Leah's POV
"Yeah, he's a really great man," she mumbled. "If every man was like Lucian, this world would be a much better place."
"Wow! A world which is full of my brother! I can't imagine that!" I laughed out loud.
"What? What's wrong with a man being very good at his job, being loyal to his family, his subjects, and..." Laura took a pause and suddenly became sad. "...and Mona..."
When she mentioned Mona, my heart sank. Mona used to be my brother's mate, the love and light of his life. Even though she passed away years ago, my brother was still moaning to her.
I didn't think he could ever walk out of his grief, because when a Luna of a pack died, the whole wolf pack became weak. In order to protect our pack, my brother had to reject Mona before she passed away. It was the most heart-throbbing thing that I had ever witnessed in my life, and I had witnessed a lot of heart-throbbing things.
That was one of the reasons why I wanted to ask Laura to work for me. I noticed that whenever Laura showed up, my brother became a bit more lively than his usual self.
Hopefully... I mean, only hopefully, Laura would be able to help Lucian walk out of the agony of losing his mate.
"Leah, you look sad! I shouldn't have mentioned Mona," Laura held me in her arms and said. "You know what? Let's go to the Sheridan Club tonight. We have to celebrate that you are going to start a new chapter of your life. A career-driven businesswoman straddling the divide between both the human being and the werewolf worlds! The wealthiest and most powerful woman in the entire Kingdom and the world! The whole world is your oyster!"
Lucas' POV
"Alpha, we've got a situation here..."
Jorah's voice was intentionally suppressed when he greeted me. He only talked to me in that voice when he messed up something.
I fell to the chair, all deflated and worn out, loosening my tie a bit.
I need to change for a new tie. Probably a new Beta. I thought to myself, looking at the obviously panicked young man standing in front of me. Jorah was qualified for his job in every way, but there was just something about this guy. He was driving me mad in a very subtle way and I wasn't even sure what the heck was wrong with this guy.
I guessed it had something to do with his standing posture. He always looked painfully miserable when he was around me as if he was suffering from a chronic ulcer in his stomach. Neither he nor I could do anything about it to end his misery because we both knew I was that damn chronic ulcer.
If only Basil was still alive! When Basil was my Beta, I led the army and conquered the whole north. Together, we built and reconstructed the entire Northern Front of the Kingdom against rogues, bears, and vampires. With his encouragement, I convinced my father, destroyed all the evil plots of my uncles, and took over the leadership of my father's pack.
And now Basil was gone and I had exiled his only younger sister Josephine.
My life would be so much better if my late Beta was still alive. And of course, if I hadn't rejected Leah and she was still my wife.
"I'm waiting for you to finish your sentence, Jorah." I rubbed my forehead and said.
Jorah looked like he was nudged by an invisible elbow and said, "Yes, Alpha. The situation. Well, your father is back."
"What do you mean by my father is back?" I bounced up from the chair immediately.
"Well, he's downstairs..." Jorah withdrew a bit instinctively.
"And you're telling me now?!" I asked with composure, but I was sure Jorah could tell that I was mad.
"I'm sorry, Alpha... I was trying to tell you as soon as you woke up..." Jorah looked at me with puppy eyes.
Oh, no! Not that look. He gets away with it every time by playing innocent. I can never stay mad at him.
"Is he in the living room now?" I asked.
"Yeah... And he doesn't look happy at all. You know, apparently, Leah... Well, Miss Lewyn has sent the divorce paperwork to his summer house in Sweden. So, now, he's really pissed."
"What?!" I was about to walk out of the room, but I stopped and turned to look at Jorah. I couldn't believe Leah would do something like that.
The thing is, my father didn't know that I had rejected Leah. He had no idea that my pack no longer had a Luna. And now he learned about this through the courier service.
To be honest, I would have been pissed if I was him.
But seriously? Sending those damn paperwork to my father's summer house in Sweden? How badly Leah wanted to humiliate me?
"If you want, I can get a rope for you, Alpha," Jorah said.
"What do I need a rope for? " I stared at him with confusion. Like always, he lost me again.
To hang myself before my father kills me? I thought to myself.
Jorah swallowed the lump in his throat and said, "So you can use it as a ladder to get out of this building through the window... You know, just to get out of here..."
His voice got quieter as my face got darker.
"Jorah, listen," I fixated my eyes on him and cleared my voice. "I'm 31 years old and I'm the Alpha of the most powerful pack in the North. I'm not a 16-year-old schoolboy trying to sneak out of my own house to avoid my father's third degree by using a freakin' rope. From now on, when you try to offer me any kind of solution, try putting that in your mind. Think, before you speak."
"Sure, well noted, Alpha. Well noted." Jorah wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and said. Then, he looked around as if he was looking for something.
"What are you looking for?" I asked.
"Nothing. I'm looking for a rope to hang myself, Alpha." He mumbled.
"OK, great. Now that I've made my Beta's day, I'm going to go downstairs and go on making my father's day." I gave him a dark look and walked off.
"Another thing, Alpha..." Jorah caught up with me and said.
"What?" I grumbled without looking at him. Judging by his tone, this "another thing" couldn't be good.
"I took the liberty to call your mother. And she's downstairs as well." Jorah said.
"You what?!" I couldn't hold it anymore but let it all out. "You're my Beta, Jorah! Your job is to make my life easier, not harder! You know my mother can't stay more than one minute with my father without shouting!"
"I'm trying to save your life, Alpha. You should see the look on your father's face. I have never seen him angry like that. I was sure he was going to kill you and that's why I called your mother..."
"So he could kill both of us?!" I shouted.
"Oh, look who's here! The sunshine of my life. My son, who rejected his Luna without signing the paperwork and tried to conceal it from his whole family!" I heard my father's voice coming from downstairs.
"He told me! Because I was there with him while you were on your stupid golf tour around Europe!" My mother's voice was deafening.
My father barked like a mad dog, "I was on that tour with the board members because your deadbeat son couldn't do his job! Now, what?! This is all over again! He messed up and I have to clean up his shit! Do you know how much money we'll lose if we release his divorce to the public?! Do I need to remind you the importantce of Luna in a pack! Our pack is getting weak because your son has rejected his mate! Why can't you face the truth that your son is nothing but a failure and disappointment?! Fuck! Those rednecks at the Blazebite Prowlers kill the firstborns for a reason!"
"What's that supposed to mean, Flare?!" My mother's voice sounded furious.
"You know exactly what I mean, Rosalie!" My father raised his voice.
My mother's voice sounded exasperated, "Flare Clarence Farrow. You'd better explain whatever nonsense you were talking to me right now or else..."
"Alpha, if you need me, I'll be right outside, ready to hang myself." Jorah looked at me with sympathy and walked out of the room, leaving me standing alone in the living room to face the music of my parents.
Hell, this is 16 years old all over again.
Damn, I should have accepted Jorah's rope proposal.