Alpha Renard is soone I have had few encounters with. He's co by the house many tis through my life, but my parents always sent to my room, not wanting to parade their sha in front of him.
Today is different.
Today, he sits across from at the dinner table as my mother serves him, apologizing for the dinner—sothing Phoenix had brought ho from a restaurant in town. Everyone's gaze seems to center on .
I can tell Phoenix and Dad are furious with , but there's little point in looking in their direction. There's no point ruining what tiny appetite I have.
Alpha Renard is an imposing figure, towering well over six feet with a muscular build that speaks of years of combat training. His brown hair is neatly trimd and his face shaved; I don't think I've ever seen him in a state of disarray. He likes to show off the deep scars clawed across his face.
Shifters don't scar easily, but it isn't impossible.
Like all alphas, he has an intimidating presence and a confident air that demands respect. But his eyes hold a cruel glint that has cringing from eye contact.
He won't stop staring at , even as he talks with the others.
I keep my gaze fixed on the plate in front of . Alpha Renard's intense stare burns into my face, making my skin prickle with unease. His eyes linger on the split in my lip, the abnormal color across my cheeks. They still throb.
"Alexander," Renard's gruff voice breaks the tense silence. "What happened to your daughter's face?"
My father clears his throat, his voice strained with embarrassnt. "She has beco willful in her ti outside the pack. It requires discipline to correct such behavior."
A shiver runs down my spine at his words. I risk a glance, finding a sinister look co over Alpha Renard's features. "I will take care of it," he says, his tone sending an avalanche of chill through .
Renard's gaze shifts back to , his eyes boring into mine with an intensity that makes want to shrink away. "So tell , Ava," he says, his voice laced with a dark edge. "Why has the Aspen pack taken such an interest in you?"
My throat feels tight, the words caught like lead weights on my tongue. I can sense the challenge in his question.
They know the Aspen pack had . But how much do they know?
If they know everything, and I lie, the consequences…
But if they don't, and I tell them everything—wouldn't that be worse?
So I lie.
"I don't know. I happened to be in a car with so rogue shifters they were chasing, and got injured. They took care of my wounds after that as an apology." Mostly truth, but I can see by the twitch in Alpha Renard's jaw that he knows I'm lying.
Did I give off a scent of deception? Or is it because he already knows?
My stomach curdles, and I stab at a piece of buttery roasted potato, shoving it into my mouth. It tastes like cardboard. I have to fight to keep from gagging, chewing in a slow and thodical fashion.
If I'm eating, maybe he won't bother .
But he does.
"Ava, we know you're an oga, and the alpha forced you into a mating. We will fight back so you can regain your freedom. We are all family here. You can talk to us." Alpha Renard's words are couched in a silken promise of confinent.
Terror grips my heart, squeezing the air from my lungs. He'd wanted to breed before I ever left the pack. If they decide I'm a true oga, like Clayton did, I'll never be able to escape that fate. I shake my head, desperate to deny his claims. "I've never been given a pack designation. I'm not an oga."
He slams his giant fist on the table, the dishes clattering from the force. I flinch, shrinking back in my seat.
"Don't lie to , girl," he snarls, his eyes flashing with barely contained rage. "We know all about your heat. How you threw yourself at the Aspen alpha, begging him to mate you."
My father's voice cuts through the tension, dripping with disgust. "You're an embarrassnt to the Blackwood Pack, Ava."
Their twisted applications of the truth are not unfamiliar to . Anger surges through my veins, montarily overpowering my fear.
"Wait a minute," I say, my voice trembling despite my efforts to keep it steady. "You're saying I threw myself at him, but you also just said Clayton forcefully mated . So which is it? What's the truth?"
Alpha Renard's eyes narrow, his jaw clenching. "Watch your tone, girl," he snaps, his voice low and dangerous. "You forget your place."
I lower my eyes. Confronting him is not the best decision if I want to find a way to escape, but I hate feeling small in front of him.
Despite my instinctual fear of him, it's a lot easier than I expected to et his eyes. Perhaps it's the repeated contact with Lucas and Clayton, who never use their alpha presence to intimidate .
My mother's voice breaks the silence, her tone clipped and cold. "Ava, go to your room. We have much to discuss with Alpha Renard."
I hesitate. I'd love to be far from them all, but I want to know what they're planning.
"Go, girl," Alpha Renard rumbles, but he leans forward to grasp my hand in his in a gesture that I think is ant to be comforting.
My skin crawls at his touch. I want to vomit. It's so much worse than even being in a room with Todd Mason, who's actually done things to .
My heart falls to my feet as my mother and father look on with a faint smile. Phoenix, silent for the entire exchange, holds my stare with a warning on his face—don't provoke the alpha.
My hand twitches in Alpha Renard's grasp as I struggle against yanking it away. "Don't worry your pretty little head over these matters, Ava," he says, and I think it's the first ti the alpha has ever used my na. When I look at him, I can see a calculating stare.
But no desire.
Maybe I'm wrong in the faint suspicions crowding my mind, but that hope fades as his thumb caresses the back of my hand. "Go rest. You've had an ordeal. You're safe now. I'll save you from the Aspen alpha."
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