AGAIN MY HEART: Her Alphas Regret

SMUG-FACE-LOOKING-ALPHA

LEILANI

I should’ve known there was a reason Pa wasn’t forthcoming about the identity of the person who was waiting for me in the central pavilion. Because it made no sense that anyone could waltz into the palace asking to see me, and Pa wouldn’t have verified their identity before letting me know. The fact that he had said he didn’t know who it was, which I now know was an obvious lie.

Because he knows if he told me it was s**t-face Eystein waiting out here to see me, I wouldn’t have cared enough to leave my quarters. “You lied to me,” I grumbled as I turned to face my father, who looked rather sheepish than apologetic for deceiving me.

“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you who it was.” He rebuffed.

“No, you lied by omission. You knew who it was but said you didn’t. That’s a lie,” I countered, rolling my eyes at him.

“Regardless, if I had told you…”

“I wouldn’t have cared to come out. Why is he here?” I questioned as s**t-faced Eystein stood up from his seat and began walking towards us.

“Why are you here?” I asked him before Pa could respond, and before shitface Eystein could utter whatever bullshit he was gearing up to say.

“Well, he found out that you were sick.”

“Pa, let him speak for himself.” My dad made a motion of zipping his mouth shut as he stepped a foot away from me, and I rolled my eyes at his dramatics.

“I heard you were sick,” s**t-face Eystein replied, bringing his hand up behind his head to rub his nape as if he were nervous.

If he weren’t an Alpha, I would’ve bought the idea of him being nervous before me. But we both know that was bullshit because an Alpha like him had no business getting nervous before me.

“And what exactly has that got to do with you?” I asked as I crossed my arms.

“I wanted to check up on you and see how you’re faring and I…”

“We are not close enough for any of that.” I cut him off, irritation creeping into my voice.

“Yes, I am aware, but I wanted to see how you were doing. As someone close to the family, I thought…”

“You thought what?” I cut him off again, unable to actually hide my irritation. I’ve had enough of him trying to use this whole ‘I’m friends with the family’ bullshit card to try and get close to me for the past year and a half.

He’s been so hellbent on this agenda of him and me becoming an item. Ever since Ma and Pa introduced him to me at a company event six months after I became a part of the family, he’s been hell-bent on this notion that I am the one for him. Ignoring all his advances all this time hasn’t done a single thing to change his mind, and I think it’s time I actually started letting him know how little I think of him.

“That I’ll entertain your nonsense simply because you are a friend of the family? What makes you think you have a right to me, my time or my space, simply because you are friends with my parents? I don’t care if you do business with them or how long you’ve known them. You are their friend, not my friend. If my silence wasn’t enough of a big ‘f**k off’ to let you know I wanted no part of whatever nonsense you thought would happen between us, was my obvious irritation every time you showed up here not enough to let you know that I do not like you?” I hissed at him.

I expected anger on his part, perhaps a hint in his face that my words had hurt his pride, but sadly, I got none of that reaction from him. Instead, he smiled wryly at me. The shitface f*****g Alpha dared to smile.

“Yeah, I know what your silence meant, but I figured if you really hated my interest in you, then you’d eventually tell me to my face. Besides, I want to believe the only reason you’re hell-bent on saying ‘f**k off’ is because you haven’t allowed yourself the chance to know me. I guarantee you’ll change your mind if you’re open to the idea of actually getting to me, even if as friends.”

My frown deepened as I glared at him. “I don’t think you heard me well the first time around, Eystein.” It took a lot of willpower on my part not to call him s**t-face to his face. “I do not like you. I, Leilani Valois, do not like you, Eystein, whatever the f**k your last name is. I don’t want to be your friend. I don’t want you approaching me. I don’t want you around my son. What I want is for you to stay the f**k away from me and for you to stop pestering me like a f*****g creepy obsessive psycho. I don’t want to have anything to do with you,” I sneered at him.

He sighed, then nodded. “Valid… I… I’m guessing this supposed disdain you have for me isn’t necessarily because I am ‘me’ but perhaps because I am an Alpha? I have seen how you react to Alphas, the way you talk and respond to them. And it’s obvious to me, at least that you don’t like my kind. I don’t know what might have caused that, but I guess whatever your reasons are, they are valid. Still, I want you to know that not all Alphas are the same. Not all of us are prideful arseholes who go about hurting people, and not all of us look down on omegas. I don’t know what the past Alphas in your life did to hurt you, but I am not like…”

"Leave," I sneered, cutting him off.

“Princess, you…”

“I am not your f*****g princess, and I want you out of this palace RIGHT NOW, EYSTEIN. GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT.” I snarled at him, uncrossing my arms as I bared my fangs at him.

He took a step back, finally, a hint of pain flashing across his face.

“I didn’t mean to offend you… I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know who the f**k you think you are, coming here, standing in front of me and parroting nonsense as if you know anything about me or my past. The audacity you must have. But why should I be surprised? Alphas like you do not know how to take a simple ‘NO’ for an answer, and you don’t care to respect anyone’s boundaries except for your f*****g Alpha egos. That I have to spell it out to you a billion times that I don’t want you anywhere near me, yet you still have the balls to spout nonsense about how special you are.”

“I apologise…" he began, but I cut him off again.

“Get out of my sight and out of my palace, Eystein. The next time you dare show your stupid, smug-looking face in front of me, I am going to show what kind of omega I am.”

He nodded, mumbling another apology, and turned to Pa with a bow before taking his leave.

I was fuming and shaking with anger as I watched his retreating figure. The stupid f*****g fool thinks he knows me.

“Nani,” Pa called behind me.

“Don’t start. This is all your fault.” I turned to him with a glare. “You know what I think of him. You know what I think of Alphas, not just him. You know how I feel about his presence, yet you and Ma still try to push us together.”

“I’m sorry, Nani,” Pa mumbled, sounding quite apologetic.

I was expecting him to tell me I had been too harsh and had taken things too far, the way he and Ma always say every time I treat Eystein like he’s beneath me.

“I should’ve turned him away when he asked about your health. Forgive me, Nani, I know he means well, and I thought… Well, it doesn’t matter what I think because it seems your Ma and I have both been crossing boundaries. We only want what’s best for you, and we thought Eystein wouldn’t be so bad. But I've overstepped, and I see that now, Nani. And I apologise.”

I sighed heavily, my shoulders slumping and anger melting out of me at his words and apology. “I know you both mean well, but can you both consider that I’m happy with where I am right now, and I don’t need a partner? I have my family. I have my son. I have everything I’ve always wanted: a home, a family, and a sense of belonging. I don’t need an Alpha,” I told him.

What would I need an Alpha for? To have my heart and body played with again as if it were strings on a cello? No.

Pa nodded. “It won’t happen again.”

“I would hope so. Where is my son?” I asked, changing the subject because I’ve never liked being upset at him or Ma.

“Ah, with his uncles. They’re probably in the pantry looking for snacks to binge on. They were talking about doing just that before I came to check on you.”

I shook my head because, of course, Avi would be with my brothers, who are convinced he isn’t big enough as a growing Alpha and hell-bent on feeding him every five seconds.

“So, am I forgiven?” Pa asked as I turned to leave the Pavilion.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Pa, you and I both know I could never stay mad at you. Stop being dramatic.”

****

NANI, means flower.