Chapter 22 - Who is really the half-breed?

ALARIC CHECKED IN with his sister and Argus to find out if they needed anything, but what he really wanted to know was if they had found any other solutions for him. Unfortunately, what Argus told him wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

“Are you sure about this?” Alaric pulled his fingers through his hair. “I mean, I can’t see the council agreeing to this.” Argus had just told Alaric that he couldn’t leave Lena in that cage for the rest of her life. They had to find a way for Lena to live with the pack. They had to find a way to make sure that she was kept safe, and if Alaric really was serious about being the alpha … He would have to find a way to mate with her so that he could have an heir.

“Okay, but there are people in our pack that won’t accept a half-breed for an heir.” Alaric thought he was being incredibly clever, but Rebecca intervened, bursting his bubble.

“You are kind of a half-breed.” She shrugged, looking amused. Alaric turned to glare at his little sister, but she continued to explain that no werewolf was a pureblood. They were all half human and half wolf. That was what made them what they were and Alaric rolled his eyes as Argus laughed at Rebecca’s revelation.

“She’s right, you know?” Argus was growing pretty fond of the small girl with the sharp wit. She would make an amazing addition to the council when she was big enough. The council could always use such intelligent minds as hers, but he didn’t say that out loud as Alaric was throwing a tantrum like a proper two-year-old.

Unfortunately, none of what they had read so far was going to save him. He could take the chance of rejecting the witch and praying that his wolf didn’t die, or he could swallow his pride and make a baby … Those were Alaric’s choices and he stormed out of the library in a far worse mood than what he had when he walked in.

LENA DIDN’T HAVE TO SEE him to know it was that idiot pacing back and forth in front of her door. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing calm as she wondered if he had found out that she was keeping a secret for his little sister.

The last thing she ever expected when he burst through the door was what he was about to ask her. He hesitated and she could feel the anger radiating off him. Why were they destined mates when they so clearly hated each other?!

“We have to have a baby.” Her eyes popped open and she sat up glaring at him for a moment, wondering if she had heard that right. He stood there glaring right back but not repeating what he said.

“Excuse me?” She tilted her head to one side, suddenly feeling awfully amused. She must have heard that right because he didn’t look pleased at all!

“You heard me.” He sighed. “Just say you won’t so that I can go back and tell them.” He put his hands on his hips and it accentuated the fact that he was in perfect shape as his black t-shirt pulled tighter around his abdomen.

“I won’t.” She thought about telling him that she would just so she could irritate the living daylights out of him, but she just couldn’t bring herself to say it. It felt as if she would be admitting her feelings to him if she did that and she would never do that!

“Good.” She was about to turn back around when she noted the slight disappointment in his eyes, but before she could say anything else, he turned on his heel and stormed out again. Lena sat there in silence on the verge of hysterical laughter as the conversation played through her mind like a never-ending move. What the hell was wrong with those people? First, they wipe out her entire race and now they want her to have a baby with him?!

ALARIC BARGED BACK into the library and promptly told his sister and Argus that Lena refused in the hopes that that would be the end of their ridiculous ideas, but both of them burst out laughing and it infuriated him even more.

He growled to silence them both, since he was already feeling frustrated and they tried their best to stop. He flopped down on the couch and Rebecca took a seat beside him, sitting silently for a moment.

“I’m so glad you two find this so damn funny!” He pouted. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was so angry. He should have been relieved that the witch said no. He didn’t want to be bound to her by a child for the rest of his damn life!

“How did you ask her?” Rebecca interrupted his moping and he frowned before explaining what he did. He was surprised when they laughed at him again and this time he wasn’t going to hang around. He stormed out of the library and slammed his office door shut behind him so loudly that it echoed through the entire house. How dare they laugh at him? What was he supposed to do? Give his prisoner a bunch of roses and then tell her to mate with him?! Pacing his office, he sighed when Max popped his head around the door. Max was looking way too amused not to have heard what happened and Alaric cursed.

“Is nothing a secret in this place? You know, I’m seriously beginning to miss the days we were away at war. At least then nobody could gossip about my fucking private life!” Alaric started to rant until Max handed him a drink and he flopped down on the chair. Putting his feet up onto the small coffee table, he brooded while Max just looked at him for a little while.

“Well, you kind of announced it to the entire pack with your little tantrum.” Max explained that some of the cleaners were outside of Lena’s room when Alaric asked Lena and the story just spread like wildfire from there. “If you are going to ask a girl to have your baby, you will have to do it more discreetly next time.” Max burst out laughing and ducked as Alaric’s glass went flying through the air.

“Not all of us spent our days around the pack house chasing tail!” Alaric fumed and Max disappeared before Alaric could rip his head from his body. Alaric poured himself another drink and he stood looking out the window. Outside, pack members were laughing and talking and he could even see the odd couple sneaking a kiss when they thought nobody was looking. Why couldn’t the moon goddess have blessed him with a wolf mate? He could be just as happy now.

He sighed as he finished his drink and the memory of what he had done played through his mind. Okay, maybe his friends and family had a point. Maybe if he asked Lena in a nicer way … NOPE! No! He still didn’t want a damn half-breed for a child! He stormed right back out of his office and into the library and before they could say another word, he promptly informed Argus and Rebecca that they had to find another way.

He was not going to mate with the witch even if his damn life depended on it! He took a moment to look at each of them to make sure they got the message before he left.

LENA HEARD EVERY single word of the conversation between the two males, since Alaric’s office was right next door to her room. Who the hell did he think he was ordering her like that?! She would never have a child with him, even if he promised her she could get her freedom! She heard the doors slamming and a commotion somewhere further down and wondered what the hell was happening.

Then she started to wonder why now … Why did he suddenly want a child with her? What was Rebecca up to? Something told Lena that the innocent little girl wasn’t that innocent and her eyes drifted to the floorboards again. She wondered if the answers to the questions she had could be in those books and she sighed, turning to look the other way.

It didn’t matter if they did. She couldn’t hurt Rebecca again, but the books were calling her and she was so incredibly bored! She pulled them out carefully and opened the first book. It was handwritten, but it was done with such a beautiful script that Lena found it incredibly easy to read.

Around page two, Lena figured out that it was written by a young female wolf who was eager to find her mate. She wondered who the female wolf was and she quickly opened the front cover of the second book to see if there were any leads. Since there was no name inside of them, she had no other choice but to continue reading in the hopes that the mystery would soon be cleared up.

She was enjoying it so much that she got the fright of her life when she heard the door open and she quickly squished the book back into it’s hiding place before sitting over the hole so nobody could see it.