Page 19 of Becoming the Alpha

Of course, in the middle of the main hallway in the castle, how alone could we be? There were a few servants who were shuffling along the sides of the walls trying to get out of our way. “Father, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Drop the act, Jason. Withdraw the fucking challenge. Enough of this foolishness. You belong at my side, not fucking challenging me,” My father snapped. My wolf’s anger flooded my system.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You want me to submit to you after you beat my mother, me, and probably my sister? You want me to submit to you after you threatened my mate? You must be out of your fucking mind,” I roared. My father rolled his eyes and waved a hand, like my arguments were meaningless.

“You have to stop being so dramatic, boy. You are meant to serve me. You are meant to submit tome.You cannot rule this kingdom. You cannot be in charge of this pack. You wouldn’t know the first fucking thing about ruling.”

I crossed my arms, trying to keep my wolf from forcing the shift. “And who’s fault is that?” I asked, making my voice as cold and detached as I could. My father rolled his eyes again, shaking his head.

“You never did learn how to bow to those who are superior to you.”

I barked out a humorless laugh. “Please don’t tell me you consider yourself fucking superior to me? Because that’s just laughable.”

“You better watch yourself,boy. You don’t know what kind of horrors are in the world. There are worse things out there than me.”

I scoffed. “Not from where I’m standing.”

My father snarled. “Rescind your challenge and I may just let your mother and sister live.”

I blinked, staring at him. “You’d kill your own wife and daughter just to prove a point?”

“You bet your ass I would. At least that way, their lives would be of some fucking use. Rescind your challenge.Now!”

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and clenching my fists. I couldn’t let my wolf take control. He would attack my father and I’d end up being stripped of my claim to the throne because I didn’t follow the law, which is probably what my father wanted. “No.”

“Don’t be stupid, son. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“You’re going to kill my mate.”

“Yes, I am. That bitch needs to fucking die.”

“Don’t call her that,” I gritted out through clenched teeth. My father smirked. “Besides, you and I both know I can’t rescind my challenge here and now. Not that I would, now that you’ve confirmed you’re going to try to kill my mate again.”

“I’m not going to try. She’s going to die.”

“Are you scared to take me on, old man? Are you scared you aren’t man enough to win?” I taunted him.

He clenched his fists, the veins in his neck straining. “Taking you down will be the easiest thing on my list. It’ll be like squashing a bug under my foot. I’m just trying to do what’s best for the pack and kingdom. I’m trying to protect you.”

I laughed, pretending to wipe a tear from my eye. “You haven’t done what’s best for the pack and kingdom a day in your life. You’ve only done what’s best for you. Plus, you don’t even like me. I bet you wouldn’t feel a thing if you killed me. I’ll see you in the Challenge ring in two days. Until then, stay away from my mate.”

I turned my back on him, one of the worst insults to give in our world. I heard his angry snarl as I walked back toward my room. A servant was hurrying past me, trying to stay out of my way when I stopped him. I put a hand on his arm, trying to get his attention, when the familiar stench of rotten apricots hit me. I sighed, pulling my hand back and running it down my face in exhaustion.

“Can you please send some food to my room? Enough to feed four wolves - er, well, three wolves and a human.”

The servant nodded, his wide eyes staring at me without blinking. I realized I wasn’t going to get anything else from him and continued on my way. I made it to the hallway to my room, staring down at my parent’s doorway at the end, growling. “Jason, you know how stupid you look growling at a wall, right?”

I turned on my heel, surprised but happy to see Laura standing there. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a crushing hug. She grunted and squirmed, but I held tight. “You’re cutting off my air supply!” She cried, sounding as dramatic as ever. I released her with a grin.

“What the hell, dude?” She asked, punching me in the shoulder.

“Ow!” I whined, rubbing my arm.

Laura rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like that hurt.”

“Where’s Mom?” I asked, turning to look back at her door.

“In her room. Why?”

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