Bound By My Ex’s Alpha Father

Chapter 3

Alpha Thorne’s POV

The weather was bitter cold as we stood around the open grave watching them lower Ruth’s casket into the frozen ground of Gravefang Cemetery. The entire pack had turned out all dressed in black like some morbid shadow against the grey winter sky of Grave City.

Theo and Liora clung to each other near the graveside, both of them sobbing. My son’s face was blotchy and red his usual arrogance stripped away by grief. Liora’s makeup ran in dark streaks down her cheeks, her perfect composure shattered.

Ruth had been sick for months but watching her body disappear into the earth still felt surreal. Twenty-four years of marriage, gone in a handful of dirt. I should be crying. Any proper mate would be crying.

But I just stood there, dry-eyed feeling nothing but a hollow guilt that I couldn’t mourn her the way she deserved. Ruth had been a good woman kind, patient and understanding. She’d chosen me when I was nothing, a sixteen-year-old rogue with no pack and no future and made me an Alpha.

She deserved better than a husband who never truly loved her. Pack members shuffled past offering condolences in hushed voices.

“She was such a great woman, Alpha.”

“The pack will miss her terribly.”

“She’s in a better place now.”

I nodded mechanically accepting their sympathy without really hearing it. All I wanted was to be alone with a bottle of whiskey and silence.

After what felt like hours, I turned and left the cemetery without a word to anyone. Let them gather at the packhouse to mourn together. I needed solitude for a few hours.

I drove straight to Gravefang Memorial Hospital instead of the mansion. As the pack’s lead physician and Alpha, I had an office there which was a place where people rarely disturbed me unless it was an emergency. The staff would be at the funeral or the packhouse. It would be empty and perfect for me.

Inside the hospital, I headed straight for my private office on the third floor stopping only to grab two bottles of whiskey from the medical supply closet where I kept them hidden.

Once inside my office, I stripped off the suffocating black suit jacket and tie tossing them over a chair. I didn’t bother finding a shirt to replace the dress shirt I’d also discarded. Just stood under the small shower in my attached bathroom until my skin turned red then pulled on the sweatpants I kept in my locker.

I settled heavily into the leather chair behind my desk and started drinking straight from the bottle.

The alcohol burned going down but it didn’t touch the emptiness inside me. Ruth was dead. My children were devastated. And all I could think about was the last conversation I’d had with my wife before she slipped into unconsciousness.

“Find her, Thorne” she’d whispered her voice barely audible. “Find your mate. You’ve waited long enough for me. Don’t wait anymore.”

I’d told her to save her strength, not to talk nonsense. But she’d grabbed my hand with what little strength she had left.

“Promise me. Promise you’ll look for her. You deserve to be happy.”

I’d promised even though I knew it was pointless. If I had a mate out there, she’d given up on me decades ago. Probably chosen someone else, started a family and moved on with her life. I was forty years old. Too old to be chasing fairy tales.

I took another long pull from the bottle, welcoming the burn when a knock sounded at the door. Irritation flared hot in my chest. So much for being left alone. But something made me pause.

“Come in,” I called out my voice rougher than I intended.

The door opened and a scent hit me like a physical blow. It was wildflowers and motor oil, sweet and sharp and completely intoxicating. My wolf that has been silent for since the death suddenly stirred with interest.

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the alcohol from my vision and when I saw who stood in the doorway, everything became sharper. More focused. It was Iris Magnus. But not the Iris I remembered.

“Alpha Thorne?” Her voice was tentative uncertain. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be here. I was just -I came to the hospital for a check-up.”

A check-up? My doctor’s instincts immediately kicked in, concern cutting through the alcohol haze.

“Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

She shifted uncomfortably in the doorway and that’s when I really looked at her. Four years had transformed her completely.

Gone was the shy awkward teenager who used to trail after my children like a lost puppy. In her place stood a woman who looked like she’d walked straight out of some underground club in the city.

Her natural black hair had been dyed a rich auburn that caught the lighting falling in waves past her shoulders. A septum ring glinted in her nose and I counted at least six piercings running up each ear. But it was her outfit that made my breath catch.

She wore ripped black jeans that sat low on her hips and a cropped black tank top that revealed a strip of toned stomach and a glinting belly button piercing I had no business noticing. A leather jacket hung off one shoulder and I could see the edges of tattoos peeking out from under her sleeves and along her collarbone.

She looked dangerous and rebellious. Nothing like the Gravefang Pack’s idea of a proper she-wolf. But she looked incredible.

“I -” She hesitated her cheeks flushing. “I felt a lump in my breast. I was going to find a doctor but then I saw your car in the parking lot and thought…” She trailed off looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry. This is inappropriate. Today of all days, I shouldn’t be bothering you with this. I was planning to go to the packhouse afterward to pay my respects properly but I wanted to get this checked first and-”

“Come here,” I interrupted standing up abruptly. The doctor in me immediately overrode everything else. “Sit down. Let me examine you.”

Her eyes widened slightly as she took in my bare chest and I saw her swallow hard before looking away quickly. Damn. I’d completely forgotten I wasn’t wearing a shirt. I should go put one on to maintain some professionalism but I didn’t.

“I can come back another time,” she said quickly backing toward the door. “Really, I didn’t mean to intrude on -”

“Iris.” My voice came out firmer than I intended. “If you found a lump, we need to check it now. Don’t leave.”

She hesitated, her green eyes meeting mine and I saw the moment she made her decision. She stepped fully into the office and closed the door behind her.

I also noticed that her eyes were red rimmed and puffy. She’d been crying for Ruth, I realized. She’d heard about the death and come back to pay her respects. Before I could think better of it, I crossed the room and pulled her into a hug.

She stiffened in surprise but then her arms came around me and I inhaled deeply. That scent? God that scent was driving my wolf crazy. He was practically clawing at my chest demanding I pay attention to something I was too drunk to understand.

I held her longer than appropriate. When I finally pulled back, I kept my hands on her shoulders taking her in properly.

Four years had done more than change her style. Her face had lost its teenage softness, her features now sharp and striking. But it was her body that my eyes kept drifting to even though I knew I shouldn’t look.

She’d filled out in all the right places witj curves that her outfit did nothing to hide. The crop top revealed not just her pierced navel but the toned muscles of her stomach and I could see more tattoos wrapping around her ribs, disappearing under the fabric. What happened to sweet, shy Iris?

“What happened to you?” The words came out before I could stop them my voice barely recognizable even to myself.

She gave me a sheepish smile and I noticed a small scar through her eyebrow that hadn’t been there before. “Just a little change, Alpha.”

I returned to my desk sinking back into my chair and watching as she looked around the study. Nothing had changed since she’d left four years ago. Same books, same furniture and same photographs on the walls.

She followed me and sat in one of the chairs facing my desk and I couldn’t help but notice the way she crossed her legs, the way the movement made her shirt ride up slightly revealing more tattooed skin.

Stop it! She’s only twenty-two. She’s Liora’s best friend. She’s your Beta’s daughter!

But my eyes kept drifting back to her anyway cataloging every change and every new detail. The way her jeans hugged her hips. The silver rings on her fingers. The chain around her neck that disappeared into her cleavage.

I watched her try not to stare at my chest and the way her breathing quickened slightly when our eyes met. Something in me preened at her reaction, satisfied in a way I had no right to be. I am not a creep.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Alpha,” she finally said breaking the charged silence.

“Thank you.” I grabbed the whiskey and took another long drink needing something to do with my hands besides reach for her.

“She was a really fantastic woman,” Iris added fidgeting with her rings in that nervous way I remembered from when she was younger.

“I know.”

I took another swig of whiskey and my gaze drifted back to Iris. She was staring at me with an intensity that made my skin prickle like she was trying to figure something out. That’s when it just happened.

The bond snapped into place with the force of a lightning strike. One second, I was looking at my daughter’s best friend. The next every cell in my body was screaming MATE with an intensity that stole the breath from my lungs.

Iris’s head snapped up so fast I heard her neck c***k, her green eyes wide with shock and recognition.

No. No, this can’t be happening.

But my wolf was howling in triumph, finally, finally, FINALLY and the scent of wildflowers and motor oil wrapped around me like a drug.

“Mate!” I heard myself growl, the word ripping from my throat without permission.

Iris stood abruptly her chair scraping back. “I -I should go. I wasn’t supposed to - I was just going to the packhouse to pay my respects, I didn’t mean to -”

She was babbling and backing toward the door and I could see panic and confusion warring in her expression. I should let her go. She’s too young and way too close to my family.

But Ruth’s voice echoed in my head: Promise me you’ll find her.

And here she was after forty years of waiting. Standing in my office in a crop top and ripped jeans with a belly button piercing I couldn’t stop staring at and tattoos I wanted to trace with my fingers and tongue.

My daughter’s best friend. My Beta’s daughter. Two decades younger than me. My mate.

“Don’t go,” I heard myself say standing on unsteady legs. The alcohol made the room tilt slightly but my focus on her was sharp. “Iris, please. We need to talk about this.”

Her hand was on the doorknob, her whole body trembling. I could smell her fear and confusion and underneath it all there was arousal. She felt it too.

“I can’t,” she whispered. “This is wrong. Today of all days, I cant”

She was right. My wife had just been buried and I was drunk. This was completely inappropriate. But when had the mating bond ever cared about appropriate?

“Just stay,” I said softer this time. “Please. I know the timing is terrible. I know this is complicated but don’t run.”

She hesitated her green eyes meeting mine and I saw the moment she made her decision. Her hand fell from the doorknob.