Daughter of the Alpha

Chapter three

AJ slowly scraped her fork against the plate. She wasn't hungry, she had only nibbled a bit on the roast beef in front of her, and then rust pushed her food around with the utensils. Rolling peas into the little lagoon she had constructed of mashed potatoes and gravy and back out again, and into the lagoon, and out again. She bit her lip, she had pushed one single pea into the gravy depth, drowning it, it was almost gone before she pushed in another, with the help of her fork the second pea managed to save the first one, dragging it up on the potato shore.

She couldn't help it, for days the scene had played out in her head and she could never remember exactly what had happened. She didn't usually resort to acting it out with her food though. She remembered the strong jaw that had pulled her out of the water, when she had gotten home she had noticed the teeth mark on her upper arm, serving as a reminder. She remembered the blackness she was sinking into, she remembered the cold. And then nothing.

From across the table, her mother coughed, raised an eyebrow at her and motioned to AJ's plate. If they hadn't had company Penny would have scolded her for playing with her food, but unfortunately, they did have company and her mother had to just give her a stern look instead. But it worked, AJ immediately stopped trying to drown any more peas.

"I still think we should send him on his way. He trespassed on our territory and he can't demand we let him stay," George said, scooping up more mashed potato and splatting it on his plate with a flick of his wrist. "He could be dangerous," he added, pouring gravy over it. AJ watched him fill his fork to the brim and shove it into his mouth. She hid her shudder. A lump of mash was hanging on for dear life in the corner of his mouth as he chewed, a small dribble of gravy made its way down his chin. He licked it away with a tongue still coated in food and she started to feel a little sick.

Of course, George had claimed the seat next to her. Out of all the chairs at that long table, he had to sit next to her. Granted, her father didn't give him much choice in the matter when he placed her mother and himself on the other side. AJ could have kicked him.

"Nonsense." Her father shook his head in a laugh. AJ hadn't even noticed when the conversation had turned to Dylan. She hadn't cared about conversation earlier but now she was all ears. "He's a good boy who has only landed himself in a bit of trouble. He gave me his word he would be gone by summer and that's all there is to it."

"What trouble?" AJ heard herself say, she hadn't intended to blurt it out but when she saw her opportunity she had to take it.

Henry and George shared a look. Henry scratched his stubbly chin and cleared his throat before explaining, "It was rumored he was sleeping with the Alpha female of the Darktimber pack, something the Alpha didn't look too kindly on. Nor the other males in the pack who seemed to believe he had seduced their mates as well. It's ridiculous."

"I heard he became violent when their Alpha told him to move on, they say he managed to kill three other wolves before they got him under control," George added.

"Again, nonsense." Henry scraped the last of his mash up on his fork. "He just needs some time to get his head straight."

AJ shook her head, the story did indeed seem ridiculous. "Him? Seducing women?" She let out a spiteful laugh. "But he's so ugly."

Her outburst made Penny drop her fork against her plate with a loud clank. "You've seen him?" she questioned, tight-lipped.

"No, no," AJ quickly lied, "I've just, you know, heard about him, and heard him described." Well, that could have gone wrong. "He's apparently, really ugly."

"I don't want you anywhere near him," Penny stated.

"Your mother is right, you stay out of that part of the woods," Henry said sternly to AJ, "I don't want any trouble involving you."