Mated to the Rogue *DISCONTINUED*

T W E N T Y

The dinner table was quiet except for the scrape of forks against the porcelain plates and the blaring tension that hung over my family like one of those cartoon rain clouds that followed you wherever you went, even if you were trying to get away.

The four of us and Alpha Ryan were sitting at the polished oakwood table in the dining room. Of course the Alpha had to sit at the head of the table and of course, I had to sit next to him. My mother and father were sitting on the other side of the table and Alex was picking at his food on my left.

"So, Richard, you catch the game last night?"

It seemed too casual of an ice breaker, but my father and Alpha Ryan launched into conversation. Well, more like Alpha Ryan spoke and the other one just nodded his head, latching onto every word and not daring to contradict, even when Alpha Ryan said, "I've always supported LeBron, even when he was just playing in college."

I exchanged a look with Alex.

The Alpha leaned back in his chair, resting a hand against his bloated stomach and petting the barely-there dark fuzz that grew on his upper lip. I focused all of my energy on trying not to gag, shoving a piece of overcooked broccoli into my mouth.

"How are things on the front, Richard?"

This might have been the most aggravating thing about Alpha Ryan. He couldn't even be bothered to keep tabs on the wars he started, he just asked about them for the sake of a conversation.

"Not good," my father answered in a polite tone that was contradictory to the grave topic they were currently discussing. "The Shadow Creek pack aren't backing off anytime soon."

I resisted the urge to storm out of the room, instead choosing to glower at the shriveled dark green lumps on my plate. Our packs had never gotten along, but we had regarded each other with a cold sense of detachment. Basically, there used to be a small rivalry going on but both sides were passive aggressive about it. There would be occasional skirmishes, but other than that, we kept ourselves isolated from them.

A few months after Alpha Ryan took over, the Shadow Creek pack's Alpha invited him over to their territory to forge an alliance. It was half a day's travel on foot from here, practically nothing for a werewolf but it didn't come as a surprise that Alpha Ryan wanted to go by car.

The details of what happened there that day are cloudy, and all who have asked Alpha Ryan have been met with hostility. Even though he won't tell us what happened, everyone knows it didn't end well.

The Alpha had left early in the morning and he was back before the clock chimed twelve times, signaling the end of the day. He was more irritable than usual, and I remember him coming into our house and grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the locked liquor cabinet and plopping himself down on the couch in the living room. My father had ushered all of us upstairs and then went to "confront" him.

When I'd peeked down the stairs a while later I had glimpsed my father and Alpha Ryan speaking in furious whispers. Then, they had straightened and shaken hands, both taking identical swings from their bottles.

I remember brushing it off at the moment, returning to my room to get away from the putrid smell of alcohol. I was almost asleep when I was startled out of my drowsing by a bellowing laugh and slurred singing. I remember hearing the front door slam shut and my mom's door creak open, calling out into the now dark house, looking for my father.

When she didn't get a response, she had clomped down the stairs and started banging around in the cupboards. I had wanted to go down there and tell her to keep it down, remind her that Rose was sleeping, that she would be grumpy if she was woken up now.