Chapter Two ~ No one to blame

“If he wasn’t already dead, I’d find the son of a bitch and kill him myself...” I bellowed while standing from the couch, grabbing hold of the coffee table, and effortlessly launching it into the air. My dad watched; his face unchanging as the table smashed into the wall.

“Fuck!” I screamed. My fists clenched tighter than I’d thought possible. If they got any tighter, I was sure I’d break every tiny bone inside them.

“Son, you need to calm down. She isn’t worth your anger, or your pain. There are more Scions in the world,” his voice was deep and commanding.

“I don’t want another Scion. I want Aubrey!” I yelled at him, then slumped back onto the couch. “Dad, I know you hate her, but can’t you understand? I’m completely in love with the girl.”

I fell forward, covering my face with my hands. I needed to breathe, keep my emotions in check. There was no way in hell I could let my father see me cry. It took me years to convince him that I was strong enough to challenge Jesse for the Alpha position. If he thought Aubrey had made me soft, there would be no chance in hell that he’d accept her.

Not that it matters now.

I felt the couch sink beside me as my father took a seat. Draping his arm over my shoulders he pulled my head into his chest.

“Son, you need to let her go. She was never meant to be yours.”

I wanted to argue with him. Convince him that she was my one. But I couldn’t. I knew he was right. Deep down I hoped that in time she could love me the same way she loved Jesse, but I didn’t have the strength to wait. I couldn’t spend my life watching her pine after my dead cousin.

Every time we got close; would she be wishing I was him? I couldn’t live with that paranoia, that constant pain and jealousy. Leaving her broke my heart, but I knew that staying would kill me.

“So, what now? The proposal... Shit. The wedding?” I pulled away from my dad and slumped back into the couch again.

“Don’t worry about all that. Your mother is sending everyone cancellation emails now. She’s trying to busy herself. She doesn’t know how to fix this, and you know how she likes to fix things.”

A slight smile reached my lips. I was lucky to have my parents; they did everything they could to protect and support me. I glanced up at my father. “Look, I know the timing isn’t perfect, but we can still put my plan into action.”

I turned away from him in thought. He came to me months ago with his plan, when Aubrey wasn’t responding to my advances. He told me that an acquaintance of his had reached out for help. It was the Alpha from the Soulcrest pack. He was getting older, and he needed a future Alpha for his Scion daughter.

When my father came to me with the plan, I stopped him in his tracks, I wasn’t interested. Aubrey was already the focus of all my attention. I knew Jesse had been sniffing around, but that didn’t bother me. The day he gave up the future Alpha position, was the day that he lost all claims to any Scion’s that crossed into our territory.

If things had been different, Aubrey would have been off-limits for me. I would have focused on finding a werewolf girl to settle with, like Cassidy. But I was an Alpha, it was my responsibility to find a Scion and carry on my family bloodline. The moment I saw Aubrey, I knew I had found my one, so my father’s plan wasn’t of interest.

“So, what was the plan?” I asked in hushed curiosity.

I didn’t want anyone else, I wanted Aubrey, but she didn’t want me, and I still had a duty to my pack. Maybe I could learn to love this new Scion?

“Okay, so Charles and Theia Stonefeather were only blessed with one child. A daughter named Olivia,” he explained.

Nice name.

“She has been reluctant to find an Alpha. Her parents don’t understand why she is stalling, but every time they bring up the subject, she throws a hissy fit.”

Oh great, a drama queen, I thought with an eye roll. The last thing I needed right now was another high maintenance woman in my life. But I couldn’t go back to Aubrey, I just couldn’t.

“Anyway, Charles is fed up of negotiating with his daughter. He feels it’s about time that she sucked it up and put her pack first. Now, I know this means you’ll have to challenge her father for his Alpha position, once you defeat your uncle, but this is a chance to make our pack the largest in the country.”

I glanced up at him, his face was lit up with excitement. I replied with my own soft smile. I didn’t want to do this in the slightest, but I couldn’t lie, the idea of ruling over the largest pack in the country did sound impressive. If I couldn’t have Aubrey, then at least I could go down in history as the greatest Alpha, ever.

“Okay, tell me everything,” I demanded, pulling a smug grin from my father’s face.

We talked for a few hours, he told me everything I needed to know about the plan and Olivia's pack. To be honest, having something else to focus on helped a lot. The more I thought about the merging of our packs, the less I thought about my broken heart. If I kept it like a business transaction, stayed disconnected, strong and focused, then I would be able to make it through.

This was the best thing for me and my pack. Aubrey had made it clear who she wanted, and although he wasn’t ever coming back, I didn’t deserve to be second best. I’d feel like she only settled for me because she couldn’t have him, and I was worth more than that.

Sure, I’d made mistakes in my life. I’d made the wrong choices, slept around, and hurt people, but it was time for me to grow up. Time to take control of my life, quit being so selfish, and become the Alpha that my pack deserved. My first step, get myself a Scion.

“So, when do we leave?” I asked my father once we'd finished discussing all the details.

“First thing in the morning. I’ll call Charles now and set up a meeting.” He stood from the couch, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and began to walk away. “Son?”

“Yeah?” I replied, glancing over at him.

“This really is the best thing for our family and the pack. I’m so proud of you.” He gave me a small smile, then walked away, “Charlie. Hi, I have great news...”

I got off of the couch and headed up the stairs and toward my old room. Arabella and I stayed over occasionally, so our rooms were kept how we liked them. I made my way into my room and headed into the bathroom for a shower. Once showered and changed, I jumped into my bed. As soon as my eyes closed, pictures of Aubrey flooded every inch of the darkness.

I could hear my phone vibrating on the nightstand beside me. I sighed while opening my eyes, reached over to the bedside table and picked up my phone. There were dozens of missed calls and texts from Aubrey, Arabella, Bear, and even Payton. I deleted all of them, I didn’t want to talk, to explain what happened, I just wanted to forget about Brie for a while.

I scrolled down to Connor’s text. It was just him asking if I was okay. I replied, letting him know that I was going ahead with my father’s plan, and that I would be radio silent for a while. He texted back asking what he should do about Aubrey. I just replied ‘Nothing’.

I knew that once I was gone, my uncle wouldn’t sign off on extra protection from the pack. If she wasn’t a future mate of mine, she didn’t matter to the pack in his eyes. The thought scared me, knowing that without the protection of the pack, a Sire, King, or Alpha could easily get to her. As much as that thought killed me, this was her choice, her decision. She didn’t want my pack protecting her anyway. She had no one to blame but Herself!