Unfortunately, they had a blind spot when it came to Titan.
“Hi, Beatrix!” Jill said, beaming down at her. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Thank you for getting the hotel room for us,” Mathew said. “It’s a nice place. You were right, the restaurant across the street is very good.”
She’d been nervous the first time she’d met them, but like Mikey’s pack, they welcomed non-wolves into their family with warmth and acceptance. They looked at her as a small, fragile human that had to be treated with care or she might break. Even after she’d explained that she was a pixie now, they still considered her someone to protect.
She would’ve found it endearing if they weren’t so unnecessarily demanding of Titan.
“I’m happy to see both of you,” she said. “But I never want either of you to ever say anything to Titan about going back to New Mexico. If I find either of you pressuring him to take over as alpha, I’ll do something we’ll all regret.”
The couple’s eyes went wide with surprise.
Jill recovered first. “Beatrix, you’re not a wolf so you don’t understand this, but Titan comes from a long line of alphas, it’s in his blood. It’s not just that Mathew and I are alphas, but both our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were all alphas. He’ll be the first in four generations to turn down the role of leadership in our pack. He would be the end of an honored tradition.”
“Tradition is nothing but peer pressure from dead people,” Beatrix quipped. “Titan doesn’t want to be an alpha. That should be the end of it.”
Neither of them got angry with her, but they both looked frustrated. It was weird that she was facing down this wolf shifter couple that were both six foot four inches and built like weight lifters, but wasn’t afraid. She knew they’d never hurt her. But she was done with letting them emotionally manipulate Titan.
“We know he could be an alpha if he only tried harder,” Mathew said.
“Now that he’s mated to you and Arthur, he doesn't need to be an alpha that fights,” Jill said, as if looking for a compromise. “He could be a caregiver, and Arthur could fight for him.”
Before they could continue, she held up a hand. “No is a complete sentence. There doesn’t need to be any further discussion. I like both of you. I want you to be in Titan’s life, but if either of you keep pressuring him, I’ll cut you off.”
Jill shook her head. “You can’t cut us off, we’re his parents and his alphas.”
“You’re his parents but not his alphas. I know how wolf packs work. Mikey is Titan’s alpha, and I know he wouldn’t like what you’re doing here,” Beatrix said.
She could feel Titan’s growing distress through their bond. She pressed the back of her body against his front. When he puthis hands on her shoulders, she grabbed them and pulled them around her body.
“We’re still his parents,” Mathew said, a deep frown spreading across his face.
“That’s why I’ve let you get away with so much,” Beatrix said. “But if you keep pushing him, you won’t be welcome here any longer. Mikey won’t give you permission to be in his territory. Don’t ask me what Arthur will do, but I’m sure you won’t like it.”
Mathew and Jill straightened up, and she could feel their alpha power pressing on her skin. She wasn’t a shifter so it didn’t really affect her, but she could feel Titan shrink next to her.
“Stop that,” she barked. She stared both of them down and pointed. “Leave. We’ll meet with you later, but if your attitude doesn't change, that will be the last time you see Titan.”
Mathew wasn’t ready to give up. “We only want him to follow our family’s legacy. Is that too much to ask?”
She could feel the pain his parent’s words were causing him. Each comment they made was a stinging blow to Titan’s sense of self-worth.
“He doesn’t need to be anything but himself!” she yelled at them. “He’s an amazing man. He’s perfect the way he is, and I’m sorry you can’t see it.”
Before either of them could say anything else that might hurt Titan’s feelings, she grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
“I need your help in the east side dog run,” she said and marched off with him in tow.
The moment they had a building between them and Titan’s parents, she stopped.
“I thought we, oh, this is better,” he said as she wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him tight. He hugged her back with a happy sigh. “Thank you for rescuing me. They don’t mean to be like that, they just can’t help it.”
“They aren’t allowed to talk to you like that ever again,” she swore, pushing love through their bond. She could feel many of his insecurities eased through their link.
“Did you mean what you said?”
She pushed more of her positive and loving feelings to him through the link. She could feel curiosity from Arthur, but a gentlenot nowfrom her quieted him.
