Chapter 10 #2
“No,” Dad answered. “She’s a weak werewolf who doesn’t shift. Unless she mates with a wolf, she has no chance of producing an offspring who can shift.”
“You don’t think we should bring her into our pack?” Jacob asked.
“Not at this time. I will keep tabs on her in case we need to reevaluate later. For now, we ignore her.”
“I thought we had to report half-breeds to enforcers,” Danny said.
“We do,” I answered, eyeing my dad.
“I’m not doing anything while she’s here at SU,” Dad said as he stood. “You’re all dismissed. Those of you who are driving with me, hang tight. I want to talk privately with my son before we leave.” He exited the room, the expectation for me to follow clear.
Without looking at any of my packmates, I got up and followed my dad out of the house and to his truck.
My dad looked over my shoulder. “What do you want, Adan?”
I hadn’t even realized he’d followed me out.
“Laney is my lab partner in genetics. Ignoring her will be difficult since I have to work with her for the rest of the semester.”
My dad stared at him a moment. “Are you and her friends?”
“Yes.” He hadn’t hesitated to respond. I knew he didn’t have any romantic feelings toward her.
“You are allowed to remain friends with her and finish out the semester as her lab partner. Next semester, no more classes with her.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
Adan ran inside the house.
“You know, I run a study group for one of Laney’s classes.”
“If she shows up to the study group, you can help her,” my dad said. “Now get in the truck.”
I assumed he would rip me a good one outside, but I hadn’t expected him to take me somewhere else. If he wanted us to shift, we could do that in the backyard. It was private enough.
Without a word, he started the vehicle and pulled out of the driveway. His lack of talking only meant he was beyond furious with me. I hoped he hadn’t heard about Em and me breaking up yet. That would definitely push him over the edge.
Darkness surrounded us as he drove to a nearby park, where he pulled into a spot and turned the truck off. Given the late hour, no one was around.
“Let’s go.” Dad got out and ran for the tree line of the nearby forest.
Reluctantly, I got out and headed after him.
When I reached the tree line, I found his clothes.
I quickly removed my shoes, jeans, and t-shirt, knowing he wanted me to shift and follow him.
Whatever he wanted to talk to me about, he didn’t want anyone around for a reason.
Plus, in wolf form, I’d have to submit and do as he said.
If he told me to stay away from Laney, I didn’t know how I’d handle that. It’d be like splitting me in half.
I took off running into the forest. My legs pumped, carrying me as fast as my human body would allow.
Anticipating the shift, I let my eyes change since they could see better in the darkness.
Once I was deep enough in the forest where no one could see me, I gave in to the part of me always stirring below the surface, and shifted.
Now in wolf form, I sniffed, easily finding my father and running after him.
I was so much faster in this form. My paws hit the ground, immediately pushing off and carrying me farther and faster than my human body ever could.
The rush of adrenaline was heady, filling me with contentment.
This was the only time I felt truly alive and myself.
In less than ten minutes, I slowed, spotting my dad near a small clearing lit by the moon.
When he spoke to me like this, in wolf form, it wasn’t a father talking to his son. This was an alpha talking to a member of his pack.
His head turned, looking me right in the eyes. I lowered my head in submission.
“We need to talk about the girl,” he said into my mind.
I didn’t bother to respond. I didn’t know how to explain my physical connection to a half-breed.
“Emily’s parents told me the two of you broke up.”
I nodded.
“Was it because of Laney?”
“No,” I replied into his mind. “We broke up because we aren’t in love with each other.
We don’t care for one another that way.” Although we’d been doing fine before Laney had shown up.
Em and I were good friends, we got along, and we had fun together.
The moment I saw Laney, everything changed.
I formed a deep, physical connection to Laney, and Em formed one with Danny.
If Em and I were meant to be together, we’d have formed a mating bond with each other instead of with other people.
“You’re my son,” he thought to me. “The son of an alpha. You have to make a strong alliance.”
“I know. And I will. There are several members from our pack who are a few years younger that might work.”
“Your mate has to be able to stand at your side and lead with you.”
I understood this. However, after feeling what I did with Laney, I knew I couldn’t settle for anything less. I would wait for the right woman to come along. There had to be someone in my pack for me. It just wasn’t Emily. Sadness gripped my heart. I wanted it to be Laney. She felt right.
“I don’t want anyone to know this, so you will not repeat it. But there’s a chance the girl might be dangerous to us. To you.”
I didn’t think Laney was dangerous. Not at all. “Why do you say that?”
“Two reasons. One, her mother must have changed her name around the time she gave birth. That’s suspicious.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“Because Raven didn’t exist prior to Laney’s birth. She must have used a fake name on the birth certificate.”
“And what’s the other reason?”
“I smelled something in Laney that warrants further investigation.”
“But you won’t tell me what it is?” I asked, my muscles rippling with unease. I needed to know what my father smelled that concerned him.
“No, I won’t. Just pray that I am wrong.”
He should just tell me what it was. “Maybe I can help?” I offered.
“You can’t. Not with this.” He broke eye contact, gazing up at the stars. Then he looked back at me. “I want you to leave Laney alone. I don’t want you anywhere near her, not even as friends.”
“Why?”
“Because I felt your pull to one another. I don’t want it encouraged. She’s not suitable for you, so you need to sever your connection to her before it grows into something unstoppable. I don’t want to lose my son.”
“You’re not gonna lose me.” Even though I’d been fairly certain Laney felt the same things for me that I felt for her, hearing my father confirm it sent a jolt of warmth through me.
“If you have a relationship with a half-breed, you will be no son of mine.” Powerful words from the alpha. If he disowned me, his reign would end. Danny would be the next alpha, permanently changing our pack’s dynamics.
But if I pursued Laney, if we fully mated, that would change everything as well. Since she wasn’t a purebred, my firstborn would be a weak alpha. His authority would be challenged, and someone else would end up leading our pack.
“You will not pursue her.” The finality of his words seeped into me. My front legs gave out, and I fell to the ground.
My father stood over me, a low growl in his throat, making sure I understood there would be no disobeying him.
I didn’t know how he could dismiss my feelings for Laney so easily.
I wish he’d talk to me about it so I could understand why she affected me like that and how to stop the mating bond from progressing.
Because I didn’t know how to stop feeling what I did for her.
Perhaps time and distance would solve the problem.
Maybe I just needed to be around some other girls.
I could date a few humans. Screw around a little to get Laney off my mind.
That had to work because I was out of ideas and options.
It already felt like Laney was embedded in my soul, and I didn’t know how to tear her out without destroying a part of myself in the process.