Chapter 16 - Leah

My parents’ sudden arrival had thrown me for a loop. I knew that Killian wanted an explanation for my attitude towards them, but I was struggling to manage the tumultuous emotions that arose after they’d barged into my new life.

Killian had been watching me since my parents had departed. He thought I didn’t notice, but his attentiveness was hard to mistake. Although I appreciated that he was available if I needed anything, I was having a hard time accepting his help.

“It’s been about two hours since they left,” he pointed out. “I’m going to give them a call and set up dinner plans for the four of us, if that’s alright with you.”

I shrugged. “I don’t think we have much of a choice.”

“You always have a choice,” he said sternly.

I sighed. I knew he was right, but in my mind, it wasn’t the full truth. They had traveled all the way here to visit us. There was no way they were going to leave until they got whatever it was they came for. Better to get it out of the way sooner rather than keep suffering from their presence.

“Can we do dinner here?” I asked. “I don’t think taking them out in public is a great plan.”

“I’ll let them know we’re ordering in and ask them to stop by around seven.”

Killian left to call my parents, and I decided to clean up a little bit around the house. They hadn’t spent much time here earlier, but I knew if they got an opportunity, they would critique me on every last nook and cranny.

“Leah,” Killian said, coming back into the room. Something in his tone gave me pause, and I looked up from scrubbing the baseboards to see what was wrong.

“Is it my parents?” I asked. “Did they say something?”

“No, but Jasper called. There’s an urgent matter that he needs to discuss with Nile and me. He asked if I could come over to meet with them. I’m so sorry, I know I just made plans for your parents to come over, but I hope to be back by seven.”

I could see the disappointment on his face that he was leaving, though it didn’t soften the blow. But this was the life of a luna. There was nothing that trumped his duties as alpha.

“Okay,” I said, resuming my cleaning.

Killian gave me one last look before leaving. For the next hour, I scoured everything my parents might take issue with and then went to change for dinner.

I was just slipping into a modest blue dress when I heard the doorbell ring. The clock read six-thirty.

Must be the food , I thought.

I zipped up my dress and hustled to the front door so the delivery person wouldn’t have to wait long. But as I opened the door, I saw my parents looking excited. When they saw it was me instead of Killian, their faces dropped.

“Hello,” my mother said curtly.

“Come on in,” I said, holding the door open for them.

“Where’s the alpha?” my father asked.

I sighed at the confirmation that they were only here to get in Killian’s good graces. “He had a meeting with the other Pinedale alphas,” I explained. “He said it wouldn’t take too long and that he’d be home around seven. The food should be here soon as well.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t even bother to make us a welcome meal,” my mother scoffed. “I thought we raised you better than to offer restaurant food to guests.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

I didn’t feel sorry, but with them in my house, I felt like a child again. There had never been anything I could do to please them, but for some reason, I had always tried.

“Do you have wine at least?” my father asked.

I nodded and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of red for the three of us while they walked around the living room, eyeing my new home.

“It’s not much, is it?” my mother scoffed.

“Very small,” my father added, not bothering to keep his voice low enough to avoid me overhearing. “He must have another home that he keeps separate from Leah. I’m sure an alpha like him has plenty of mistresses to keep him occupied when he’s away from home.”

Blood rushed to my face as embarrassment and anger coursed through me. Over the years, I had gotten used to them making snide, hurtful remarks about me, but the past few weeks had apparently been enough to make me sensitive to their abuse in a way I hadn’t experienced in years.

“Here’s your wine,” I said quietly.

They accepted their glasses and took a seat on the couch, leaving the armchair for me.

“Actually, we’re glad to get a chance to talk to you alone,” my father said. “Your mother and I have high hopes that with your new position, you’ll finally be ready to help us out a little.”

“It’s time that you repay us for taking care of you all those years,” my mother said.

“Excuse me?” I asked. “Repay you for what, exactly?”

“For taking care of you, of course,” my father said. “We didn’t have a child just so they could grow up to be selfish. All the time and money we spent on you won’t be wasted now that you have an alpha for a mate.”

“What exactly do you expect me to give you?” I asked.

My parents chuckled in a way that reminded me of times from my childhood when they would withhold meals and other comforts until I had completed their list of tasks. Something about their faces struck a chord of fear in me as they began to list their demands.

“First of all, we expect to be given a home here so we can move out of Sparkle Hollow,” my mother began. “As parents of the pack luna, I think a four-bedroom home should be sufficient. We’ll need to be able to entertain guests, after all, so it should have at least three living spaces for us to host events.”

“I also expect that your mate will give me a spot on the pack council,” my father added. “And I think a nice sum of money to get us started in our new home is in order. Not all upfront, of course, but at least fifty thousand a year so we can live comfortably.”

As their list continued, I sat with my wine glass halfway to my lips and mouth open in amazement. Just one of those requests would be extravagant, but to demand all of them was ludicrous. It wasn’t just that they didn’t deserve it, but their requests were impossible for a small pack like ours to meet.

“Why are you looking at us like that?” my mother snapped. “You should be writing this down.”

I inhaled sharply at her reprimand. The child in me wanted to promise her that I would handle it, but the new version of myself was thinking of Killian. He supported me and gave me the freedom to make my own choices instead of following my parents’ orders. He would never want me to accept treatment like this. Even more importantly, I couldn’t allow them to take advantage of my mate the way I had been abused my entire life.

“No,” I replied in a small voice. I had rarely used the word around them, and it came out more like a question than a statement.

“What did you just say to your mother?” my father demanded.

I stood up from my chair and took my wine glass back to the kitchen before turning around to face them again.

“No,” I repeated, more confidently this time. “You won’t get a cent from me or my pack. My mate will not give in to your ridiculous demands, and you will not have me on your side if you try to convince him.”

My father stood up quickly, his face full of rage as he smashed his wine glass on the floor between us.

“You ungrateful bitch!” he shouted.

“I will not accept you speaking to me that way,” I declared.

He strode toward me and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me roughly.

“Let go!” I shouted.

When he released me with one hand, I realized what was about to happen. Knowing I could escape his grasp, I closed my eyes so that I wouldn’t see his hand as it swooped down to smack me across the face.

But before he could make contact, I heard a low growl from the doorway.

“Get your hands off of my mate.”

My father whirled around, releasing me as he poised to defend himself against the sudden threat. Killian had overheard my argument with my father and was standing in the doorway, poised to attack.

When my father saw that he was standing face to face with the alpha, his eyes widened in fear.

“Alpha Killian,” he said, putting his hands up to placate the anger rolling off of my mate. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Oh, really?” Killian replied, striding toward my father menacingly. “Because from what I can see—and what I overheard before I opened the door—you’re threatening my mate inside our home.”

He reached the spot where my father stood, grabbed him by the shirt, lifted him in the air, and pressed him up against the wall. My father’s feet dangled a foot off the floor, kicking as he struggled to free himself.

At the sight of my father being restrained, my mother leapt into action. “Put him down!” she screeched.

Killian tossed him onto the couch, where he landed with a crash in the exact spot my mother had just been standing. He tumbled onto the floor with a loud smack. My mother grabbed his arm to help him up, but he shook her off.

“You are no longer welcome in my home, or in this town,” Killian declared. “If you don’t leave immediately, I promise you’ll regret it. If you ever return here again or contact Leah in any manner, I will kill you.”

“You have no idea what kind of trouble you just landed yourself in,” my father declared.

Killian laughed maniacally at his feeble threat, stalking towards them with a look of unbridled fury on his face.

“I’ve killed men much stronger than you,” he said. “Don’t test me.”

“We’re going straight to Alpha Lex about this,” my mother declared. “Your behavior today has been despicable! This is not the life we were promised for our daughter. We will be nullifying your marriage and bringing her home. Tonight.”

“Leah is mine,” Killian growled. “She isn’t going anywhere.”

I saw the hairs begin to rise on his arm. He was moments away from shifting, and once he did, I knew it would be the end of my parents. As much as I detested their treatment of me, I couldn’t allow their lives to be lost. Not by Killian’s hands. Once he came to his senses, he would never forgive himself.

“Killian,” I said calmly, approaching him as I would a wounded animal.

His head whipped toward me as I reached him. I placed my hand gently on his bicep and looked into his eyes.

“I’m not going to leave you,” I vowed. “Just let them go.”

He breathed deeply as he regained control, nodding to let me know that he would obey my wishes.

With the bloodbath avoided, I grasped my mate’s hand and turned to stare at my parents. “If you have any sense of self-preservation, I recommend you do what he said. Leave, now.”

With furtive looks over their shoulders, they backed out the door. I heard their car doors slam and the tires screech as they sped back to Sparkle Hollow.