Crave

22 - venom in the blood

'Because of your carelessness, your father keeps hurting me. Please think of me for once and come to dinner tonight.'

That was the text that the alpha had received earlier from his mother. Her words had his blood boiling from anger. She always did this, trapping him into things with twisted words. Currently, Woo sat in a fancy dining room, elbows set on a dark blue table, made of marble. Maids dressed in neat uniforms roamed around the luxurious mansion, working silently. The atmosphere here was tense. There were three other people with him. His younger brother, father, and lastly, the woman that Woo loved yet despised the most, his mother; Park Ma-Ri.

Woo looked at the tall woman sitting next to him. She had a slender frame covered by a black dress; wrists and neck adorned with expensive jewelry. She had long jet-black locks that were put into a tight bun. Her sharp face was flawless, covered by makeup. Woo knew under all that powder and blush, there were countless bruises. He could see it in Ma-Ri's eyes, slight fear as she glanced at her husband. Songjoon stared at his wife with a smirk.

"I'm so happy that my whole family is having dinner together." The woman looked at her two sons with love in her eyes. Joon had a small smile on his face but it didn't reach his eyes. Woo, on the other hand, remained blank. "I made both of your favorite dishes."

Woo looked down at the Korean dishes laid out in front of them. His stomach felt hollow yet he didn't have an appetite. The wolf didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be in front of the woman he had ruined his life for. The woman claimed that she was hurt by her son when, in reality, it was Woo who had all the injuries. Eating food made by her hands made him feel like he was eating poison. The alpha would rather be home eating meals cooked by Zaire, not here. His omega at home cooked way better than this. No matter how many dishes Ma-Ri could put on his table, none of them could compare to Zaire's cooking.

"Ma-Ri, your son is getting older. Why don't we think of getting him married?"

Songjoon opened his mouth the moment Woo took a bite of the kimbap on his plate. His father smiled at him as Woo chewed his food, not speaking. Now the alpha knew why they were so eager to have him over for dinner. It was never because they missed their son. A favor was always asked for each time he came to his parents house.

"Oh, you are right." Of course, his mother would say that. Ma-Ri had a bright smile on her face as she sat next to Woo. The old woman ran a hand down Woo's arm, trying to show affection. She sat on his left while Joon sat on the right, eating in silence.

"I'm not interested." The alpha set his chopsticks down, losing his hunger completely.

"We know you're not, that's why your parents are doing this for you. You need to settle down, son. You're getting older." Ma-Ri spoke sweetly, and Woo glanced at his father, who smirked slightly at him. The alpha wanted to shove the chopsticks into the man's neck, but instead, he stayed quiet.

"Yoona. That girl who's working at our gym, she's the daughter of a close friend of mine." Woo's jaw tightened and he felt Joon's hand cover his under the table. The younger brother squeezed the wolf's hand as Woo tried to keep himself calm. "I like her a lot too. She would be a good addition to our family, son."

Kim Yoona. The one and only omega daughter of one of the wealthiest businessmen in this city. Of course, Songjoon wanted her as his daughter-in-law. He also wanted the benefits that came with her if she was to became a part of the Parks. This man was like a leech when it came to money. More always meant less to him. His greed had ruined this whole family but Songjoon was selfish. This man would never change.

"I'll arrange a family dinner with them in two weeks. We can have Woo and her meet each other properly." The older alpha said while smiling at Woo. "What do you think, son?"