The Dominant Pair

An Apology

I let out an inaudible snarl when I caught Alpha Neal's scent leading to my house. Too weak to beat me, so he goes to the Alpha to whine? Bastard. I stalked through the main path, noticing some of the worried stares my pack mates sent me. They're still edgy from my loss of control this morning. Not my finest moment. I gave them reassuring smiles as I marched towards the pack's center - where the Alpha residence lies. Before I could even see my house, I hear muted arguing coming from that direction and sighed in exasperation. "Can't that damn assh*le just accept that he can't handle me in any walk of life?" I didn't bother to knock as I flung the door open, banging it on the wall with a thud. There were my parents, quietly bristling on the sofa as Alpha Assh*le spun pretty lies to try and turn the whole situation to his advantage.

"It was completely unprovoked-"

"Said the rapist to her parents," I snarled, shoving him out of his seat. My parents looked on in shock as I stood over him, bristling with aggression. I am Alpha. This is my home you're intruding. LEAVE!

With a whine, he stumbled outside. I slammed the door shut behind him, grimly satisfied. "Long story short, he along with 2 male subordinates tried to subdue me at the river border and I managed to make them all submit. He, being pissed at the missed chance to rape me, came to you for a chance to humiliate me which-" I smirked, "failed." My mother looked pale, a fact which made me viciously satisfied. And you wanted me to bond with that asshole. What was that you were saying this morning about having my best interests in mind?

"Adirée."

I automatically straightened and turned to my father, natural pack adoration mingled with daughterly respect and affection rushing through me as I met his gaze before quickly glancing down. I flushed, knowing I hadn't acted as an Alpha, but as a child. "Yes?" I felt him searching through my mind and began to panic. NO, not my mate! Without thinking, I blocked him from seeing anything about the Night Wolf and instead edited the memories into a lone Light Wolf. He finished his examination and sat back, a dark scowl on his face. "They'll be leaving in the morning. From tomorrow onward, Alpha Neal is banned from Silver Forest pack territory," he growled, his eyes flashing amber.
I eyed him, wondering if he was going to turn wolf, when my mother placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and murmured, "Feral, it's all right. She's safe." I grit my teeth as I watched the power of the truemate bond in action, as my father immediately calmed down and smiled a little sheepishly at her. And you want me to give that up to keep our family in power. My father must've sensed the direction of my thoughts because as I mentally scowled at them, he turned his face towards me and frowned.

"Adirée, tell me... who was that wolf in your memories?"

My wolf immediately bristled and snarled -  at our Alpha. Luckily, I was in human form, so he didn't sense her traitorous aggression. I put on a cool facade while mentally binding her muzzle and replied breezily, "I'm not quite sure. He was just a Light Wolf passing through no-man's-land that jumped in to help me last second. I was in such a hurry to get back, I forgot to get his name and left him there. I'm sure he's far gone by now." He cocked his head to the side and studied me for a long moment. I held his gaze, now refusing to back down. My only instinct was to protect what was mine. Mate.

He finally leaned back with an amused half-smile on his face and I knew I had passed his test. He believed me. "What a pity, considering he's probably the only he-wolf in existence that got to nuzzle your wolf without her snapping his jaws off." I blushed, mortified that I hadn't had the foresight to change those details of my memory. "H-he... I... we weren't nuzzling! He was checking for wounds..." I knew I'd been caught out when he burst into laughter and my mother tried to hide an amused smile.
"Well," she said with a grin, "if you ever meet him again, invite him along for supper. We should thank him for stepping in to help you against Alpha Neal." I snorted.
"Alpha Neal was nothing. I could've taken on those three by myself easily. He just jumped in where he wasn't wanted - or needed." Then I narrowed my eyes at my parents. "Next time you choose someone for me, make sure they're not rape-inclined next time, ok?"
My father avoided my accusing gaze and shifted guiltily in his chair. My mother met my gaze head-on and asked softly, "Well then, will you take on the responsibility of choosing a mate seriously? Will you look through the list of suitors and honestly try to work with them? We don't want to lose the pack, it's true... but we also want you to be happy. And what makes you happy, Adirée?" I pressed my lips together, but her point had been made. Only one thing had ever made me truly happy. Only one thing had ever come close to making me feel whole without a mate by my side.
Leading the pack. But don't I at least deserve the chance to try finding my truemate? My mother nodded, a flicker of honest regret flitting across her face. "I... I didn't handle this well. I thought you needed a push, and with your father busy dealing with the visiting alphas, we weren't there to give you any of the advice you need. I was focused on finding a suitor for you because I assumed - wrongly - that you weren't invested in the future of the pack as much as you should've been. I realize now, after-" her eyes flashed darkly "-Alpha Neal's attack that we should've given you more credit. Neither of us gave you a chance to take this into your own hands." I gaped and she smiled slightly. "As your Alphas, it's hard not to try and control these last few months, but as your parents... it's time we allow you to grow up and start taking charge of your own fate rather than attempting to control it." I triple-blinked. Well, that was unexpected.
"So... you won't be giving out my phone number? Or my bra size? Or setting up a surprise date?" I asked, still suspicious. She shook her head, her cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment.
My father smiled at her and then met my gaze. "Of course, we do have a few conditions," he told me, a mischievous grin on his face. Shoot.
He continued, "If you take any interest in a particular male, we'd like to meet them. If you have not chosen a suitor a month before the ceremony, we will discuss the best candidates with you
 and choose from those. If any incident like this happens again-" his eyes flashed red "-contact us immediately." My wolf snarled at the command in his voice, but I simply nodded. No fucking way am I contacting you. I refuse to let my parents deal with my problems. I'm the future Alpha.
My dad settled back, satisfied.
"Is that it?" I asked, itching to get to my room for some private thinking time. He nodded, and I ran up to my bedroom, locked the door and collapsed on my bed.

I lied to my Alphas! I groaned as I considered the meaning behind my actions. I was just protecting my truemate. It was all I could think about when he brought him up. I... had to. My wolf was satisfied and smug. She knew I'd been beaten. The problem wouldn't be solved by avoiding him after all.

You win. We'll go back... tomorrow.

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