Two

Parker's P.O.V

The feeling of my blanket balled up beneath my lower back sent a twinge of discomfort up my spine. I groaned as I sat up, and my back popped a few times. After training, I had come up here hoping to relax before we had to head out on our mission.

"What?" I called out, running my hand through my hair.

The door pushed open without me inviting them, causing my jaw to tighten when the petite woman smiled at me.

I was being haunted. It was as simple as that. During the day, I could not escape the ghosts of my past. At night, I could not escape the unforgettable woman begging for help.

"Your dad sent me to get you for dinner," Kate said as she stared at me. I scoffed as she glanced down at my bare chest before looking back at my face. Of course, he did. He was an absolute bastard who loved to throw my mistakes in my face. The biggest one I ever made was not being born first.

I was his backup. He didn't need or care for me and wouldn't unless something happened to Jack. It didn't matter that I was Head Warrior or that I was tasked with leading the charge tonight to free our Luna. It would never be good enough for him.

"Don't ever come into my room without my permission again. I'll be down soon." She flinched at the bite in my words, but I had no pity for her dramatics. No matter how hard she tried to reestablish our friendship, it would never happen. Everything about her disgusted me now. I didn't want her to be in my life at all, least of all to be friends again. It was bad enough that I was stuck with her always being around.

She was like a fucking parasite, latching on, trying to get attention that I didn't want to give her. She visibly swallowed and batted her lashes as if she were fighting back tears before turning and making her way back downstairs, leaving the door open like a pouting child.

It didn't make sense to me that the pack saw her as a fucking angel. After everything that happened, they all babied her and pushed me to the side like I was the asshole for getting angry at her for what she did, for her betrayal.

A flash of those striking mismatched eyes came to the front of my mind, instantly putting me at ease. I needed to find her, and as soon as I saved our Luna, I would petition for the ability to leave the pack to do so, and I wouldn't come home until I had the mysterious woman in my arms.

It took years before Alpha Gabriel was able to be with his mate. They had been separated for so long, only for her to be taken by those fucking leeches. I was honored that my team had been trusted with the responsibility of leading the rescue mission. Once I brought the Luna home, there wouldn’t be a single member of the pack who could look down at me again.

I would be a hero to them.

The downstairs table was covered with enough food to feed an army, and my stomach rumbled as I pulled my shirt on upon my approach. I leaned in and whispered to my mother, pressing a kiss on her cheek. "Looks great, Ma."

Leave it to my mother to send me into a food coma before leaving for a dangerous mission.

"Take a seat. We don't have all day." My father ordered impatiently as I pulled out the chair next to my mother, not wanting to partake in my father's bullshit. My eyes stayed down on my plate as my father lifted his glass. "I want to put forth a toast to my son. I am very proud of what you have accomplished and have done for our pack."

My head snapped up to him in surprise. The last thing I expected was for my father to ever notice, let alone acknowledge how much work I had done to work up to one of the Head Warriors and train our pack. It had been several years of slaving to earn my title, instead of just being born into one like my brother was.

"In such a dark time for the pack with our Luna missing, you have really stepped up. I am honored that you are my successor. You have really impressed me these past few days as the new Beta." He smiled, tipping his glass to my brother.

My stomach dropped at the realization that, once again, my brother would always overshadow me.

Everyone at the table lifted their glass as I reached forward and grabbed a roll, ripping a chunk from the flakey object. My mother's squeezed my forearm with her free hand, sensing my frustration.

"Congratulations, Beta Jack!" My father cheered, and they all lifted their glasses. The table went quiet as I continued to chew. As I opened my mouth to take another bite, I paused at the sound of my name.

"Parker," both my mother and Kate whispered my name at the same time. My head snapped up to stare at the woman across from me. Her black hair stood out against her porcelain skin, her brown eyes filled with emotions I didn’t care to bother myself with.

I turned away. She had no right to talk to me.

"Are you not going to congratulate your brother?" My father snapped, his voice deepening with anger.

"Why would I?" I asked before taking another bite of my roll. "He didn't work for it. It was just handed to him."

"That is not true!" Kate argued, defending her pathetic excuse of a mate, and I rolled my eyes. "He works very hard for this pack!"

I leaned forward and grabbed a serving spoon, filling my plate as my father and brother glared at me. As I scooped a spoonful of cheesy cauliflower onto my plate, I sent a small smile of appreciation to my mother, knowing she had made it just for me since my father and brother hated it.

The air seemed to thicken the higher I piled my plate, until the sound of my father slamming his fist down on the table made my mother gasp and jump. My eyes snapped over to him. My wolf was angered by my father's aggression toward us and that he caused my mother's distress.

She deserved better than him. The fates cursed her with an arrogant and hostile mate. Together they produced one son so arrogant that I firmly believed he would be the downfall of our pack one day, and the other was an embarrassment to their name no matter how hard he worked or how high he worked his way up in the ranks.

"You disrespectful little shit!" He snapped, the vein in his neck visibly throbbing as he shouted.

Jack sat next to him with his eyes locked on the plate in front of him. I scoffed at his little beaten puppy act.

"I think we all need to calm down," Kate stated as she placed her hand on Jack's shoulder to comfort him. My wolf bristled in disgust at the sorry excuse of a Beta, having to be comforted and protected by multiple people just because one person didn't praise him for having something he had never earned.

"I have the right to speak my mind. If I don't feel that he deserves it, I do not need to congratulate him." I responded, sending a glare at her. She was a disgusting human being, and I could not wait until I found my mate and could leave this house. If I had it in my power, the only person I would ever see again was my mother.

"Is that what this is about?" Jack snapped, pushing his chair back aggressively as he stood, looking back and forth between myself and Kate. "Are you seriously still pissed off that Kate ended up being my mate? You're pathetic! Stop pining after my woman."

I leaned back in my chair, letting out a loud laugh. "You think that is why I don't want to congratulate you?"

He stood still, his hands clenched in fists as he stared down at me, his eyes turning black from the presence of his wolf.

"You have done nothing to earn your title. You were born with it! If anything, mom should have been given the title since she's the one who worked to bring you into this world. You're entitled and arrogant!" I slid my chair back calmly as I stood to face him, my wolf not liking the way he looked down at me. "I actually earned my position and title! I'm about to lead our pack into battle in a few hours, and you still need everything to be about you! You'll be sleeping in your bed with your head up your ass, and I'll be leading the charge to save our Luna!"

"When you fail tonight, I will be the one cleaning up your mess!" Jack snapped back. I shook my head in astonishment. He was an embarrassment.

"That's the spirit! The Beta of our pack, counting on his warriors to fail. To die and not save our Luna or make it home to our families!" I watched as his nails extended with his wolf slowly taking control. Even after years of training, he still couldn't control his beast.

"Don't act like you even have a mate or family to come home to!" He snapped, and I heard my mother cover her mouth as she began to cry.

"Oh, leave it, Jack!" I said, my voice low and even. "You're just still pissed off that I was inside your mate before you were."

The simultaneous gasp from Kate and the growl of my father were overshadowed by Jack lunging over the table with a war cry, knocking several dishes over. His arrogance made it easy to dodge his lunge and tackle him down to the ground. I spun to the side with minimal effort before grabbing the back of his neck and slamming him down onto the ground. My knee pressed down on his low back as I twisted his arms behind him, restraining him.

He struggled for a few moments beneath me before his wolf gave in, submitting to me and giving up the fight. I leaned down to speak directly in his ear, but did not bother to lower my voice to prevent the three onlookers from hearing. They knew not to interfere with two wolves fighting, no matter how much they wanted to.

"You're a sad excuse for a Beta, but an absolute shit excuse for a brother." I pressed down on his lower back harder once more before standing up. My wolf sat happily at the back of my mind. It was a deep insult to Jack that I had taken him down without relying on my wolf when he had partially shifted. It proved just how weak he was.

I grabbed my plate, not bothering to spare my father or Kate any of my attention, and leaned down to place a kiss on my mother's wet cheek once again. "Thanks for dinner, Ma."

"Please come home to us." She cried as she leaned her head against my chest as I stayed bent over to hug her.

"Always. I'll see you soon, Ma."