Chapter 7 BE AN ALPHA

~HUNTER~

"What is this about you embarrassing yourself and tarnishing the family name that I've been hearing?" Father lashed out the minute he walked into his office.

With a loud thud, the door closed behind him, and the harsh sound of his boot hitting the floor announced the presence of his anger as he walked over to take a seat behind his desk.

"I don't know what you're talking about, father." I pretended not to know, even though I was fully aware of what he could be talking about.

A passive expression crossed his face as he fixed me with an icy glare. "Do not take me for a fool, child." His glare was unyielding as he snapped. "Reports of your foolishness have gotten back to me, and I do not like what I am hearing."

"Why do you have people snooping on me, father? I'm a grown man; I can do anything I want."

"Your penchant for misbehaving is the reason I have people spying on you. I do not generally care what you do with yourself, but what I care about is when your actions begin to affect this family name. You were not raised to turn into such an embarrassment; what has gotten into you?" He reclined into his seat as he asked.

"Nothing has gotten into me. I am simply a man with a torn heart. Forgive me for trying to seek relief for my pain. How else am I supposed to deal with this? I am hurting, and just because I decide to deal with it the way I know best, you call me an embarrassment." Father snarled at me as I hissed my response.

"You are not the first man with a broken heart, Hunter. Having issues with your mate is not enough of an excuse for you to go out there and be seen with different women, and men, I might add, hanging off your arms. That right there is a bad image for this family's reputation; I did not work hard all these years; your grandparents and great-grandparents didn't work their asses off only to have their names smeared with nasty rumours of adultery."

"I am not the one who ruined the family's reputation to begin with. Also, you and I both know this is not just any issue that can be shoved aside like it didn't happen. She cheated on me. My mate, the one woman who was supposed to be loyal without a fault, cheated on me, and I'm doing my best to deal with this constant anguish in my heart. These past years, I have loved and respected her in all the best possible ways that I know; I stayed faithful and gave her a home. How else am I supposed to deal with this? Go home and pretend like we are a happy couple. Laugh and smile with her as if I hadn't discovered her completely naked with another man."

An aching tightness wrapped around my heart in a vice as I was taken back to that morning.

The night before, Jade had told me that she had no plan to stay long at the party. I didn't want her to go when she told me about Arya's invitation, but she insisted. She had complained that her sister was leaving, and she wanted to send her off.

I didn't even understand the need for a send-off party. I knew there was no reason for the party to stretch late into the night, yet I waited for Jade's return until late at night and ended up giving up and going to sleep. I had contemplated going over to Arya's place to bring her back home, but then I realised that would only upset Jade and possibly cause her to say I was too controlling and trying to split her and her sister apart.

What did I do wrong? I trusted her too much; I should've listened to my intuition. I knew something was odd, and there was always that nagging feeling whenever I would get cheated on in the past. I had that nagging feeling but shoved it aside because I didn't want Jade to tease me about being insecure. I chose to trust her, only to end up finding her in bed with another man.

A knife stab couldn't compare to the pain I felt that morning, seeing the woman I loved with another man, the woman I had made solid plans for the future with, and she wasn't just any woman; she wasn't merely my chosen mate but my fated mate. No, the feeling of a knife pushing into my heart was nothing compared to the pain I felt when my heart constricted at the sight I was met with. It was nothing compared to the pressure I feel in my heart every time I think of that morning.

"What I expect is for you to act like the Alpha that you are, not some high school boy going through his first heartbreak." Father lashed out, uncaring for my feelings, and I sighed.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand; you weren't the one to witness your mate with another man," I replied, rolling my eyes as he scowled.

"Do you think you are the only man on this planet to ever get cheated on? To ever have his heart broken?" He asked with a serious expression on his face.

"I do not say I am; every man handles things differently. This is how I choose to deal with my pain." I murmured begrudgingly.

"Here is the thing, Hunter." Father leaned forward; his expression hardened, and his brows pinched. "You are not just any man; you are an Alpha Heir with responsibilities. You are an exemplary figure, not just a commoner who can do as he pleases; you fail to realise that you are respected by how you carry yourself. How you choose to present yourself to your pack determines how they see you and how much respect they will accord you." He continuously stabbed the paper before him with the pen in his hand as he spoke.

"I did not raise you to become a pup who sulks around his pack members over a broken heart. I thought I raised a better Alpha than that, one who knows that putting his duties first is more important than anything else."

"So you expect me to be a robot who doesn't feel? I should just act like I am okay when I am not." I gritted out, and my father shrugged.

"I expect you to act like an Alpha. You are not a teenager; you are past the age where you make stupid decisions or let your emotions control you. You are an Alpha with responsibilities, with a pack waiting to be led. How do you intend to lead the members of this pack if you are emotionally driven and lash out when things don't go your way? This situation with your mate could've been kept under wraps until the council gave their verdict, but it has now become a topic of gossip amongst pack members because you couldn't keep your emotions in check. If you so badly needed to cope with your pain, you could've waited until she was proven guilty, or at least did so in private. But you chose to act out shamefully in public, before your subjects."

I sighed as my father continued to drill words into me.

'I told you the same thing; I told you not to do anything rash. If she truly cheated on us, we should've felt the extremity of it through the mate link.'

Alaric, my wolf, grumbled with disapproval, and I shut him out before he could continue.

"I am sorry, father." When he gets like this, it is better to concede and accept defeat.

"Do you see the importance in my words? Do you realise the wrong in your ways?" He asked in his usual stern voice that's always coated with a fake sense of concern, and I nodded.

"Yes, father, I see that now."

"Someday this pack will be yours to lead; a good leader leads with logic, not with his emotions."

"Of course, father," I replied stiffly.

"Good. You wouldn't want me to remind you of this again, would you?" He asked, I shook my head but proceeded to open my mouth to offer an answer as his eyes narrowed.

"No father."

"Good, you are dismissed."