Jenna thought of Henry. It was all he needed, and she already knew what she would do with the vial in her pocket.
"It's a great discovery. Will they share it with humans?"
"No. Only with those I decide. I've had the place surrounded."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because I respect nature, Jenna. If humans were to know about this water, would it spring up on a continent unknown to humans?" Adam asked and went to the office in search of a drink and found Kate sitting in her chair and that didn't please him, yet he didn't say it to her, because only at that moment did he realize that she had been standing back, watching, when he arrived that morning. It was obvious that she had let the women greet him, because she was planning something.
He went to the shelf and poured himself a brandy. He went to the window and watched the men gather around excitedly.
"What are you doing here, Kate?" He asked at last, seeing that she was lost in thought.
Kate seemed to wake up immediately.
"Adam, I know your time is short, but what I have to propose could be useful right now."
"I'm curious, Kate. Make your offer." He said patiently, believing that she had nothing to offer him that he really needed right now.
"Have I told you that Ryan has contested the will?"
"Go on."
"Ryan has contested it and that makes your father's last will legitimate and irrevocable."
"What is my father's last will?"
"He couldn't do anything about the Alfas' inheritance. It didn't belong to him. Allister was only the guardian of his fortune."
"Tell me something I don't already know..."
"He put in a peculiar clause in case the first will was contested. The fortune that belongs to him, apart from the obligatory percentage that is due to the children, will belong to Anna's first child, and if she doesn't have children within the first two years, the inheritance will be Dester's."
"Dester is Allister's rival. They fought over guardianship of the Alpha's fortune, and they were always fighting over region, before I was born and began to have authority over the werewolves. Dester is no longer a threat."
"He's going to have a fortune on his hands, Adam, and that's an incentive for him to fight to be the greatest mob boss that ever lived."
Adam sipped his cognac slowly, thoughtfully.
"And what's your proposal?"
She took a deep breath. This was the moment she had been waiting for.
"I'm willing to tear up your father's will."
Adam stared at her with a gleam of interest in his eye.
"How could you do that? Isn't that unethical? E... The two witnesses that Allister paid to sign that document?"
"The witnesses are hidden from you. They're my guarantee that you'll keep your end of the bargain."
"And what do you want in return?"
"I want you to marry me."
"If I don't accept your proposal, you'll..."
"I'll carry out your father's last order by sending your father's will to a judge you can't control. You don't have many options if you don't want to lose an important part of your inheritance, or kill Anna. Allister has thought of everything. Contraceptives don't work to stop werewolf sperm from infiltrating a woman's womb and... if you put her in the green house, I'm sure Ryan won't mind making the heir."
"I have many options, Kate... The easiest one is to kill you."
"I've made sure my witnesses can send the will to the judge if I die, or disappear."
"You said you'd tear up the will..."
"You threatened me, Adam. I'm keeping it."
Adam felt like laughing at his good fortune.
"I accept, Kate. We're getting married."
"It's not just that."
Adam took a deep breath and sat back in his chair.
"What more do you want?"
"I'm not going back to my apartment anymore. I'm going to live here. I can't go back to where I lived for so many years as a respectable lawyer, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror for long... I want Sarah to live here too. She does some small services for me, which are very useful."
"Anything else?" Adam asked, checking his watch.
"I want you to send Anna away. I don't care if you pay her rent and continue to lie with her, because I know that she still fascinates you, and if I demand that you stop lying with her, it could become even more exciting for you. I think you'll soon tire of her. But I want her to know that her place in your life will always be as your lover. That this is the best she can achieve in relation to you. I want to have a say here too, as if I were the owner of the house. The best thing would be to send Anna to the green house. It was bought for that purpose, after all." Kate said and waited for his answer.
Adam became thoughtful and now no longer seemed so rushed.
"Kate, I accept the deal with you, but about sending Anna away or to the green house... What you want is to stay in a place where I'm more present, and if I rent an apartment for Anna, or put her in the green house, it'll be from there that I'll command all my territory. I'll judge all the werewolves. So, if your intention is to separate us, it won't do any good, because I'll stay where she is. So, I ask you to rethink this... Condition."
Kate was dumbfounded. She couldn't stop thinking about how stupid and foolish she had been not to think of that detail... She would allow Anna to stay, there was no way out. He thought quickly while Adam silently awaited his decision. Anna would stay at the mansion, but Kate decided that she would make her life a living hell.
"All right, but when you go out, I'm the one who's going to accompany you."
"I agree. For three years, I'll be married to you." Adam said, standing up.
"No. I'm not splitting up with you..."
"I didn't say anything about separating, Kate."
She understood quickly. He would kill her after that time, but the thought of a lifetime without Adam was frustrating. She decided that she would accept the three years, maybe win his heart during that time.