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Finally, after a time that seemed to stretch into an eternity, my parents calmly strolled into the study. My dad led the way, which surprised me since Mom was the power figure in their personal relationship. At home, she was the authoritarian. She made the rules. Dad made sure the rules were followed. Not that we were still at that stage of my life, but something had gone down, and I was only here to find out what it was.
My mother followed close behind him with her hands clasped behind her back. She didn’t look at me, didn’t even acknowledge my existence with more than a nostril flare directed my way as if I smelled rancid.
This was not good.
I stood, looked at each of them for a second, then crossed my arms over my chest. “I’ve been here for a few hours now, and I want answers. I deserve answers.” My teeth were clenched, but it was more to keep the growl from my wolf locked down than from fury at them keeping me waiting.
Dad raised his hands, his palms facing me. “I understand your frustration, son. Let’s sit and talk it out.”
I sighed. This wasn’t a let’s talk it out situation. We didn’t have anything to talk out. I’d found my mate. Period.
“I just met the woman I’m fated to be with, and you dragged me in here, caged me up like I’m some kind of rabid fucking animal unfit to be in the company of your delicate guests.” It was a barb aimed at my mother, but she stood unfazed. I glared at her. “How dare you treat me like that in front of the pack?”
Finally, she reacted. Mother stepped forward and lifted her gaze. “Ty, you have to trust us. You know that everything we do, we do for a reason. A calculated reason.”
“Really? You acted like the woman—a woman whose name I didn’t even get a chance to ask—was less than you are.” Another barb aimed at Mom. This one hit. She frowned, but I wasn’t about to be shut down. Their behavior was inexcusable. “Honest to fuck, tell me why you reacted the way you did.”
I was a forty-year-old man with the weight of our businesses on my shoulders. I knew responsibility to the family and to the pack. I was next in line to be alpha. No way in hell would I let them get by with whatever they purported this to be. I’d found the woman I wanted to take as my mate, and I’d been led from the room like a fucking child.
It was unacceptable.
Embarrassing.
Mother sighed. “You can’t mate with her.”
“First, you can’t tell me who the hell I can mate with, and second, why the fuck not?” My fury overwhelmed me, and I stormed over to the wall, punching it to get rid of some of my rage. A painted family portrait that hung opposite my father’s desk shook, threatened to fall, but didn’t.
My wolf would not stay quiet much longer. I needed to be with the girl.
Now.
“Ty, your mother’s right.” Dad took a seat behind his desk as if this was a casual business discussion.
No fucking way. He was taking her side, and still I had no idea why. “What the hell is wrong with you two? Fated mate. You know what that means better than anyone.” Of course, they did. It was how they became husband and wife. How I came into existence.
No one moved, and they continued to stare at me. I sat in a chair and waited. There had to be an explanation. Something that would make their behavior seem reasonable.
Dad nodded and folded his arms so that his suit jacket tightened across his massive chest. I was tough, but he was the alpha. If he felt this strongly, there was nothing I could do, but I had to try. “Some things are non-negotiable, Ty. This is one of those issues.”
“Why? What is it about that girl that scares you so much?” My gaze shifted back and forth between my parents. “I saw your reaction to her. As soon as you saw what was happening, you both looked as if you might pass out.” I hadn’t imagined it. It meant something. None of us were leaving this room until they told me.
They shared a look that said they were trying to decide how much information they could give me without letting me have it all.
It took every ounce of control I possessed not to tear the whole fucking house down. “What the fuck is going on?”
“She’s not the right fit for you.” Mother leaned against the desk and began unbraiding her hair. “You’ll just have to trust us, Ty. We would never lead you down the wrong path.” Softer, she added, “Your future is too important.”
“You want me to trust you?” A piercing chuckle escaped my throat. “Trust the people who have been pushing… No, not just pushing, but poking and prodding and harping at me to find my fated mate? You’ve dragged me to every ceremony for the last twenty something years, and yet when I find her, you pull me away like we’re about to infect one another with rabies.” I popped my knuckles and stared out the window. I wanted to be anywhere in the fucking world except this house with these people. “Explain yourselves.”
“It’s a complicated situation,” Dad began, and he stared at me like he was trying to use his mind to control mine. “But you have to understand that she’s not the woman we’ve always envisioned for you.”
I didn’t know if other families dealt with this kind of thing, but I wasn’t about to let them do this to me. I sent them both a scathing glare. I was a fucking adult with a life of my own.
“It doesn’t matter what you want or what you envisioned. This isn’t up to you or to me or to her. Fate decided this. The way it’s always been meant to be.” This was their sermon. Wait for it to happen. Fate knows what she’s doing. Maybe you aren’t ready. When it’s time, when you find her, you’ll know. Well, for God’s sake, I knew.
Mother stepped closer to me and laid her hand on my arm. “Ty, you’re older than she is. You have money and power, and she has… plates and spoons. It will be the only thing people can talk about.” And there it was. “She doesn’t fit into the life we’ve picked for you.”
Whenever Mother lied—or fibbed, as she liked to call it—she fiddled with her earlobe. I watched as she tugged and rubbed her ear around her diamond earring. When I was young, I’d found it endearing because I had no idea what it signified. Now, it annoyed me because I knew exactly what it meant.
