Page 34 of Plus-Size Sold Mate
My features harden next. “I’m not you.”
“No, you’re not.”
Rather than praise or words of encouragement, I only get a warning, and my chest tightens as a result. Typical.
“I’m telling you, the pack will not rally behind her the way you imagine, not when they’re still uncertain about magic. If she falters, or if her magic surfaces, they won’t be forgiving.”
My fist clenches at my side. “She has it under control.”
“You can’t guarantee that.”
He can’t either, but I keep that to myself. The way he’s forcing me into doubt is grating, and I hate every moment of it.
My own father, the one who passed the torch down to me, doesn’t trust my instincts. He wants me to be like him, and to follow what he deems a fool-proof path, but I’m not him, and that path isn’t mine to take.
“I’ll handle the pack and my mate,” I mutter, well aware that I’m drawing the line in the sand.
For a long, agonizing stretch, we both stare at each other, unwilling to back down.
We’re both leaders, but only one of us is the Alpha.
Then, Dad pulls back, disengaging now. His words come out quieter now. “I hope you’re right.”
It’s not a true concession or an apology, but it’s all I’ll get for now.
I don’t say anything as he turns and retreats into the house with slow, yet sturdy steps, somehow asserting his own dominance even now. When he moves through the door, Isaac passes by him with a lingering glance before reaching the Jeep.
A familiar flicker of concern appears in his gaze. “Bad?”
“Yes.”
My brother studies me for a moment, looking far more empathetic than Dad would ever allow himself to be. “What did he say?”
“That I made a mistake accepting Sera. He’s doubting me,” I murmur, fingers gripping the underside of the steering wheel.
Isaac deflates with a slight shake of his head. “Of course he did.”
“He said the pack won’t accept her because of what she is.”
He hesitates at that, eyes saying more than he does.
“You don’t agree with him.”
“I think some of them won’t, but that doesn’t mean we can count everyone out,” he says, glancing between me and the house. “And that doesn’t mean you should stop doing what you feel is right.”
Even with that rage still boiling inside me, Isaac’s consolation is one I apparently needed to hear, as it helps take the slightest edge off.
“You don’t have to prove anything to him, you know,” he adds, tone more hopeful.
While I know it isn’t that simple, and being Alpha doesn’t stop you from wanting your father’s approval, I nod anyway. He’s trying.
“I know,” I say gently, reaching through the open window to put a steady hand on his shoulder. “I just have to figure this out.”
Isaac’s lips pull with a slight, empathetic smile, and I know that despite everything, he and Eve will always stand with me.
Eventually, needing to cool off, I head out again, driving down the familiar roads back through town.
All the while, I feel the bond between Sera and me pulling. Nothing in me feels settled now, and it won’t until I get closer, or until I learn how to get her to trust me.
