Chapter 34

Jasper Hartford’s POV
When I walked into my dad’s office he was sitting behind his desk, muttering to himself. I could tell that there was a lot on his mind. He didn’t even seem to notice me walking into the room, which was very unusual for him. I cleared my throat to draw his attention. His eyes shot up to me so quickly that it almost made me jump.
“You wanted to see me,” I said. I kept my voice formal. My dad and I used to have a good relationship but over the last few weeks things had been strained. He was annoyed at me for not marking Lizzy and he was annoyed at me for giving my secret away in front of Frankie.
He had threatened me with an alpha command more times than I could count and I hated it. Don’t get me wrong, I knew how important it was to make sure our bond was strong. I knew that the future of our pack might depend on it but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
“Yes, I had a visitor this morning and I needed to speak to you about it,” he replied. He had his arms crossed on the desk in front of him, his face was stoic as he looked me up and down. I have had the pleasure of observing my father in full alpha mode a few times in the past but I wasn’t usually on the receiving end of it. It was not a comfortable experience and it wasn’t a good sign. I silently took a seat at the opposite side of his desk.
“Frankie was here. He told me about your conversation as well as your behaviour last night,” he told me. I should have seen that one coming. Things were moving too slowly for his liking. I had known that for a while but I never thought that he would cut out the middleman and go straight to my father.
“What did you say to him?” I asked.
“I sent him away but that isn’t the point,” My father growled. I could see his anger building although I had no idea what I had done to deserve it. He was looking at me as though I had been hiding something from him but as far as I was concerned he knew everything about me.
“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” My father growled. He got to his feet and leaned over his desk towards me. His hands were balled into fists as they rested on top of the desk. I could see the veins standing up on his neck as he tried to hold his wolf back.
“I have absolutely no clue what you are talking about.” Fear was slowly creeping up my spine. It was a strange sensation, since when did I fear my own father? Since when did I fear anything? What was wrong with me?
“You got drunk after only a few shots of whiskey. Why didn’t you warn me that you were becoming so weak? Do you have any idea what will happen if other people start to notice?” His fist hit the desk so hard that the wood cracked loudly, making me cringe.
“This can’t go on any longer. I wanted to order you to mark your mate weeks ago but you promised me you had the situation under control.” He hit the desk again, shattering it in half. Everything on top of the desk came crashing down to the floor. My father groaned in frustration and sat back down in his chair. The destruction had shocked my father out of his anger and now he just looked tired.
“I spoke to her, she will bare my mark by this time tomorrow.” I responded.
“I’m really sorry but that isn’t good enough. I can’t leave it up to you anymore, this is too important.” My father looked at me with sad eyes. I knew he was going to give me an alpha command and I hated the very idea of it.
I could see exactly how this was going to play out. He was going to tell me to mark her and I would be compelled to do it immediately. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself, even if Lizzy begged me not to, there would be nothing I would be able to do to stop myself. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes just thinking about putting her through that.
My father walked around his desk and rested his hand on my shoulder. He gave me a sympathetic look as he kneeled down beside me.
“She will forgive you,” he said before clutching his chest. He closed his eyes in what looked to be pain.
“Shit,” he uttered. He got to his feet and started mindlinking someone while pacing up and down the office. I had no idea what was going on, it was clear that something big had happened but I was lost on what it could be. A few seconds later my mom ran into the office followed closely by Lizzy.
My mom looked at the destroyed desk and rolled her eyes. It wasn’t the first piece of furniture my father had destroyed and I am sure it wouldn’t be the last. It was one of the hazards of living with an alpha wolf.
I got up from my seat and went to my mate. Whatever was going on with the pack, I wanted to protect her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her face into my chest.
“Do you know what happened?” My mom asked once my father had finished with his mindlink.
“There had been a breach on the western border.” My father ran out of the room. He shifted while he was still running, shredding his clothes in the process. My mom cursed under her breath before following him out of the room, leaving me alone with Lizzy.
I kissed her hair then let go of her, taking a step back. Lizzy looked confused but as I went to follow my parents she took hold of my arm to stop me. I knew what she was trying to tell me, it was dangerous for me to go after them.
If anyone saw me shift then they would know my secret. The thought had crossed my mind as well but I couldn’t let my fear control me. I had to find out what was happening to my pack and help in any way that I could.
“I have to go, I need to see what is happening. I promise to be careful and not let anyone see me.” I told her. I kissed her one last time before running out of the room. In order to avoid being seen I took a less direct route to the border and stayed in my human form until I was deep into the forest.
I approached the border slowly, being careful not to be seen by any of the warriors. My wolf was small even by omega standards, if anyone saw me out here they might mistake me for a regular wolf but I didn’t want to take that risk.
I could hear the sounds of fighting through the trees ahead of me. I slowed my pace to a snail's pace as I crept through the undergrowth. I could see the fighting ahead of me now. My father and his warriors were fighting a group of rogues. I could also see a few dead pack mates laying on the floor nearby.
My father was vicious in battle. I watched as he went from rogue to rogue, killing each of them with ease. He would rip their throats out with his teeth or his claws and he wouldn’t even wait for them to die before moving onto the next.
My mom was almost as strong as my father. She was a gamma by birth but mating with my father made her almost as strong as she would be if she was an alpha by birth. With her help the fight was over within just a couple of minutes with no more of our pack getting injured in the process.
I was jealous of their relationship, me and Lizzy would never be like that. My omega wolf would be stronger than a rogue but he would never be strong enough to rip our enemies to shreds. He was just too weak.
‘Shut up human. What do you know about strength? You can’t even mark our mate.’ Garnet complained.
I did one last check that nobody was nearby then shifted back into my human form. Everyone looked in my direction as I emerged from the bushes in my human form. My parents scowled at me but they couldn’t say anything in front of the rest of the pack.
“I heard about the breach, what happened?” I asked.
“Rogues breached our border, killing some of our patrols. We have killed them all now so you can go back to fucking whatever whore you are currently screwing.” Chantelle spat, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder. The look in her eyes as she looked at me gave away her real motives.
She was jealous of Lizzy. We had slept together once about a year ago and ever since she had been telling everyone at school that I was going to make her my luna. Nobody believed her, she wasn’t the only one who had played that card to get more power after spending the night with me.
‘This is what happens when you put your cock in anything that stays still for more than a second.’ Garnet growled.
“How dare you speak of my mate and your future luna with such disrespect?” I growled. Ignoring my wolf’s annoyance with me.
“You're right. She can’t talk about Elizabeth in that way, she needs to be formally punished.” My father replied. He waved his hand in his beta’s direction. My father’s beta was very efficient, he took hold of her wrists and pulled them behind her back before she had time to react.
I watched as my father’s beta pushed Chantelle away from us and towards the dungeons under our house. This situation was going to be difficult to explain to Lizzy if she saw Chantelle. My father waited for them to get out of sight before he spoke again.
“There’s one more thing, the rogues had help to get past our defences. Someone from our pack helped them.” My father said, his jaw tensed in annoyance.
“Do you know who betrayed us?” I asked. My father shook his head.
“Once I find out they are going to pay with their life.” He growled.