My father slowly looked at me, then his nostrils flared once more, as if he were trying to grapple with his control. “Did he touch you?”
I shook my head right away. “No. I told you I have to wrap my head around all this. He’s respected my wishes to keep his distance until I’m ready.” There was no way I was telling him about the kiss. No way I was telling him about the intense desire I felt for Tucker with just a look. It was obvious that wouldn’t end well.
His jaw clenched again, and he nodded slowly, looking at the longhouse once more through the window. He cleared his throat, and I felt some of the tension leave him. My father ran a hand over the back of his neck and said, “There’s going to be a celebration tonight at the longhouse. Now that it’s fully constructed, the council thinks it’ll be good for the community to get together.”
Well… the conversation had taken a complete one-eighty. “Okay,” I said low, dragging that one word out.
With one more lingering look in my direction, my father turned and left, exiting the cabin and shutting the door behind him. I sagged, my hands flat on the desk, my breathing coming in and out of me quickly as I felt the rest of the tension leave the room.
I glanced over my shoulder and out the window, watching the Alpha heading down the path that ran parallel with the longhouse. I could see Tucker with a few of the other pack members, and for a second, my heart stalled, thinking my father would go right up to his Beta and start a fight. And although my dad’s steps faltered before he stilled momentarily, his gaze trained right on Tucker, he picked up his pace and started moving away from my mate.
A fight was averted at the moment, but I knew in my heart that would be short-lived. If I knew anything about our pack and the males within it, it was that my father and Tucker were two of the most stubborn, dominating, and aggressive males in the community.
And neither would back down if challenged.
6
Tucker
I was fully aware that Aidan knew I was mated to Mia.
It was this thick, heavy feeling that surrounded me instantly. It was the feeling of the Alpha zeroing his attention in on you. There was no masking or mistaking it.
I could feel him staring at me, drilling holes in the back of my head across the village square. In fact, I felt him staring at me all day, but I didn’t look at him, didn’t meet his eyes.
That would’ve been a sign of challenge.
That would’ve been me acknowledging a lot of things that Mia wasn’t ready to have put out on the table, so to speak.
And as much as I wanted to tell Aiden that she was mine, that yes, she was my fated mate, that we were now forever linked, forever connected, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it, I also reasoned with myself that he was her father. He was no doubt worried.
But my mate came first—always—and I didn’t want to put her into a position where she was forced to choose between me and her father.
And so I tried to act like I hadn’t even noticed Aidan, which was about as easy as trying to push an anvil off your chest. Because when the Alpha looked at you, when he really looked at you, there was no way you didn’t feel it down to your soul.
And so I made myself scarce after finishing up everything in the longhouse. I’d gone back to my cabin, paced a track in the fucking floor, and thought about tossing back drinks. But I decided against that because I wanted to be completely sober for tonight, for the pack celebration.
Because tonight, I knew that’s when the climax of the situation would come to a head. I knew Aidan was just biding his time, and tonight, he’d confront me. There was no way he could hold back any longer, not when he’d done it all day.
And I was ready. I’d been ready the moment I realized Mia was mine. I was done waiting.
God, I wanted to talk to my mate again, wanted to tell her I’d make sure everything would be okay, that although her father probably wouldn’t agree right away, the Alpha would eventually come around.
He’d see how much I loved her already, how much I wanted to take care of her. Being a fated mate went far above loving someone. It meant devoting your entire life to them, putting them above all else, and making sure they were always happy, protected.
She’d forever be the most important thing in my life.
Tonight, it would happen. I’d confront Aidan and get this shit over with. Because there was no way in hell I’d back down or leave Mia.