The Cruel Alpha's Daughter's Mate

Chapter 1

Lara

I was on my knees, scrubbing the bathtub in the downstairs bathroom of the Alpha residence, when I heard the noise.

I froze.

The sound had come from somewhere down the hallway.

I slowly lifted my head, listening.

Another noise followed.

A muffled voice.

My heart began to pound.

I had been told I was going to be alone in the house today. My father was supposedly spending most of the day in his office at the pack house, dealing with pack business.

So who was here?

I wiped my hands on my clothes and stood.

Maybe something had fallen.

Maybe an animal had somehow gotten inside.

Whatever it was, I needed to find out.

I followed the sound down the hallway until I reached the laundry.

Then I stopped dead.

My entire body went rigid.

For several seconds, I couldn’t process what I was seeing.

My father.

And Tiffany Clark.

The pack’s Beta female.

My father’s naked body was unmistakable.

So was Tiffany’s.

She was sitting on top of the washing machine, and the two of them were so caught up in what they were doing that neither had noticed me standing in the doorway.

My mouth fell open.

My father was cheating on his mate.

With his Beta’s mate.

Tiffany was cheating on Beta Scott with my father.

I should have turned around.

I should have quietly walked away.

Instead, I stood there in complete disbelief.

What the hell was I supposed to do with this information?

What would happen if Beta Scott walked through that door right now?

The thought made my stomach twist.

Then my father turned his head.

Our eyes met.

Everything stopped.

The amusement disappeared from his face as he realised exactly who was standing in the doorway.

Me.

His daughter.

Watching.

Tiffany hadn’t noticed yet.

“Babe, why’d you stop?”

She opened her eyes.

When she realised my father wasn’t looking at her, she followed his gaze.

Her face drained of colour.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she screeched.

I blinked.

I couldn’t believe she was asking me that.

“I live here.”

I folded my arms.

“What are you doing here?”

Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

I raised an eyebrow.

“And what the hell were you thinking? Sleeping with a man who isn’t your fated mate?”

Her face flushed.

“I always knew you were a ladder climber,” I continued. “But actually seeing you trying to climb your way up the pack hierarchy?”

I shook my head.

“Wow. Just… wow.”

“Are you really going to let her speak to me like that?” Tiffany demanded, turning toward my father.

To my surprise, he grinned.

That should have been my warning.

I turned around.

I wanted out.

I didn’t want to be there for another second.

“Lara.”

My father’s voice stopped me.

“You were not dismissed.”

I slowly turned back.

The expression on his face made my stomach drop.

He was enjoying this.

“Why don’t you stay and observe?” he said.

My father’s eyes held mine.

“You might learn something.”

Tiffany started laughing.

“Oh, definitely.”

She looked me up and down.

“Maybe you’ll learn enough to make your fated mate want to stay with you.”

Her smile widened.

“That is, of course, assuming the Moon Goddess even saw fit to give you one.”

I stared at her.

“From what I’m seeing right now, you sure as hell aren’t much of a prize yourself.”

Her smile vanished.

“Beta Scott would be disgusted by you if he knew what you were doing.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then my father moved.

Tiffany’s attention immediately shifted back to him.

I looked away.

I didn’t want to see any more.

But I knew better than to disobey my father.

So I stayed exactly where I was.

Every few moments, I felt his eyes on me.

Checking.

Making sure I was watching.

The humiliation was almost unbearable.

But the fear was worse.

Because this wasn’t simply my father embarrassing me.

It was my father reminding me that he could make me do whatever he wanted.

And there was nothing I could do about it.

Eventually, it was over.

Tiffany climbed down and hurriedly pulled on her clothes.

She leaned toward my father, kissed him, and smiled.

“Thanks for that, lover.”

Then she turned toward me.

Her expression hardened.

She pointed a finger directly at my face.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut.”

With that, she walked out.

A moment later, the front door slammed.

Silence filled the house.

My father remained standing in front of me.

He casually pulled on a pair of black sweatpants as though nothing unusual had happened.

Then he looked at me.

“So?”

I said nothing.

“Did you enjoy the show?”

My stomach turned.

He was my father.

I couldn’t even begin to process what he’d just forced me to witness.

But more frightening than the disgust was the question of what happened if I answered honestly.

Would he punish me?

Would he banish me?

Would he lock me away?

Or would he throw me into that arena with the Omegas he had already decided were expendable?

I chose my words carefully.

“How would you like me to answer that, Father?”

“Honestly, of course.”

That same sinister grin appeared.

I stared at him.

“And if I answer honestly, then what?”

His eyebrow lifted.

“Do I get locked in a cell?”

I took a breath.

“Or perhaps you banish me from the pack?”

His smile faded slightly.

“Maybe you throw me into your precious challenge with the next group of Omegas you decide to kill for your amusement.”

He laughed.

“You’re paranoid.”

I didn’t laugh.

“You really need to relax, Lara.”

He stepped closer.

“All that tension can’t be good for you.”

I didn’t respond.

I simply turned and walked back toward the bathroom.

I needed to get away from him.

I dropped to my knees beside the bathtub and picked up the sponge.

Then I started scrubbing.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Anything was better than looking at him.

I heard footsteps behind me.

My father stopped in the doorway.

“I guess no one ever taught you that you don’t turn your back on an Alpha.”

I kept scrubbing.

“What you choose to do is your business, Dad.”

I glanced over my shoulder.

“If you want to punish me for turning my back on you, it’s not like I could stop you, is it?”

Silence.

Then his voice became colder.

“Damn straight.”

He paused.

“And if you say anything about what you saw in this house today, I promise you, you won’t live to regret it.”

I stopped scrubbing.

The threat hung between us.

“I won’t say anything.”

“Good.”

“Why would I?”

I turned back to the bathtub.

“If word got out, the person who would be hurt is Beta Scott.”

I swallowed.

“And I happen to have a lot of respect for him.”

My father was quiet for several seconds.

“You’d better not say anything.”

His voice was low.

“The last thing I need is an issue with my Beta.”

Then he walked away.

I waited until I heard his footsteps disappear.

Only then did I allow myself to breathe.

I stared down at the water swirling around the drain.

Poor Beta Scott.

He had no idea.

He had no idea that his mate was betraying him.

And he certainly had no idea that his Alpha was the one she was betraying him with.

I felt sorry for him.

But I wasn’t going to tell him.

I already had enough problems without inserting myself into a war between my father and his Beta.

So I scrubbed.

Harder.

As though I could somehow scrub away everything I’d seen.

As though I could erase it from my mind.

The bathroom needed to be spotless anyway.

It was the one guests used whenever my father entertained important pack members.

Everything had to be perfect.

In my father’s world, appearances were everything.

By the time I finished cleaning the house, my hands were aching.

I needed to get out.

I needed fresh air.

More than anything, I needed to forget what had happened.

So I went to see Heidi.

Heidi was an Omega.

But she was also my best friend.

She was my escape.

Whenever I was with her, I could forget that I was the Alpha’s daughter.

I could laugh.

I could breathe.

I could pretend, even for a little while, that my life wasn’t completely messed up.

And today, I desperately needed that escape.

Because something had changed.

I had always known my father was dangerous.

But today, I’d discovered just how far that danger reached.

And I had a horrible feeling this was only the beginning.