Her secret mate

Changes are so hard sometimes

From the comfort of Darcy's arms, I could look at my father for the first time without the effects of an alpha-pack bond. As much as I would like to deny it, the bond still had an effect on me and only now did I understand how deep it affected how I viewed him.

No longer did I feel respect or even the slightest need to please him. All my life I was sure that those feelings were mine... that the connection I felt with him was not family ties, but a pack bond.

From the doorway he was glaring at me and, for the first time, I did not feel the need to hide away from him. Sure, part of it was the strength I lent from Darcy, but a lot of it was me. Even in my weak state, I was ready to face him.

"Do not forget your place, pup."

My father growled while staring down at Darcy. It was one of his coldest and most threatening stares he used to intimidate everyone. I used to feel the intensity of his gaze without even being the one that got looked down at, but right now I felt nothing.

"You are the one that is forgetting your place. The only reason why you are still standing here after disrespecting me like that is because, at the end of the day, you are still Val's father. If the circumstances were any different, you would not be breathing at all. So, shut the f**k up and leave, before I forget the reasons why I should not bash your head into the nearest wall, for trespassing and forcing your way into the most private part of my home."

I had never heard this tone or words like that coming from Darcy, but at the same time, I don't think that anyone has ever pushed Darcy this far. I felt something else in his voice... something a lot more feral than the man I was sure that I knew, but I did not have it in me to try to figure this out. So I just leaned into him, leeting his scent soothe me and the comfort of his body to give me strength.

Darcy's words must have worked, because my father stopped talking and froze. His body language changed, and he froze in place like a scared animal. It was something that I didn't expect to ever see, but it was oddly satisfying. My father was always one to use and abuse the power his alpha nature and position gave him, so it was quite refreshing to see him get a taste of his own medicine.

He stood there for a moment and just stared at us. A few seconds later, without saying another word, he left the room. His rapid steps echoed into the halls and both me and Darcy sat there not moving, waiting for my father to leave and the moment we heard the front door close did we release the breath we were holding.

As the tension and adrenaline from the moment, I felt my body shake.

"Shh... it's okay, you are safe."

Darcy whispered as he stroked my hair and rocked me lightly back and forward. I was not sure why I was reacting like this... this is so not normal for me.

I guess I voiced this question out loud, because a few seconds later Darcy said.

"It's the after effects of bond breaking. He was your alpha and seeing him this angry probably did not have as strong of an effect as it used to have, but the emotional response still lingered."

He said as he softly stroked my hair.

"Your over all emotions and hormones are a mess right now. They lack the usual ways it used to self-control and soothe emotional distress, so right now you are more or less just a live wire of emotions, bad and good."

I gave a small nod, while being pressed into his neck. Bit by bit, my body stopped shaking, and I felt myself relax into him.

"Here you go... It's going to be alright. Now you just need to let yourself heal and before you know it, you will be part of my pack."

The way he said it, did not really make me feel better, but I pushed the feeling of uneasiness down.

"Okay, so we can either stay in bed or have breakfast?"

"Bed."

I whispered, still with my face buried in his chest. My shy response made him chuckle as he pulled me in closer.

"Okay, we can stay in bed for a little while more."

My little nod was the only answer he got from me as he just pulled me down to bed alongside him. At first, I felt a bit skeptical if he would really spend time with me, because the last couple of months, he was too busy to give me any attention... but now he looked even happy to just hold me. I did not let myself concentrate on those thoughts and emotions, so I took a deep breath in just relax.

What was probably twenty minutes later, he received a message and reluctantly dragged himself out of bed.

"Sorry, Val... I know that this is a hard time for you, but I need to go..."

"It's okay, I know."

This was not new to me, him working, but I never let myself feel anger towards him for that, and this was no different to my reaction before, but it felt a bit different. The moment he got out of the bed, and we lost skin on skin contact, I started to feel lonely. Never had I ever felt like this... this sadness was filling my chest to the point I was sure it would explode from those emotions... I was not dealing with them. They just filled me up, and I was ready and waiting for the explosion that never happened and he emotions were left to brew in my chest.