Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
Everything felt tense at the head table as the four of us approached. Mason was already seated with his moms, who were engaging my mom in what appeared to be polite small talk.
Thad slid into a chair next to a man and a woman I assumed were his parents.
His father, who I recalled was Christopher James, had the same dirty blond wavy hair and lean build as Thad, and he was dressed in a perfectly fitted expensive-looking dark gray three-piece suit.
He even wore similar glasses, so he had a very Daddy Nerd Porn vibe, which I kind of dug.
Thad’s mother had a pretty heart-shaped face and light brown hair cut into a stylish bob, and she wore a mint-green floor-length satin gown that matched her eyes.
Both gave me a polite nod as I made my way into the last open chair, which happened to be next to the Alpha, who sat at the head of the table. Dad seemed rigid on my other side, and my guess was that he’d tried to open up a different seat for me without success.
Bianca sat across from me, beaming, and Knox was next to her. He still looked put out from our conversation, but he forced a smile for both of his parents when they spoke to him.
Waiters began to bring out plates of beef, pork, potatoes, and veggies.
Every glass at the table was refilled with champagne.
I barely had a buzz from my previous beverages, so I knocked back the champagne in two gulps before the waiter could wander away with the bottle, and he winked at me as he refilled my glass.
"Knox, honey, how’s the season so far for you?" Lissa asked from further down the table. "Mason says you’re still the top scorer this year so far?"
"Of course he is, Liss!" Alpha Monroe said jovially, giving Knox a sharp slap on the back. "He’ll be the parish-wide MVP for the fourth year in a row, you mark my words."
"Hmm, I don’t know, Alpha," Dad said casually, carefully cutting his steak. "It sounds like Ben is right on his heels."
"He won’t catch me," Knox said, cocky smile reappearing on his face. "I put two in for every one of his."
"I wouldn’t brag about that in front of your parents, Monroe," Ben chimed in from Dad’s other side. "I mean, not that the impressive pace of your sexual conquests is news to anyone here."
I snorted into my champagne glass, and even Dad stifled a cough. The Three Amigos all gave Ben some version of a glare or wide-eyed look of exasperation. I thought I caught a hint of a smile on Daddy Nerd Porn, though.
"Ah, Jack, I forget your children are so… brash," the Alpha said, giving Dad a very insincere smile.
Dad just shrugged. "They like to joke around, what can I say? We’re into letting the kids be who they want to be. You know, personal exploration and that kind of thing." He grinned and took another bite.
The Alpha shook his head. "We’re more about duty and leadership in our house." He patted Knox on the back again. "Public image is important, after all. We lead by example." He beamed at Knox, who nodded at him while his face remained emotionless.
Chatter started back up again all around, everyone apparently wanting to move on from the parental pissing contest between Dad and Alpha Monroe. I focused back on my food, trying to eat as quickly as possible so I could escape any further torture.
I should’ve known better.
"I hear you’ve been a busy girl," the Alpha murmured under his breath, leaning just ever so slightly in my direction and whispering so that only I could hear him. "Parading your Alpha bloodline status around, fucking a human… I’m not sure that you’ve done a single thing I told you to do the last time we spoke. "
I tensed. I wanted to poke my dad in the thigh or get his attention turned this way somehow, but he was engaged in conversation with Ben and Monica, Man Bun’s other mom, and I didn’t want to let on that I was nervous and needing my daddy’s help in front of the Alpha.
"First of all, sir," I responded coolly, "I was lured into that challenge and forced to defend myself. You can’t fault me for that. If your son hadn’t pissed off his girlfriend so much by paying attention to me on your orders, it would not have happened."
"Why am I hearing that you forced submission on five female wolves at the same time?" he hissed back at me. "That kind of show of power was unnecessary. Were you purposefully trying to defy the orders of your Alpha? I very explicitly told you to keep your secrets."
"Of course not," I replied, my anxiety levels rising fast. "Nikka had four friends jump into a challenge fight to save her ass. Maybe if you promoted honor in this pack, Alpha, that shit wouldn’t have happened."
"You sure have a smart mouth for someone who’s mere breaths away from spending some time in my pack dungeon for disobeying a direct order from the Alpha," he whispered. "I can pull the Pack’s funding of your Academy tuition, too. And don’t think I won’t make sure your little human boyfriend encounters an accident or two that may leave him seriously injured. "
"You’d hurt an innocent human?" I asked, starting to shake with rage. "What the fuck kind of Alpha are you?"
"No, you’d hurt that human," he replied, voice still barely above a whisper.
"It would be all on you. Get rid of him and behave.
You belong to Knox, and after graduation you two will have a formal mating ceremony and work on repairing the mate bond.
Then you will be spending your time with Bianca and her friends learning how to act like a proper Alpha Mate instead of an obnoxious loud-mouthed bitch. "
I was getting nauseous again, though this time, it probably had very little to do with the rotten mate bond still languishing inside of me. I swallowed, dug around for my lady balls, and finally turned my head just enough to look the Alpha in his menacing brown eyes.
"If you hurt my boyfriend, I will rain absolute hell on you and your entire family. I know that you know, deep down, even if you’re currently in denial, that my dad could crush you if he wanted to. Threaten me or anyone I love again and see how long you remain Alpha of this pack."
He just smiled at my very ballsy threat, and it was slow and evil.
"Jack. Knox," he said louder, getting the attention of those around us. "Mave and I were just having a little chat. I’m so happy to hear she’s warming up to the idea of becoming the next Alpha Mate."
Ice Man turned his head sharply in his dad’s direction, looking surprised and uneasy.
"We’re discussing a mating ceremony for after graduation, aren’t we, Mave?" Alpha said, blasting his disingenuous smile at me.
"Oh, that’s so wonderful!" Bianca cooed, squeezing Knox’s arm.
"Dad," Knox said diplomatically, "Mave and I are still getting to know each other. Let us date a little while before we start planning… mating ceremonies." He choked a little bit on that last part, like it tasted bad coming out of his mouth.
"I don’t believe my daughter has agreed to anything of the sort, Alpha," Dad added tersely. "The mate bond between them is likely beyond repair at this point, and I won’t allow her to be forced into anything she doesn’t want."
"Oh come on now, no one is forcing anyone!" Alpha Monroe chuckled. "But now that the Pack has been made aware of your bloodline status, it only makes sense that we’d all want to see the two most powerful young wolves mated together the way the Moon intended, for the future of the Pack."
He paused, then gave Dad and Mom both a pointed look. "And, by the way, I’m happy to revoke your family’s omega status, now that you’ve proven your strength as wolves and your loyalty to the Pack. I think we could even find Benjamin a spot among Knox’s betas."
"Polite pass, thanks," Ben chirped.
"Mave and I will sort things out between the two of us, Dad," Knox cut in, giving his dad a patronizing smile. "Let’s move on from this—we don’t need to involve the whole table in our dating life."
I noticed then that the entire table had ceased all conversation to listen intently to this exchange.
Ben and Mom were clearly doing their best to hold back their anger, and even Mason, Thad, and their parents looked uncomfortable and nervous.
Only Bianca seemed pleased to be discussing this particular topic.
I so badly wanted to tell the Alpha to go fuck himself in front of his family and his betas—to tell him it would be a cold day in hell before I would ever consider Knox even as a study partner, much less a mate.
But I decided that now was not the time to inflame him further.
He’d threatened Blake, and while I knew Blake was powerful, it didn’t mean he couldn’t be caught off guard.
"Right," I agreed, looking at Knox with as much sincerity as I could muster. "Knox and I have had some… discussions. We will be sure to let everyone know soon what we decide."
The nervous shoulders around the table relaxed slightly as the Alpha nodded.
"Good. I know you kids will make the right decision." His eyes lingered on me the longest with that statement.
Dad cleared his throat and gave my leg a quick squeeze under the table. "Let’s leave the kids alone. And we do appreciate your offer to remove our omega status, Alpha, but it really isn’t necessary. As we’ve said before, the labels don’t mean much to us."
"Ah, well it seems a bit silly now, don’t you think?" Lissa said. "We were not aware of the exact details of your family history when you joined us, or else we certainly wouldn’t have required the omega designation." She smiled warmly at Dad, but her eyes darted to the Alpha for a split second.
"Well, whatever is easiest for the Pack, of course," Mom chimed in, her practiced smile still in place. "We don’t need any special treatment. We are so flattered to even be sitting at the Alpha’s table, after all."
The adults at the table eased into lighter topics of conversation, everyone happy to be done dancing around the elephant in the room.