The Cruel Alpha's Daughter's Mate

Chapter 7

Grayson

I knew I’d had a good night.

But judging by the state I’d left the house in, I was half expecting to walk through the front door and find a crime scene.

Instead, I stopped dead.

The kitchen and living room were spotless.

Not just clean.

Spotless.

I looked around, genuinely surprised.

“Damn,” I muttered. “Lara’s done a good job.”

“Good job?” Bash scoffed. “The girl performed a miracle. I thought we’d have to burn the place down and start again.”

I ignored him.

Last night had been one hell of a night. I’d entertained four of the younger single females from the pack, and none of them had exactly complained about how the evening had gone.

It had been wild.

Exactly the kind of night I enjoyed.

Bash was still basking in the memory.

“Now that was entertainment.”

“You enjoyed yourself.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I smirked.

“Sure.”

“I was simply appreciating the evening.”

“You were practically cheering.”

“Can you blame me?”

I shook my head and headed toward the stairs.

As we passed the laundry, I heard the machines running.

Bash’s ears seemed to perk up.

“She’s still cleaning.”

“She must be doing the washing.”

“You think?”

“Do you ever stop being sarcastic?”

“No.”

I continued upstairs.

When I reached the bedroom, I stopped in the doorway.

The room was almost as clean as downstairs.

Almost.

The only thing that caught my attention was the set of handcuffs sitting on the bedside table.

I smiled.

Bash immediately laughed.

“Oh, those had a busy night.”

“You remember.”

“I remember everything.”

He sounded far too pleased with himself.

I walked into the ensuite.

Lara was there, scrubbing the hot tub.

She didn’t look up.

“How’s it going?”

“Getting it sorted.”

Her voice was flat.

I watched her for a moment.

“You did an incredible job downstairs. The place looks fantastic. Thank you.”

“Just doing what is expected of me.”

She shrugged and continued scrubbing.

Bash went quiet.

Then—

“Well, that was awkward.”

“What?”

“She didn’t even look at you.”

I frowned.

Bash wasn’t wrong.

Lara hadn’t once met my eyes.

“I don’t think she likes us.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because she won’t look at us.”

He paused.

“It’s either that or she’s worried we’re going to bite her.”

I stared at him.

“Why would she be worried about that?”

Bash gave a low chuckle.

“Seriously?”

I frowned.

Before I could respond, I turned and walked back toward the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Bash asked.

“Downstairs.”

“You’re just leaving?”

“She seems uncomfortable.”

Bash burst out laughing.

Not a chuckle.

Not a snicker.

Full-blown laughter.

“What?”

“Since when do you care if anyone is uncomfortable?”

I glared inwardly.

“She’s my daughter.”

“Oh, that’s rich.”

“Shut up.”

“No, seriously. This is fascinating.”

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

Bash continued.

“You’ve spent years treating Lara like she’s the housekeeper, but suddenly we’re concerned about her feelings?”

“Her mother died.”

“And?”

I clenched my jaw.

Bash wasn’t finished.

“Let’s not forget your favourite little pastime.”

I knew exactly where he was going.

“The Omega Challenge.”

“Exactly.”

His voice became mocking.

“You have people fighting to the death for your entertainment, but apparently we’re suddenly worried about making Lara feel comfortable.”

“Would you shut up?”

“I’m simply pointing out the facts.”

“You’re being annoying.”

“Same thing, depending on who you ask.”

I shook my head.

Bash laughed.

“We can agree to disagree.”

“Fine.”

“Now,” Bash continued, “how about we relax? We had a big night.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

I dropped onto the sofa and grabbed the remote.

“What do you want to watch?”

“Horror.”

“Of course.”

“Obviously.”

I turned on Netflix and scrolled through the choices.

We eventually settled on a horror movie.

For the next twenty minutes, everything was peaceful.

Then the front door opened.

Without knocking.

Bash groaned.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Tiffany marched into the living room and stopped directly in front of the television.

Bash growled.

“Move.”

I almost laughed.

“She’s blocking the screen.”

“I noticed.”

“Tell the woman to move her backside.”

“Tiffany.”

She looked at me.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Pleasure?” Bash muttered. “There’s no pleasure happening here. She’s blocking the movie.”

Tiffany ignored him.

She walked over and dropped onto the sofa beside me.

“I see you had an interesting evening.”

I looked at her.

“What makes you say that?”

She gave me a pointed look.

“Oh, don’t play dumb, Grayson.”

Bash snorted.

“That’s rich coming from her.”

“I came by earlier,” Tiffany continued, “and I saw the state this place was in. Your little cleaner girl was still trying to remove the evidence.”

She leaned closer.

“So, who did you have here?”

My expression hardened.

“Tiffany, what makes you think you have any right to question me?”

She blinked.

“We have something.”

“No.”

Her confidence faltered.

“Yes, we do.”

“We don’t.”

She stared at me.

“Grayson—”

“You have a mate.”

Her face tightened.

“And you’re sleeping with me behind his back.”

She looked away.

“You knew what this was.”

“But I thought—”

“You thought what?”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“I thought you cared about me.”

I almost laughed.

Instead, I leaned back.

“I sleep with you because I want to. The same reason I slept with those women last night.”

Her face went pale.

“You can’t mean that.”

“I do.”

“You said—”

“I said nothing that promised you a future.”

She stared at me.

Bash chuckled darkly.

“Here comes the reality check.”

I continued.

“You’re hoping you’ll leave your mate and become Luna.”

Tiffany’s eyes widened.

“I never—”

“Don’t lie to me.”

She fell silent.

“You aren’t becoming Luna,” I said coldly. “And you aren’t moving into this house.”

Her bottom lip trembled.

“But what we have—”

“Is over.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

I leaned forward.

“You are a body I chose to spend time with. Nothing more.”

She stared at me as though I’d struck her.

Then she reached out and placed her hand on my thigh.

“Grayson, please.”

I immediately removed her hand.

“That’s Alpha Grayson to you.”

Her eyes filled with fresh tears.

“You can’t do this.”

“It’s already done.”

She stood abruptly.

“You’re going to regret this.”

Bash laughed.

“Oh, please. She’s threatening us with regret. Terrifying.”

Tiffany glared at me one last time before turning and storming out.

The front door slammed behind her.

Silence returned.

I let out a long breath.

“Thank the Goddess.”

Bash was quiet for a moment.

Then—

“Well.”

I picked up the remote.

“That was entertaining.”

“Not particularly.”

“I disagree.”

I looked at the television.

“You’re impossible.”

“And you’re welcome.”

I shook my head.

Bash sighed.

“Now, can we please rewind the movie?”

I laughed.

“You’re serious?”

“She interrupted the good part.”

I picked up the remote and rewound the movie.

Bash settled in.

“Finally.”

The movie started again.

For a few minutes, I allowed myself to relax.

But somewhere upstairs, Lara was still cleaning.

And for some reason, the way she had refused to look at me kept bothering me.

Bash noticed.

Of course he did.

“You’re thinking about her.”

I frowned.

“No, I’m not.”

“You are.”

I ignored him.

But his words stayed with me.

Because for the first time, I was beginning to wonder why my own daughter looked at me as though she was afraid of what I might do.