Chapter 4

Amelia's POV

I sighed and brought my hand up to the door. I knocked firmly and clenched my teeth. I could hear them inside, Dad chuckled at something that idiot said. "Come in," Dad responded, making me waste no time as I opened the door to his study.

There he was—a strong man, with brown hair slicked back and tired eyes. Dad looked as if he hadn't slept in days, but that smile and cheerful attitude were still there.

"Dad, can we talk?"

"Amelia, sweetie, come take a seat. How is my birthday girl this morning?"

"Dad... I need to talk to you. Alone," I said as I looked at Nicholas sternly. He clenched his jaw, swallowing hard as he sat across Dad's desk. I couldn't help but still be angry at what I had seen last night in his bedroom. And I knew he could sense my anger, but I didn't care.

"Didn’t you see that we were talking here?"

"Nicolas, why don't you... give us a minute? We will continue our conversation later," Dad said, making Nicholas give a low, guttural growl.

He stood up, towering over me as if trying to intimidate me, and I won’t lie, I was scared of him... a little. He had hurt me many times. But I was not going to stand for it anymore. He had to learn I was not the stupid, vulnerable girl without her wolf anymore, and after tonight, they’ll learn that Zoey is not to be messed with.

"I’ll see you later. Little mate!" he whispered menacingly, making me give a low growl. He smirked, walking past me, purposely bumping into my shoulder.

I fisted my hands, preventing myself from lashing out.

"Have a seat, sweetheart," Dad said as Nicholas walked away.

He slammed the door, and I finally let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding in.

"Dad, Jocelyn and Kim said you had changed your mind. She says you were making Nicholas the next alpha. Is this... true?"

"What? No," he said, chuckling.

"Dad?" I asked, concerned. He was avoiding eye contact, which meant he was hiding something from me.

"No, Amelia. I'm not making him the alpha, baby. That’s your rightful title. You are my blood, you are the one with the alpha genes. I could never give it to him. Sure, he's strong and probably the most capable beside you, but I believe in you. You're a smart girl, and I've been preparing you for this. You'll be a great leader as of tonight, Amie. I just... hope you're ready. Sweetheart, it won't be an easy task. We have enemies to deal with, primarily the Dark Moon Pack," he said, as he dropped his shoulders.

"Sweetheart, Aaron Vasquez is not someone you want to mess with. Believe me. He will try to make things hard for you. He won't be easy to deal with. He's only led the Dark Moon Pack for two years, but he's already become a threat to everyone. He's heartless and will stop at nothing if he feels crossed. Which is why I had to talk with Nicholas this morning," he said, making me tilt my head in thought.

"What do you mean? Are things really bad between our packs? I thought you had made peace with the old Alpha years ago?"

"We did. But, that was his grandpa. It’s a different thing with Aaron and his dad. We’ve been in a constant battle between packs. And it's only getting worse. These past few months, Aaron has kept claiming we are stealing territory. I don’t understand, we’ve already talked about this, and I even hired a person directly from the king to come and measure our lands, but I’m yet to hear from them. Until then, Aaron is constantly threatening our pack. He wants us to compensate him for the trouble. He’s threatening to go to war with us if we don’t fix this," he said, making me worry.

I had heard something about someone moving the gates around the southeastern borders that connected our territory to a water body near his land, without Dad’s consent. But why was someone doing this, and behind Dad's back to make matters worse? Did they not care about our pack's safety?

Dad is right, I’ve heard Alpha Aaron Vasquez is a cold-hearted asshole. And ever since his chosen mate was unfaithful to him, he became even more of a sadistic menace.

"Amelia, I need you and Nicholas to work together. I called Nicholas in here today to beg him to take the position of your beta. If you and him can just come to terms and stop bickering all the time, I just know you can do great things for this pack. Do you think you can do that?" he said, holding his hand out for me.

I sighed, dropping my shoulders. "Dad, I doubt he would be willing to take the position."

"But he did. He agreed. All I need is your approval. Sweetheart, I'm not getting any younger. You know I was alone for a very long time until I met your mom, and she and I waited years before we were ready to have you. I’m tired, and I’m ready to retire. I know the pack is in good hands with you. And I know you can handle things on your own, but I would be happier knowing you have someone to rely on," he said, making me feel bad.

The truth is, a pack cannot only lead with an alpha alone, and I know this. Even if I don’t want to, Dad is right, I need a beta, and I will need to appoint a gamma. I hadn’t thought of anyone to fill these positions until now. And even if I hated the idea of working with my biggest bully, I had to be reasonable... Nicholas was the best option for the beta position.

"By the way, I waited for you until late. Did you shift? How was it? How does your wolf look like?" he asked excitedly.

I wanted to forget about last night's event for a little, and I couldn’t help but love his enthusiasm. I smiled, nodding.

"It was painful. Really painful," I said, remembering how excruciating I felt last night as Nicholas wrestled with that woman in bed. My anger returned, but I masked it, acting as if I referred to shifting for the first time.

"Oh, sweetheart. I wish you would have called me so I could be there. I would have loved to guide you through it."

"It’s okay, Dad. She’s a beauty. Her name is Zoey. She’s really strong and brave."

"Oh, she sounds amazing, sweetheart."

"She is. Zoey really is the best pup in the world," I said, making Zoey happy. We talked for a long time until a knock was heard at the door.

"Alpha, breakfast is ready," an omega called, making Dad's eyes glisten.

"Let’s go out there. I can’t wait for you to show me, Zoey," he said, standing up, making me follow.