Page 52 of Fathom

Eun inhaled sharply, making a sudden noise of protest.

His mother grinned, all teeth as she reached out and pulled me into the hug.

I felt the sharp warning brush of her claws against my back, light, not piercing, but painful, just enough to remind me of what she could do if she wanted. It was intimate and threatening at the same time. She leaned down and took a slow, deliberate breath at the top of my head.

Marking my scent.

Immediately, I realized how off that was. I had to absolutely reek like Eun.

She let out a contemplative sound and released me.

“Come,” she said finally, voice a low rumble in her chest. “Join us for dinner.”

She turned, and we followed her into a dining room that was all polished grandeur and understated threat. A massive table stretched across the room, easily long enough to seat thirty, though only five people were present. All of them were the same species as Eun's mother, with similar coloring and features sharp enough to cut. One of them stood out from the rest. Her ice white hair gleamed, and she was dressed to kill in a small black dress that clung to her curves and dipped scandalously low in the front. She looked like a carbon copy of Eun's mother, except her fur was white instead of grey.

“Eun,” the white one purred as she walked toward us, her voice soft and breathy like a practiced seduction. “I’ve missed you.”

“The feeling is not returned, Barathice,” Eun said, his voice flat.

“Eun, don’t be inconsiderate,” his mother said. “Barathice has been wronged here.”

Without hesitation, Eun slid his arm around me and pulled me against his side.

For a second, my heart stopped. Then it kicked back into motion, slamming wildly against my ribs as I mirrored thegesture, wrapping my arm around his back. Warmth bloomed in my chest like fireworks, each one a spark of something deeper.

“This is my wife, Leija,” Eun said evenly. “Leija, this is Barathice. My sister.”

He emphasized the familial title with a harsh bite.

Barathice didn’t even glance at me. “I can’t wait to catch up, Eun,” she said, voice sugar-sweet with poison beneath.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Eun said, calm but firm.

“You have everything to say to her,” his mother interjected. "You wouldn't even be a member of our family if it wasn't for her. You have not just broken your promise to her, you broke your promise to us."

Eun's hair was sticking out in every direction, like a nest of angry snakes looking for somewhere to strike as he held me close to his side, his arm a band of steel that wouldn't let me budge, if I even wanted to. Something was very wrong here. None of his family stepped close to him.

"A child cannot make binding contractual agreements," Eun said, his voice still calm, like he was completely void of emotion. "If you are displeased with me, disown me."

"We bought you for her," said a male lupine, his fur dark grey, speaking up from where he sat at the table, resting his head in his hand as if the conversation bored him. "But we raised and trained you for more than that. We aren't going to waste years of that investment by disowning you because you refuse to do your duty to the family and beget an heir with Barathice. Come, sit, eat. There is a solution to be had here."

The pieces clicked into place.

Eun was, in fact, adopted with the intention of being married to Barathice.

Eun's thumb brushed gently along the inside of my arm, grounding me.

But I’m the one he married.

Eun guided me to the chair beside his mother, only for Barathice to arrive at the same moment, her hand settling on the backrest like a claim.

Eun’s ears pinned back.

Then he snarled, his hair snapping out around him, causing Barathice to take several steps back.

His mother sighed. "You've let your hair grow out. You know how dangerous that is."

Eun ignored her, gripping the back of the chair and pulling it out with firm finality. “Wife, please sit here,” he said, his tone calm but implacable.