Page 63 of My Forbidden Alpha

He’s doing it on purpose. He leans over, the back of his hand brushing mine as he grabs the bowl of baked beans, making a tingle of pleasure ripple through me.

My heart skips a beat before I look away quickly. I cross my legs to avoid his knee touching me, remembering how I had straddled him last night, how we kissed…

I swallow, my stomach knotting as his arm brushes against mine again.

Goddess…

“So, would either of you care to explain what happened lastnight?” Dad asks seriously, now staring at us. I freeze, my eyes widening as a sliver of fear rushes through me as Elijah simply raises an eyebrow questioningly.

“You clearly know what we are going on about from that look on your face, Scarlett. So, tell us what happened with Hank,” Mama adds.

Relief floods through me, and I feel a little at ease.

“Oh… nothing. It was no big deal. He was overly drunk and pushed my boundaries, so I lost my temper. It’s fine, it was diffused before it got worse,” I say, pushing my bacon around my plate and glancing at Elijah, who is frowning.

Mama sighs, placing her fork down and ruffling her black hair agitatedly.

“Scarlett, how many times do I need to tell you that you cannot lose your temper like that? It’s disrespectful!”

I clench my jaw, remaining silent.

“Scarlett, are you listening to me?! You belong to the Alpha’s family, you can’t treat your pack members like that. Your brother will become Alpha soon. You aren’t making things easier for him either,” she continues, making my gaze snap to Elijah, last night returning to my mind once again.

Brother…

He isn’t my brother, and I can’t even stomach that word after what happened last night. I look away, my heart thumping with guilt – guilt that I had done something so taboo and also guilt because of the fact I had enjoyed it so much.

Through my haze, Mama slams her hand on the table. “Scarlett! Are you listening?! Why do you always have to make things so much more difficult than they are?”

“Jessica, I don’t think-” Elijah begins. Instantly I reach over, squeezing his thigh, silencing him. He tenses, and I shake my head ever so slightly.

Don’t. Please don’t get involved. I can handle thismyself.

“I don’t think Scar went to look for trouble. I mean, we all know she’s a loner. If something happened, I bet Hank-”

“Enough, Indigo! Do not speak when elders are speaking,” Mama cuts her off.

I look at Indigo, who pulls a face, mumbling something under her breath, and I can’t help but smile slightly.

Thanks, Indy.

“Wipe that smirk off your face! Goddess, Scarlett, are you finding this funny?!” Mama snaps and Dad places his hand on top of hers.

“Scarlett, I know Hank is very headstrong, but he is Elijah’s Delta and will take over soon enough. I need you to stay cordial with them all. They are your future leaders,” Dad intervenes gently.

I nod. If only they knew how calm I am trying to be around Hank. Doing my best to try to handle stuff by myself, because I don’t want to cause more issues for them. I am remaining quiet – not wanting to hassle them.

I know if I make a big deal about what those boys had done, it will only cause unrest and trouble within the pack. I can defend myself, but it took my mother years to become as confident as she is now. My biological father spent years breaking her and it has taken Dad even longer to heal her. I don’t want to fuck that up.

One person’s silence for the betterment of everyone else is fair, right? Even if it’s hard… I’ll try.

The topic changes to lighter topics, but I refuse to contribute, keeping silent as I try not to fall into that dark corner of my mind that is full of rage and anger.

“There’s some business I need to attend to out of town and I was thinking it would be good for Scarlett to join me, to learn about pack relations and stuff. And stay out of trouble,” Elijahsays lightly, making me look at him sharply, only to see him smirking in amusement.

You want to go visit your old pack, don’t you? Pay your father a visit to settle things, remember?he asks me through the mind-link. But I’m less worried about confronting my father and more about the fact that it means me and Elijah would be alone. I’m not sure that’s wise…

Seeing that I didn’t reply, Mama’s nods. “That sounds like an excellent idea,” she says in approval. Dad looks at me as if trying to see if I’m ok with it, and I give a simple nod.

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