His Cursed Mate

Chapter Nine

Ren's POV

The silence that encased the kitchen was swiftly interrupted by the resounding of Luther's laughter. However, it was short-lived, as the sound of crunching bones soon filled the space his laughter had previously encompassed. I managed to pull my gaze away from her, looking to her right, and seeing a pouting Luther cradling his side. A severely pissed-off Gen stood directly behind him, scowling at the back of his skull as if she'd wanted to do more than just break a few of his ribs.

They were bickering amongst themselves when I felt my father's presence behind me, sending a chill down my spine. I could sense how angry he was at the way they were acting without him even having to say anything. He grabbed my shoulder, pushing past me as he adopted an imposing tone, speaking up at once:

"Knock it off, you guys. Can't you see that we have a guest?" He said, his tone grim as
he looked between Gen and Luther.

Gods, I hadn't heard him speak in such a serious tone for years. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that he was actually the Alpha of our colony, with how friendly and childish he acted the majority of the time.

Gen, Luther, and Mari all snapped their heads toward my father simultaneously, clearly surprised at the use of his Alpha tone with them. Luther stuck his lip out in a pout, while Gen bowed her head slightly; it was her way of silently apologizing for her behavior.

My father turned his attention to my mate, locking eyes with her. My eyes flicked to her, noticing the realization hit her eyes as she gave a small nod of understanding to my father. So, apparently Mari had filled her in on our father being the Alpha - which meant that she knew about all of us being werewolves. I could only imagine that she was feeling overwhelmed by all of this, especially given that she was a human.

He took a few cautious steps toward her, sticking out his hand and taking her own within his as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze and began to introduce himself.

"Hello there. My name is Harland Ogden. I'm Ren and Mari's father, and the Alpha of
Estabrook." He started, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Ren brought you
here with quite a few injuries. How are you holding up? I hope that your room is okay.
Ren insisted that we give you the room with the best view..."

What the hell, Dad?

I felt my cheeks burning as I averted my gaze to the floor, embarrassed that he would throw me under the bus like that. He had to have known that I hadn't wanted for those specific details to be shared with her. I wasn't allowed much time to be resentful toward my father regarding his disclosure of the particulars, for my ears were soon met by the sound of her alluring voice.

"I'm fine, thanks..." she said quietly, looking to my father as she spoke. "And the room
is great - far more than I deserve..."

At her comment, I felt my cheeks flushing even more than they had been before. She liked the room, and that made me ridiculously happy. A small smile crossed my lips as I glanced between her and my father.

As I admired her from afar; everything around me grew silent. Her and my father were continuing with their conversation; that much I could tell by the way her lips moved as she spoke. The silence was shortly cut off as soon as she uttered four simple words. Four words may not sound like anything special, but it was what she said that drew my attention.

"My name is Ell..."

My heart felt like it was going to lurch free from my chest at the sudden knowledge of her name. It was beautiful - just like her. Now, I could finally put a name to her face, rather than just referring to her as my mate. Her name played on repeat in my head, causing my mind to spiral into what seemed to be a never-ending loop.