Chapter 16
1593 Words
“Oh, Colt,” she muttered, the kind of tone that said she'd expected this weeks ago. “It’s been what, almost seven months since you two got settled, and she already booted you? That’s gotta be a record.”
I dragged myself fully into the room and slouched against the fridge, arms crossed in defiance of gravity and emotional exhaustion. “Mom, she’s been snapping nonstop, and now she’s so sick she can barely sit up. I asked what was wrong, and she nearly threw a vase at my head.”
“Well,” Mom said, tying her apron tighter like it was battle armor, “Sounds like hormones.”
My soul left my body for a second. “Please don’t start.”
“I’m just saying,” she said innocently, “When was her last cycle?”
I blinked. “Mom!”
“Fine, fine,” she said, raising her hands in surrender. “I’ll check on her.”
I exhaled, relieved. If anyone could get through to Daisy when she was about to spontaneously combust, it was my mother. She had the empathy of a saint and the stubbornness of a territorial bear.
“I just don’t wanna make it worse,” I admitted, voice lower now. “She matters, Mom. More than I know how to say.”
She walked past me and tapped my cheek with soapy fingers. “I know, baby. That’s why she’ll forgive you — because she knows you mean it.”
One of the she-wolves of the packhouse – the Alpha’s daughter – actually purred as she strutted up to me, her posture dripping with fake confidence and unwanted flirtation. Her voice rolled out like syrup, too sweet to be sincere.
Disgusted, I turned my head away, refusing to meet her eyes.
“Well, hello, Beta Colton,” she said, drawing out my name like she thought it could charm me.
“Happily mated,” I replied flatly, letting the words land like cold steel.
She pouted, lips slicked with gloss and entitlement. “That dumb human? Please — I’m Alpha blood.”
I snapped, the irritation crawling up my spine. “Then act like it instead of the pack’s designated w***e,” I said, my voice sharp. “Maybe then your parents might actually take you seriously.”
Just as I finished speaking, her father stepped into the kitchen, timing impeccable.
“Daddy, he call—” she began, voice rising in a whine.
But he cut her off with a glare that froze her mid-sentence. “I’m aware you went to his house while he was training,” he said coldly. “I also know you threatened his Mate if she didn’t relinquish the bond. Thomasina, you’re return to your quarters, and you are not move until I say otherwise.”
“Uh, excuse me?
He turned his gaze to me, his expression serious. “I sincerely apologize, Royal Beta Colton. However, I’m obligated to inform you that your Mate filed a formal complaint about the incident.”
“I didn’t know,” I said, surprised. “Actually, I came here to ask if my mom can be relieved from duties for a little while. I need her to check on Daisy — she’s in a mood, and I’d rather not drag my dad into this. He’d never let me live it down.”
The Alpha nodded without argument. “Of course.”
Mom peeled off her apron with a quiet sigh. Her fingers moved slowly, worn and aching. They were raw and red, the skin wrinkled and chapped from endless dish duty — scrubbing until her knuckles burned.
“Ma,” I said gently, eyes narrowing. “Why are you stuck on dish duty? You’re supposed to be doing light cleaning and prep.”
The head cook didn’t even glance up as he scoffed. “She’s an Omega. She does what she’s told.”
I clenched my jaw, biting back the urge to snarl. I was so fed up with how this pack operated — how rank dictated worth instead of character. Somewhere deep down, I found myself silently praying Neil had found his Mate already, just so we could pack up and go home.
I snapped.
In one motion, I grabbed the cook by the collar of his shirt and slammed him to his knees in front of my mother.
“She may be an Omega,” I said, voice low and dangerous, “But she’s also the mother of a Beta. So you’re going to apologize.”
“The Alpha’s son said otherwise,” he spat, trying to hold on to his pride.
So argumentative. So stubborn.
“Sandra,” Alpha Jack said calmly, stepping forward. “Please let me see your hands.”
She hesitated, then slowly held them out.
Jack turned them over with gentle precision, his frown deepening as he examined the damage. Deep cracks split the skin across her palms and fingers, some already bleeding from repeated exposure to dirty water and harsh cleaning agents. His thumb brushed a raw patch near the base of her hand, and she flinched.
Blood welled instantly, slow and crimson.
“Sandra,” he said softly, his voice slipping into something more delicate than command, “you’re taking a full week off. Your hands need proper treatment, and I insist you head to the infirmary before going home.”
Then he turned toward me again, eyes steady, his tone shifting into the formal weight of leadership. “As for my son, I’ll be having a talk with him about how he handles pack matters. Please don’t take offense.”
I didn’t respond with words. I just gave a single nod, sharp and silent, letting the message land without emotion.
Harold went pale. He stiffened in place as Alpha Jack’s words sank in, his voice hitching with disbelief. “Wait… R-Royal Beta?!”
Jack didn’t waver. “No one stuttered, Harry. Now do as he said.”
The wolf I had slammed to the ground didn’t move at first. But then his head dipped low in submission. “Forgive me, Miss Sandra.”
“I don’t have time to deal with idiocrasy,” Mom snapped, her voice laced with anger. “My daughter needs me.”
And then came the voice I hated the most — the one that made my skin crawl.
The Luna strode into the kitchen like she owned the floor, her daughter trailing behind with an air of practiced arrogance. Her heels clicked obnoxiously loud against the tile, every step announcing entitlement.
“As a high-rank,” she began, her voice dripping with self-importance, “you’re expected to pair with a high-rank female. My daughter is—”
I snorted loud enough to stop the room.
“Nope,” I cut in, tone sharp and unforgiving. “Not happening. I don’t belong to you. I don’t have a ‘Pile Bullshit Here’ sign taped to my back, and I’m never going to be with your daughter. I already have a Mate — and it’s not her. If she’s got a problem, boo-hoo to you. She can take her snowflake feelings, crocodile tears, and fake body elsewhere. I like real women. Not drama queens fishing for a quick hookup in the back seat.”
The kitchen rippled with muffled laughter. A few of the pack cooks had to turn away, shoulders shaking as they tried to hide their full-blown snorts.
The Luna’s face went from flushed red to ghostly pale in seconds.
“Y-you have a Mate?” she stammered, stunned.
“Yes,” I said. My voice was cold. Final. “And if one more person messes with the agreement we signed about my parents, I’m going straight to the Grand Alpha.”
Her daughter rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath like a child denied dessert. “Whatever,” she scoffed. “You don’t have that kind of power.”
I didn’t even flinch.
I watched Jack’s expression darken.
I didn’t wait.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I unlocked it quickly and dialed Henry’s direct line. Without hesitation, I hit speaker.
The room fell silent. Still.
“It must be important if you’re calling me directly, Colton,” Henry said as he picked up.
“Yes, Sir,” I answered, standing tall. “My family’s been here for months. The Alpha’s son assigned my mother to harsh dish duty, even though it’s damaging her hands. His daughter keeps harassing my Mate. The Luna’s a nightmare — she coddles her brats and throws around demands like we owe her our lives. The only one keeping the agreement is Alpha Jack.”
Henry didn’t raise his voice, but I knew his tone. Calm, quiet, cutting. “Are they nearby?”
“You’re on speaker, Sir.”
A pause. Then his verdict.
“As Grand Alpha, I hereby declare that if my Omegas or my son’s Royal Beta are harmed in any way again, I’ll personally strip both the Alpha and Luna of their titles and hand them to someone who actually deserves the role. Is that clear?”
After that?
Nobody touched me. Nobody touched my family. Not one person stepped out of line.
They’d been warned. And the warning stuck.
You want justice delivered with grit and grace? You nailed it. Let me know if you’d like help adjusting the next scene — maybe Daisy’s reaction, Jack’s private talk with Colton, or the aftermath among the pack cooks. Whatever direction you choose, I’m all in.
- Writer
