Page 33 of Plus-Size Sold Mate
I hate how every word feels more like he’s sinking his claws in me, forcing me to dwell on the ache of it.
“You’re underestimating them,” I retort, refusing to believe it’s that cut and dry.
“I’m not.”
Despite still sitting in the Jeep, I lean forward, tone firm. “You’re talking about my mate.”
“The mate you hardly know, and the one already clouding your judgement.”
We both go silent then, and for a split second, I’m a teenager again, standing in the kitchen after my first real fight with a split lip and slowly healing bruises. I wanted him to tell me I did right by defending my sister from a few others in the pack who had teased her, but that wasn’t what I got.
This is different. Our dynamic has changed, and I’m not that kid anymore.
“I didn’t choose this lightly.”
“But you did,” Dad says firmly, tone still cold. “You brought her into Coldreach before you even knew what she was. That was your first mistake.”
“And what was the second?” I ask, struggling to hold back my wolf and the need to defend our connection, regardless of how new it is.
Dad doesn’t answer at first, almost like he’s actually weighing just how crushing his next words could be, though he says them anyway. “Bonding with her. You had numerous other advantageous options, and you threw them away for a witch.”
I want to lash out and make him take it back, so he corrects himself and respects my decisions. I want him to fall in line like the others, but even now, with me holding the Alpha mantle, he hasn’t fully released the role from within himself. At least, the instinct to command and lead still lingers beneath his skin.
Almost falling into old habits, something in me wants to obey. This isn’t just habitual submission. Instead, it comes from the fact that he’s my father. Alpha or not, he’s still the one who taught me how to hunt, how to fight, and how to lead.
He isn’t just some rival Alpha. He’s blood, and despite my standing now, that piece of me feels compelled to remember my place.
Though that place isn’t mine anymore, and we both know it.
“I knew the risks, and I knew what it could cost.”
His eyes narrow. “Then why do it?”
“Because Sera didn’t deserve what was happening to her,” I say, trying so hard to maintain my own edge.
“And now she’ll face backlash because of this decision.”
I pause, hung up on the words before I take a breath. “She’ll have me.”
Even if it feels vulnerable to say, it still doesn’t soften his tough exterior. “That won’t be enough.”
It takes everything in me not to react and not to let him see just how cutting this conversation is. If I did, he’d see that as weakness too.
“When Dawson Voss makes his move, will your focus be on the pack, or will you split yourself between war and a mate who can’t even look at you?”
The last part almost makes me flinch. Even he knows we aren’t in a good place. He’s keen enough to pick up on something like that.
Taking a moment to compose myself, I hold his gaze. “You think I can’t handle both.”
“I think you’re overestimating your control and authority. You’re still a new Alpha, Luke.”
My jaw tightens. “So you would’ve left her there?”
His expression shifts just enough for me to catch, and he speaks deliberately, “Sometimes, leadership requires setting aside your emotions for the sake of the pack, even if it means ignoring what you want.”
Dumbfounded at the way he can so callously talk about my mate and me in the wake of our bond snapping into place, I can only stare at him.
That’s it then. That’s the real difference between us.
