Alpha Theo by C.J. Primer

CHAPTER TEN

Theo

Dad’s acting strange. More chipper than usual. He asks for my help manning the grill and talks my ear off about the happenings with the pack while he flips the steaks. I can’t remember the last time he was this friendly with me, but it has me on edge.

Maybe he’s finally coming around; has accepted me for who I am and is gonna let me lead the pack. A guy can dream, can’t he? I don’t know what else would explain his odd behavior.

Fuck, I’m so ready to be Alpha. To finally be in control, be the one calling the shots. I bet I’ll be good at it. I’ve never been great at anything- other than women, of course- but I was literally born to be alpha. If he’s ready to step down, I’m ready to take on the job. I can’t fucking wait.

I help him carry in the steaks and get the table set while Quinn and Brooke wander downstairs, chatting and giggling.

“Brooke!” Dad booms, waving the grill tongs at her. “How’s it going?”

Brooke smiles, strolling toward us. “Hi Alpha Anders! It’s going great, just came to get some help from Quinn on a computer program I’ve created for the squad.”

Damn. She’s never that chipper with me. Maybe she’s into old dudes or something.

Dad grins, setting down the tongs and reaching for the stack of plates. “That’s great! How are things in the IT unit?”

“Good,” Brooke breathes. “Busy, but good. We could use Quinn up there.” She elbows my sister.

“Hey now,” Dad chuckles. “The squad already has one of my kids, they can’t have the other.”

What he really means is they can’t have the good one.

“Whatever,” Quinn smirks. “I don’t wanna go up there anyways. At least not yet.”

Dad continues setting the plates around the table, and I suddenly realize that there’s two extra place settings.

“Is someone else coming for dinner?” I ask, eyeing the extra two plates skeptically.

Before Dad can answer my question, there’s a knock at the door. He shouts for whoever it is to come in and moments later, the door opens, Cory and Ellie entering.

Okay, now I’m definitely suspicious. Cory’s the son of our pack’s beta and Ellie is his new mate. They’re unlikely dinner guests to be sure. I don’t know what the hell they’re doing here, but if it has anything to do with how Dad’s been acting, it can’t be good.

I fold my arms across my chest, watching them through narrowed eyes as they make their way over and greet everyone.

Cory’s a few years younger than me, but we’ve always been friendly given our fathers’ close working relationship. Even though I’m skeptical as to what’s going on here tonight, I give him a friendly greeting and introduce myself to his mate. Ellie’s cute as hell- I’m surprised I never noticed her before. Then again, I rarely come back here.

“Sit, let’s eat!” Dad urges, and the six of us take our places around the table, sinking down onto our chairs and passing around the platters of food to load up our plates. I’m excited for the food- the stuff they serve at the complex isn’t always great. Dad’s steaks are legendary.

“Ellie, you were in the same class as Quinn and Brooke, weren’t you?” Dad asks, making polite conversation.

Ellie nods, swallowing the bite of steak in her mouth before responding. “Yep!” she chirps, turning to Brooke and Quinn. “It’s so great to see you girls again!”

Her tone is disingenuous, and I chuckle to myself when I see Brooke and Quinn exchange glances. Clearly they weren’t all girlfriends in high school.

“How are things with the squad, Theo?” Cory asks, sawing at his steak with his knife.

“Good,” I mumble, swallowing down another bite of meat before continuing. “Training camp just ended, we took on fourteen new members.” I point my fork in Brooke’s direction. “Brooke’s sister made the cut; we’ve got both twins up there.”

“Is it true that she’s Alpha Gray’s mate?” Ellie blurts, staring over at Brooke.

She nods, setting down her steak knife. “Yeah, last full moon confirmed it. She’s Luna of the Goldenleaf pack now.” Brooke sounds so proud talking about her sister, like Fallon’s accomplishments are her own.

“Wow,” Ellie sighs, eyes wide. “Did not see that one coming.”

Brooke shrugs, unruffled. “I did. They were in love before they even found out they were mates. And Fallon’s a natural luna, she’s doing great.”

I smirk, popping another bite of steak into my mouth. I see what Brooke’s doing here- little miss nice girl is rubbing Ellie’s face in her sister’s success.

Maybe she’s not so nice after all.

“Good for her,” Cory pipes up. “I’ve always liked Fallon. I’ll bet she’s a kickass luna.”

Ellie shoots Cory a sideways glance, but he either doesn’t notice it or doesn’t acknowledge it.

“What about you, Brooke?” Dad asks, grinning over at her. “Got a special guy in your life?”

“No,” I scoff, chuckling.

Brooke shoots me a glare, softening her expression before she turns back to my dad. “Actually, I have been seeing someone. It’s not serious yet, though.”

Well that’s news to me. I stare at her, raising a brow skeptically. “Who?”

Brooke reaches for her water glass, taking a sip. She swallows, pink tongue darting out to lick her lips. “Connor.”

I let out a laugh, shaking my head. “Connor? The one with the mop top?”

She narrows her eyes. “Yes. And I think his hair’s cute.”

I roll my eyes, still chuckling. This girl has been rebuffing my advances because she’s seeing Connor? It’s laughable.

Brooke glares at me again and a silence falls over the dinner table, save for the clinking of silverware against plates.

“Is Fallon coming back here to visit anytime soon?” Ellie asks, breaking the silence and peering over at Brooke.

“Not sure,” she shrugs.

Ellie smiles, and it’s so fake that I stifle another laugh. “I’d love to see her again. I’m sure we’d have a lot to talk about, her mated to an alpha, me to a beta…”

Wait, what?

My smile melts away. I drop my fork and it clatters against my plate as my eyes fly to meet Dad’s.

He wipes his mouth, the corners turning up into a grin. “That’s actually why I asked you to come home,” Dad says, his voice even, calm, while my heart races. “To share the big news before we make an official announcement to the pack.”

I just stare at him, unable to form words as my heart thumps inside my chest, stirring my wolf to attention.

“Joe’s stepping down and Cory’s going to be taking his place as Beta,” Dad finishes, grinning across the table at Cory.

“What the fuck?” I blurt, anger rising up in my chest. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Theo!” Dad barks, scowling at me.

“No, Dad, this is fucking bullshit and you know it!”

My wolf is thrashing around inside of me and I’m so angry that I practically see red.

Dad’s scowl deepens. “Calm down, son. And watch your language.”

“How’d you expect me to react?!” I demand, rising to my feet.

“With a little more maturity,” he scoffs.

Fuck this.

I slap my palms on the table, leaning over it toward my dad. “Because you don’t think I’m mature enough to take over as Alpha, right? Isn’t that what you always say?!” I point over at Cory. “He’s three years younger than me, Dad! How the fuck is he ready but I’m not?!”

My father throws his napkin down and rises to his feet, leaning toward me with the same dominant stance. “It’s not your place to question my decisions, son.”

I roll my eyes, my wolf still rattling around in my chest, clawing to get out. “It is when they’re fucking bullshit, horrible decisions!”

“Enough!” Dad bellows, slamming the table with a fist. “You’re only proving how immature you are, how unprepared you are to run this pack.” He points to Cory, continuing. “Cory may be younger than you, but he has a mate, he’s settled, he’s not still running around sowing his wild oats…”

I cut him off by picking up my dinner plate, chucking it at the wall. It crashes against it and splinters into shards, clattering to the floor. “Bullshit!” I seethe. “It’s all fucking bullshit!”

The room falls silent, save for my ragged breathing as I stare daggers at my dad. He just shakes his head, grumbling.

“You’re lucky your mom isn’t around to see the kind of man you turned out to be.”

His words are like a fucking knife straight to my heart. I freeze, just staring back at him, blinking. I can’t find words to respond, all I manage is a whispered “fuck you” as I turn around and storm out of the room, stomping down the hall and up the stairs.

I don’t know why I go upstairs rather than straight out of the house- maybe it’s a force of habit, since I always stormed off to my room when I used to live here and my dad and I got into it. Either way, I do what I’ve always done- head to my old bedroom and slam the door behind me.

My throat’s raw and I can feel the sting of angry tears prickling behind my eyes. I’m so pissed off, so fucking over this power struggle between my dad and me.

Even though it’s my birthright, if he has his way, I’ll never be alpha.

~

I don’t know how much time passes before I calm down enough to start thinking rationally again. It could be a half hour, maybe more. All I know is that I don’t want to be here anymore, and I don’t have to be- I don’t live in the packhouse. This isn’t my home. It hasn’t been for a long time.

My throat’s still gravelly when I pull open the door of my old bedroom, stepping into the dimly lit hallway. At the same time, Brooke’s walking out of Quinn’s room on the other end and our eyes meet.

Fuck, I forgot she was even here. That she witnessed my humiliation at the dinner table.

Slowly, I start walking toward her, and she does the same, meeting me halfway.

She bites her bottom lip softly, her eyes wide behind her glasses as she approaches me.

“Are you okay?” Brooke asks quietly, gazing up at me.

“I’m fine,” I grumble, my eyes flickering away.

“Are you sure?”

A lump forms in my throat.

Brooke drops her voice lower. “He shouldn’t have said that, about your mom.”

The lump in my throat feels like it’s growing. Anytime someone brings up my mom, I can’t fucking deal. She’s been gone for so long now, but in so many ways it feels like it was yesterday.

I stare at Brooke. Her big blue eyes are piercing, and I fucking hate the look I see in them.

“Don’t you dare pity me,” I growl, shaking my head.

“Theo…” she whispers, reaching out to touch my arm. Her fingertips deliver a zing of static electricity and I shrug my arm away, recoiling from her touch.

“Don’t!” I snarl. “I don’t want your fucking pity.”

“I’m not…” she starts, her voice gentle, but I just shake my head, pushing past her.

“Find your own ride home,” I snap, stomping down the hall, down the stairs.

I don’t even look back as I make my way out of the packhouse, nearly taking the door of the Jeep off of its hinges when I throw it open.

Fuck, I wish I had my bike right now. I shouldn’t have let Brooke talk me into borrowing this stupid ass Jeep.

I heave myself inside, close the door, and crank the key in the ignition, slamming the Jeep in reverse and peeling out of the driveway and down the street.

Away from the packhouse.

Away from my dad.

Away from this godforsaken town and everyone in it.