The Alpha Father's Game

Chapter 8: Lucky

Andrew carried Lucky to a black leather couch in the parlor and laid her down. His heart was still clenched at the sight of her pale face and cold skin. He had reacted quickly enough to catch her, but he should have removed her from the situation. He regrets that now knowing how bad his father's temper is.

She was frightened the minute his father’s aura had hit them and bordered on panic. Her head had turned around like she was searching for a way out of the dining room. And when she went to calm Alpha Edge down, he should have pulled her into him then, instead of waiting to see what would happen. He cursed himself for not doing all that. It was all that d***ed contract's fault. He did not want to feel anything for her or do anything to help her. She was the woman that his father had chosen to become the next Luna. He knew he could have done better to protect her from him.

This dinner was supposed to be about getting to know each other and not a bloodbath. He had not wanted to dine with his potential mate’s family or her. He had not wanted to meet her, in fact. It was not about his deceased fated mate who has been dead for a decade now. He did not want to compete with his brothers and create a problem between them or champion for the alpha title. He was first born. It should be his by all rights. This woman could be a gold digger like other she-wolves for all he knows, too. What happened tonight almost proved that, except those types do not put themselves in danger like Lucky had done.

“Well, this turned out to be a ‘grand affair’,” Rick commented as he walked lazily into the parlor.

Andrew turned around to look at him, swinging his arms while stepping down the short steps to him. He was surprised that he was not going to the light brown wooden bar next to the double doors. It has an array of drinks to calm the nerves for a night like tonight. His brother liked to party especially with women which is why this room was well stocked. There was even a gold framed mirror for the bar tender to notice his customers while he or she was busy. Right now, it is reflecting the white ceiling.

Rick went to the black leather chair next to the couch and plopped down on it. He caused the crystal lamp with the white shade to jiggle, but he was not worried about it breaking. He wanted to protect Lucky from his brother, who had agitation in his aura. He could get a little vile when he was like this, but it was nothing compared to their father.

“I think it was grand,” Dorran chuckled as he entered the parlor next. “It seems that Father chose a good woman for one of us to be mated with.”

He did not go down the polished brown wooden steps to the beige stone floor. He went to the bar instead and leaned on it between the two of the black leather stools. Andrew noticed that he looked worn out from blocking Lucky’s aura from influencing him. They all did when he had sent out the message to them after feeling the first wave hit him. He felt it gather strength when he grabbed their father’s wrist to stop him from killing her. He was surprised that she slid between him and the table like she had the right to do so.

Dorran did not look at Lucky or anywhere else except the back wall. There are three windows sitting covered by thick, green curtains and a pool table off to the right in an alcove. It was fanned by tall green plants that should be enticing for anyone, but his eyes were too distant to be looking at it. It was like he was fantasizing about something. Nothing drew his attention until Rick started to talk.

“Yeah, a dead one,” he snorted with an eye roll. “What was she thinking by trying to calm Father down? No one, not even his mates, has been able to do that.”

“She did in a way,” Andrew pointed out to them, which drew their shocked looks his way. They were not close enough to see the way their father’s face slackened for a moment before hardening back. Or the fact that he was releasing her neck, and his aura diminished a bit, but he did. “Did you not feel it when she passed out? He looked at her for a brief moment. There was nothing except calm in his aura.”

They looked at him for a long moment with each of them contemplating its meaning. This is an odd pack that gets strange pack members, but none like this. They have hybrids and tribrids that have an affinity for causing trouble. Then, there are the others that they wonder about. Most are just werewolves. Then, there is Lucky. She is the only one that seemed semi-normal until she did a stupidly brave thing. It was courageous of her to think she had the power to stop the alpha. Still, she nearly killed herself doing it and she may pay a bigger cost for attempting to do so. Her aura, though, had them all baffled at how strong it is for a pup. Once she trains a little, and is taught how to use it correctly, she might be able to tame their father.

They were all lost in their thoughts while Andrew tended to her, until a grey haired man walked in carrying a black satchel. His hair was mused and almost smushed against his doughy round face that held a grimace. He did not look happy with red-rimmed, brown eyes showing it as he glared at each of them. He had been sleeping when he was mind-linked, Andrew was sure. It showed further with his wrinkled blue checkered shirt and beige pants. They knew this man as the doctor even as Easter followed him in with a white blanket in her arms.

“Dr. Burke, this is Ms…” Andrew began to introduce him to Lucky.

“I know who she is,” he waved him off. “What happened?”

“She exerted herself, I think,” Andrew answered with a bit of confusion. How did their doctor already meet her? “She was fighting to calm Father with her aura.”

“I see,” Dr. Burke huffed as he knelt beside her to begin examining her. “Ms. Fike, the blanket. She’s cold. I won’t be getting a good reading until morning, so I expect someone to bring her to me.”

“Is there nothing that can be done now?” Dorran asked curiously. “I would like to ask her some questions.”

“No,” he answered sharply as he lifted her eyelids and looked into her eyes for signs of her wolf. “She needs to rest and then eat well after exerting her energy like that. Then, make sure you give her h*ll from me for doing that. She was already warned about it."

“Is there something that we need to know, Doctor?” Rick asked with his brows twitching his curiosity.

Andrew watched him look at each brother in turn with his face hardened in his anger. It slackened a little with something close to shock that made him curious about what he knew about her. Did their father pick someone weak to ensure that they would not have to worry about a power trip? If so, then what is wrong with her that she cannot use her aura like she had done? It made him worry that she would not survive a pack like theirs.

“She is a newborn,” Dr. Burke announced in the silence. It shocked Easter as much as it had the brothers. They turned their heads slowly and looked at her with awe and a bit of worry. “She cannot use her aura in the way she had done, or it can kill her wolf before it even starts its life. I was not there, but I assume that since she went against your father, then she used everything in her to do it. Correct?”

“It… Her aura hit everyone in the dining room, putting them into a stupor,” Andrew responded. He did not want to admit that his father was affected by her, either. It would hit his pride, not to mention that she would become a target. “My brothers and I had managed to shield ourselves before it fully hit us. I was the closest to her and I can tell you that she put her all in it.”

“Take her to the Elders when she wakes,” Dr. Burke ordered firmly. “They will be able to tell if her wolf is still there and what it is.”

“Thank you for coming so late, Doctor,” Andrew said solemnly as he waved to the door. “We will make sure that she does not use her aura like that, again.”

“That’s if Father does not kill her family,” Dorran snorted, just as Lucky’s father walked into the parlor.

Andrew looked at him being escorted by a blonde haired omega that stood at the door. He noticed that this man’s face had worry on it. His eyes were trained on Lucky, until he passed Dr. Burke. Where’s her mother? Usually, it is the mom or both that comes storming in to see if their daughter is well. He is the only one of her three family members that came to see her.

“Doctor,” David called earnestly with his voice showing his fear. “Is Lucky alright? Did she…? Is she…?”

“Mr. Green, she is fine,” Dr. Burke told him gently. “She’ll make a full recovery with rest tonight and a good meal tomorrow. She merely exerted herself by using her aura. That is all.”

“And her wolf… uh… Star?” he asked, struggling to remember its name.

“That will be the judgment of the Elders,” he replied firmly. “I do not see her wolf in her eyes. It could be sleeping or dead. I cannot give you any encouragement when it comes to newborns in this situation.”

“I understand,” David said softly and extended his hand. “Thank you.” Then, he went to Lucky lying on the couch and looked down at her before kneeling and taking her hand. “I’m sorry. I tried to help this time. I swear I did.”

“This time?” Rick asked, turning his head to him. “What does that mean ‘this time’? How many times has this happened to her?”

“This is the first time she has passed out using her aura,” he answered softly with his head lowered. “She has not used it before now.”

“Then, what did you mean?” Andrew asked sharply. “She is supposed to be well when brought here.”

“Your father is angry over the contract,” David answered, turning red as he began to tell them everything. “My wife and her twin sister concocted a plan to not only get rich and powerful but to punish Lucky. They decided to change the contracts where she becomes a s*x slave instead of a Luna. Then, they were going to come back with the other contract making him ‘pay’ for hurting her and take everything away from her. Plus, they were going to ask for damages and more.”

“No wonder Father’s enraged,” Dorran snapped. “He and us would never accept her as a slave of any kind. That is why the marriage contract. He does not even like the thought of women becoming breeders.”

Andrew felt his anger already hitting his veins. It pounded heat through him, while his wolf snarled about those cruel women. He did not like to hear how this woman was going to be degraded, and in turn, make them something disgusting. His brother and he were raised better than to take a woman against her will. He hoped that his father would kill them for this trespass, but then, he realized something. She had stopped his father from doing just that.

Why?

“I guess you weren’t amendable to the plan, huh?” Rick sneered, feeling just as angry as his brothers.

“No, and Alpha Cullen can vouch for me,” David snapped, looking at the alpha angrily. “Even Beta Ross can, too. That is how I could come here to check on my daughter. I told your father how I tried to get Cullen to listen to me, and it was Cullen's beta that heard me out. We both agreed that the mate bond was making him blind. Now, he is no longer deluded on what kind of mate he has.”

“And your wife?” Andrew asked sharply. He kept his body stiffened while standing near the man. He wanted to rip off his head for letting it happen, but he was Lucky’s father. He could do nothing or risk hurting her. “What else has she done to your daughter?”

“Lucky was not what you see now,” David answered sadly. “Her mother and sister had almost beaten her into submission. There would be times where I would see her real personality, until she got her wolf. Then, I saw the young woman that I had hoped would survive through their torment. And now, I hope she has her wolf still. I wanted a chance to redeem myself and telling the beta was one way. I want a chance to show her that she is my daughter and I am sorry for letting them hurt her. That is why I asked the Alpha to consider letting me trade places with Beta Ross as a prisoner because of what happened. It is as much my fault as it is Alpha Cullen’s, Martha’s, and Lucy’s.”

Andrew could smell the guilt on him and see it in his eyes. It eased the disgust and tension in him that held back his anger. A grimace is still on his face, though. This young woman has been mentally and physically beaten down by her family with no one to help her through it. It was a wonder that she stood up to their father. He must resemble them in some way, he thought sadly, as he walked to the bar and around it. He needed a drink, but he paused as he grabbed a crystal cut glass.

“You said ‘when she got her wolf’,” he repeated curiously. “And you said that your wife and daughter did this whole thing to punish her. What do you mean by that?”

“Someone lured her into a temple at Crescent Pack and had her drink the potion,” David answered. He brushed a lock of her hair away lovingly. “Alpha Cullen even believes that someone wanted her to become a wolf. That is why he chose this place and your father. He said that your alpha would keep her safe."

“And that is true,” Andrew assured him, “but he did not have to promise her to be our mate.”

“She will die without one,” David whispered the last part. “If tonight does not prove that to you, then tell me what will?”

“Easter,” Dorran called gently, “help Mr. Green carry his daughter to her room. Add extra blankets to her and turn up the heat.”

“Yes, Alpha,” she said solemnly.

It did not settle well with him that this young woman had a limited time until she expired. She seemed to be kind even when she was trying to feed him. He misunderstood her, thinking she was trying to be intimate, but her words rang too true. She was concerned that he was hurting his health. There are not many like her who would blatantly go up to a powerful man and stop his anger, either. She tried to do so for a family that hates her. This woman was very kind, and yet, she was strong-willed. If he were looking for a chosen mate, she would be it, but he did not know if he could get over her- Elaina.