|Grey|
My heavy boots thudded against the wooden floor as I walked towards the meeting room where my dad had called me to meet him. I was training with my beta for a few minutes when I got the information to meet him as soon as possible.
Knowing it would be something regarding Everleigh, I quickly went there and opened the doors to find no one in the room. I sighed and went inside with a bored expression.
"There you are." I heard dad's voice, and he came into my view through the darkness.
"I thought you were a ghost." I joked.
"I was going through some old books. Found the exact one I was looking for," he said, handing me over a thick book that looked around a hundred years old.
"What is this?" I asked.
"It's a legendary, secret book about alphas who didn't approve of Moon Goddess's selection of mates and who fell in love with another," he spoke. My eyes shifted to his, and he quickly looked aside. Then he started adding more facts as he paced around; "Moon Goddess is the goddess we believe in. Humans might not even know her, but she's our goddess. She knows the best for us, and I don't think it's a good idea to go against her. What you are doing now is going against her. And all of their lives ended with disaster, no happiness." he said, pointing at the book I was holding.
Then dad walked towards the meeting room table and pulled a seat. He sat there silently, and I started flipping pages through the book he gave me. I squinted my eyes to see what was there, and it took my eyes some time to adjust to the dimly lit room. It was written in old cursive writing and archaic language, so I had a hard time going through it.
But I could understand how the chapters were separated. A story only had around three to four pages that ended without a proper ending. And there were around a hundred stories written along with images. I trailed my fingers on the pages of it while trying to imagine how it might've looked when it was newly written. The pages felt like tissues, and all the ends were bent in every way.
I flipped through more, and it was obvious that one person wrote the whole book. Then I closed the book to examine the leather cover of it. There were dents here and there, and dust filled those dents. I wiped some of the dust so I could read the title, but it wasn't possible.
I walked around the table with the book in my hands. Then I dropped the book on the table and took a seat in front of dad.
"What do you have to say?" he asked.
"Nothing," I mumbled.
"Nothing?"
"Yes, nothing. Nothing about the person who wrote the book according to their personal opinions." I said, pushing the book towards him.
"Her words might be her choice, but remember, every incident is true. Son, you can't go against the Moon Goddess and select a random girl out there. I won't permit you, and no one will like this idea." he said.
"Dad, then tell me, where is my mate?!" I snapped.
"Forget about your mate. What about that girl's mate???" he snapped back.
I opened my mouth to respond but closed it. I honestly had no answer to his question. Everleigh was only eighteen, and she had so much time ahead of her to find her mate. But something inside me told me that it wasn't right.
"See. She has a life. She might have a mate out there waiting for her. She might also like to have her own mate, not you-"
"And her mate might be me," I said with so much confidence.
Dad scoffed; "If so, did you feel the mate bond?" he asked.
"She doesn't have a scent. So we won't know."
"Too many excuses. I just don't want your personal choice to destroy this pack that I've led through the dark old days!" he said, slamming his right hand on the table.
I took a deep breath. With my hands balled into fists, I dug my nails into my palm. I knew I didn't have the full power in my hands because I didn't have a Luna. And I hated myself for that. Dad was still superior to me in power, so I didn't want to risk it.
"Or do you want all the power to control this pack? Is that why you are trying to bring a random girl from another pack-"
I slammed both my hands on the table and stood up.
"I cannot believe you thought about me like that! You put me that low?!" I asked. And I didn't allow him to reply. "I will bring her to this pack, one way or another. Not as my lover, not as my mate or secret lover! Even as a normal pack member, I will bring her to this pack, and I know you can't do anything about it. I will let her choose me or her non-existing mate." I said.
Dad stood up; "You clearly know that omegas will be under prior Luna's care, right? You won't be able to have your time with her." he said.
"And I clearly know mom won't let me down. Unlike you." saying that, I grabbed the hundred-year-old book and walked out of the room. But before I could leave past the doors, he stopped me.
"Wait," he said.
I stopped in my tracks but didn't turn around to face him.
"I believe you will do the right thing," he said.
So I walked away with a small smile playing on my lips. I couldn't believe he did all that act just to get the answer he wanted out of my mouth. He wasn't worried about the whole mate thing, but he was worried I might mess everything up with my pack. That was also the reason he built an argument to get facts out of me.
-
It was evening, everyone was training outside on the grounds, and I decided to skip training for once. I went to my room and locked it behind me. Then I sat in my study to go through the book.
I started reading the first line on the first page, and before I knew it, I was reading through the first story. At the end of it, I couldn't help but laugh. It had a happy ending, and I could remember dad saying that every story ended with disaster and with no happiness. He sure fooled me to get the words out of me.
And I respected him for that. He was worried about me as a father, not as a leader or another pack member but as the person who stayed by the side of the person who gave birth to me (mom). Suddenly I felt proud of him. He made sure anger would get the best out of me. And fortunately, it did.
I decided to tell Kavin about the incident.
'You dead?' I mind-linked Kavin.
'Damn, alpha, nice greeting. Where did you disappear to?' he asked.
'I talked with dad, and now I am in my room. Now please don't come banging on my door. I need some rest.' I said.
'How did the conversation go? If you didn't tell me, I would've been right in front of your door by now.' he joked.
'Shut up, dad and I pretty much had an argument, but I think he's okay with my idea to bring Everleigh here. And I won't bring her here as my lover or secret lover or anything but as another pack member, according to your plan. With that, I will be able to decide my next step.'
'I appreciate your decision. And wow, you chose my plan! But why not show her to everyone as your lover?'
'I can't. She's only eighteen and might have her mate out there, somewhere. It might take a while, maybe a few years, and I will claim her after that.'
'Are you sure you will be able to keep your hands to yourself?'
'Shut up and go back to training.' I said and quickly cut our mind link.
I massaged the bridge of my nose, fully knowing he told the truth. Will I be able to stay away from her as I planned?
'Not under my eyes.' Blue said with a smirk.