Page 21 of The Wolf Prince

“Now, I’d like to read off the list of couples that fate revealed to each other last night. If each couple would please stand, we’d like to congratulate you with a commemorative certificate.”

Dad proceeded to read off a list of names. Each couple stood, and most were holding hands or, at the very least, standing extremely close to one another. The audience applauded wildly to show their approval of the matches.

With every name, I wondered if he’d read my and Liza’s names. He didn’t.

“We hope you’ll all stay and visit with one another, and, of course, congratulate the couples personally. Now that they’ve found one another, we want to offer words of encouragement as they move toward mating. Thank you again for coming.”

My entire body went rigid as my father returned to his seat. How dare he not mention the fact that Liza and I had been matched?

Mother grabbed my hand and shook her head. She didn’t want me to say anything, at least not here in front of everyone.

I bit my tongue as Dad sat across from us, finishing his lunch as if nothing was amiss.

Was I living in the fucking twilight zone?

As the other guests stood and mingled, I leaned forward, unable to hold my tongue any longer. “Why the hell didn’t you acknowledge that I’d found my mate?”

Sighing, my father leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “You and Liza haven’t agreed to pursue a relationship like the other couples have. It usually moves quickly when fated mates find one another. They agree to date, and not long after, they’re mated.”

Date and mate. Simple. But not so much for the future alpha if his parents didn’t approve of his mate. I suddenly felt like a teenager who had no say or freedom in his choices whatsoever. Now I was really pissed, and they were going to hear about it.

“Must I constantly remind the both of you that I’m forty goddamn years old? I don’t need your fucking permission to pursue Liza.” My hands balled into fists as my inner wolf stirred. Dangerously. Angrily.

I couldn’t shift here, it wouldn’t be appropriate, but if my parents kept pushing me, I wouldn’t be able to hold back. The fury building inside me was not quite feral, but animalistic, and it could only be soothed by the touch of my mate or a very long run in the woods.

My dad gritted his teeth and held tightly to the edge of the table. “Let me remind you of your place, Ty.” His voice was steel, as fearsome as he’d always been, but I could bend steel.

A low growl escaped my throat as I leaned over the table, staring my father directly in the eyes. “Let me remind you of your place, Dad. You have to step down because you’re getting too old to be the alpha. Your strength is waning. Everyone knows that.” I paused and studied his face. He wasn’t happy, but I continued, including my mother this time. “You’ve both pushed me to find a mate for that very reason. It’s time for me to take over, and fate has finally granted you what you’ve always wanted. So, why the fuck are you both so against it? Against her?”

Mother whipped her head around and gave me the look that typically sent her staff running for cover. I wasn’t her staff. I’d been immune to that look since elementary school.

I raised my head, preparing myself for whatever shitty excuse she intended to spew in my direction. Instead, we were cut off by Cecily and her parents, who appeared so quietly, I wondered if they’d purposefully stayed back and heard some of our conversation.

“May we join you?” Tina, Cecily’s mother, pulled out a chair across from my mother.

She was short for a shifter, but it was easy to see where Cecily had gotten her good looks. Tina’s long, dark hair was braided over her left shoulder, and her red dress hugged her body in all the right places.

I had a sudden vision of her closet—not that I generally thought much of a woman’s closet— as something as large as a master bedroom with racks and racks of shoes, and a personal wardrobe stylist that picked the perfect outfit from long bars of clothes for every occasion.

I sighed. I did not want to deal with this right now—or ever, honestly—but as the future alpha, I had to be courteous to all members of the pack, even if I thought they were shitty people.

“Absolutely.” Mother beamed at the overtly wealthy family. “Please, join us.”

Robert, Cecily’s father, took a seat next to Dad and slapped him on the back. “Good to see you. Good to see all of you.” He glanced at each of us like he was running for office and needed our votes.

He reminded me of a used car dealer. He knew just the right words to butter up a customer before he went in for the kill, so to speak. I’d never realized how much politicians and used car salesmen had in common.

“Great speech.” Robert chortled at Dad, then clapped him on the back again, this time squeezing his shoulder, too. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Dad chuckled in response. “I’m really not a public speaker but it’s part of the job.”

Cecily took the seat next to me, grinning from ear to ear. The girl was gorgeous, no doubt about it. She had long, dark brown hair and curves in all the right places. Although, I assumed some of those were placed there surgically. Her fake eyelashes went on for days and slightly resembled a spider above each eye, and her straight, white teeth were so perfect they didn’t seem real. Like the rest of her, they probably weren’t.

Every man I knew wanted to be with her, but she did nothing for me. Being near her only made me want to get to Liza even sooner.

“Did you enjoy yourself last night, Ty?” Tina leaned over Mother and smiled warmly.

“Yes, I did. It was a nice ceremony.” I didn’t give her much, and I could tell she was disappointed with my answer. Her mouth turned down and her eyes narrowed.

---