The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate (Jason and Laila) by Caroline Above Story novel Chapter 193

Jason’s POV

I was finally putting my foot down with my father, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be an asshole about it. I had to be careful. My father’s health wasn’t well, and too much stress could only make things worse.

But I couldn’t just ignore things. If I didn’t speak with Dad, tell him what I decided and how things were going to go moving forward, Brittany was sure to step in and tell him in my place. She was sure to twist things to make herself seem more victimized, and me, more the villain.

Brittany wouldn’t strive to protect Dad’s health. She would only, as ever, care about herself and what Dad could do for her.

She’d have to get through me first.

she When I went upstairs, Dad was still resting. Mom was watching him from the doorway to his bedroom, but after seeing me, closed the door and gestured for me to follow her up the hallway. We moved to an alcove at the top of the stairs, where a bench sat under a wide window with a view of the gardens below.

She sat, then patted the seat next to her. I sat beside her, eager for her counsel.

and I told her. As she was the one to help shine some light on the possibility of Ava being my “What’s going on?” she asked me, daughter, she handled my increased complicated feelings for Vanessa with an easy nod, seemingly like she had already seen this coming.

“I’m breaking the bond with Brittany,” I said. “I’m tired of living a lie. Even if it makes things more difficult, I have to do this. The pack deserves better than to have a miserable liar as their Alpha. I will be better when I am no longer bound by an unloving mating bond.”

Mom accepted the news easily, even with a small semblance of a smile. “I thought it might come to this. Maybe I had even hoped for it.”

“You did?”

“Brittany had never seemed like the one for you,” Mom said. “Though perhaps I had always been rooting for another…”

She let the sentence hang and neither of us touched it. She had to be talking about Laila, but that felt like too delicate a thread to unravel. Too many emotions attached. Too much pain.

Mom’s face lost all hints of nostalgia and hardened. “There will be ramifications to this, Jason. Whether it is the truth or not, to others, the pack will appear vulnerable. This could lead to war.”

“I’ve considered this, but… Mom… Have you considered, as I hadn’t until recently, that being without a luna is not the true weakness? Marrying out of fear rather than love was. I won’t be afraid of possibilities. I won’t allow this pack to be bullied. If my rivals want to sniff around our borders, we will meet them with strength. I never should have allowed such a thing to continue unpunished.”

Mom looked at me with pride shining in her eyes. But it didn’t last long before worry swarmed in.

I tried once more to be convincing. “I can lead this pack without Brittany, and I would be happier for it.”

Reaching out, Mom patting my knee softly in support. Then she said, “I agree, and you show great strength when you speak with such confidence and passion. Just now, you looked more like an Alpha than I had ever seen before. More like your father. But… I see it. Perhaps others in the pack will as well. But your father, stubborn as he is, will struggle to see things our way.” “You know him best,” I said. “There has to be some way of convincing him this is the best path forward.”

“He believes strongly in tradition. An Alpha has always had his Luna at his side, always had heirs. Standing alone puts you at a disadvantage,” Mom said. “Your father won’t want that for you. He loves you, and wants you to have the steady and safe path that has been time–tested.”

322

“I won’t stay with Brittany because I’m afraid,” I said.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify