Rejected By My Boyfriend's Dad novel Chapter 3

Hope

My limbs freeze into place as I lock eyes with Ethan. He is a big and frightening Alpha, and I’m unsure how to answer his question and make a long story short. I can barely keep eye contact with him without feeling like I might wet my pants.

I nervously laugh. “Well, it’s a long story.”

His expression is neutral, his face so hard and unsmiling it’s hard to believe this is the same charming man I spoke with at the bar. But maybe Ethan is the kind that needs alcohol to liven up? Right now, he looks like a man that never smiles, and that makes me sad. His face is sculpted, and his cheekbones give him a model’s look. He would be pretty if he didn’t look so bored and intimidating.

“I have time,” his eyes rake me up and down. “What pack were you supposed to inherit?”

I’m shocked by the question. Ethan is sharp and intelligent. He has already figured out I was supposed to become the Alpha of my pack without my help, and I think for a moment. He is not glaring at me or making me feel threatened, so I feel bold enough to speak the truth.

“I was supposed to become the Alpha of the Mirage pack, but I never awakened as a werewolf...until now.”

He silently studies me, face impassive. “And you don’t wish to return to your pack and make a claim on the Alpha position since it’s rightfully yours?”

I cringe.

“No, I’m not interested in that at all,” not when my pack treated me so horribly. “Besides, the Mirage pack has a new Alpha already. My little sister, Faith, took over the pack since she was much stronger than both of our parents. She is just a year younger than me—”

Ethan interrupts me, but in a calm, disbelieving voice. “They are letting a seventeen-year-old child lead them? Did I hear that correctly? They didn’t wait for you to turn eighteen? What sort of idiots are leading that pack?”

At this, I have to swallow back a laugh. Never once did I think it was weird for Faith to lead the pack so young, but now, I’m realizing it might be weird.

“Yes...” I clear my throat. “I mean, yes, my Alpha, the Mirage pack is letting a seventeen-year-old lead them since they apparently had no time to wait for my eighteenth birthday to see if I would awaken as a werewolf.”

Something changes in Ethan’s expression. I can’t pinpoint what it is, but he almost looks...amused?

“You’re not supposed to call me that.”

“Call you what?”

“Your Alpha.”

I shiver at the tone of his voice. Ethan is intently staring at me, and it’s making me all sorts of nervous. But I’m more curious than afraid and whisper, “Why not?”

He almost smiles. Almost.

“Because I’m not your Alpha. You are not an official member of the Nightslash pack and shouldn’t call me your Alpha.”

“Ah.” I suck my lips into my mouth, wetting them. “Well...I hate to sound like an idiot, but what am I supposed to call you if not my Alpha?”

His lips twitch, but he doesn’t smile. If anything, he looks even more intimidating and scary. “I haven’t decided yet,” he says while gazing at me. He is big on eye contact. “Are you in a serious relationship with my son?”

“W-what?”

“Answer the question.”

Ethan stares at me, and I swallow hard. “W-what does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything.”

“Everything?”

“I care about my son,” he folds his hands over the table and leans in before speaking in a menacing tone. “And I wouldn’t like to see him get hurt. So if you’re not as into him as he is into you, I would suggest breaking things off with him before it gets ugly. Do you understand, miss Moonchild?”

How does he know my last name? Wait, of course, he knows it! As the Alpha of his pack, he probably knows everything there is about the Mirage pack.

I nod. “I understand.”

I plan on breaking things off with Ryker as soon as possible. I got interrupted earlier, but I will talk with him later and explain the situation. We don’t make a great couple, and when I tell him that, I will be respectful since he is my friend.

“Good.” Ethan lifts himself up from his seat. Since I don’t know if I’m supposed to get up as well, I sit in my chair like a fool until he glances down at me, his eyes hooded. “You may leave the pack house. I have decided to be generous and grant you protection and a pack to hunt with for the time being.”

“Oh,” I smile as I stand up on my feet. “T-thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” his cold eyes bore into mine. “I’m only doing this for my son.”

My smile still doesn’t falter. “I’m still very grateful for your protection, Sir.”

“Did you just call me Sir?”

I blink. “Don’t you like that? I mean, I figured it was the second-best thing to call you since you don’t want me to call you Alpha,” I know that I’m babbling, but I can’t seem to shut the fuck up. “I was trying to be respectful.”