Chapter 6 Ty #2
Mother waved her hand in the air as she swallowed her mouthful of pimento cheese. “I’m sure she was congratulating Liza. Cecily’s family is top-notch, Ty. You know that.”
“Oh, really?” I laughed loudly and dramatically. “She wasn’t congratulating her, Mother. Cecily was tearing her to shreds.”
She thought for a moment and then responded softly. “Liza must’ve said something to provoke Cecily. I simply can’t imagine her being rude for no reason.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Dad stood and made his way to the podium. The room fell silent.
He leaned against the wooden stand and spoke into the microphone.
“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us today at the celebratory luncheon.” He paused, allowing everyone to applaud.
“Before I begin, I’d like to take a moment to thank the Banks family for hosting this event.
We’re always grateful for their generosity and commitment to our community. ”
On cue, Cecily and her family stood, waving to the crowd, flashing their bright white smiles.
I clapped softly, trying hard not to roll my eyes.
Once the applause died down, Dad continued.
“As you all know, we’re here today to celebrate the couples that were matched up last night at the mating ceremony.
” He gestured toward Mother. “Many years ago, I discovered my fated mate at a similar ceremony. Persephone and I have been living a fairy tale ending ever since, and we wish the same contentment on our newly paired couples.”
Mother gushed, clutching her chest and blowing a kiss to Dad. The woman sitting near Mother patted her back and whispered encouraging words. The whole spectacle nauseated me.
“Now, I’d like to read off the list of couples that fate revealed to each other last night. If each couple would please stand, we’d like to congratulate you with a commemorative certificate.”
Dad proceeded to read off a list of names. Each couple stood, and most were holding hands or, at the very least, standing extremely close to one another. The audience applauded wildly to show their approval of the matches.
With every name, I wondered if he’d read my and Liza’s names. He didn’t.
“We hope you’ll all stay and visit with one another, and, of course, congratulate the couples personally. Now that they’ve found one another, we want to offer words of encouragement as they move toward mating. Thank you again for coming.”
My entire body went rigid as my father returned to his seat. How dare he not mention the fact that Liza and I had been matched?
Mother grabbed my hand and shook her head. She didn’t want me to say anything, at least not here in front of everyone.
I bit my tongue as Dad sat across from us, finishing his lunch as if nothing was amiss.
Was I living in the fucking twilight zone?
As the other guests stood and mingled, I leaned forward, unable to hold my tongue any longer. “Why the hell didn’t you acknowledge that I’d found my mate?”
Sighing, my father leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “You and Liza haven’t agreed to pursue a relationship like the other couples have. It usually moves quickly when fated mates find one another. They agree to date, and not long after, they’re mated.”
Date and mate. Simple. But not so much for the future alpha if his parents didn’t approve of his mate. I suddenly felt like a teenager who had no say or freedom in his choices whatsoever. Now I was really pissed, and they were going to hear about it.
“Must I constantly remind the both of you that I’m forty goddamn years old? I don’t need your fucking permission to pursue Liza.” My hands balled into fists as my inner wolf stirred. Dangerously. Angrily.
I couldn’t shift here, it wouldn’t be appropriate, but if my parents kept pushing me, I wouldn’t be able to hold back. The fury building inside me was not quite feral, but animalistic, and it could only be soothed by the touch of my mate or a very long run in the woods.
My dad gritted his teeth and held tightly to the edge of the table. “Let me remind you of your place, Ty.” His voice was steel, as fearsome as he’d always been, but I could bend steel.
A low growl escaped my throat as I leaned over the table, staring my father directly in the eyes.
“Let me remind you of your place, Dad. You have to step down because you’re getting too old to be the alpha.
Your strength is waning. Everyone knows that.
” I paused and studied his face. He wasn’t happy, but I continued, including my mother this time.
“You’ve both pushed me to find a mate for that very reason.
It’s time for me to take over, and fate has finally granted you what you’ve always wanted.
So, why the fuck are you both so against it? Against her?”
Mother whipped her head around and gave me the look that typically sent her staff running for cover. I wasn’t her staff. I’d been immune to that look since elementary school.
I raised my head, preparing myself for whatever shitty excuse she intended to spew in my direction. Instead, we were cut off by Cecily and her parents, who appeared so quietly, I wondered if they’d purposefully stayed back and heard some of our conversation.
“May we join you?” Tina, Cecily’s mother, pulled out a chair across from my mother.
She was short for a shifter, but it was easy to see where Cecily had gotten her good looks. Tina’s long, dark hair was braided over her left shoulder, and her red dress hugged her body in all the right places.
I had a sudden vision of her closet—not that I generally thought much of a woman’s closet— as something as large as a master bedroom with racks and racks of shoes, and a personal wardrobe stylist that picked the perfect outfit from long bars of clothes for every occasion.
I sighed. I did not want to deal with this right now—or ever, honestly—but as the future alpha, I had to be courteous to all members of the pack, even if I thought they were shitty people.
“Absolutely.” Mother beamed at the overtly wealthy family. “Please, join us.”
Robert, Cecily’s father, took a seat next to Dad and slapped him on the back. “Good to see you. Good to see all of you.” He glanced at each of us like he was running for office and needed our votes.
He reminded me of a used car dealer. He knew just the right words to butter up a customer before he went in for the kill, so to speak. I’d never realized how much politicians and used car salesmen had in common.
“Great speech.” Robert chortled at Dad, then clapped him on the back again, this time squeezing his shoulder, too. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Dad chuckled in response. “I’m really not a public speaker but it’s part of the job.”
Cecily took the seat next to me, grinning from ear to ear.
The girl was gorgeous, no doubt about it.
She had long, dark brown hair and curves in all the right places.
Although, I assumed some of those were placed there surgically.
Her fake eyelashes went on for days and slightly resembled a spider above each eye, and her straight, white teeth were so perfect they didn’t seem real.
Like the rest of her, they probably weren’t.
Every man I knew wanted to be with her, but she did nothing for me. Being near her only made me want to get to Liza even sooner.
“Did you enjoy yourself last night, Ty?” Tina leaned over Mother and smiled warmly.
“Yes, I did. It was a nice ceremony.” I didn’t give her much, and I could tell she was disappointed with my answer. Her mouth turned down and her eyes narrowed.
She, no doubt, wanted to ask specifically about Liza, but even if she’d asked, I wouldn’t give her the details of my experience with Liza. Truthfully, it was nobody’s damn business.
Cecily was surprisingly quiet, which led me to believe her parents had instructed her to let them do the talking. Everything was a perfectly measured and precisely calculated move with this family.
Tina eyed Robert, and he spoke up, right on cue. “We hear you were mated last night. Is that something you plan on pursuing?”
Damn. The guy wasn’t holding back.
Mother opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. “Yes, I very much plan to pursue my mate.”
I glanced at Dad, whose face was flaming with anger. He balled his fists on the table. He was still holding on to the idea of me choosing a mate, possibly Cecily.
What my father wanted didn’t matter. He could be as angry at me as he wanted, but I refused to entertain the thought of a chosen mate when my fated one was right in front of me.
Speaking of my fated mate, I suddenly spotted Liza leaving out the side door. She held her purse and apron in her hand as she quickly walked to the exit.
There was no time to waste, so I didn’t. I stood. “Please excuse me.”
I walked toward Liza as my parents and Cecily’s family stared in confusion.
“Liza!” That might’ve been a little louder than intended.
Several guests turned to see what the commotion was and to watch the interaction between the two of us. Tongues would be wagging tomorrow… If they even waited that long.
Liza stutter-stepped, seemed to hesitate for a moment, then eventually came to a quick halt as she stepped outside into the warm sunshine.
I followed her and closed the door behind me.
Let the rumor mill figure out what to do with that.
She kept moving, and I had to jog to get to her side.
I ran my hand through my hair; a nervous habit I’d had since childhood.
“Liza, I want to apologize again for being such an idiot earlier. Would you please be willing to give me a chance to make it up to you over dinner?”
Liza glanced over my shoulder toward the club. I turned to see my parents standing in the doorway, watching us with absolutely no regard for how Liza might take it.
She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, which was sexy as hell. It made me want to kiss that lower lip.
I could see she was worried and unsure if she could trust me—or my parents, for that matter.
“Liza,” I whispered. “Don’t worry about them.”
My instincts told me to reach for her hands, but her tight, rigid body language told me she wasn’t ready for that.
“I can’t explain the feelings coming over me, but there’s a spark unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Standing close to you is almost overwhelming.” This wasn’t an admission I would make to any other woman, but she was my mate, the one person who might understand this sensation.
Her breath hitched. She could feel it, too.
We stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like an eternity but also wasn’t long enough.
There was something between us that was more than simply a sexual desire.
For me, it was as if our souls were speaking to one another, like they didn’t need words exchanged. I knew who she was. She was mine.
Finally, she took a step back. “I’ll think about it.”
A smile spread across my face. At least it wasn’t a no, and there was still a chance she’d forgive me, meaning we could move past the stupidity that escaped my mouth.
I clung to that hope as I watched her drive away in her small, white hatchback.
Part of me wanted to follow her to make sure she made it to her destination safely, but I wouldn’t.
I would apply pressure, but there was a difference between playing and chasing.
I would do one, not the other. She would make the choice to be with me. My mind was already made up.
As I headed to my car across the parking lot, my dad barked out my name.
My wolf took offense to the commanding tone. He respected his alpha, and as positions of power went, Dad was still on top. But my wolf was stronger than Dad’s and had been for a long time. He demanded respect.
“Now’s not the time to make a stand,” I instructed my wolf. “Let me handle my father.”
My wolf agreed and settled as my father strode toward us. “Tyson, you’re making a mistake with Liza.”
Despite the firm tone and his hands fisted on his hips, I didn’t believe that. Not at all. How could I when my attraction to Liza was more than physical? My wolf claimed her as his mate, and my body and soul ached for her. How could it be a wrong choice?
Standing toe-to-toe with my father, I spoke firmly. “If it’s a mistake, it’s mine to make.”