Chapter 2: Need To Find A Way To Get Better

-Jackson-

If there was one thing my parents had taught me, it was that a rejection was never a solution and something very disrespectful thing to do. Not just to your mate, but to the Goddess. A rejection should only be done if you had an abusive mate. There were no other times when a rejection was acceptable. At least not in my parents’ minds. They were each other’s true mates. My aunt and uncle had been true mates as well. Ana and Roman were true mates, and it was clear just from looking at all of them that honoring the bond was the key to a happy future, one filled with joy and wonderful moments. I was so shocked that my dad couldn’t even say it, and it was clear it pained him to even utter the words.

“Dad… what are you saying?”

“I am saying I am looking at half the child I used to have,” he said. “I’m worried. Your mother is scared for you, and you’re this pack’s future alpha. They need you, and you can’t keep this going.”

“You and mom have always taught me how important it is to honor the bond. How can you now suggest that I should reject her?”

“Because where do you see this going, Jackson?” he asked. “You’re not even trying to fight for her.”

“I did!”

“How?”

“I am sorry. Am I supposed to stalk her and beg her to come be with me?” I asked. “Am I supposed to be sniffing around her all the time, or do you want me to do caveman style as well, throwing her over my shoulder and claiming her?”

“Of course not,” he said, shaking his head a bit and looking more devastated than me.

“Dad, I want to fight. Trust me. I want to be with her, but she has made no indication she wants me to.”

“Ana says differently. She says Daphne wants to be with you,” my dad said.

“I know what Ana says, but maybe it isn’t true. Maybe she changed her mind.”

“Or maybe there is more to it all.”

“What are you saying?”

“Daphne comes from a very traditional family. Did it ever occur they are the ones holding her back? That they are the ones wishing for this engagement and not her?”

“I… have thought about it,” I whispered.

Yes, Daphne did come from a traditional lycan family, and I knew that the last thing they wanted was a werewolf claiming her, despite my family being powerful among the werewolves. They wanted her to be with a lycan, that wouldn’t “taint” her powerful blood. Maybe they were holding her back, but why not write to me? Call me? Let Ana reach out to me? I would come get her. I would take her away.

I like that idea.

What? I asked my wolf.

The taking away part.

I’m sorry?

Take her away!

Kidnap her?

Yes!

Are you insane? I growled at my wolf.

Told you to stop calling me that!

I rolled my eyes and then saw my dad watching me. He understood I was having more fights with my wolf as well, and that we were not on the same page.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing. My wolf is just being stupid.”

Ass!

“And calling me an ass.”

“Well, he might be onto something,” my dad joked, to lighten the mood.

We watched each other for a little while. I knew there was more he wanted to say. I knew he wished he could fix this all for me, just like my mom did. She wanted to take away the pain and make me happy again, but it wasn’t that simple, and it would never be. Mates were a complicated thing. I knew it better now than ever, and it seemed like mine were in the extreme end of complicated.

“I know there might be things holding Daphne back, but how would I be able to change them?” I asked.

“I am not sure.”

“If her family controls her, only she can fight back.”

“I know,” my dad said.

“Then give me a solution.”

“If I had one, Jackson, I would give you one,” he said, sounding so sad.

“Other than rejection.”

“I got nothing else,” he said.

“No, I know,” I sighed.

“Just consider it, because this is killing you, and I can’t watch my child die,” he said. “You are the future here.”

“There is Ana.”

“Ana got so much as queen now to do. She can’t lead this pack too.”

“I’m sure we could figure something out,” I said.

“Jackson, not funny,” my dad scolded. “I have trained you for this. This is your future.”

“Oh, yes, the old speech,” I mumbled.

I was an only child. My parents had pretty much raised Ana, but as my dad said, she was now queen and had other responsibilities, and her own pack was gone, killed when she was just a kid. She had pretty much watched the massacre afterwards, which was what had fueled her anger, and she had made plans to kill all the people responsible, even if it meant dying herself. Instead, she had fallen in love and she and Roman had found another way to punish them all. It had weakened the lycan council quite a bit, since a lot of them had been members, but the seats had been filled now and hopefully by better candidates.

“Jackson, I am not saying it to be annoying. It’s true,” my dad said.

“Yeah, but it’s a bit hard to focus on at the moment.”

“I know, but it has to be your focus.”

“Easier said than done.”

“It’s why I even suggested the rejection,” he explained.

“And what does Mom say about it?”

“She hates it. I do too.”

“But she agrees?”

“Not quite. She wouldn’t give me an answer,” he said.

“So, she doesn’t actually agree. She just… walked away?”

“Sort of,” he said. “So, I knew I had to be the one to bring it up.”

“Wonderful…”

“I know it’s horrible. If I could fix everything in a different way, I would.”

“Then maybe just stay out of it?” I suggested.

“And watch you turn into nothing?”

“Sometimes helping means taking a step back.”

“And isn’t that what we did for Ana? And look how close she got to destroying her own future.”

“I know, but she was more closed off than me,” I said. “She had deeper issues. My mate just doesn’t want me.”

“And that is causing you a lot of pain.”

“I’m aware. I’m the one living with that pain every day, Dad.”

“Then let’s find a way to make it easier.”

“I can’t reject her.”

“Jackson…” he sighed.

“No, I can’t,” I said, feeling certain about this.

“What is your solution then?”

“Try to get through it. See where it takes me,” I said.

My dad nodded a little, but it was clear he was not happy about what I had said. I wasn’t either, but I didn’t know what else to do. I felt lost and a bit scared. I felt like I was stuck, and didn’t know how to move again. I wished I could tell my dad that it would all be okay, but I wasn’t sure it would be. I instead took my shoes and went upstairs to get a warm shower, though I barely felt the warm water. I had grown numb.