Reject My Alpha President (Iris and Arthur) novel Chapter 181

Iris

I scrub the serving dish harder than I should, hardly even noticing as the scrubber leaves scratch marks in the ceramic.

The dinner was a disaster. Not just the burnt roast–although that certainly didn’t help–but the whole evening. Leonard and Wendy might as well have worn signs around their necks that read “Your Human Mate is Inadequate.”

Every glance, every comment about my “small” apartment, every remark about Miles‘ eating habits… it all added up to the same conclusion: I’m not good enough. Not for them, and not for the public.

The front door opens and closes softly. Arthur is back.

“Need some help?” he asks, appearing in the kitchen doorway.

I shake my head without looking up from the sink. “I’m almost done.”

Arthur grabs a dish towel anyway and picks up a rinsed plate from the drying rack. He starts drying it, falling into the familiar rhythm we used to have when we lived together. “I’m sorry about tonight.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. You’re scrubbing that dish so hard you’re going to wear right through it.”

I sigh and drop the dish back into the soapy water. “I just… I wanted them to like me. Or at least not actively dislike me.”

“They don’t know you yet,” Arthur says, but there’s something off in his voice, something hesitant.

I turn to look at him, water dripping from my hands. “What did they say to you outside?”

Arthur’s jaw tightens. He sets down the plate and towel. “Nothing worth repeating.”

“Arthur.”

He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up in that way that usually makes my heart flutter. Tonight, it just makes him look

stressed, which makes me stressed.

“They think Miles needs more Alpha influence in his life,” he finally says. “More werewolf guidance.”

I can tell he’s watering down whatever they actually said. “And?”

Arthur sighs. “And they think I should… take a more active role in his upbringing.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” I cross my arms, water droplets from my wet hands soaking into my sleeves.

“They suggested that perhaps Miles would be better off living with me full–time.” Arthur’s expression is pained. “With only