Chapter 100
Jason’s POV
With the protestors outside, I hadn’t been able to leave the house. Alternatively, no one else has been able to enter either. This could have been a blessing. Maybe it was. For a while, at least, I had escaped the very direct wrath of my parents.
But their wrath was comparable to mine, and soon they both braved the protestors to appear in my office.
“Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?” I asked the moment they appeared. I stood up from behind my desk and rushed to them. “Please sit down. Dad, careful with your heart condition.”
“My heart’s fine. Or at least it’s not those protestors that are endangering it,” Dad said gruffly. He moved around me and sat down where I had directed him to. “You are the one who is going to put me in the grave, Jason. You and these ridiculous games you are playing.”
“I’m not playing any games.”
“Like hell you aren’t! I warned you – warned you – that this would happen. For years I said that your hesitation to bond with Brittany was making the pack weaker. You, weaker! But did you listen? Do you ever listen to me?!”
“Sit down,” Mom said, stepping forward. “Please. Calm yourself before you actually do hurt yourself.”
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My father huffed, crossed his arms, and fell verbally silent, though he did continue to glare at me.
To me, Mom said, “We aren’t angry.”
“We are angry,” Dad snapped.
Mom shot him a look. He huffed again and looked away.
To me, Mom continued, “We are concerned, Jason. This is very quickly growing out of control. We’ve let you take the lead on this for a long time. We trusted you, trusted your judgement, despite the worries that remained in our hearts. But now, we are seeing the world react.”
I was used to having Dad’s ire. Sometimes it felt like I couldn’t do anything right in his eyes. My decisions were never as good as the ones he would have made.
But it was an entirely different matter to have earned the disapproval of my mother, who had ever stood at my side, even when my father was against me. She was my silent supporter, and I thought I could always depend on her. I had always been able to.
Up until now.
“Mom.”
r
“I’m sorry, Jason. I wish things could be different. I wish I could tell you that your way would work, but the pack just isn’t ready. If it’s Brittany, or if it’s someone else, you need to tie yourself down. You need to make a strong werewolf your mate. The pack needs heirs as soon as possible. It’s the most sure–fire way there is to keep our pack strong and that vile Alpha Dustin away from our borders.”
“You should listen to your mother,” Dad grumbled. “If you won’t listen to me.”
“There has to be another way,” I said.
“If not Brittany, then anyone else,” Mom said.
“Your mother is being very generous in not forcing the matter with Brittany. It would be much easier with her.”
My mind snapped to Laila… no, to Vanessa. I quickly shook the thoughts away, because they were useless. Vanessa was already engaged, and I doubted she even thought of me that way.
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She’d been trying to talk to me lately, but it couldn’t be about anything like this. No personal matters. Vanessa kept me at arm’s length and I needed to do the same.
I chastised myself for everthinking of her in this context. Vanessa had her own fiancé, her own life.
If I asked her to be my bride, she would probably laugh at me, and she’d have good reason to.
I was nothing but a business partner to her.
With Laila gone, Brittany truly was the only choice for me. Not because I wanted her, but because she was willing, she was there, and she still wanted to marry me.
“You should have married Brittany a long time ago,” Dad muttered. “Making that poor girl wait all this time, and for what? To mourn some dead girl.”
“Don’t talk about Laila like that,” I said before I could stop myself.
“Don’t talk back to me,” Dad said, raising his voice.
“Please, watch your blood pressure,” Mom said, going to Dad’s side.
But it was too late. Dad lifted his hand to clutch his chest.
“Dear?” Mom asked, panic in her voice. “Is it your heart?”
“I can handle it,” Dad grumbled, but it was clear he was in pain.
“Jason.” Mom looked at me.
I rushed to the phone, picked it up, and made an urgent call. “We need a healer here. Quickly please. Now.”
By the time I hung up the phone, Dad was starting to bend forward. He was gripping his shirt hard, his fingers digging into his
chest.
I rushed to his side, trying to pry his hand away to keep him from hurting himself.
“Dad, stop.”
“This is your doing, Jason,” Dad said through grit teeth. “All this stress… We could lose our pack… You have an obligation… You must…” He growled low, fighting at the pain that must have been tearing through him. “You must marry Brittany.”
The paramedics came in record time. The protestors, seeing the ambulances, must have known something was wrong and given them room. As angry as they were, the people of this pack were still good at heart. They might want me out, but they didn’t want
T anyone to die in the process.
“Sir, we have to take you to the hospital,” the healers told my dad, after only looking at him for a few minutes.
“No,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere until my son agrees to mate with Brittany.”
“Dad, please,” I said. “Don’t be stubborn.”
He pointed a shaky finger in my direction. “You are the one being stubborn, Jason. Agree, or I will die here in your office! That will be on you! And it would still be the least of your worries if Alpha Dustin invades!”
What choice did I have? I couldn’t let my father die in the office! Nor could I allow my own personal feelings to stand in the way of what the pack needed.
I’d tried to fight this all for so long, but the facts were facts. It took Dad pushing the issue nearly to his death for me to see. “Fine,” I said. “Fine. You win. I’ll marry Brittany as soon as I can. I’ll stop this invasion and do what’s right for the pack.”
“I have your word?” Dad asked, his face tense with pain.
“Yes, Dad. You do. Now, please, get checked!”
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Finally, Dad stopped fighting against the healers trying to help him, and allowed himself to be poked and prodded. The stuck him with a needle, giving him something to stabilize him. Then they loaded him onto a stretcher and started to wheel him away.
“Keep… your… promise…” Dad said as he was taken from the room.
Mom gave me a worried look over her shoulder. Then, frowning, she followed after my father out of the room.
The minute I was alone, I moved to the chair and sat down
I no longer had any choices. I’d pushed this off far enough. And I couldn’t break a promise with my father.
I had to marry Brittany and officially make her my mate. The sooner, the better.
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Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.

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