Levi’s POV
I try to blend into the wall. Maybe if I stand still enough, they’ll forget I’m around. But I know the effort is futile.
It’s hard to hide when you have pale hair and red eyes. You stick out like a sore thumb. The only advantage is that it scares people off, and they leave me alone.
But not the people I want to leave me alonemy parents. Any second now, one of them is going to come to me and bustle me off to meet the next important council member they want to show me off to.
I hate the council members. Every single one of them. They are nothing but a bunch of ass-kissing idiots who smile in your face and plot against you behind your back.
The pack council oversees pack affairs, and the Alpha is answerable to them. Alpha wolves don’t need anyone’s second opinion, but we happen to be werewolves. We are not complete animals.
Since I was named Alpha after my eighteenth birthday, our pack tradition for the firstborn of the Alpha family, I haven’t really taken over my role.
My parents, being as controlling as they are, would have happily changed the tradition to hold on to the mantle until they felt I’m ready for the job. Because they don’t think I am. I don’t think they ever will.
But they didn’t need to abandon tradition. I’m Alpha only by name. Everybody knows who runs Silver Creekmy parents and the council members currently milling around our lounge.
One of the reasons they gave as to why I wasn’t ready to take over yet was that I hadn’t found my mate yet.
I wonder how they’ll react when I tell them that obstacle is out of the way. Almost, at least. Because I’m not sure I want to mate Sara Mae anymore.
She never listens, and she keeps throwing herself at other males. When I explain that, I’m sure they’ll agree I can wait longer for a more suitable mate.
I’m almost certain they’ll agree. Because if I take a mate, what other excuse will they have to keep running the pack?
On the other hand, the council looks down on an Alpha without a mate. If I don’t get mated soon, they might start rumours that I’m defective or something.
They are always looking for a way to tear into our family, because many of them think they should be the Alphas.
The Foxes have been at the helm for so long, and it doesn’t matter that in that time, we have kept that title only because we have produced the strongest werewolves in the pack for generations.
Many would see a change at the helm if they could, and some see me as the perfect target. That’s one reason my parents are so obsessed with not letting go of the reins until they can trust my abilities.
It’s as if they think I’m a weak puppy who’ll get eaten alive by the council on my first day on the job. The same council members who dare not approach me unless they are accompanied by one of my parents, and even when they do, they avoid looking into my eyes. As if they are the gateway to hell. I particularly enjoy watching them squirm.
Either way, I’ll not know until I sit with my parents and tell them the news. Which is going to be soon since the dinner party is drawing to a close.
I attempt to slip around the edges of the room towards the exit before my parents bombard me with requests to say farewell to each of the guests. I don’t get far before my father’s voice reaches me.
“Levi, there you are. Come with me to see Lord Gils out.”
And the torture begins.
Finally, after an hour of farewells, some unnecessarily long-drawn, it’s just me and the folks. I badly want to crash, but I have to tell them about Sara.
“Mum, Dad, I need to talk to you,” I say when they come back into the house after seeing off the last visitor.
“What about?” my mother asks, but there’s no hint of curiosity or interest in her voice. As her next words affirm. “I’m very tired, can you save it for the morning?”
“It’s been a long night,” Dad says. “Your mother is right. Unless it’s urgent?”
They are tired, good. If this goes wrong, I’ll be saved the worst of their reactions. “I found my mate.”
Their uninterested eyes turn laser-sharp as they focus on me.
“You have?” Mum asks, resting her hand on her chest. “Who is she? Where is she? Why didn’t you bring her home with you?”
“I haven’t claimed her yet,” I say.
Both of their brows crease. My father asks, “And why is that?”
“I’m not sure I want her.”
“What?” My father’s voice cracks through the room like a whip. “What do you mean you don’t want her?”
“I think we’d better sit down and talk about this,” Mum says, placing a hand on my father’s arm and urging him towards the living room.
I follow, preparing for the worst. I didn’t expect such a strong reaction from Dad. He doesn’t even know who she is, and he is already up in arms.
When we get into the living room, Mum takes a seat, but Dad whirls around on me. “Care to explain, young man?”
“For one, she doesn’t want me.”
My mother’s gasp is loud. “What? Does she know who you are? What’s her family?”
“She doesn’t have one.”
“What do you mean?” she questions.
“She is an orphan. An Omega orphan from Blood Moon. Forget her weak status, she is awfully stubborn, Dad. She is wilful and never listens to anything I say. I don’t want a mate like her.”
My father shakes his head and paces. That’s it, he can see my point. I exhale in relief. Finally, I can reject her.
“Sit.”
It’s not a suggestion. It’s a command.
I sit down and look up at him.
He finally stops pacing and stops in front of me, his blue eyes giving me his sternest look. “Listen and listen well, son. In this family, we mate our fated ones. Do you understand?”
I frown and glance towards Mum. Her face is calm, set. As if she knows everything he is about to say and supports every word of it.
I look back at him. “What?”
“It doesn’t matter whether she is the lowest of the lowest or the weakest of the weakest. For generations upon generations, the Foxes have submitted to the Goddess’s will. And it has never worked against our bloodline.”
What is he saying? Is he saying that I have to mate her?
“Some of your ancestors have been scorned for taking lowly mates. Many thought it would be the downfall of our family. But that has never happened. Many werewolves know that your fated mate is your biggest weakness. That’s why they are so cautious to not mix with bloodlines they deem weak. But what they don’t know is that your fated one is also your most important strength. That’s how the Goddess wills it. When you get in the way, you block your destiny. So far, destiny has been good to our family. Claim her as soon as possible.”
He turns away and takes a seat. I let his words sink in.
“What if she rejects me?”
Mum huffs. “What business does an orphan Omega have rejecting an Alpha mate? Is she stupid?”
“I told you, she is stubborn. She doesn’t like me.” I thought she did, when we first met. She thought my eyes were beautiful, for heavens’ sake. But then she refused to let me claim her.
“I don’t care,” Dad says. “Make her like you. Stubborn, you say?” He scoffs. “Are you a Fox or not? If you cannot deal with one girl, how will you lead the pack?”
“I really want to meet this girl,” Mum says. “Alpha and Beta families from all over are dying to mate their daughters with you. How dare she act like she is too good for you? Where does an Omega get such nerve? Blood Moon, did you say?”
“Yes.”
“Did you meet her at the Academy? What did she do to end up there?”
“She attacked the Alpha King.”
My mother pales. “The Alpha King!”
I purse my lips together and nod. That should give them a better idea of the kind of girl I’m dealing with.
Mum turns a disturbed glance to Dad. “Honey, are you sure there is no other way?”
“None.”
I nibble on my lip as my hands clench on my thighs. If I have to go ahead with this…
She said we should get to know each other first. I think that’s bullshit, but now, I have no choice but to do as she wishes.
She also doesn’t like it when I tell her what to do. Maybe I can try and meet her in the middle.
But there’s one thing I cannot compromise on.
If she is going to be my mate, she has to forget all other males.