C H A P T E R 3 - Elijah.

As I stepped onto the porch, the light shining through the living room window reminded me of the fact that for the next few days, I was not going to be able to enjoy the comfort of my home, for it was not going to be mine alone. I was going to have to tolerate the fact that there would be other people living with me, who would have no problem sitting and watching television until god knows what time. I could do no more than to continue standing outside and processing what was going on. If I had a choice in the matter, I would have wanted nothing more than to be able to go and sleep somewhere else.

But I did not have that choice. 

As much as I wished that I did, I knew what the reality of this situation was. It was something that I had needed to deal with for quite some time in the past, but I had never had an entire family living in my house. After all, there was a reason why it only had two bedrooms. One was mine, and the other was for a single guest. Not an entire family. But I realised that I was allowing myself to get caught up in my thoughts. I needed to snap out of it and I needed to get inside of the house so that I would be able to make sure that they all went to sleep. I was not going to have the television on when I was trying to sleep.  

I opened the door, and I had to admit that I found myself slightly triggered by the fact that it was locked. There was a part of me that had known that it wouldn't be locked, but it was different actually being proved right. I knew that my pack was relatively safe, and that we did not face any threats from outside, but that did not mean that there wouldn't be rogues who suddenly decided that we would be their victims. It was simply too risky, and I would make sure that I had a conversation with the Beta and his entire family tomorrow. If they were going to be living in my house, then they would have to abide by my rules. There would be no discusson about it. 

Of course, when I stepped into my house, I found something that was quite different from what I had been preparing for. I had been under the impression that the Beta and his family would be sitting here and watching television, but that was not the case. On the contrary, it was the furthest thing from it. The television wasn't even on, and the light that I had seen through the window had been the lamp that was on the side table next to the couch. 

I shook my head, thinking that it was quite irresponsible of them to just leave the light on when they were not around, but I told myself that I did not need to worry about it. It would all be discussed tomorrow, and that would be the end of it. It would get me nowhere if I tried to go and wake them up now and discuss all of these things. It would only make our bad start even worse, and I had no interest in dealing with that. I went to go and switch off the light, but when I leaned over the couch to do so, I could do nothing more than to still, than to stop moving with my hand on the light switch. 

I looked down, picking up on the scent that slammed into me like a ton of bricks - and it was safe to say that I was not even remotely prepared to see what I saw in that moment. 

It was her. 

The girl who I had fucked when I had been at the club, was laying on my couch, sleeping quite peacefully. And to say that I was upset, was nothing short of an understatement. If she had approached me again at the club, I would have accepted it, but being as barbaric as to come all the way to my home and to do this, was a bit over the top. But then again, I should have known that she wasn't entirely sane. She had refused to give me the time of day, and had then allowed me to fuck her in the next. 

My shock did not last long, for my anger soon started to set in. I wasted no time in walking around the sofa and coming to stand in front of her. She was fast asleep. I doubted that she even knew that I was here, that she even had the slightest ounce of suspicion about what was about to happen. It made me all the more eager to do it. 

Not wasting a moment, I grabbed a hold of her upper arm, instantly pulling her upright. The next few seconds seem to pass by in slow motion, for I had clearly startled her by doing what I had done - which had been my intention - but what I had not prepared myself for, was the fact that she would retaliate to it. Without much time to process what was coming, her legs had slid behind mine, forcing me forward and nearly making my face connect with the corner of the coffee table. 

If I had thought myself to be angry with her before, then there were no words to explain what I was feeling in this moment. She was going to get an earful from me when she realised what she had done. And I would make sure that whoever her Alpha was, knew that she needed to be dealt with. If they did not want to do it then I would make sure that I did it on their behalf. My father would roll around in his grave if I allowed this to slide - whether she had been a good fuck or not. 

"Daddy!" 

Her voice was loud, croaky from the fact that she had been asleep - and she was also very alarmed. That much I could vouch for. I started to push myself off of the floor, deciding that I was going to throw her out of my house. I was not going to entertain this. She was an obsessive she-wolf and the fact that I had gotten as involved as I had was already too much. But when I turned to look at her, I found that she had already moved off of the couch, that she was standing a few paces behind me - and it did not look like she was going to allow me to come anywhere near her. 

I could hear footsteps on the staircase, and there was a part of me that was thankful that someone was coming down here to help me. Perhaps this was going to be the opportunity for me and my Beta to bond. It would be as great of a time as any. But when I stood up and turned to look at my Beta, I found that he had gone as pale as a ghost, his eyes darting between the woman and me, almost like he did not know what he was supposed to do. 

I turned back to her, my anger and frustration spiking significantly upon taking note of the fact that my Beta was going to prove himself to be useless at this moment in time, and there was going to be nothing that I could do about it. It was almost unbelievable to me. 

"What are you doing here?" 

I snapped, taking a step closer to her, but she took another step back, looking like she was more than ready to make a break for it. She was scared of me. Good. She needed to realise that she could not behave like this, and definitely not in my pack. 

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Did you follow me?" 

This time, she took a step closer to me, and I did not have to think about it for a long time to know that she had gotten over her fear. She had recognised me, clearly, and was now going to go continue up with that farce of hers. I assumed that she knew that she was going to have to work quite hard to make up for the fact that she had tripped me. And I had absolutely no intention of making it easy for her. 

"Sam, you cannot speak to him like that." 

My eyes snapped to my Beta, who was looking at her with that horrified expression on his face. He genuinely looked like he had seen a ghost, and I could faintly hear some shuffling upstairs. There was a feeling that started to bubble in my stomach, and I could do no more than to hope and pray that what I was starting to think was wrong. 

"Who is she?" 

I decided to cut to the chase, to ask my Beta the million dollar question. If I was going to be thrown with a bucket of ice, then it might has well happen now. I spared her a glance through my peripheral vision, and if I had to take a guess, I would have said that the gears had also started to turn in her head. Why else would she have gone as quiet as she did now? She had been ready to argue, ready to drive a knife into my back if that had been needed, and now, she was just standing there and watching the interaction between my Beta and I. 

"Alpha, I would like to apologise-" 

"I did not ask you to apologise. I asked you who she is." 

I wasn't looking at her, but I did notice the way she sat down on the armchair that she was standing close to. And it was only causing the feeling that I had to worsen. Clearly she had just learnt something that had shocked her enough to make her sit down. What if I was about to learn the same thing? What was I going to do when he told me that she was his daughter? Was I supposed to tell him that I had fucked her earlier in the club? Was I supposed to tell him that I wanted to do it again? 

"She is my daughter." 

I turned to face her, turning my back on my Beta since I did not want him to see my face. I did not want him to see what I was thinking or to realise what had happened between the two of us. Instead, I looked at his daughter, and I was once again struck by the scent of her. But it dawned on me that it wasn't just her scent. It was everything. The aura around her and the way that she carried herself. 

I hadn't noticed it in the club, but now that I was looking at her in normal light, I found it nearly impossible not to take note of the fact that she was young. Her features were strong, but they were not aged. And she looked like she was taking in the sight of me in the same way. I wondered whether or not she was as shocked about all of this as I was, or whether this was also just a front that she was putting up? 

I didn't even know if I actually wanted to know the answer...

"I was under the impression that your daughter was a teenager." 

"She is. She will only celebrate her eighteenth birthday next week." 

I took a deep breath, my eyes connecting with hers in a way that I had not prepared for. I was thankful that she seemed as shocked as I was, that it was not just me who was surprised by what I was learning. But even though I was now aware of the fact that she was a minor, that I now knew that I had no business being anywhere near her... 

I still wanted to bend her over the sofa.