A Matter of Convenience

Nineteen

~Ericson~

I reach up and touch the base of my neck. The skin feels sensitive, but it doesn’t hurt. I stand and walk to a mirror on the wall. The mark is visible and looks as real as anyone else's. I guess I don’t have to worry about anyone questioning that aspect of this situation.

I turn to Isis and see her touching her neck. I walk over and look at her mark. “It looks good on you," I say. Isis rolls her eyes and stands up. “We have to go.” Isis looks at me with wonder. I pretend not to notice her questioning gaze and grab her hand to lead her out of the room.

I wait impatiently as she closes the doors and hides the opening again. When Isis turns to me, I motion to her to follow me. We walk toward my pack without speaking. Isis is quick to break the silence. “Where are we going?” We cross the borders onto my packlands. I lead her forward with one destination in mind. “Uh, hello?” I don’t answer because I don’t want to freak her out.

The truth is that my father mind linked me a while ago, demanding that I meet him in the office. He must have found out that I was released. I needed to get everything settled with Isis before meeting with him. I’m pretty sure that he’s going to try to bring Kira around again, and I have no desire to deal with that.

We walk through the woods, bursting past the treeline. The packhouse is in sight when my arm is pulled. I stop in my tracks and turn to face Isis. “What the f***k is going on, Ericson?”

“My father is waiting for me.”

“So why am I here?” I shrug my shoulders and look past her.

“I figured we could rip the bandaid off and tell my parents about us.”

“HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FU.CKING MIND?!” I look around us and see a pack member or two looking in our direction. I pull Isis's arm and drag her to a nearby shed. I pull her behind the shed and cage her between my arms.

“Shut the f***k up, Isis! Now isn’t the time to blow our cover.” Isis’s face is scrunched up, anger written all over. I step back and cross my arms over my chest. “My father knows I’m out of the hospital and wants to see me. He’s trying to match me with women I’m not interested in. All you need to do is come with me so that I can introduce you as my mate. This will get my father off my back.” Isis clenches her fists at her side and steps forward.

“Next time,” Isis pokes me in the chest. “Next time, talk to me first. Don’t just spring sh.it on me. Let’s go!”

I lead her to the packhouse and open the door to let her in. We go in through a side door, so we don’t have to walk through the dining room. I then lead her up the stairs to the second floor, where we have the offices of the ranked members. I walk us to the door of the Alpha office and stop. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I open the door and step aside to allow Isis to enter.

I walk into the office behind Isis and see my father sitting at his desk. Unfortunately, he has Kira sitting in front of him. They both turn to us as we walk in, Kira’s face lighting up. “Ericson, baby, you’re here.”

~Isis~

I’ve never dealt with Alpha Trevor, opting to allow my dad to handle him instead. He’s always rubbed me the wrong way, and today is no different. I can handle him, but what’s getting me is this bi.tch sitting across from him. I don’t know who she is, but I don’t like how she’s looking at Ericson. I have a feeling that she’s going to be trouble for us. “Uh, Ms. Isis, it’s nice to see you. What do I owe the pleasure of your presence?” I move closer to Ericson and look up at him. His eyes are on his dad, and he ignores the girl.

“What’s Kira doing here?”

“She came to see her Alpha and make sure he’s recovering well. I’m still interested in the presence of Ms. Isis here.” I don’t like how Kira’s looking at me. It’s as if she would crush me if she was given the chance.

“She’s here because I asked her to be. Isis is my mate.” All eyes land on me, and my stomach churns. This isn’t how I expected this to go, but we’re here now.

“Excuse me?! Did you say she’s your mate?” Ericson puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his body. He kisses me on the top of my head, and I fight everything to swallow my discomfort.

“That’s exactly what I said. She’s my mate, we’ve made it official.”

“Official? What does that mean?” I let my arm fall on his lower back, feeling like I’m under the strictest scrutiny. I clear my throat, not wanting Ericson to have to handle this on his own.

“We’ve mated and marked each other.”

“Is that right?” I swallow the lump growing in my throat and stand a little straighter.

“Yes, sir.” Alpha Trevor stands and leans against his desk.

“Ms. Isis, if you wouldn’t mind giving us a few minutes alone. My son and I need to talk.” I let my arm drop and take a step away from Ericson. That was the wrong move because he quickly pulls me back to him, causing me to lose my balance a bit and stumble against him. I look up at him, but his eyes are glued to his dad.

“She doesn’t need to go anywhere. Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of my mate.” I swear, if this were a cartoon, the steam would be flowing out of his ears right now.

“Ericson!” Alpha Trevor’s voice is low, but its anger is hard to miss. This is one of those times when I wish I could mind link Ericson. I’d be able to get out of here discretely. And that brings up an issue I didn’t really think about. We should be able to mind link since we are supposed to be mated, but that isn’t the case.

“I’ll just go babe. I’ll stay outside the office and wait for you to talk with you dad. It’s okay.” I reach up and kiss his cheek before turning around and walking to the door.

“If my mate is leaving, Kira is too.” I step outside the door and get comfy against the wall nearby.