The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate (Jason and Laila) by Caroline Above Story novel Chapter 104

Chapter 104

Jason’s POV

Before making things official with Brittany, I had one last option. A last ditch effort to repair my reputation before having to

commit.

I hired a publicist.

Her name was Margo, and she was the best in the business. An older werewolf, old enough to retire, but she seemed to love what she did, spinning and twisting public perception to her very whims. She must have been addicted to it.

Too addicted to quit.

“I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you hired me to lie to everyone else, not you,” Margo said.

She continued to look through the documents I had provided her. Transcripts of Dustin’s press conferences as well as my own statements. Reports about my pack’s dwindling numbers. I didn’t need to provide evidence of the protests. Those were still happening just outside the door.

“What’s the verdict, then?” I asked her.

She lowered the documents to look up at me. Her gaze was sharp and knowledgeable.

“You already know,” she said.

“I’d still like to hear it from you.” I had a sinking feeling.

With a sigh, she dropped the documents all the way down to her lap. “Appearances are everything, Alpha, and right now, your appearance is in the dirt.”

“I’m capable. I’ve done well for this pack, and recently, I’ve even signed some major dealings for the pack business, which brings profit to everyone. I’ve also made great efforts to

>>

Margo held up a hand, quieting me. “This isn’t a job interview, Alpha. None of that matters.”

“They are facts.”

“Facts don’t matter,” Margo said. “Not anymore. Whether you are actually capable is irrelevant. Public perception is what matters, and the public is so amped up right now, they don’t even want to see facts. They want to feel like you are capable, and that only comes from appearances.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, feeling at a loss once more.

“All werewolves have a perceived notion of what a competent Alpha looks like. Protecting the pack, providing profits… Those are good things, but they are not the traditional things. At least, not the only traditional things.”

I realized what she was saying and I hated it. “I have to get married.”

“To the members of your pack, the sign of a good Alpha and a strong pack is having a Luna and heirs to take the Alpha’s place. Presently, you have neither of those things.”

“There has to be another way,” I said.

Margo shook her head. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I know it seems archaic, and someday maybe things will change. But your people are set in their ways. The facts are the facts. They are leaving you. They are turning on you. There’s no other way around this. To keep your pack, you have to fulfill their notion of what a strong Alpha looks like.”

“I am a strong Alpha,” I persisted.

“You have to get married,” she said, like I had said nothing at all. “You have to have heirs.”

+25 Bonus

Whatever other arguments I might have had died on my tongue. I lowered my head, as if still trying to protect myself from this

inevitability.

Margo wasn’t going to let me escape it though. “If you want to win your people back, you have to prove that you are listing to them. That means you have to get married. I know you have been in a long–term engagement with… Brittany, was it? Either marry her, or someone else. It doesn’t matter.”

For a moment, Vanessa again crossed through my mind. In my dream, in flashes, Laila had become Vanessa and Vanessa, Laila.

I closed my eyes and sighed, condemning myself for making that comparison again. Vanessa wasn’t Laila, and I needed to stop thinking that she was.

She also didn’t want to be with me, and certainly wouldn’t want to be my wife. After all, she was already set to marry William.

Brittany was it for me. The end of the line. There was no one else, and I needed to stop lying to myself that there was or would be.

Laila was dead.

“Thank you for your time, Margo,” I said. I opened my eyes again, bitter determination filling me.

“I wish I had better answers for you,” Margo said, some sympathy in her face now. “But you paid me very well, too well to lie to you.”

2

“I understand.”

I saw Margo out to the door. When she was gone, I stood in my office for a moment. I took a few deep breaths, in and out, deciding.

What was the benefit in waiting?

I felt like a man about to face the firing squad. Better just to hurry up and get this over with.

I stepped out of my office once more.

Marcus looked up from his desk. “Sir?”

“Hold my calls, Marcus, and cancel my appointments for the day. I have to go to the pack house.”

Marcus stood up. “Sir? Are you sure leaving is wise.”

“It will be,” I told him. “I’ve made my decision. I need to talk to Brittany.”

Understanding and sadness crossed over Marcus’s face in equal measure. He allowed only a moment’s glance before he reached for the phone on his desk. “I’ll call for security to block a path to your car.

“Thank you, Marcus.”

>>

The protestors jeered as I left, shouting obscenities and everything else. Only my security kept me safe. As soon as I made it into the backseat of my car, my driver rushed forward, carrying me away from the swarm.

At least, that was what I’d hoped for.

Protestors lined outside of the pack house too, though these ones stretched out farther around the perimeter, and had the rod- iron fence surrounding the property to keep them at bay. As soon as the car was through the fence, they were loud but not otherwise a threat.

g

The car parked in front of the house. I exited, and then walked inside.

Brittany, I knew, usually had a cocktail at this time of day, so I wasn’t surprised to find her in the bar room sipping from a glass

of wine.

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