Chapter 21
Chapter 21
“We have a proposition for you.“ my father says.
“Which I don’t f*cking agree to, “ John’s daughter says, cutting my father off.
“Ava, you will do as you’re told, now sit there and shut up,“ John snaps at her, his aura rushing over her, and I thought it odd that she wasn’t able to resist. She was definitely old enough to take over her father’s pack, so why hadn’t he handed it down to her yet? Was it the issue with the media?
“Son, please just take a seat,“ My father says, and I growl, pulling a chair out and sitting down in it.
“Now, John and I have been in discussions over the last couple of weeks trying to find a way to put an end to this feud. We think we have come up with a solution that will benefit all of us, tensions are running high in the City, and we need to show those that reside here we are united, but that won’t happen if a war is inevitable. So Ava here is due to take over her father’s pack, but with recent issues in the media, it has her pack nervous.“
“This is bullshit, “ Ava curses under her breath and shakes her head. My lips tug up at her defiance, and Alpha John glares at her before he speaks.
“My pack is nervous about my daughter taking over.“
“I wouldn’t have to take over if you didn’t- “
“Ava enough, sit down and shut up, you had caused our family enough disgrace, ” Alpha John snapped at her, but I will give the girl one thing, she had no issues standing up to her father when she stood up and placed her hands on the table to glare at him.
”I am not even meant to be in the City; I wasn’t the one meant to be Alpha. I should have been across the other side of the country in university by now, but you just had to get rid of- ”
Alpha John stood up and slapped his daughter before she could say more, and I jumped to my feet. A growl tore out of me from witnessing him hitting his daughter. It disgusted me that he could smack his own flesh and blood. Sure, she may be a little wayward, but he shouldn’t have hit her.
” Sit down, you know not to mention that name , ” John warns her, his tone threatening, and I wondered who he was talking about. Alpha John always kept his family on his territory. Rarely letting his daughter off pack territory unless escorted, but once she turned of age, he couldn’t exactly stop her. I knew Alpha John’s wife was rarely seen, only proving how controlling he was, but if she wasn’t supposed to be Alpha, who was?
Ava rubs her cheek, and her eyes burn with tears, but she sits back down. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Marcus’s jaw clench, and my father nods to Alpha John, which pisses me off that he would condone him hitting his daughter like that.
”As I was saying, Ava here is supposed to take over the pack. Due to her recent behavior, it is making my pack members nervous, so your father and I have found a way to not only end this feud but also help both packs.“
“I don’t understand,“ I tell him, trying to figure out where he is going with this, my father is suddenly nervous, and I see him loosen his tie.
“You need a mate to produce an heir, I need someone to help take over the pack. My daughter clearly can’t do it on her own and has been troublesome, I need someone that can handle her, keep her in line.“
“What like you just did by beating her, and what the heck do you get out of this?“ I ask my father. None of this made sense to me; they hated each other. Why would my father be suddenly siding with him?
“Valen?“ My father scolds, but I wasn’t about to pretend him hitting her didn’t happen or that any of this made sense. I was an asshole, and so was my father, but not once did he ever raise his hand to me
and sure as hell wouldn’t slap my child like she was a man.
His entire hand was outlined on her face despite her almost being healed and to do that to someone you expect to take over your pack is disgusting. It is no secret that Alpha John needed to retire. He was the oldest Alpha in the City.
Ignoring my father, I turn to John. “I fail to see how your daughter is to help with that issue.“ Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
“An arrangement, we think you should take Ava as your mate, she can provide a strong pup for you, and I can ensure my pack they are in safe hands. It would also get rid of the negative media, and the City will look reunited,“ my father tells me.
“I know you aren’t blind to those of our kind that have been going missing of late. We can’t be fighting amongst ourselves when we may have an inevitable war coming with the humans,“ John tells me, shocked at what he just asked of me.
Shaking my head, no wonder the girl is so angry; I was outraged that my father would even agree to this.
“Just think about it Valen, this is good for everyone in the City and for both packs. It will end the wars between packs which benefits both of us.“
“No, now get the f*ck out of my Hotel; I won’t hear any more of this nonsense, “ I tell them getting up out of my seat.
“Valen, just think about it, we still have time for you to decide. No need to make hasty decisions. Nothing will be announced until the Alpha meeting in two months. Plenty of time to discuss this some more.“
“We don’t need to discuss anything. Ava isn’t my mate. I will have children with my mate and my mate only. Thank you for the offer Alpha John, but I am not interested,“ I tell him about to walk out the door.
“I will give you some time to think about it, Alpha Valen. The offer still stands, so think carefully.
Reputation is everything. “ Alpha John tells me, his eyes darting to my father, who nods. I couldn’t care less about my reputation, I was comfortable with who I am. Once again, however, I am cut off before I can answer, this time by my father.
“How is the Alpha meeting coming along, have you picked a location yet?“ My father says, cutting me
off as I was about to tell Alpha John to go f*ck himself and get off my territory.
“It will be on the neutral territory; now I think it is time you leave, “ I snap at them, meaning both men.
“Great, well send us the details, and in the meantime, you can think about what decision you want to make. It would be good to know for certain by the Alpha meeting so we can make an announcement.“
“There won’t be an announcement. Your daughter is not my mate, “ I tell him, but he ignores me instead of gripping his daughter’s arm and tugging her out of the room. I growl at him.
“Enough, just think about it, Valen, “ My father says, watching them leave. The moment they do, I turn on my father.
“How f*cking dare you, you just put me on the spot. You didn’t think to f*cking ask before making deals with the likes of him, I won’t go through with it and if you try that shit again, I will banish you from the City,“ I bellow at him.
My father takes a step away from me, he has always been trying to control every aspect of my life since I took over, but this wasn’t his choice and was way out of line. I had found my mate. I wasn’t
about to toss her aside for some rivalry.
Alpha John’s daughter not being good enough to become her packs Alpha was not my issue, but this made things more difficult because now I had to convince Everly to let me mark her before the Alpha meeting.
I would accept no one but my mate, but I had no doubt that disagreeing would only be the start of my issues with Alpha John and the shadow pack. And I could already tell something was up with my father. He was keeping something from me, so until I knew what it was, I was going to have to make sure he didn’t find out about Everly.