A Beta's Half-Blood

Chapter 2: Her Father

-Harper-

How long had it been?

It had to have been back when I turned eighteen, and he had come for me one last time, asking me, now that my mom had died, if I wanted to come back with him and live there. He made this stupid speech about taking care of me and helping me. I had been so mad at him, just slamming the door in his face and telling him to go to hell, because I would not be going anywhere with him. He had knocked on the door for a while, asking, pleading, begging, me, but I had not listened. I just told him I never wanted to see him again, and eventually he left. He had respected my choice for about six years, so why the hell was he here now?!

“You aren’t here,” I told him and pointed at him, before darting down another hallway that led to an elevator.

I pressed the button again and again, and I could just feel him nearing me, which was why I wanted this damn elevator to arrive.

Ding.

I jumped in and pressed the second floor button, but as the doors closed, he was on his way inside, and made it inside the last second.

“Why are you here?! I told you to leave me alone!” I said.

“Harper …”

His green eyes, I had inherited, were pleading and begging me to listen to him, but I wouldn’t. I refused to. He could go to hell.

“Go!”

“Just listen, please.”

“No! I won’t,” I said. “I don’t want anything to do with you or any other wolf for that matter!”

My father groaned and pushed his hand through his hair. I could feel the tears press in my eyes, and there was this small part of me, the same part that had wanted to go with him, when he had asked me after my mother died. It was probably the child in me. The one who wanted her father. Wanted to get to know him and learn about him and have a relationship with him, but he had let me down and I was not about to be disappointed again.

“Go,” I said in a cold and hard voice. “I don’t want you to see you again.”

“Harper, I know you blame me for a lot of things, and I know I am guilty of them,” he said.

I crossed my arms and looked away. I didn’t want to talk to him. I just wanted him to go, because my heart was aching just listening to his voice.

“But I want you to give me a chance.”

“A chance?!” I asked him and looked at him like I couldn’t believe him. “No!”

“I want us to get to know each other.”

I shook my head.

“Why should I give you one?” I asked. “I know what happens if I do.”

“Things have changed,” he said.

“Changed? You honestly expect me to believe that?” I asked him.

He nodded.

“They have,” he said, putting a lot of pressure on his words, in order to make them seem more truthful, but I was not about to be fooled.

“How stupid do you think I am?” I asked him, as we arrived on the second floor, and the elevator made another ding sound.

I pushed past him, not wanting to be trapped in there with him for a second longer, but of course, he was not taking the hint, and followed me.

“Harper, let us just talk,” he said.

“No! Go away!”

I was walking towards my office, hoping I would be able to shut him out, when suddenly Ryan reached out and grabbed my hand, stopping me.

“Let go!” I sneered lowly.

“Just hear me out, please,” he said.

I shook my head.

“Why is it you wolves never understand a no? Especially annoying alphas like you!”

He looked hurt by my words, and of course a part of me felt bad. The broken look in his eyes that I didn’t want to be the reason for that, but I meant it when I said, I wanted nothing to do with him or the wolf world. I was never going to change my mind about that, so he might as well just go, before I turned really nasty.

“Is there a problem here?”

We both looked behind me, where, surprisingly enough, the famous Rich had appeared. For the first time, I was a little relieved he had come out of the blue. Usually, it just gave me goosebumps, but it was clear Ryan wasn’t listening to me.

“No,” he said.

“Actually, there is,” I said while holding Ryan’s eyes. “This man won’t leave me alone.”

He looked so shocked that I was doing this, but what did he expect? He was never there when I needed him, and now he suddenly expected that I was willing to let him into my life. A life I had built for myself and worked hard to maintain. No, he was not about to mess everything up. Just look how close I was to being dragged into that wolf world, because my mysterious cousin had needed me. Nothing good ever came from having anything to do with them. They always brought trouble.

“I think you should let go of my colleague now and get out, before I call security,” Rich said.

Ryan sent Rich a murderous look, and I could see he was barely holding onto his self-control. I knew how dangerous it was to come between an alpha and his pup, but I was not his to protect or feel possessive of. He could go back to where he came from and be around the person he had taken time to raise. Yeah, I had been quite hurt when Elijah told me what Ryan had done for him. Raising him. Taking him in, when he had nowhere else to go. Of course, Elijah was part of the same world as my father. I wasn’t, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t any less hurt by what he had told me.

“Harper …”

“Just go. You heard him. He will call security,” I told him.

He glanced at Rich one more time, before Ryan finally and slowly let go of me. Then he took a small step back. The hurt look never left his eyes.

“I will come back another time,” he said.

“Don’t bother,” I told him.

He just nodded, and then turned around, walking out of there, looking like someone had completely knocked him down. I knew it was all on me, but I refused to feel bad.

“What was that about?” Rich asked, coming to stand beside me.

“Just someone who doesn’t know what no means,” I said and looked up at Rich, who turned to me and frowned.

Yeah, there was a little hidden message in there for him as well, but I didn’t think he got it. So I just turned around and walked over to my office. I had barely opened the door, when Rich came running, placing his hand on the doorframe.

“You know he might come back,” he said.

“No, he won’t,” I said and tried closing the door, but he placed his other hand on it and held it open.

“I should probably stay close to you, just to keep an eye out for him.”

“Listen Rich, if you think you are now my hero, let me tell you, you are not. He would have left in the end and whether you had been there or not, really doesn’t matter. So, you can go now. I have work to do,” I told him.

He didn’t look very pleased with me, and I could see I had hurt his ego. It was very fragile, so no, it wasn’t so surprising that I had.

“You know you really should just say thank you,” he told me.

“For?”

“He had his hands on you.”

“And you haven’t?” I asked him and leaned closer.

“There is a difference.”

“Oh?”

“You wanted them there,” he said, making me shiver, and I just wanted to throw up.

“As I said, I have got work to do.”

I placed my hand on his chest and pushed him back, catching him off guard, so he stumbled a few steps away, and then I slammed the door in his face, locking it afterwards. I sighed deeply, leaning against it. This was too much. I couldn’t deal with all these horrible men in my life that simply did not take a no for an answer. Why was it so hard to get?! I wanted to be left ALONE.

I shook my head as I walked over to the small couch I had in my room and fell down on it. I was so tired. I knew I had a lot of work to do, but I allowed myself just to close my eyes for a moment. Just one small … And I was out like a light.