The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate (Jason and Laila) by Caroline Above Story novel Chapter 168

Jason’s POV

Vanessa tried to step in front of me, but I wouldn’t let her. Holding out my arm, I blocked her, then stepped forward myself, squaring up against William.

I’d had just about enough of his constant attitude. If he was actually going to be Ava’s step–father, then he needed to step up and recognize that I was helping her. He should be happy to see me here, and not immediately combative and defensive.

“Alpha Jason is here to help me, Papa William,” Ava said. “‘member?”

William stilled, then exhaled. “I forgot.”

He looked at Vanessa, but she turned away from us both, walking now back toward Ava.

“If you’ve finished, then, I’ll show you out,” William told me.

“I don’t need an escort,” I said.

“I wouldn’t want you to lose your way and wind up back here,” William said. “I’d be happy to help.”

I glowered at him, before schooling my annoyance as I turned to Ava. “I’ll see you in a few days, Ava. Vanessa.”

“Bye, Alpha Jason!”

Vanessa nodded, never making eye contact. It stung, but I’d done enough to her today. And if she wouldn’t hear me out about Brittany…

“Let’s go,” William said.

I huffed in annoyance but walked out the door all the same.

In the hallway, William fell into step with me. He really didn’t trust me, to walk with me like this. To think that we had a working relationship in the past. We had never been friends, but we at least had been cordial. That seemed like a different life

now.

“You need to stay away from Vanessa,” William said.

I’d been waiting for this. “We keep having this conversation,” I said.

“Because you don’t listen. We were there, at your mating ceremony. We all heard you say her name. And now your mate is pregnant. Don’t you think it’s time to stop bothering Vanessa? Why can’t you stay out of our lives?”

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I could have corrected William, but I didn’t. I didn’t owe him anything. Let him believe whatever he wanted. He already assumed

the worst.

Vanessa was the one I had wanted to come clean with, but she hadn’t wanted to listen to me.

What a mess.

“I can’t stay out of her life right now. I’m donating wolf essence to Ava.”

“She can find another donor.”

I stopped dead in the hallway, and faced him. “You would risk Ava’s life because you feel threatened by me?”

William’s tough façade crumpled a little. “No, I… no.”

At least he wasn’t a terrible man. He clearly cared for Ava.

William rallied then, though, straightening once more.

“But you can help Ava while still staying away from Vanessa. You only

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make her life worse, and make things confusing for her.”

“Aren’t you her flancé?”

“Yes.”

“Then don’t worry about me.”

“It’s because she’s my fiancé, that I do worry about you. You keep sniffing around and I’m sick of it. You need to back off, and if you don’t, I will challenge you for real.”

“You seem to have a short memory of what happened the last time we fought,” I said.

“You are weaker now,” William said. “I can tell.”

He was right. I was physically weaker, but only because I had been donating so much wolf essence to Ava. But that didn’t mean that he would win, even if we were to fight.

“You underestimate the power of an Alpha,” I said. My wolf added a threatening growl, underlying each word. “I would not make any threats against me, especially so lightly. As Alpha, it is well within my rights to put you in your place.”

William breathed heavily through his nose, even as he lowered his head slightly, submissively. In this, he was honoring my position as the authority, as the Alpha. It was about time.

“You should know, Alpha,” he said. “Vanessa and I have set a date for our wedding. Out of respect to us, to her, you should keep your distance. Stop confusing her. Help Ava, but otherwise, stay out of our lives.” He paused a moment. “Please.”

Laila’s POV

The moment the door closed behind Jason and William, Ava started raving about Jason.

“He’s so wonderful. And nice. And he makes me laugh.” She watched me like a hawk. “Don’t you think so, Mommy?”

“It’s good of him to help you,” I admitted, and would give nothing else.

That didn’t seem good enough for Ava. “He’s like a prince.” She giggled. “He’s rescuing me from my illness instead of a dragon.”

“He is,” I said, and sipped at my coffee.

“Mommy, I want him to be my daddy.‘

“)

My coffee caught in my throat and I choked, coughing loudly for a minute. As I recovered, I wheezed, “No, That’s not possible.” Ava shook her head. “He likes us, Mommy. He might even love us. I’m sure he’ll pick us over that other lady.”

“Brittany is his mate now,” I told her. “He chose her.”

“That was a mistake. He’ll fix it.”

“He won’t because…” Brittany’s pregnant.

Ava looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to finish. But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t break Ava’s heart by telling her Jason was going to have a baby with another woman.

“He just won’t.”

“That’s no reason,” Ava said. “He looks at you funny, Mommy. He likes you, I know. I can tell.”

“You have a vivid imagination.”

“I’m not pretending. It’s real. I saw. He’s going to pick us. I just know it.”

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I wondered if there was anything I could say to convince her otherwise. It certainly didn’t seem that way. Lowering my head, I sighed, hating when the moment was sure to come where Ava was going to have her heart broken by Jason.

Just like me.

I’d give anything to protect her from it, but when I couldn’t even protect myself, how would I ever shield her from the hurt as well?

Jason was a hurricane, coming in strong, tearing up our normal lives, setting everything off–kilter.

But then he would leave. He’d leave with Brittany on his arm and a baby inside of her. He’d probably find someone else, like the playboy he was, jumping from woman to woman.

“Alpha Jason is helping us now,” I said. “But when he’s done, it will be better for all of us to just forget him.”

Ava crossed her arms. “I will never forget him.”

Neither would I.

That was part of the problem.

It took some time, but eventually Ava fell asleep. I sat in the chair, watching her, lost in my own thoughts. My heart was aching, but there wasn’t a lot I could do about it. I could only sit with the pain and allow it to pass through me, hoping, eventually, that it would finally disappear.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Retrieving it, I unlocked the screen to find an automated text message from the local library. I had put in a few requests for information about Vanessa’s family.

It seemed those requests had finally been realized.

The old periodicals I had requested from the days after Vanessa’s parents accident had been dug out of the archives and were waiting for me to go examine them in person.

I could only hope they would reveal something to point to the potential murderer.

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