Chapter 100

My mind was reeling as I listened to Andrew’s voicemail over and over again. Of course, the words never changed, but I kept expecting to hear him say ‘Just kidding!’ or something at the end.

He couldn’t possibly want me to take over his pack. I was Ethan’s Luna, I was incapable of being an alpha at all. Shewolves can’t be alphas.

At least, that’s what I thought.

I called Andrew back immediately. It was late, part of me hoped he wouldn’t answer, but he did. On the first ring, I heard a hurried, “Hello? Ava?”

I sucked in a breath and tried to soothe my shaking voice.

“Did you mean that?” I asked him, “That you’re willing to make me part of your pack?”

“I’m willing to make you the leader of my pack when it comes time for me to retire, Ava,” Andrew said. In that moment, he sounded the part of a caring father. It made my breath hitch and a deep emotional lump formed in my throat.

“I can’t accept it anyways,” I told him, though it hurt a part of me to do so.

I always wanted a father who cared enough about me to give me whatever he could, to provide for me, to care about what happened to me in general.

Finding something even slightly similar in Andrew was shocking, but I didn’t hate it. Especially not if what he told me about Ethan’s parents was true.

“I understand you feel conflicted now because of your marriage with Ethan Velasco, but let me tell you this, child,” Andrew spoke softly into the phone, fatherly, “You and I are blood-related. No matter what you do, we will always have a bond through that. I will always be your father and you will always be my child. You and Ethan will no be so lucky-”

I let out a confused grunt, but he continued on.

“-Marriages can always end in divorce, you can always end a marriage with a piece of paper. Trust me, child, once Ethan becomes Alpha Chairman he will cast you to the side and sign those divorce papers as quickly as he can.”

“He would never!” I argued back, but Andrew didn’t believe me.

“I’ve noticed he’s been spending a lot of time with Gerald, Sarah’s father. He’s the alpha of an incredibly powerful pack, and Sarah has always liked Ethan. Even when they were children.” Andrew continued. “Trust me, once you are no longer of use to him, he will divorce you and replace you with Sarah. I’ve seen it happen.”

“That won’t happen to me!” I insisted, but even I could hear the doubt laced in my own words. Ethan was so mad at me for even meeting with Andrew. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide that he was my father forever.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how angry Ethan would be about that. He would never forgive me, and that could just be incentive enough for him to divorce me and marry Sarah instead.

“It will, but…” Andrew spoke into the phone conspiratorially, “If you help me rise to become Alpha Chairman instead, then Ethan will have no power or reason to abandon you. You can stay married, he won’t need Sarah or her father.”

I contemplated his words, but my silence must’ve made him feel uneasy because he continued.

“Ava, in order to save your marriage and set yourself up for success in the future, I need you to help me become Alpha Chairman. It’s the only way to secure your happiness.”

I told him I would think about it and hung up.

Alarm bells were ringing in my head as he kept insisting that he needed to be chairman in order for Ethan and I to stay happy. Maybe this was his plan all along, to string me along as his daughter so that he could use me to finalize Ethan’s failure.

If that were the case, I’d need a plan to ensure that I look like I’m helping him while actually doing the complete opposite. Father or not, I still had my loyalties to Ethan before anyone else.

Even if Ethan was so angry with me I thought he may never forgive me.

The next week, I didn’t speak to Andrew. I didn’t meet with him at the cafe. I didn’t answer his phone calls or even listen to his voicemails. I was far too focused on the excessive amount of time Sarah and Ethan were spending with each other.

Ethan and I never really resolved our fight from the previous week about Andrew, but we were on speaking terms again. We shared our bed, but we didn’t make love or kiss. We simply slept next to each other.

The lack of physical contact only fueled the insecurity I felt compared to Sarah. Sarah spent far too much time in Ethan’s office with him because of Ethan’s relationship with her father.

“He’s the third most powerful alpha in the wolf world, Ava,” Ethan explained as I asked why he needed to spend so much time in meetings with him and kissing up to him. “I need to acquire him as an ally before Andrew does.”

“And does that alliance need to include Sarah following you around like a lost puppy all day?” I asked, trying to hide my anger, but failing to do so.

Ethan just rolled his eyes and told me that if that’s what he needed to do to garner the support he needed, then that’s what would happen.

I huffed and walked away after that.

The rest of the day, Ethan and I were at odds. We kept subtly jabbing insults at each other or rolling our eyes at the other. It was our first fight since becoming mates, and it was somehow far more painful than any other fight we’d had up until this point.

It all boiled over when I went down to the cafeteria for lunch. I thought Ethan was at a meeting with Sarah’s father, but I found him and Sarah sitting together at a table in the dining room.

I froze, tray in hand, as I watched Sarah lean into Ethan’s face, lips pursed and ready to kiss him.

Ethan pushed her away, but I was seeing red by that point. The anger in me came to a head and I reacted without thinking.

I slammed my tray down, getting the attention of several of Ethan’s subordinates as I stormed over to Ethan and Sarah.

“Get out of here!” I shouted at Sarah, “Go sit in the lobby and wait for your daddy to come pick you up or something. Just get away from my husband!”

Sarah looked at Ethan for support, but Ethan was too focused on staring heatedly into my eyes. His arms were crossed as he regarded me with a glare.

Sarah, without Ethan telling her to stay, got up and stormed out of the dining room. I didn’t care where she went, I needed to talk to Ethan.

Ethan stood up after Sarah was gone and spoke to me, slowly.

“You cannot behave like this after what you’ve been doing with Andrew,” He seethed. “There was no reason for you to be meeting him. Are you having an affair?”

I guffawed at his words, hurt that he would even think that I would be unfaithful to him after everything we’d been through.

“No!” I defended, “No, I would never do that to you, and not with him of all people.”

“Then why meet him?” Ethan demanded. “Are you trying to hurt me?”

“Ethan, it's not about you!” I nearly shouted.

“Then tell me! You haven’t explained yourself at all-”

I cut him off, the information bubbling against my tongue, I couldn’t hold it back any longer.

“He’s my real father!” I admitted, tears pricking at my eyes.

Ethan froze.