MY ALPHA FATHER'S BEST FRIEND 17
1889 Words
MAYA
The next two weeks are hell.
Dad has me on lockdown. Guards outside my door, constant supervision, nowhere to go without an escort.
I’m a prisoner in my own home.
He thinks if he keeps me away from Damon long enough, the bond will weaken. That I’ll “come to my senses” and realize I made a mistake.
He doesn’t understand that it’s doing the exact opposite.
The bond is agony when we’re apart. It’s like a constant ache in my chest, a piece of me missing. I can feel Damon through it—his pain, his frustration, his longing. And he can feel mine.
We can’t communicate through the bond yet. That takes practice, time together to strengthen the connection. But we can feel each other’s emotions, and right now all I feel from him is desperate, helpless rage.
I’m not eating. Barely sleeping. My wolf is going crazy, howling for our mate, clawing at my insides trying to get out.
Mom’s worried. I can see it in her eyes when she brings me meals I don’t touch.
“Please eat something, sweetheart,” she says softly.
“I can’t.”
“You have to. You’re wasting away.”
“Then let me see him. Let me…” My voice breaks. “Please, Mom. It hurts so much.”
She sits on my bed, pulling me into her arms while I cry.
“I know, baby. I know it hurts.”
“Dad doesn’t understand. He thinks this is just… teenage rebellion or something. But it’s not. It’s real. Damon is my mate. My true mate.”
Mom is quiet for a long moment.
“I know he is,” she finally says.
I pull back to look at her. “What?”
“I knew the moment I saw you two at the Council meeting. The way you looked at each other—I’ve been mated to your father for twenty-five years, Maya. I know what that bond looks like.”
“Then why aren’t you helping me?”
“Because your father needs time. He’s hurt. Betrayed. His best friend claimed his daughter without his knowledge or permission. That’s… it’s a lot to process.”
“I don’t care about his feelings!” I know I sound like a brat, but I don’t care. “He’s keeping me from my mate!”
“I know. And he’s wrong to do it.” She cups my face gently. “But he loves you, sweetheart. He’s scared. Scared of losing you. Scared that Damon will take you away from him.”
“Damon won’t….”
“Won’t he? You’re mated now. Eventually, you’ll want to live in Silver Ridge territory, with Damon’s pack. Your father knows that. And it terrifies him.”
Tears stream down my face. “I don’t want to lose Dad. But I can’t lose Damon either. I need him, Mom. I physically need him.”
She wipes my tears away. “I know you do. The mating bond is strong, especially this soon after claiming. Being apart is torture for both of you.”
“So help me. Please. Talk to Dad. Make him understand.”
“I’ve been trying. But he’s stubborn.”
“So am I.” I set my jaw. “I’ll stop eating completely if I have to. I’ll waste away until he has no choice but to let me go.”
“Maya…”
“I mean it. If he won’t let me see Damon, there’s no point in living anyway.”
Mom looks pained. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. I can feel it through the bond. Damon’s hurting just as badly as I am. We’re killing each other by being apart.”
She’s quiet for a moment, thinking.
“Give me a few more days,” she finally says. “Let me work on your father. But you need to eat something. Please. If not for yourself, then for your mate. He can feel your weakness through the bond, and it’s probably destroying him.”
She’s right. I can feel Damon’s anguish, and I know some of it is because he can feel how badly I’m suffering.
“Okay,” I whisper. “I’ll eat. But only if you promise to help me.”
“I promise.”
Three days later, I’m lying in bed staring at the ceiling when I feel it.
A shift in the bond. A flare of something that feels like… hope?
I sit up, pressing my hand to my chest where I can feel the connection most strongly.
What’s happening?
Then I hear voices downstairs. Raised voices.
Dad. And…
My heart stops.
Damon.
Damon is here.
I run to my door but it’s locked from the outside. I pound on it.
“Let me out! Let me out right now!”
The guard…Marcus…unlocks it hesitantly.
I don’t wait for permission. Just run past him and down the stairs.
And there he is.
Damon, standing in our living room, facing my father. They’re not fighting, which is a good sign. But they’re not exactly friendly either.
Mom’s there too, standing between them like a referee.
Damon sees me and his whole face changes. Relief. Longing. Love.
I can feel it through the bond, a wave of emotion so strong it nearly brings me to my knees.
“Maya,” he breathes.
I start toward him but Dad holds up a hand.
“Wait.”
I freeze, looking between them.
“We’re talking,” Dad says, his voice tight. “Like adults. So you need to wait upstairs while we…”
“No.” Damon’s voice is firm. “She’s my mate. She deserves to be part of this conversation.”
Dad looks like he wants to argue, but Mom puts her hand on his arm.
“He’s right, Rob. She should be here.”
After a long moment, Dad nods stiffly.
I cross the room slowly, and Damon meets me halfway. The second we touch—his hand wrapping around mine, the pain in my chest eases. The bond sings with joy.
“I missed you,” I whisper.
“I missed you too, little wolf.”
“Okay, enough,” Dad snaps. “Let’s sit down and discuss this rationally.”
We all move to the living room. Damon and I sit on the couch, our hands still clasped. Dad and Mom sit across from us.
Dad’s staring at our joined hands like they personally offend him.
“Your mother,” he starts, his voice carefully controlled, “has convinced me to at least hear you out. Both of you.”
I squeeze Damon’s hand, hope flaring in my chest.
“So talk,” Dad continues. “Convince me why I shouldn’t exile you from my daughter’s life permanently.”
Damon takes a breath. “First, I want to apologize. For the secrecy. For not coming to you sooner. You deserved to know my intentions toward Maya before anything physical happened.”
“Damn right I did.”
“But I’m not going to apologize for loving her. Or for claiming her. Because she’s my mate, Rob. My true mate. And I think on some level, you know that.”
Dad’s jaw clenches but he doesn’t deny it.
“The age difference…” he starts.
“Is significant. I know. But Maya is an adult. A mature, intelligent, capable adult who made her own choice.”
“She’s eighteen…”
“I’m right here,” I interrupt. “And I can speak for myself.”
Dad looks at me, really looks at me, and I see the pain in his eyes.
“Why him, sweetheart?” His voice is almost pleading. “Why not someone your own age? Someone from our pack? Why did it have to be him?”
“Because he’s the only one who’s ever made me feel like this.” I look at Damon, letting all my love show on my face. “From the moment I first shifted, I knew. My wolf knew. He’s it for me, Dad. My one. My only.”
“Your wolf is young. Inexperienced. How can you be sure?..”
“I’m sure.” I turn back to Dad. “And I know it’s hard for you to understand. But think about when you met Mom. How did you know she was your mate?”
Dad’s eyes flick to Mom. “I just… knew. The moment I saw her.”
“Exactly. It’s the same for me with Damon. I just know.”
Silence falls over the room.
Finally, Mom speaks. “Rob. You’ve been keeping them apart for two weeks, and look at her.”
Dad looks at me, really looks, and I see him taking in my hollow cheeks, the dark circles under my eyes, the way I’m clutching Damon’s hand like a lifeline.
“The bond is killing her,” Mom continues softly. “Killing both of them. Is that what you want?”
“Of course not,” Dad mutters.
“Then you have to let them be together. You have to accept this.”
“I don’t have to do anything.”
“Yes, you do. Because the alternative is losing your daughter completely. And I know you don’t want that.”
Dad’s silent for a long time, and I can see the war happening behind his eyes.
“If I allow this,” he finally says, looking at Damon, “there will be conditions.”
“Name them,” Damon says immediately.
“One: you do this right. Proper courtship. Public claiming ceremony. All the traditional protocols.”
“Agreed.”
“Two: Maya finishes her training with our pack. She has responsibilities here that she needs to fulfill.”
“Of course.”
“Three: you treat her with the respect and care she deserves. Always. Or so help me, I will tear you apart with my bare hands.”
Damon nods solemnly. “You have my word. As an Alpha and as her mate.”
Dad turns to me. “And you. You don’t move to Silver Ridge territory until after your twentieth birthday. You stay here, with your pack, until then. Give yourself time to be sure.”
“Dad, I’m already…”
“Please, Maya. For me. Just two more years here. Then if you still want to go, I won’t stop you.”
I can feel Damon’s disappointment through the bond, but also his understanding. This is a compromise. A big one.
“Okay,” I agree. “Two years. But Damon can visit whenever he wants. And I can visit him.”
“Within reason.”
“Define reason.”
A ghost of a smile crosses Dad’s face. “We’ll figure it out.”
He stands, and so does Damon. They face each other.
“I’m trusting you with the most precious thing in my life,” Dad says quietly. “Don’t make me regret it.”
“I won’t. I swear on my pack, on my honor as an Alpha, I will love and protect her until my dying breath.”
They stare at each other for another moment, then Dad extends his hand.
Damon shakes it.
And just like that, I can breathe again.
- Writer
