Chapter Four
“Why does she get everything?” Shannon screamed from downstairs and I had to muffle my laughter. She has been screaming since she got home. She found out that I was getting a dorm while she had to come home, like it would make that much of a difference.
There was a knock on the door, and I opened it to find Morgan on the other side. “Amy, can you please come downstairs? I want to have a family meeting.” I nearly lost it right then, so I just nodded. He turned around, jaw clenched and headed downstairs towards his screaming daughter.
I entered the room to find Shannon punching the couch cushion over and over. I snorted as I walked over to one of the chairs that flanked the couch. Morgan shot me a glare, and I just raised my eyebrow at him. I sat down and waved my hand. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Morgan shot me another glare as he walked away. “I told you not to fucking touch me.” My mother’s snarl came from the kitchen.
“I’m sorry. Please.” Morgan begged and honestly, it was pathetic.
I heard a smash, and then she stomped out and over to me. She calmed a little as she settled next to me on the arm of my chair. She looked over to Shannon, who was still screaming and attacking the pillow.
I gestured to Shannon. “I don’t think Shannon here is in the mood for a family meeting, Morgan. She seems…busy.”
Morgan snarled and grabbed Shannon, spinning her around and pushing her down onto the couch. “Sit.” Shannon snarled back, but settled.
“What now?” She leaned into his face. “What the hell is this?”
“A family meeting.” Morgan pushed her back and sat next to her.
Even Shannon laughed. “What the fuck? Why?”
“I’m assuming it’s because of you.” I rolled my eyes and looked at my mother. “I don’t understand why I’m here.”
My mom looked down at me and snorted. “I don’t know why either of us is here.” We both turned to look at Morgan, and she opened her hands, as if she was saying, what do you want?
Morgan sighed and looked between us and Shannon. “Amy, you and Shannon are both starting university on Monday.”
Shannon glared at me and I flipped her off. “See daddy, she doesn’t care.”
“Shan, just stop.” Morgan wiped at his eyes and then refocused back on us. “You two are starting on Monday, and so is Brandon.” He started again.
“Please don’t tell me this is all about Brandon?
” I howled in laughter. “For fuck’s sake Shannon.
Look at me when I tell you this.” I waited until she finally met my eyes.
“I do not, now or ever, want that pathetic piece of shit Alpha boyfriend you have. You can keep him.” I stood up and went to leave.
“Please sit down. That isn’t what this is about.”
I huffed and dropped back to the seat. “Then what is it about Morgan? I’m tired of dealing with this bullshit.”
“Amy.” Morgan chastised me, like I was a child. His child.
“You aren’t my father, Morgan. So how about you stop the act, and just get on with it? What do you want?”
Morgan leaned over and placed his elbows on his knees. “Shannon saw your papers on the table. She saw your food card, your dorm room, everything.”
“So what?” I looked at my mom and I saw her wince a little. She mouthed the word ‘sorry’ at me but I just shrugged. “What does that have to do with her?”
Shannon shot me an ugly look, and I just shook my head. She lifted a hand, pointed at me, and turned to her father. “See.”
Morgan dropped his head into his hands. “Why did you get a dorm?” He looked up at us and dropped his hands.
“I got her a dorm so that she would have space away from here.” My mother jumped in.
“Why?”
“Do you really have to ask?” My mother crossed her arms.
“Obviously.” Morgan sighed.
“Because of your daughter.” My mom wrapped her arm around my shoulder.
“What about Shannon?”
I snorted. “Oh my god Morgan. You can’t be this stupid.” I shook my head in disgust.
“What did I do?” Shannon shot out.
I tossed my head and then stared at them.
I lifted my hand and counted on my fingers.
“You stole my clothes. You used my scent and my power to trick your boyfriend. You have gone out of your way to make every day at school absolutely miserable.” She scoffed.
“You screech every day, all day. When you fuck your boyfriend, your fake moans keep me up half the night. I honestly don’t want to be around you, and neither does Nix.
You entered her den, and you contaminated it. ”
“You act like I am some kind of disease.” Shannon shot to her feet.
“To me, to Nix, you are.” I snarled. “I don’t think you understand, so let me break it down for you. You know how you feel about Brandon? How he’s yours?” I waited, staring at her face, and watched as the possessiveness took over.
“Yes.” She bit out.
“How you feel like no one ever should touch him, be near him, flirt with him? Right? Like you would kill anyone that tried to take him.” I stared at her again, waiting.
“Yes.”
“Well, I feel that way about my stuff. My room. My safe space. And you violated it to get laid.” I stood, and I could feel my anger rising.
“You’re weaker than me, lower than me, and an all around shitty fucking person.
But you thought you had the right to MY things.
You went into my room and used my things, the things I got from my mother, from my father, for myself.
And you used them to trap a wolf that isn’t yours.
” Nix came closer to the surface. I felt my eyes shift, my fur flowed down my arms, and my claws came out. “Do you know what that does to me?”
Shannon paled. She shook her head back and forth and cowered. “I, I, I, I, I don’t know.”
“You know.” I screamed. “You feel the same way about Brandon.” I stepped toward her and Morgan stood up with his arms raised up in surrender.
“Amy, please.”
“A Beta has some nesting instinct.” I glared at him. “How would you feel if someone went into your room, stole your shit, and then strutted around acting like you owed them? Knowing that they aren’t even fucking ranked.”
Morgan swallowed and then nodded. “I’d hate it.”
“Exactly.” I flung my hands up. “So ask me again why I need a dorm.” Morgan met my eyes and looked away. “I said, ask me.”
“Why do you need a dorm?”
“So I have a place away from your pathetic daughter. Where she can’t get in. Where my wolf can feel like her space isn’t invaded. So we don’t do anything stupid, like fucking kill her.” My eyes flashed and Shannon cowered again.
Morgan nodded. “It seems like it is a smart decision.”
My mother looked back and forth between me and them.
“I think, for the sake of peace, you should stay at your dorm for the first little while. Until Nix calms down a bit.” I looked back at her, betrayal on my face.
But she reached her hand out to me and shook her head.
“Baby, look at yourself. These things used to roll off your back, but now…” She rubbed her thumb over my hand.
“You are on edge. And I don’t want you ruining your life by killing someone who doesn’t matter.
” Shannon scoffed and my mother just smirked.
“Would that be alright Amy?” Morgan asked quietly.
“You want me to stay on campus?” I glared.
“I just think, for the safety of everyone involved, it might be the smart decision.” He tried to sound sorry, but I could see there was a glint in his eyes.
“Safety, right? And it has nothing to do with getting me out of the house and having my mother all to yourself?”
My mother threw her head back and laughed. “Amy.”
“It’s true.” I shot back.
“Even if it was true.” My mother started and pulled me back down to the chair.
“It doesn’t matter. That ship has sailed.
” She looked at Morgan, and I watched the life, the love, drain out of them.
“I don’t know how often I have to say it to get it through your thick heads.
But I am no longer your wife, your stepmother, your chef, or your maid.
We live together, but that’s all there is. ”
“Ainsley.” Morgan tried to take a step, but she growled.
“Fine.” I settled back in the chair. “I’ll stay in the dorm.”
“Fine.” Morgan settled back down beside Shannon.
“Can I go now?”
Morgan was about to nod, but Shannon grabbed his arm. “The food card, daddy.”
He huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes. “Shannon. Be reasonable.” He looked at her, but she screamed and got to her feet.
“See!” She pointed at me. “She gets everything. The rank, the money, the Alphas. Everything and I get NOTHING.” She screamed. “She gets a hundred thousand on a FOOD CARD. Are you kidding me?” She whirled on me. “Why do you even need that much money, anyway?”
I looked her dead in the eyes. “I might want to buy something.” I shrugged.
“I have nothing on my food card!” She broke down into tears.
“Well, that’s not true.” I leaned forward. “I just paid like four million to ensure every student enlisted had at least ten thousand on their cards.”
Shannon and Morgan froze. “What did you say?” Shannon took a step towards me.
“I said everyone now has ten thousand dollars on their card now.” I rolled my eyes. “So you can leave me alone.”
“I want more.” Shannon stomped her foot.
I laughed. “What?” I shook my head in disbelief.
“I said I want more. I deserve more. If everyone else has ten thousand dollars, then I should have as much as you, one hundred thousand.”
My mother burst out in laughter. “You have to be kidding. Why do you deserve more?” She stood and paced, almost prowling. “You’re still acting like you’re better than everyone else.”
“Because I am.” Shannon shouted.
“You’re not!” My mom shouted back. She turned on Morgan. “This is your fault. Do you not realize that? You spoiled her and made her believe that her status as your kid made her better than the rest of her pack. You have doomed her.”
Morgan stood. “I have not.”
“Yes, you have.” My mother countered. “You want to know how?” Morgan glared at my mother, but she just continued.
“She is an unranked wolf, Morgan, UNRANKED. And you have somehow convinced her she was going to land an Alpha. She won’t accept any other rank in a mate, but we both know what her chances are.
They are zero. Even if she somehow convinces Brandon that she can be his chosen mate, it won’t work.
His wolf would reject her. So now you have a daughter who will forever be mateless.
Or betrayed if he is stupid enough to actually mate her.
And then she will be in my position. Forced to marry a random wolf or become a whore.
” My mother was screaming by the end of it and Morgan just sunk to the couch.
“That’s how you see our marriage?” His voice was soft. “Even after all these years?”
“Come on Morgan, we are all adults here. Stop being fucking stupid.” Her skin rippled.
“Vince enacted that vile law, to force me to be his slave, and you offered me a saving grace. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe it was out of the goodness of your heart.
You and Vince played the game, and I lost.”
Morgan tried to face her, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “It wasn’t like that…” He tried to say, but she laughed.
“I put up with you, because I had to. I slept with you because I had to.” She went closer to him and he tried to rally. He stood on his indignation, but faced with her fury, he wilted.
“Don’t say that. I love you.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. “You love yourself. You love the idea of owning me. But you don’t love me. You don’t respect me. If you did, you wouldn’t have ruined my first run with my daughter.” The last of it was said in quiet disdain, which made the insult even worse.
“If this is about that, I already said I’m sorry. Ainsley please.” Morgan lifted his arms, but she scowled. “I swear, I’ll make it up to you.”
“You want to make it up to me?” My mother looked at me, then back to Morgan. He just nodded.
“Anything, please.”
“Fine.” I narrowed my eyes at my mother, but she had a plan. “I’ll give you until Amy is done at school.”
“What?” Morgan furrowed his brow.
“I’ll give you until Amy is done at university. Four years. Make it up to me and make me fall back in love with you.” I nearly snorted. She never loved Morgan.
He doesn’t know that, though. Megan’s voice was quiet.
True. I answered.
“Okay. And if I can?” Morgan walked closer to my mother.
“Then I’ll have pups with you.” She tilted her head as his eyes widened. “You have been saying for years you wanted another pup. Now is your chance.”
“Yes. I’ll do it.”
“But.” She lifted her finger, and he froze.
“But?”
She nodded. “But if you fail to make it up to me, if you fail to make me love you again…then we divorce.”
Morgan reeled back. “If we divorce, then the betrayal law kicks back in.”
My mom nodded. “That’s right.”
“You can’t mean that…”
“That I would rather become a slave to Vince if I can’t find a wolf to want me?
Yes, at this point I do.” She snarled. “You ruined everything the day you ruined my run. You’ve always been a selfish, unreliable, vapid man, but I put up with it, grew to even tolerate it enough to see the good in you.
But when you broke your word, you showed me you are no better than other men.
” insinuating Morgan was on the same level as a cheating mate, and that hurt his ego.
I could see it in his eyes. I just got to my feet.
“I’m done with this meeting.” And I walked back to my room, listening to Morgan and Shannon bicker to each other about how unfair life is.