“Don’t get smart with me.”
The idea of my own apartment is sounding better and better by the moment. I’m not going to last more than another day with my father back home. “I was just heading out.”
He grunts, looking back down at the paper as if the conversation is already over. “You should’ve been helping your mother instead of sulking in your room for days. It’s no wonder you—” He cuts himself off, but I know where he’s going with it.
It’s always the same. Everything circles back to the fact that I didn’t turn out the way he wanted. I wasn’t his alpha son, the one he could parade around like a reflection of himself. No, I had to be the omega. Pure disappointment.
“You should be out there working, not wasting away,” he adds, flipping a page with a sharp snap. “If you can’t even do that, what’s the point of being here?”
The words hit hard, like they always do, stirring up that old resentment I thought I’d buried. It’s not like I don’t know I’ve been hiding. But hearing it from him—feeling his judgment— makes me want to punch something.
“Yeah,” I murmur, not really agreeing but not arguing either. It’s easier this way, to just let him think he’s right, that I’m exactly the failure he’s always thought. But something about this time feels different. Maybe it’s because I’ve already been dragged through the emotional wringer with Dean, or maybe I’m just tired of the same old song and dance.
“I’ll get out of the house,” I say, my voice a little sharper than before. “Maybe trytennisagain. I signed up for some lessons.” I know the mention of tennis will remind him of the embarrassment from when I was a teen. Yet, I can’t help it. Andhell, maybe I’ll actually sign up for some lessons. Maybe I can have lessons at the same time as Lakelyn.
“Tennis?” He raises a brow, eyes narrowing. “What good is tennis gonna do you? You think playing games is gonna make up for the fact that you’ve been useless for days?”
I swallow down the anger bubbling up, biting the inside of my cheek. “This isn’t forever, I’ll be gone before you know it.”
“You’re trying to avoid responsibility, like always.” He doesn’t even look up from the paper this time, the dismissal clear in his voice. “Chadwick, you’ve been doing this since you were a kid—running away from what you don’t want to deal with. Now you’ve run home with your tail between your legs, because New York City was too much. It’s pathetic.”
Pathetic. The word cuts deep, but I’ve heard it enough times to not flinch anymore. Still, the anger in me simmers, and I can’t keep my mouth shut this time.
“Maybe I’m not the son you wanted,” I snap, feeling my heart race. “But at least I’m trying to figure out what works for me. I’m not gonna waste my life trying to live up to something I’ll never be. And I’ll never be an alpha, no matter how much you wish it.”
The air in the room goes still, heavy with the unspoken tension between us. For a second, his eyes meet mine, hard and unreadable, but I don’t look away. I’m done with that.
He sets the paper down slowly, his jaw clenched. “Watch your tone, Chadwick.”
“I will,” I say, meeting his gaze without backing down. “But I’m not gonna apologize for being who I am.”
Without waiting for a response, I turn on my heel, heading for the door. His silence follows me out, but this time, it doesn’t feel like a loss. It feels like I’ve finally said what I needed to say.
CHAPTER 12
Dean
I stare downat the schedule. One name stands out.Chadwick Prince.Chad. His name, smug on the paper, like it’s mocking me. My fist tightens, the paper’s edges crinkling under the pressure. Tennis lessons. Of course,hesigned up for tennis lessons. It’s a joke to him. It has to be. A game, just like everything else with Chad.
I toss the paper onto my desk, pacing the cramped space. Every step feels too tight, too close, like the walls are pressing in. His name shouldn’t bother me—shouldn’t even register—but it does. The bastard is everywhere in my head, seeping into every crack I swore I’d sealed. That kiss was a mistake. I know it.My body knows it.It’s still wound tight, still humming with need, even though my rut ended days ago.
Buthepromised to show me what I’m missing. As if I don’t already know. As if I haven’t spent years holding back.Yearspretending he doesn’t still get to me.
I drag a hand through my hair, growling under my breath. Of all the people to drag back into my life, why him? Why now? I had everything under control. I was fine. And then Chad waltzesback, smiling like he owns the world, like that kiss didn’t mess me up more than I want to admit.
I snatch the schedule again, fingers twitching.Lakelyn.Another complication. Just seeing her name next to his makes something coil tight in my chest. She’s sweet. Easy to be around. I turned her down, tried to put distance between us. Not because I don’t want her—God, that’d be easy. But I’ve been here before. People see Alpha, and they don’t see me anymore. Just what I can give them. And I’m not going through that again. Not with her.
But then there’s Chad. And the idea of them together—it twists inside me, something ugly and sharp. I shouldn’t care. I don’t want to care. Yet, here I am, pacing my office like I’m waiting for the ax to drop.
What if she falls for him? What if it’s more than that? What ifIdo? Again.
I slam my fist against the desk, jaw clenched.No.I won’t fall for it again. He’s a game player, always has been. High school proved that. I let my guard down once, and I paid for it. He’ll do the same to her, leave her wrecked when he’s done.
I glance at the clock. My next lesson’s up.Them.Chad and Lakelyn.
My chest tightens, and I force myself to take a breath. I can’t walk into this with my head full of noise. He’s not going to win, not this time.
I yank the door open, stepping into the fresh air like it’s going to somehow clear the restlessness rattling inside me. The courts come into view, and there they are—Lakelyn laughing at something Chad said, her hand brushing his arm before she puts both back on the racket, his stupid grin plastered across his face.
