Page 125 of Fated Obsessions

Chapter 7

Mia

Ikept moving around on my seat, squirming as I sat beside my father at the head table in the longhouse. The entire pack was crammed inside, and although the structure was huge, easily fitting everyone, I still felt suffocated.

And I knew it was because my father had not taken his focus off Tucker the entire time we'd been here, from the moment we’d arrived. His aggression was boiling right under the surface, and the sound of his teeth grinding together and the low growl that intermittently came from his chest were barely drowned out by the clatter and conversation all around us.

“Dad?” I prompted softly but knew he’d hear me.

He slowly looked my way, his eyes flashing back and forth as his wolf rose up, but his human side pushed it down. “Yeah, sweetheart?” His voice was nothing but a low rumble.

“Are you okay?” Of course I knew he wasn't, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say to defuse the situation that was about to explode.

I wanted to tell him to calm down, that he would make a scene, that his turbulent emotions were only going to make things worse. But I knew saying any of that would only have the opposite effect. I didn’t want an all-out war, not between my father and Tucker, the two men who meant the most to me.

That realization slammed into me. I thought about how Tuckerdidmean a great deal to me, that hehadever since the moment I realized I was starting to feel things for him. I knew I wanted things to progress more than they were. I wanted to get to know him better, not just in the physical, mating sense, but in one that would forever connect us. I wanted him to know me better than anybody else.

“I’m fine,” my father gritted out, and I was pulled back to the present.

Everybody was finishing up their meals, with the large slabs of meat already having been devoured almost as soon as they’d been served. I looked down at my plate, my fork in my hand as I pushed around some of the sides the pack members had prepared. We were a community, with everyone working together, members bringing in dishes and creating one giant potluck. I did love this community so much, but on that same token, there were internal issues that arose, just like the one I was currently facing with my mate and the Alpha.

I was focusing on inconsequential things because pushing my father to just admit why he was upset meant I’d have to admit thatIwas the cause of why he felt that way.

I glanced up and stared at the pack members who were not only part of my community, but ones I thought of as family too.

The tables were set up in lines, with the Alpha’s table in front of them all on a raised podium. I did hate some of the hierarchy rules and customs my kind practiced, and although I knew the Alpha was the leader and therefore helped guide the pack, Ididn’t know how I felt with the almost royal air that came with the title.

The council was seated at the Alpha’s table, as was the Beta, or he was supposed to, but I noticed Tucker was keeping his distance, which let me know he too was aware of the aggressive signals my father was giving out.

And as time passed, I knew things would only become worse, with tensions rising so much it would explode and consume everyone. A part of me just wanted it to be done and over with, for the inevitable fight between the Alpha and the Beta to take place. But then the other part of me hated that, didn’t want violence, and didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Because the fact of the matter was, if there was anyone in this pack who could defeat the Alpha, my bet would be on Tucker being that male.

I tried not to stare at Tucker, who stood across the room with several of the pack guards. But it was hard, my eyes finding him through the crowded room, as if he were the negative end of a magnet and I was the positive.

Over the last two days, I felt my need for him increase, felt the pull toward my mate nearly consuming me whole. I knew it was the mating connection we had, knew it would never go away, and in fact it would only grow stronger by the day until we fulfilled it. And for the last forty-eight hours, I’d tried to come to the realization of what this meant.

I was forever tied with another person.

I would never be alone.

Mates had a bond that was lifelong, eternal.

He would always be my protector, someone who had my best interest at heart.

I would forever be his priority, and he mine.

And when I really thought about all of that, what a gift it was to be able to have somebody who only wanted the best for you, how could I resist? How could I question something that wasso rare within my pack? Why did I want to try to think things through?

At the remembrance of his lips on mine, his body pressed against me, and the way he scented me, it told me how much Tucker wanted me as his.

And that very thought—just athought— made me weak and needy and wanting nothing more than to give in to the sexual abandon that was taking hold of both of us.

I looked over at my father, his focus now on his plate, his jaw clenched. I hated that he was upset, that for a male who was always so in control—had to be in order to be the True Alpha—in this one instance, he felt helpless. And because I was his daughter, he’d forever see me as his child, that little girl who’d grown up without a mother, who had to learn everything from her father.

He was a good male, the best male I’d ever had in my life, even if he was stubborn and hardheaded and liked to pick fights because he thought he was doing the right thing. He didn’t know any better, butI’dbe the one to teach him now. I’d be the one to show him that he never had to be alone, not just because I was always with him, but because he had the entire pack who loved him and looked up to him.

And so I was now confident that I could talk to him about this, make him see reason, let him know things would be okay, because I would make it so.

I was just about to open my mouth and tell him all of that when the crowd parted and Tucker started walking toward us. My body tightened, and I snapped my head toward my dad. His eyes were of course locked on my mate, his jaw clenching so much harder that I wouldn’t have been surprised if he cracked teeth. That low rumble I’d been hearing from him intermittently rose louder. He placed his hands flat on the table and slowlystood from his seat, the scent of his aggression rising with every second.