The Alpha's Heart

Pride

I watched as Alpha Harrison's jaw twitched, his eyes flicking to mine, I was supposed to look away at eye contact from an Alpha, but I didn't. I saw his jaw twitch again and his eyes darkened a little; he didn't like defiance, but I didn't like to be treated like trash. Admittedly, this wasn't the first time I had been defiant, I pushed quite a few people's buttons, but pushing an Alpha's button wasn't smart. I had never felt the pull to look away, like others did; it was yet another weird thing that my pack didn't like about me.

"Then it is settled." Harrison gruffly replied, not taking his eyes from mine, he wasn't going to let me win. He gave a clap of his hands, the sudden act of it made me blink, which was enough for him to grin wide and look back to the crowd. "It's time to wrap up this little... Show." With a wave of his hand, he was done with me, with everything that had happened. My wolf paced, which in turn caused me to pace, gently breaking from my father's grip.

"That bastard," My wolf hissed, her words falling from my lips as Harrison and most of the crowd exited the room. I heard my mom gasp, but Aurora and my father chuckled, which caused me to flush bright red. "s**t. Sorry mom." I muttered, not meaning my apologies, I stopped my pacing and gave her an appologetic smile, but she wasn't looking at me. She hadn't since she had realized that Aurora was my mate.

"Heh. Don't be, dear pup," Aurora laughed, stepping up to me. I looked up at her and saw her eyes alight with amusement and intrigue. "He is definitely a bastard, or, more an asshole." I felt her fingers lightly graze my lower back, she knew what it would do to me, she had to. I bit my lower-lip, just barely holding back a moan at the sensation that spread through me.

"I assume you're the father then," Aurora offered her free hand to my father, though startled, he took her hand and gave it a shake. "I am truly sorry for not coming to her aide sooner, Delta.."

"Ah, the name's Quint." My father replied, giving his name as he smiled even wider; he seemed so very proud, which made me tear up a little. "This is my wife, Sadie. Belle is actually our adopted daughter, but we love her so much." His words pierced through my chest painfully; I wasn't sure how long I could hold my tears back. He'd never actually said such a thing out loud, not even when I was younger.

My mother smiled, though it was small and fake looking, giving Aurora a nod and nothing more. I noticed Aurora didn't even offer her hand, had Aurora noticed what I had? My mother wasn't happy with the situation. I shuffled my feet, suddenly uncomfortable and tired. Without thinking, I leaned back against Aurora. I caught my mother giving us a look, but she glanced away again before I could lock eyes with her. 'Just this morning she was urging you to find your mate!' My wolf snarled, but I simply shook my head instead, I was so exhausted from earlier that her snarl only rang through my head.

"I'm going to take Belle back to my hotel room," Aurora stated, only looking at my father, who looked over at me. His eyes lit up and I choked tears down, yet again. Why was he being so openly proud of me like this when his wife was obviously upset? "It seems she needs some rest and your wife here needs time to process everything that has happened." Aurora turns her gaze, finally, to my mother, who shrinks back because of the gaze's intensity.

Finally, my father turns and notices my mother's demeanor. His brows knit together in a look of concern and confusion, then he turned back to Aurora and I. "Seems I've been so concerned about our daughter's happiness and acceptance that I've been completely oblivious to these facts." He gave me a wary smile, then stepped forward to wrap me in a hug, as he pulled me from Aurora to hug me, I whimpered. He chuckled, then whispered to me during the hug. "Belle. You've done it. All of your hard work and here it is, your mate and future await." He pulled back, smirking. "I always knew males were below you. Don't ever forget yourself."

He gave Aurora one last look, a communication passed between them, one I could only assume said, 'Take care of her.' Then he turned, gently touching my mother's shoulder, guiding her out of the room. She didn't even give me a backward glance. I felt pain in my chest again, but for different reasons this time, this one really hurt. 'If my mate had been Zane, would she have preferred that?!' I sighed, shaking my head as I closed my eyes slowly, then opened them. I wasn't going to last on my feet much longer; what a day this had been.

Aurora suddenly scooped me up in her arms, lifting me right off of my feet, as if reading my mind. I tensed up at first, about to struggle, but when I looked up into her face, only light shone there. I eased into her arms instead, my body going slack in her arms as my exhaustion took over. I grumbled an appology, which she only ignored as she pulled me close to her chest. Out of the corner of my eye, before my eyes closed from sleep, I saw Benji. He gave me an excited thumbs up and a wink. 'You did it,' He mouthed, then everything went dark.