Chapter 27 - Screw Him

The Goddess really didn't like me, because a few days after I opened up about my family, I was called to my father's office. It was the first time he'd contacted me since we got back. I hadn't done much else aside from bond with my mates. I didn't care what he wanted, but I still had to go and see what he had to say. For all I knew, he had a sudden change of heart and wanted to be a proper father to me.

I doubt that.

I left my mates after lunch and made my way to my father's office. After knocking and hearing him say to come inside, I opened the door and shut it. My face remained cold and detached as I stared at him at his desk.

He briefly glanced up from his paperwork to look at me carefully. "Aaron. I need to speak with you."

"Isn't that why you called me in?" I asked.

He raised a brow at me but went back to his work. "Yes. James wants to pass down our titles."

"I see."

So, it was time for that huh? I had a feeling Alpha James had prolonged passing down the power until Erin had a mate. It made sense. Now, all three of us—Ryder, Erin, and me—had a mate and one of us already had an heir on the way. But, why now? Weren't we still in the middle of a conflict with the Eye? Even if we hadn't had any altercations in a few weeks, it didn't mean we were done.

"I advised against it," my father suddenly continued.

Of course, you did.

"None of you are ready and quite frankly, I do not see why James sees you as fit. A foolish judgment on his part."

"Did you invite me here to complain? Or are you going to get to the point?" I asked in an attempt to remain calm. My hands itched by my sides and I found myself wishing I had my mates with me to give me patience and strength. "Hurry this along. I have places to be."

"And where could you possibly need to be? You don't do anything," he asked.

"It's none of your business," I bit back.

He dropped it quickly, as I knew he would. "I only wanted to give you a heads up. The ceremony is being planned for sometime next week. Don't be late."

"Is that all?"

"No." He stood up and slowly walked over to me. "You have mates now."

"I didn't think you would pay attention to that."

"I would have to take notice. You're carrying on my legacy."

"Is your legacy really all you care about?"

He glanced at me but ignored my question. "You should introduce them to me. I want to see that the beta line will be passed down properly."

"Maybe if you didn't always prize your damn title over your son you would've already met them," I snapped.

Woah. Where did that come from? I didn't often show my emotions to my father. Why would I when he used to punish me for it? I'd learned to keep my emotions hidden and endure our brief interactions. But, here I was, speaking my mind. Had my mates really influenced me that much? Were they breaking down my walls?

I think you know the answer to that, Aaron.

My father's eyes narrowed. "Being a beta is more than just a title, but I don't think you are aware of that yet. And that is why I advised against passing down the power."

"You act as if you were completely prepared to become the Beta when you were my age. I doubt you were. I'm supposed to learn on the job. How am I supposed to become a good beta if you don't let me learn?" I challenged.

Before he could respond, I put up a hand. "No, I don't care what you have to say. You treat me like a child when you expect me to be an adult. You don't have a say in whether I become the beta now, Alpha James has the final authority. And you can meet my mates when I want you to, which won't be until you decide to be a man and be the father you never were. Why would I share my family with someone who never wanted to be in mine?"

He remained silently surprised. I thought he'd have something to say. He always seemed to. "If that's all, I'm going back to my mates."

He didn't protest when I left his office. The moment I closed the door, my entire body deflated. Goddess, what just happened. It was enough stress to ramp me up for the rest of the day. I had to talk to my mates, now.

I found them underneath a tree outside. Evander had his back against the tree with his legs spread out while Aubrey sat between them looking down at the book in the vampire's hands. I walked over and sat beside them, resting my head on Evander's shoulder with a sigh.

"That was quick," he noted.

"How'd it go?" Aubrey asked me as he reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Apparently, I'm going to be named beta soon. Alpha James thought it was time to pass down the power," I said.

"Oh, well congratulations. When is that happening?" Evander asked.

"Next week," I answered. "He also asked about you guys."

"Oh?"

"Mhm," I hummed a confirmation. "But he just wanted to judge you. I said no. He doesn't deserve to meet you guys if he never cared before."

"That's your decision, but I think Aubrey and I would both like to meet him one day."

"I'm sure you will at some point. Even when he isn't in my life he likes to meddle," I grumbled. "I'm sure he'll become even more of a nuisance since his precious title is being ripped away from him."

Evander hummed and I felt the vibration against my head. The warmth and pleasant sparks from both of my mates prompted a content sigh from me. The troubles with my father melted away quickly. Then, an idea popped into my head.

"We should go on a date today," I announced to them.

"A date?" Aubrey asked excitedly.

"Yeah. Let's go out. You guys haven't really been into town yet, so I can show you around."

"That sounds nice. Should we go now?" Evander asked.

"Let's go now, sure," I agreed, standing up.

They both stood up as well and we made our way to where we parked the cars. After hopping into my car, I took a moment to think of where to take them first. What would be a good place for a vampire and nymph to enjoy? I knew I wanted to take them to Wren's cafe at some point—he'd gone back to working there while he stayed in the pack—but where else could I take them?

Oh!

With a destination in mind, I began driving. Evander, who was seated next to me in the passenger's seat, put a hand on my thigh as we drove. I didn't mind the small touch. We arrived at Wren's cafe first. "Maybe I'm biased, but the food here is amazing. When Wren left to join Joshua's pack, the cafe was just never the same. He's here now, though," I rambled as we got out of the car.

"I'm sure whatever you think is good will be good," Evander assured.

"What he said," Aubrey agreed with a grin.

He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. We walked inside while Evander held the door open, then I pulled them over to my favorite booth. Farah was the one that greeted us. "Hi, Aaron," she chirped.

"How is your new job going?" I asked her.

"Good! I didn't realize how much work managing a cafe was. Wren's amazing."

"He is," I agreed. "Is he here today?"

"Yeah, he's in the back cooking. What would guys like?"

"I'll have my usual, but they still need to read the menus," I said while gesturing to my mates.

"I'll be back then," Farah said.

"What would you recommend, Aaron?" Aubrey asked me.

"This. I think you'd like it," I said while pointing to the food item.

He smiled and nodded. "It does sound yummy. Thank you."

Farah came back a few minutes later and we ordered our food. The booth was rounded, so Aubrey and Evander were seated next to me with Aubrey between us. I turned to them to talk for a bit before I heard quick footsteps over. "Aaron!"

I turned to see Wren in front of our table. He looked happy—albeit a bit crazy with flour smudges all over him. "I'm so proud of you, Erin, and Ryder! Erin told me about your ceremony next week," he said excitedly.

"Yeah, it's weird to think we'll be running the pack," I said.

He turned to look at my mates. "How has pack life treated you two? Do you like it?" He asked them.

"It's nice. I like being around all these people," Aubrey answered.

"It's new, but not unpleasant," Evander added.

I was glad they were okay with pack life. It would be what we'd live with for the rest of our lives. I wanted them to be comfortable, especially if they were going to help me out with beta duties. They should like what and who they're trying to protect.

"I'm glad. I never thought I'd see Aaron so happy," Wren sighed. "He's usually such a grump."

"I still am," I scoffed.

"No, you're not," my friend laughed. "Goddess, you should see your face nowadays. You actually smile."

My cheeks reddened. "Shut up," I grumbled. "Go back to cooking."

"You can't hide how much of a softie you are anymore," Wren teased one last time before leaving. "I'll leave you guys alone now. Have fun."

He walked away, but not before looking back at us one last time with a small smile. I could still feel that my face was hot so I avoided looking at my mates. How did I get so soft? Had other people noticed or was it just my friends? Was that better or worse?

What does it matter?

The thought rang loud and clear inside my head. Why would it matter? Why should I care if people see me happy? To please my father? To hold onto his beliefs? I looked at my mates and they were snuggled up against each other and talking, their hands joined together on top of the table. I wanted to be a part of that. Why should I isolate myself from happiness because a man I was created from told me to? That was bullshit.

Why did it take me this long to realize how stubbornly I was clinging to my father's ideals? Well, he obviously wasn't going to change anytime soon, so I would just have to go my own way. I was going to be beta now, not him. I could forge my own path now.

Screw him.

~~~

Sorry, it's so late! I think I'm gonna have very spread-out updates for the rest of this book (which is only a few more chapters so please be patient with me). And in regards to the third book, I don't know when I'll be able to publish it. Life is hectic and I'm also very mentally exhausted so we'll see how that goes XD

We finally got to see Aaron interact with his father though! It was brief but that's just because he's honestly not meant to be a big part of the story. Aaron is trying to move on from his past. He's trying to grow as a person. You'll see him again though.

Stay tuned for more insanity and thank you so much for reading!

Please vote, share, and comment if you like it :)