Page 34 of Rejected By the Alpha

“It’s not much, is it?” my mother scoffed.

“Very small,” my father added, not bothering to keep his voice low enough to avoid me overhearing. “He must have another home that he keeps separate from Leah. I’m sure an alpha like him has plenty of mistresses to keep him occupied when he’s away from home.”

Blood rushed to my face as embarrassment and anger coursed through me. Over the years, I had gotten used to them making snide, hurtful remarks about me, but the past few weeks had apparently been enough to make me sensitive to their abuse in a way I hadn’t experienced in years.

“Here’s your wine,” I said quietly.

They accepted their glasses and took a seat on the couch, leaving the armchair for me.

“Actually, we’re glad to get a chance to talk to you alone,” my father said. “Your mother and I have high hopes that with your new position, you’ll finally be ready to help us out a little.”

“It’s time that you repay us for taking care of you all those years,” my mother said.

“Excuse me?” I asked. “Repay you for what, exactly?”

“For taking care of you, of course,” my father said. “We didn’t have a child just so they could grow up to be selfish. All the time and money we spent on you won’t be wasted now that you have an alpha for a mate.”

“What exactly do you expect me to give you?” I asked.

My parents chuckled in a way that reminded me of times from my childhood when they would withhold meals and other comforts until I had completed their list of tasks. Something about their faces struck a chord of fear in me as they began to list their demands.

“First of all, we expect to be given a home here so we can move out of Sparkle Hollow,” my mother began. “As parents of the pack luna, I think a four-bedroom home should be sufficient. We’ll need to be able to entertain guests, after all, so it should have at least three living spaces for us to host events.”

“I also expect that your mate will give me a spot on the pack council,” my father added. “And I think a nice sum of money to get us started in our new home is in order. Not all upfront, of course, but at least fifty thousand a year so we can live comfortably.”

As their list continued, I sat with my wine glass halfway to my lips and mouth open in amazement. Just one of those requests would be extravagant, but to demand all of them wasludicrous. It wasn’t just that they didn’t deserve it, but their requests were impossible for a small pack like ours to meet.

“Why are you looking at us like that?” my mother snapped. “You should be writing this down.”

I inhaled sharply at her reprimand. The child in me wanted to promise her that I would handle it, but the new version of myself was thinking of Killian. He supported me and gave me the freedom to make my own choices instead of following my parents’ orders. He would never want me to accept treatment like this. Even more importantly, I couldn’t allow them to take advantage of my mate the way I had been abused my entire life.

“No,” I replied in a small voice. I had rarely used the word around them, and it came out more like a question than a statement.

“What did you just say to your mother?” my father demanded.

I stood up from my chair and took my wine glass back to the kitchen before turning around to face them again.

“No,” I repeated, more confidently this time. “You won’t get a cent from me or my pack. My mate will not give in to your ridiculous demands, and you will not have me on your side if you try to convince him.”

My father stood up quickly, his face full of rage as he smashed his wine glass on the floor between us.

“You ungrateful bitch!” he shouted.

“I will not accept you speaking to me that way,” I declared.

He strode toward me and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me roughly.

“Let go!” I shouted.

When he released me with one hand, I realized what was about to happen. Knowing I could escape his grasp, I closed my eyes so that I wouldn’t see his hand as it swooped down to smack me across the face.

But before he could make contact, I heard a low growl from the doorway.

“Get your hands off of my mate.”

My father whirled around, releasing me as he poised to defend himself against the sudden threat. Killian had overheard my argument with my father and was standing in the doorway, poised to attack.

When my father saw that he was standing face to face with the alpha, his eyes widened in fear.

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