Title: I'm the lie living for you

Disclaimer: Brian, Rome, and Carter aren't mine; title from Evanescence

Warnings: violence, death, implied torture

Pairings: Carter's parents, Carter's grandparents, Brian/Carter

Rating: PG

Wordcount: 830

Point of view: third


When Carter first calls about Brian O'Connor, Valentina can hear it in his voice – she had once spoken of Jonathan like that, had laughed with her cousins and packsisters, had daydreamed and hoped.

Valentina had been twenty-three, already turning down suitors who wanted her only for Papa's power, ignoring her brothers' growls that she choose, when she saw the tall American brashly challenging a fisherman's price for his catch. She'd laughed at what the fisherman replied in Spanish, too quickly for the handsome American to understand.

"Are you lost?" she asked in English, subtly waving away the bodyguards Papa insisted on.

"No," he answered shortly, turning to look at her and then he blinked. "Hello," he said, in a much warmer tone, holding out a hand. "I'm Jonathan Verone."

"Valentina Herrera," she replied. When she took his hand, he brought her knuckles to his mouth and kissed them.

"Also, Miss Herrera," he said as her hand dropped, "I think I might be lost." He grinned at her, white teeth flashing, and she had to wave away the bodyguards again.

"I shall guide you, senor," she said, linking her arm with his.

Jonathan had been in Buenos Aires for his father's oil business, but he never left. Even as his father sent ever-angrier messages, Jonathan kept putting him off. He asked Valentina if she'd return to Texas with him, but Valentina could not – of Papa's four children, Valentina was the only one with the temperament to be alpha, that Papa would trust. Only Alejandro had openly defied Papa declaring her heir, and when he demanded the old ritual of pack dominance, his arrogance cost him the fight. She let him live because of their shared blood, but Alejandro knew there was a mark against him, doubt in everyone's heart.

"This proves I was right about you," Papa had said, hand resting gently on the back of her neck. "He will work twice as hard to prove himself loyal and he will be carefully watched. Well done, heir."

Jonathan moved into the villa with Valentina and her parents (though on the other side) two weeks before their wedding. Mama adored him, Valentina's brothers thought he should be a shifter, and Papa warned him that the entire city would watch him. But Jonathan, he just smiled (without teeth, because Valentina had explained some things) and said he'd cherish Valentina, would never intentionally hurt her.

Carter tells her that Brian is sarcastic, is beautiful, is so much better than Carter deserves. When he brings Brian home, Valentina sees that Brian feels the same about Carter. Listening to Brian drawl – it is different than Jonathan's, but still so similar.

She and Jonathan had three wonderful years. He would never be considered a co-alpha, but being the alpha's mate would earn him respect. Mama gave him lessons while Valentina shadowed Papa in his business dealings up until her eighth month of pregnancy, when it became too dangerous.

Jonathan named their son Carter; Valentina added Joaquin for Papa. He shifted for the first time at six months and the entire villa celebrated.

Valentina has missed Jonathan every day since he died. She knows that Papa blamed himself until his own death nearly seventeen years later, but it was not Papa's fault. He had asked Valentina to attend a meeting in his stead because she would be out that day anyway. Jonathan went with her as a show of faith in the alpha asking for the alliance.

She had known something was wrong almost immediately, but she carried on with the meeting. She heard the gunmen mere moments before they fired – her reflexes saved her, barely, but not Jonathan.

She watches Carter watch Brian, hears their laughter; their scents mingle more by the day, and she misses Jonathan so much she physically aches with it.

It took her months to heal, secure in the villa, the pack on high alert. Papa's retaliation was swift and it was brutal. Years later, shifters and humans both still whisper about it in fear and awe.

Of course, when Valentina had finally healed, Papa gifted her with the man responsible for the assassination attempt. Valentina took her time, in both skins. Much of the man was never found, but what was – there is a reason that no one has attempted another assassination on the Herrera pack.

When she tells Brian that story, body still and solemn, he nods gravely. He understands.

"You are good for my son, Brian O'Connor," Valentina says, hand gentle on the back of Brian's neck. She is not his alpha, but neither is Carter. His packbrother Rome follows Brian over her, even in the heart of her territory. She kisses Brian's forehead and goes for a walk in the gardens, remembering Jonathan's laughter, his scent, his touch. It has been nearly forty years. She is growing old, slowing down. Soon, she will formally declare her heir.

Brian will be furious, but Carter – Carter, she knows, will be content.