Rejecting my mate

4. The dead woman

Fang's POV

"What's going on?" I asked one of my dad's enforcers, as he kept guard outside a rundown hut.

"It seems that Cassandra died, your father went to see if that was true."

It wasn't until my father got out that I realized who he was talking about.  Cassandra was not a name that I was familiar with, but I recognized her when I saw her in my father's arms.  She looked sick and thin, it wasn't hard to believe she was dead, it was hard to believe she hadn't died sooner.  She looked so small and fragile next to my dad. 

He looked really pissed off, but I knew that her death was affecting him.  I didn't know why, he had never reacted that way before, he didn't care about pack members' deaths, he usually sent somebody else to take care of that kind of stuff.  

"What are you doing?" the menacing voice of Paul, the former beta echoed in the place.  "Put her down!"

"Don't speak to me in that tone, I'm your Alpha, don't forget it," my father warned.

"Put.  Her.  Down." he said.  "She hated you, the last thing she would want is for you to touch her.  Have some respect for her."

"Shut up!" my father ordered, using his Alpha voice.  "You know nothing, we were friends, she was mine before this all happened, and I'm going to take care of her," Paul didn't stop, he went after my father, but the enforcers that were following my father stopped Paul before he could even reach him.  

Paul was fighting like crazy, and I had to admit I was impressed, didn't think the old man had it in him, but it was a lost battle.  Even without the injuries that stopped him from being an active member of the Pack, he was just a beta, he was no match for my father's favorite enforcers.  

I left the enforcers to take care of Paul and followed my father, he was the one that worried me.  I couldn't understand what his problem was, why was he so invested on that woman.  He was holding her like she was something precious, he cared for her in a way I just couldn't figure out. 

"She will have an alpha send off," he said, and I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or to one of the enforcers still around him.  "She will have a beautiful ceremony.  She was nothing especial by herself, but she was my predecessor's wife, and if she had accepted my charity, she would have remained a queen.  She never accepted my help while being alive, but I will give her a proper goodbye now that she can't let her pride stand in the way," it sounded like his voice was breaking, but I had to be mistaken, he couldn't care about that woman.  What was wrong with him?

"What happened?" one of my father's women asked.  She was a new one and I still haven't caught her name, it wasn't like my father bothered introducing them to me. 

"She died, we have to prepare her," instead of getting into the Pack House, he kept walking to the nearby clinic.  That made sense, I wasn't sure why I thought he was going to take her with him into the house.  

"She looks sick," the woman said.  "Are you sure it's safe to carry her?  Maybe whatever she has, it's contagious, you should drop her into a hole and set her on fire," she added with disgust, the look on her face was one of contempt.  

I never expected my father's reaction to her words, especially not because the woman was pregnant with his child, but my father kicked her in the back of her knees to send her to the ground, and then put his foot on her neck, crushing her throat and not allowing her to breathe. All of that without disturbing the body in his arms.

"You forget who you are talking to, b***h," my father was so out of control, I couldn't understand him.  "You will show more respect to me and my decisions, don't pretend to know better than me, and don't even think about telling me what to do.  Is that understood?"  the woman couldn't speak, could barely move, but managed to convey her acceptance, so my father let her go, and kept walking.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked, a little worried about the woman.

"You need to teach your subjects to be respectful of you, if you allow them to talk to you like that, or to question your decisions, you start losing control, and that can be the end of you," my father explained, making it sound totally fine. 

I saw one of his enforcers helping the woman up, and taking her into the house.  I believed it would have been better for her to go to the clinic, but it wasn't my problem.  Neither was the woman in my father's arms.  

I decided it was not worth my time to get involved in a dead woman's burial, so I stopped moving, waiting to see if my father would notice, and when he didn't acknowledge my disappearance, I went back to the Pack House.  Everything was almost ready for the arrival of the others, I just hoped the dead woman wouldn't cause issues with the schedule.

I was still thinking about her, even considering trying to find out more about her and what had happened, when I saw one of the omegas carrying some very basic linens into one of the guest rooms.  That wouldn't do, only the best could be used for my friends.  It looked like I would have to micromanage everything until their arrival to make sure they only got the best of the best.  I was going to show them our best face.  

I lost myself into getting everything ready for my guests, and I didn't pay any more thoughts to my dad's odd behavior or to the dead woman until much later.