The Alphas Guard

Chapter 25

"Your mate?" I gulped, staring at the raven haired woman.

Everyone behind me stilled and Luca who's hand was resting at my back stiffened. He sensed my turmoil; my complete and utter fucking confusion as to why I had never heard of these people during fathers stay at the castle. The woman even had the audacity to smile at me and that evoked a violence I didn't know I had in me.

My eyes shifted to Slaiman's who remained squatted on the ground, whispering to Nader and Ahmed who looked up at me like I was some gold statue to admire.

Father nodded, "After your mother died, I was left hollow. The goddess blessed me with Batool who helped me rise and conquer the north to what it is today," He looked down at her, a small smile rising to his lips, "none of this would have been possible without her,"

"Really?" I rose a rude brow, "Well I beg to differ,"

Luca flicked my lower back. My eyes snapped to his for a second, blue meeting green, and he sent me a warning look. I looked away from him without a second thought and stepped forward, his warm hand leaving my back.

Was I being a complete arse?

Yes.

Did Luca's glance at me make me regret it?

No. Not one bit.

"Leila," Father scolded, disappointed at my reaction, "I was a broken man when I lost both you and your mother. Without Batool I would have never taken this position,"

"You mean without Batool, you wouldn't have forgotten about mother and I?" It was rude of me to call a woman I didn't know who was much older than me by her first name, but customs didn't apply to me at that moment, "Would you like me to congratulate you?"

Father's nostrils flared and I was sure it was his Alpha wolf's pride speaking, not him, but I didn't care. Even that small action of him releasing a short breath from his nose angered me.

"I never forgot about your mother nor you. I looked for you everyday the first year I lost you but when I became alpha I didn't have time to, so I sent the men I told you about" Father stepped forward, the hand he had wrapped around Batool's waist sliding off, "I was numb without you both. Batool has nothing to do with me stopping,"

The fact that he was defending her made my skin crawl.

Batool looked sweet; with gentle features and beautiful hair that rested at her lower back and, honestly speaking, looked like a great mother, but I couldn't swallow the thought of her replacing my mother.

Goddess, he looked so much happier with her and that was a fact.

I never saw him smile at mother like that, never saw him wrap his arms around mother's waist like that. It made me both angry and sad at the same time.

It was the realization that my parents never loved each other that made my anger slowly subside and be replaced with a longing feeling in my chest I didn't know how to describe. Maybe, if I had witnessed them stare at each other's the way father and Batool did, i would have been able to control the way I felt around Luca.

Maybe then, I wouldn't have been so afraid to ask mother even the simplest of questions.

If they hadn't acted like two stoic rocks rolling past each other's, maybe I wouldn't have been born the absolute mess I was.

I felt Luca try to link me but I shut the door of my thoughts closed.

"Alright then," I let out a small breath, "congratulations on finding your female. It's best I rest,"

"Leila-" Slaiman began but I interrupted him.

"The ride here was long, brother," I refrained from calling Slaiman by his name because I was hurt that he hadn't mentioned father's new family to me earlier, "can one of the commoner's please guide me to any chamber?"