Mated to Four Heirs

Chapter twenty one

KARL BLACKWOOD

I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped into my father's office.

The door had barely closed behind me when I felt the weight of his presence pressing against the room, and I didn't need to look at him to know he was angry. My father had a particular silence when he was disappointed, and somehow, that silence was always worse than shouting.

I slowly turned around.

Alpha Blackwood stood behind his desk with both hands resting against its polished surface, his broad shoulders rigid and his jaw clenched. His eyes were fixed on me with the same coldness I had grown accustomed to since childhood, and for a moment, I felt like I was sixteen again, standing before him after making another mistake I didn't understand.

"Sit."

His voice was low, and I immediately noticed the tension in his shoulders.

I didn't move.

"Why?" I asked, keeping my voice calm as I watched him.

His nostrils flared. "Because I told you to sit."

He straightened slowly, and the authority in his voice made the room feel smaller.

I finally pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down, but I didn't take my eyes off him.

He stared at me for several seconds before shaking his head.

"I don't understand what happened to you."

His words were quiet, but the disappointment behind them was impossible to miss.

"What are you talking about?"

"You." He pointed at me, his expression hardening. "You are what I'm talking about."

I leaned back slightly.

My father's eyes narrowed.

"You were supposed to be the next Alpha of Frost Fang," he continued, his voice growing heavier. "You were supposed to be strong, disciplined, ruthless when necessary, and capable of making decisions without allowing your emotions to control you."

His jaw tightened.

"But lately, I barely recognize you."

I clenched my fists beneath the desk. "I haven't changed."

"You have."

He answered immediately, and his expression became even colder.

"You have become soft."

The word struck harder than I expected.

"Soft?," I stared at him.

He nodded once. "Soft."

His eyes remained fixed on mine.

"Do you want examples?"

When I didn't answer, he took my silence as permission.

"When Samantha arrived, what did you do?"

I swallowed.

"You helped her."

His voice carried a hint of disgust.

"Before you even knew what she was, you gave her your family's moonstone blade."

His fingers curled against the edge of the desk.

"Do you know how many warriors have begged to touch that weapon and been refused?"

I remained silent.

"You gave it to a human."

His voice rose slightly.

"A human who had just walked into an academy where she didn't belong."

I finally leaned forward. "She needed a weapon."

My father scoffed.

"She needed to learn that this world doesn't bend for her."

His expression hardened. "And yet you bent."

I felt my jaw tighten. "I didn't bend for her."

"Then what do you call it?"

He spread his hands.

"You protected her."

I looked away for a moment.

"She was about to walk into an initiation ceremony with nothing to defend herself."

"And?" His question came sharply.

"She could have failed."

He shrugged.

"She could have been rejected."

He paused.

"She could have died."

My stomach tightened.

He noticed.

"Exactly."

He pointed at me.

"That reaction right there is the problem."

I looked back at him. "What reaction?"

"That." He tapped his chest. "You care."

I laughed bitterly. "She's my mate."

My father's expression changed for half a second. Then the coldness returned.

"That doesn't mean you have to become weak."

"I didn't."

"You did."

He slammed his palm against the desk, the sound echoing through the room.

"You defended her during the Council meeting."

His eyes burned into mine.

"You stood behind her when the other Alphas were being questioned."

He took a breath.

"You walked her around the Academy. You gave her your family's blade."

He leaned forward.

"And now I hear you've been following her around whenever she's in trouble."

I stared at him. "Who told you that?"

"Does it matter?"

He shook his head.

"The point is that you're behaving like some lovesick pup instead of the heir of Frost Fang."

My blood began to boil. I slowly stood.

"Don't call me that."

My father's eyes narrowed. "Sit down!"

"No." The word left my mouth before I could reconsider it.

For several seconds, neither of us moved. My father's face became unreadable.

Then he slowly leaned back.

"You are beginning to forget who you're speaking to."

"I'm speaking to my father."

My voice was steady, even though my heart was pounding.

"I'm also speaking to the Alpha who has spent my entire life telling me that strength means never allowing anyone to see what I feel."

His jaw tightened. "Because feelings make you vulnerable."

"Feelings make me human."

I said it before I could stop myself.

The room fell silent as my father's eyes hardened.

"You're not human, Karl."

His words were cold.

"You're an Alpha."

I shook my head. "I'm both."

"No." He stood abruptly. "You don't get to be both when you're carrying the responsibility of an entire pack."

His voice echoed through the room.

"You think the wolves of Frost Fang want an Alpha who hesitates because some girl is upset?"

My fists tightened. "She's not some girl."

The moment I said it, something shifted in my father's expression. I could see the disappointment returning.

"That's exactly what I mean."

He shook his head.

"You don't even hear yourself anymore."

I stepped closer to the desk. "Maybe because you don't listen to me."

His eyebrows lifted. "You think I don't listen?"

"I know you don't."

My voice cracked slightly, but I refused to lower my eyes. "You've already decided what kind of son you want me to be."

I swallowed.

"And every time I don't fit that image, you call me weak."

He stared at me. "You were raised to be better than this."

"Better?," I laughed without humour.

I shook my head. "You mean colder."

His face hardened. "Careful."

"I'm tired of being careful."

The words came faster now.

"I'm tired of being told that protecting someone is weakness. I'm tired of being told that caring about someone makes me less of an Alpha. And I'm tired of being compared to some perfect version of yourself that doesn't even exist."

His nostrils flared.

"You think I became Alpha by being gentle?"

"No."

I shook my head.

"You became Alpha by surviving."

I stepped closer.

"And I don't have to survive the same way you did."

For a moment, I thought he might hit me. He didn't. Instead, he looked at me with something far worse than anger… disappointment.

"Maybe that's the problem." His voice became quieter. "Maybe you were never meant to inherit Frost Fang."

My chest tightened as I stared at him. "What?"

He looked away. "Nothing."

"No," I shook my head. "Say it."

He looked back at me. "You heard me."

I waited as he exhaled sharply.

"You don't look like my son anymore."

The words landed like a punch. I felt something inside me crack, but I refused to let him see it.

"Maybe that's because you've never actually looked at me."

His expression flickered.

"You've spent my entire life looking at the Alpha you wanted me to become, not the son standing in front of you," I continued, lowering my voice.

As he looked away again, I could see his hands trembling slightly. But he quickly hid them behind his back.

Then he spoke again.

"You think Samantha will choose you because you're kind to her?"

I frowned. "What?"

He stepped closer. "If you continue behaving like this, she won't choose you."

His words made something twist inside my chest.

I stared at him. "Choose me?"

He nodded. "You heard the Council." His expression hardened. "She has to choose one."

My jaw tightened. "And you think I should compete for her?"

"Of course."

He looked at me as though the answer were obvious.

"You are the heir of Frost Fang."

He stepped closer.

"Take what belongs to you."

My blood ran cold.

"She doesn't belong to anyone."

His expression changed.

"Then you will lose her."

I stared at him.

"You think becoming cruel will make her love me?"

"No."

He shook his head.

"I think being strong will make her respect you."

I laughed bitterly. "She already respects me."

"Respect isn't enough." He turned away. "She has three other Alphas around her."

His voice hardened. "Adrian is charming. Darius is persistent. And Carla..."

He paused.

"Carla is dangerous."

I said nothing.

My father's eyes returned to me.

"If you keep standing back while the others move closer, Samantha will choose one of them."

I shook my head. "Then she chooses whoever she wants."

My father stared at me.

"I didn't ask for any of this." The words came out quieter than everything I had said before.

He said nothing.

My voice cracked. "I didn't ask to be dragged into some ancient prophecy."

I swallowed hard.

"I didn't ask for Samantha."

My father's expression softened for the briefest moment.

"But now that she's here..."

I looked up.

"...I don't want to treat her like a prize."

He remained silent.

"I want her to choose me because she actually wants me."

He stared at me for a long moment. Then his expression hardened again.

"You're going to regret this softness."

I shook my head.

"Maybe."

I stepped toward the door.

"But I'd rather regret being kind than spend my life becoming someone I hate."

I reached for the handle.

"You're dismissed," he said.

I stopped. For a second, I thought that was the end.

Then my father's voice came from behind me.

"Karl."

I slowly turned.

He wasn't looking at me anymore. His eyes were fixed on the floor, and something unreadable crossed his face.

"I wish Carla was my son."

My body went completely still. The room suddenly felt colder.

I stared at my father. He didn't take the words back or apologize. He simply stood there as though he hadn't just ripped something open inside me.

I slowly opened the door.

And without saying another word, I walked out.

The door closed behind me.

Only then did I allow myself to breathe.