Part 13 (1/2)

Either I'm stupid or insane, but I'm definitely desperate. ”Because if you don't, I'll let it slip I'm already bound to Beck. And if I do that, you'll have an even bigger mess on your hands, won't you?”

Mother's jaw drops open as the air around her s.h.i.+mmers. A blast of magic strikes my skin and I shudder under the pressure.

”Are you threatening me, Lark?”

I curl my fingers, the way I've seen Mother do, and wipe my face of all emotion. Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing, and don't care. ”Threatening?” I say sweetly. ”No, Mother. I wouldn't dare do that.” What I hope is a psychotic smile stretches across my face. ”I'm promising.”

Mother presses her hands against her lips and for a moment, I think I've stunned her, but then her delighted laugh fills the air around me. ”And who would you choose, Love?”

I blurt out, ”Ryker Newbold.”

”The boy you ran off with last night?”

I cross my arms and nod.

Mother's fingers glide across her tablet, pulling up his info. ”Hmmm. He is attractive.” She studies the screen. ”His parents are both descendants of respectable lines. He's...oh.” Mother raises her eyebrows. ”He's in Enforcement?”

”Yes. Right now he's entry level, sorting data sets.”

”Fascinating.” Sarcasm laces her words.

”He's ambitious,” I counter. ”Probably more ambitious than either of the two boys you've selected. I've heard him say he wants to be head of all security forces.”

”Mmm...” She's not paying attention to me and instead, scrolls through the information below the first boy's image.

Anger creeps along my nerves and the familiar tingle of magic pulses in my blood. I slam my palm on Mother's desk. ”I want Ryker.”

With two huge, blue eyes, Mother glares at me. ”No.” She waves her finger and my hands go limp at my sides. The burn of my magic disappears, leaving me powerless.

The hope I'd been holding on to, fades. She won't let me have Ryker and I'm going to bound to a stranger. Some random boy who knows nothing about me.

”Why are you doing this?” I cry. ”Ryker and I were raised together. It makes sense. You wouldn't even have to sell it to the public, it's so logical.”

Mother jabs her finger at the tablet screen in disapproval. ”It says here he was removed from your house for improper contact with a human girl.” She looks up at me. ”Lark. You cannot be paired with a boy like that. One who thinks nothing of mixing with them.”

My mind flails for something, anything to counteract her charges. ”Did he know who he was when that happened?”

She studies Ryker's file again. ”It appears he was not informed of his status until after...after your last mate left school.”

”So he didn't know. He's acceptable.”

Mother mulls this over for all of three seconds. ”No. You will pick one of these two boys.” She motions to the images before me again. ”And if you don't, I'll choose for you.”

”Why? Ryker comes from a good family. He knows me. And we both need mates.” I'm whining, but I don't care. The whole situation is miserable.

Mother gives a tiny laugh. ”Why?” she repeats. ”Because this is a punishment. What part of that don't you understand? You need to grasp the severity of what you've done.”

”So I have to be paired off with someone for the rest of my life, and Kyra gets a new house? That isn't fair!”

”You are not Kyra.” Mother twists her fingers together. ”And don't forget, I gave you a new home, too.”

It's as if she's taunting me, begging me to lash out, while knowing that I can't because she's done something to keep my hands at my sides. ”Why are you obsessed with Kyra? You gave her a house across from Annalise and Callum. And the way you let her speak to you! You give her too much freedom; it's going to go to her head.”

Mother chuckles. ”Someone is jealous.”

”I'm not!”

Mother leans back in her chair. The air before me s.h.i.+mmers, and the image of the boys is replaced with a family tree. The Channing family tree.

The name under Caitlin's lights up. Her son. ”Do you see this?”

”Yes. ”

”Follow it down. Through the male line.” Each successive male name lights up until it gets to....Kyra?

”She's a descendent, Lark. Through the male line. She doesn't have our powers, but she's still incredibly strong. Stronger than Callum.” Mother spits out my brother's name in disappointment.

My mouth hangs open. Kyra and I are...related? Is there anyone in the witch world who isn't somehow related to me?

”If you fail, Kyra's our best hope.” The family tree fades away. ”And by fail, I mean die or not have children,” she says coolly.

Heat rushes through my head as I try to sort through the past twenty minutes. I have to pick a mate, Kyra's my relative and Mother's back-up plan, and I'm supposed to have children.

”Don't look surprised, Love. How else will our family line continue?”

Maybe it shouldn't. But I don't say that.

”You want me to have children...with Beck?” Confusion peppers my words. I know she wants to give me a new mate, but since I'm already bound to Beck, I won't be able to have children with them. Bethina explained it all to me-witches can only have two children; and our bindings are for life.

Mother shakes her head. ”Don't be ridiculous. You will mate with...” She taps her desk and the boys' images reappear. ”Lochlan or Jax. The choice is yours.”

Of course she'd make it seem like I have a choice. ”But we won't be legitimately bound, so how can we have children?”

Mother's eyes widen in disbelief. ”Bethina never explained it to you?” She places two fingertips over her mouth and looks off to the side of the room. Despite the seriousness of the conversation, I have to repress a laugh. It's the first time I've seen Mother fl.u.s.tered.

After a long minute, she says, ”We can only produce two children, but it does not matter if it's with our mate or not. Perhaps it's a survival of the species trait, but we do not have to be bound to have children. That's why we're strict about our young people not having relations prior to binding. Ideally, to keep bloodlines strong, there would only be mating between suitable mates. Thankfully, we can't reproduce with humans.”

My stomach roils as I digest this new information. ”You want me to have children with one of these boys?”

”It's your duty.”

Tears sting my eyes. I blink them away and hope Mother doesn't notice. Maybe it's for the best I'm not with Ryker. I don't think I could do what she's asking with him.

”Don't cry, Love. You can wait a few years and there are worse things than having to sleep with a man you barely know. Perhaps you'll find you do, in fact, like him.” The pressure holding my hands to my sides lessens and Mother holds out a lace-trimmed handkerchief. I take it and ball it in my hand. ”If not, you can always take a lover.”

This conversation has to end. I don't want to discuss mates or lovers with my Mother. I don't care what my duty is to the State or the Dark witches. I just want out.