either. But I believe that your meeting was predestined."
"Would you ask him not to keep taking me away from you? I'd rather have lunch here with you."
"I will, but today I want you to have lunch with him. Listen to what he has to say. I think that what he says to you over lunch will determine something I've avoided all my life. I want to know if my intuition is right."
"I don't think he's going to do business with me."
"Yes, he will, Anna. I can feel it."
"Fine, but then ask him to spare me having to be in his presence."
"After that, you won't need to see him until I... I'm no longer here."
"I hope it's years." Anna said and lay down to snuggle into his arms.
...
Anna eventually fell asleep, and Allister stared at the ceiling as he listened to her soft snoring. The nurse came back a few times to make him take some medicine, but he didn't notice. He was lost in his own thoughts. He felt that life was going to leave him very soon, and he took advantage of Anna's lunch date with her son to finish his will.
He had signed one first, in which he donated the house that Anna liked to her, along with everything else on the property, which she hadn't realized was a farm, but he knew that Adam would be able to annul that document, which he had carelessly drawn up to occupy Adam while he prepared another. He couldn't do anything about the fortune destined for the Alphas, which was deposited as a form of tax by the werewolves, since they hadn't seen an Alpha for at least a hundred years. But with his personal fortune, except for the part that had to be shared with his family, he could do whatever he wanted, and Allister knew that the inheritance that Adam wanted most was still in his hands. He managed to let Kate know through Jenna that they could talk over lunch. He closed his eyes. He couldn't leave Anna's fate in the hands of her children. They were perverted and cruel.
Perhaps his eldest son had some pity, and didn't like torture, but when it came to the products... He was even crueler than Adam himself. This new will, which could also be contested by his children, would guarantee Anna's freedom, or at least give her time to escape, if her fate was really pushing her towards the one he was avoiding. He heard a noise and footsteps. The doctor was there. It was part of his plan too. It must have been almost lunchtime, but he refused to wake Anna.
He didn't need to. Sarah, her eyes blazing with anger, entered the room to wake her. She didn't notice the doctor's presence, as it was common to have one there every day.
"Come on, girl! Wake up!" She said, shaking Anna's shoulder violently.
Anna opened her eyes and stared at her in confusion.
"The boss told me to come and get you."
"Huh?"
"Don't play dumb! Lunch!"
Anna stood up slowly, and glared at Sarah.
"Don't you ever dare put your hands on me again! And also, I don't give you the right to yell at me like I'm your maid! You're the maid here! Put yourself in your place, woman!" Anna said angrily, tired of being treated like scum, and saw the woman's face turn red and her eyes flash with anger and danger.
"Please, miss. Come with me." She said, holding in her anger, and walked off.
Anna glanced at Allister before she left, and he gave her a thumbs-up, looking pleased with what she had done, before walking off after Sarah. She didn't notice the doctor's presence either.
Sarah led her out of the apartment, but not out of the building. She took her to another apartment, next door to the one Anna was staying in, and waited for Anna to catch up. Before opening the door for her to enter, Sarah faced her with humility.
"Please don't be angry with me, Anna. I... I was jealous. You know I love him, and I know you're a good person, and you're not going to take him away from me..."
Anna stared at her, deciding whether to speak amicably to the woman, or to ignore her. She thought that one day she might need her, and decided on the first option.
"I love All. I have no interest in that monster with whom you take pleasure in lying down."
"You have no feelings for him?"
"Yes, I do."
"Oh!"
"I'm disgusted!" Anna said when the other obviously thought she loved Adam and walked through the door.
Anna walked into the living room, where there was a neat table set with lunch, while Adam stared out of the window, his back to her, absorbed in thought.
She couldn't see his face, but she smiled as she imagined that she wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly turned to her and was red, with two horns on his forehead. He turned around and she turned her face away so that he wouldn't see her amusement.
"Let's have lunch, please sit down." He ordered and dragged the chair over to Anna and waited.
Anna sat down, suspicious of this sudden outburst of kindness, and as much as she hated it, she needed to apologize for what she had said. Not because she regretted it, but because she was afraid of him. And she feared for her father. Sarah said he was free, but she had already realized that she couldn't trust Sarah. She probably lied so that Anna would run away and leave the way clear to live out her romance with the 'monster.
"The things I said... I was just..."
"I didn't invite you to lunch to talk about your opinions of me."
Anna glared at him.
"It wasn't an invitation." She made a point of making it clear.
"Let's eat. Then we'll talk." He said and began to serve himself.
Anna looked around and then turned to him.
"Is this all neediness? Do you need someone you can bully to keep you company?"
Adam continued serving himself as if she hadn't said anything.
"This is a small apartment..." She said, looking around. "I don't think there are any apartments worthy of his highness in this building." She teased, now wanting to get a reaction out of him.
Adam finished serving himself and concentrated on his food. A woman, whom Anna immediately recognized as Jenna, who had given him the White Hand, appeared and poured wine into the two glasses on the table and before leaving, looked at Anna with disgust.
They were alone again and Anna picked up her glass of wine and drank. The taste was divine, and she quickly poured herself more.
"I really love All... When my father told me I'd have to marry a sixty-year-old man, I felt disgusted..."
She said, a little because of the courage the drink was releasing, and paused for a moment to look at Adam, who was still concentrating on his plate.
"But when I met him, and he... And we fell in love, it was as if my whole life made sense. I understood why I had never been interested in boys my own age... Before my mother died..." When she said this, Adam looked up at her. "...she told me that what seems bad is sometimes the best. And now, I understand what she meant. Sometimes a present comes wrapped in newsprint, but you're surprised when it contains a beautiful and rare diamond... Your father is a man whose character should be inherited by... someone."