I was never human

Talk to them

I couldn't sleep. Every time I would close my eyes, the look of uncertainty and hurt would flash through my mind. My daughter didn't trust me. She didn't trust me to protect her, and it was my own fault. I simply wanted Lisa and Kwen to get along, but I never really considered how Lisa may feel about another woman's child coming to stay with us all of a sudden and I never once stopped to think Kwen needed time to process the lost of her only parent, or at least the only one she knew she had for 12 years. I just wanted my daughter, and I wanted her here with me. I sat up from the couch in my office that I was lying on. I couldn't turn my brain off. How things were at the time. It was digging up past emotions when I left Minnie. My lack of deciviness put her in a position to choose for me. In that, I never thought of how that would affect her or how she felt... and here I am doing it again.

I groaned out as a sharp pain shot through my head, remembering her face. That face I swore to love and cherish forever. That same face crumbled in sadness. Another sharp pain shot through my head again, causing me to hold my head in both hands. I had to calm my breathing and stop thinking about her.

"Why does that happen whenever you think of her?"

"I don't know, Axel. Maybe it's my body's way of protecting itself?"

"But why does it need to protect itself from thinking of Minnie?"

I paused at the thought. I always experienced pain whenever I thought of Minnie, so I intentionally never thought of her.

Why was that?

I heard a knock come from my door.

"Come in."

In walks Logan. I figured he'd come. I snorted.

"What?"

He asked.

"I knew you'd come."

"What gave it away? Was it the years of being your best friend or knowing that being your beta means I'm connected to your big ass and can feel your emotions. Which by the way is on some bullshit in the middle of the night when a motherfucker is tryna sleep."

I laughed for the first time in forever it felt.

"My bad, man. It's just been a lot of things going on as of recent."

"Oh. You mean how your mate makes it clear she hates your daughter or how said daughter, apparently, broke said mate's nose?"

I looked at Logan with a bored look and he shrugged, taking a seat next to me.

"Aye, don't blame me. It's a real s**t show and I'm soooo glad I'm not the one dealing with it. If YOU can't handle it, I know I'd be up s**t's creek. By the way, your daughter is bad ass for real. We all was shocked to learn that she put the Luna out of commission. Who the hell trained her? We might need to hire em."

I slapped him upside his head. He rubbed the back of his head and looked at me, indignantly.

"What was that for?"

He yelled.

"For opening your mouth and letting s**t fall out, like Jake would say."

He sucked his teeth, pouting. I shook my head at him.

"Everyone's mad at me. My mate. My daughter. My son. My parents. I'm f*****g everything up. And the more I try to fix, the worst it becomes."

"Here's an idea... have you tried talking to them?"

I gave him a look and he gave one back.

"Look. I get it. You're the Alpha but sometimes in situations like this, you have to listen to others. Maybe there's a way to make everyone in this situation happy. I dont know what it is, but you gonna have to figure it out. You can't ignore your mate, but you can't ignore your daughter either. She's been here a week and she's already ready to go. I know you love the Luna, but are you willing to lose Kwen when you just got her?"

I sat with his words for awhile. He left not too long after showing up. I can't lose my daughter. I promised her I'd be there for her forever. I can't break my promise again. I did once with Minnie. I refuse to do that to our daughter. I know if I did, she'd never forgive me and I would really lose her forever. My body fought off sleep until it couldn't and I finally doze off to sleep.

The next day was the day of the ball and the packhouse was a madhouse. Pack members were running in and out, rushing to do last minute touches to the decor and making sure everything was had for the ball. I decided to have breakfast in the dining room. My beta, gamma and commander all sat with me. We chatted for a bit, when I was tapped on the shoulder. I turned and saw my parents. My mother wore a regretful look. I gave her a small smile, stood and embraced her. She reached her arms up around my neck and hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry, baby boy."

"It's already forgotten, ma."

'Love you.'

'Love you too ma.'

We minlinked each other the last part. She patted my cheek and sat down next to Bruce who sat to my left. My father nodded at me and I returned it. We all sat down and continued on eating and conversing. I felt arms wrap around my neck. Axel and I immediately knew who it was and their scent of lavender soothe us. She leaned down and kissed my cheek, looking me in the eye, mindlinking me.

'I'm sorry, my love. I was way outta line yesterday. Please forgive me.'

'It's alright. Forgive me, as well.'

'Of course, Brandon. Can we talk about it?'

'Let's do that later. Ok?'

She nodded her head. I stood as I helped her into her seat. The tension was pliable at the table but no one said anything. We slowly regained the pacing of conversation and it was going smoothly. During that time, Sierra came out, ran to me saying how sorry she was and that she'll never say anything like that again. I grabbed her into a big hug, kissing her cheeks and told her I loved her too. She sat next to her momma. As we were eating, Danny came down.

"Good morning, Daniel. Where were you last night and how come you're just getting here?"

Danny looked at his mother. The look in his eyes were more defiant than usual and I could only suspect it had everything to do with Kwen. He really loved his older sister and was extremely protective of her. I think the idea of him almost losing her last night really got to him.

"I stayed with Kwen. She didn't want to be alone. She's staying in her room till the ball. I'm gonna bring up some food to her and I'll eat up there."

Danny said in a matter of fact way. He wasn't asking permission. I felt Lisa shift next to me and the tension rise around the table.

"If she wants to eat, she can come down like everyone else. Besides, it's not right for her to send you on errands like you aren't the next alpha in line. Please go tell her to come down."

Lisa spoke calmly, never raising her voice. I felt my jaw tighten. She still wasn't using her name. I looked up and could see my mother fighting for her life to stay quiet and keep the peace. My son on the other hand has taken his que from his sister.

"Her name is Kwen and she'll be eating in her room. She's still not doing the best after last night. Besides, I offered to bring her breakfast, she didn't ask me to do it."

That was all he said before grabbing a tray and pilling food on top of it. Lisa was about to say something else, when I held her fist that was on the table. She looked at me.

"Just let it go. Let them spend some time together."

She looked as if she wanted to argue but let it go. Danny left after getting enough food. We all got through breakfast without a huge fight breaking out.

It was later in the day, around 7 p.m., and I started getting ready for the ball that started at 8. I wore a black dress shirt, dress pants, and black dress shoes. I had on a gold and black vest, and my shirt was buttoned down to the first button of the vest, exposing my chest and marking. My black hair was slicked back out of my face, and my beard trimmed. I put on a silver watch and made my way down to the banquet hall. My son was waiting downstairs. We all always make a grand entrance together, which he hated. He doesn't care for the grand gestures his mother likes for us to make. I wasn't too fond of it either, but anything to make my mate happy. Looking at my son, he looked like a miniature version of me, except his eyes matched his grandmother's. He looked up and saw me and looked away. I smiled, going over to sit next to him. He wore a similar outfit to me, but he wore a silver vest, and his black shoes had had a silver strip down the middle of them. Our hair was both slicked back, but he had a straggle piece that lay across his forehead.

"What's going on, son? You haven't said two words to me since yesterday."

He looked up at me.

"I just don't understand how you can be ok with the things mom said about Kwen. She almost left, and it's like you don't even care that she did."

I frowned.

"I do care. More than you'll ever know. But it's not as simple as you're making it out to be. That's your sister. That's the only thing you have to contend with. Your mother is my mate, and Kwen is my daughter. I have to consider both of them in this situation. I can't choose sides."

Danny frowned back at me.

"Your mate is my mother, but I know what's right and what's wrong. Being mated to someone shouldn't keep them from being corrected. You've never even asked her to apologize to Kwen, yet you're always quick to ask Kwen to do that. Kwen's not wrong for defending herself, but it's wrong to make her feel like she is. You didn't even try to come talk to her last night."

My eyes shot opened.

"She doesn't want to see me right now, Daniel."

"Yes, she does. She thought everyone was angry with her and she was embarrassed. Grandma and Grandpa went to go see her earlier. The only one who hasn't is you."

I was shocked. Did she want to see me? I thought she couldn't stand me now. Before I could say anything else, Lisa and Sierra walked out. Lisa has blue eyes and smooth pale skin. She's tall and has large breasts and a good size ass. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a braided crown with curly strands framing her face. She had a golden tiara on top of her head. The gold of the crown matched the golden dress she wore that showed off her curves. My daughter had her blonde hair pulled up into a curly high ponytail with a smaller tiara in her hair. She wore a silver dress that puffed out at the bottom. All the silver complimented her gray eyes. I looked down at my son, smoothing his hair back. He looked up at me.

"Thanks. I'll speak with her later."

He smiled and nodded.

"Well, you two look dashing."

Lisa came over, smiling ear to ear. I smiled back at her.

"You two are absolutely stunning, my love."

Lisa smiled, and Sierra giggled

"Thanks, Daddy!"

I smiled, bending down to pick her up in my arms. She laughed louder.

"You ready, my love?"

Lisa asked. I shook my head, no.

"We have to wait for Kwen. She's not here yet."

Her smile never left her face, but the joy in her eyes did.

"See, this is what I was saying. We can't wait. Everyone is outside waiting to be let in. She can join us when she comes down."

She grabbed my hand, leading me to the door that led to the backyard patio and large dance floor. I stopped her in her tracks. She looked back at me.

"Her name is Kwen, Lisa."

Her smile fell.

"Yes... right. K- Kw- Kwen."

She put on a force smile, turned and continued to walk to the doors where guards opened them for us. We stepped out, and our entire pack was standing waiting for us. The moment they saw us, cheers of applause rang out from every direction. We all smiled and waved. I sat Sierra down and addressed the crowd.

"Good evening, everyone. Thank you all for coming to our annual Spring Ball. I hope you all enjoy yourselves and are able to build stronger bonds with one another. There's also another reason for this ball. I want to introduce you all to my new daughter. Some have already met her, but I know most of you haven't."

Murmurs were heard. All eyes that were on me, no longer was. Everyone was looking behind me. I looked down at my son, who was also looking back with a huge smile on his face. I followed his gaze, and my eyes landed on her. Kwen had made it down, and she was stunning. I could do nothing but stare at the being who my daughter