Chapter 142 It Will Be Mine

Chapter 142 It Will Be Mine
AVERY

But… what, Avery wondered. Had Cooper lost his chance to be Alpha because his mate had rejected him? That made the most sense. It didn’t answer the question of why his mate would have done it in the first place. Too many questions were bouncing around Avery’s mind that it took her a moment to choose which to ask first.

“Was… your first mate’s rejection why you never became Ahuja?”

“It’s… long and complicated,” he hedged, tilting his head away from her as if hoping she would let the topic go. Unfortunately for him, this was something she felt was necessary for her to know. In detail.

“We have time and I’m willing to listen,” Avery informed him as she placed her glass on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch.

Another grimace found its way onto Cooper’s face. “I figured… guess I don’t have much choice.”

Avery wanted to tell him that of course he had a choice but kept her mouth firmly shut. He had a choice, yes, but if he refused to talk about it she wasn’t sure where that’d leave them as mates.

“My first mate was a she-wolf named Lillian.” As he spoke, his face furrowing in pain as he clenched his hands. “She was the daughter of another pack’s Delta. She…” He shook his head and let out a breath. “My brother and I are… were… close. We’re almost exactly a year apart but I’m older, which meant I was going to inherit our pack.”

So far things were lining up for a good life, Avery noted as she watched her mate’s expressions shift from pained to something darker; it was apparent he was holding fast to some bitterness over what had happened.

“I’m dominant but when my wolf ascended… We are dominant… but we’re not an Alpha,” he continued with a small shrug of his shoulders. “Leading a pack didn’t, and still doesn’t, interest me. It never interested me but I figured, once I got my wolf, that would change. Instead, I now knew for sure that I wasn’t fit for the position.” For a moment he was silent, as if waiting for Avery to say something but she didn’t, forcing him to continue.

“Lillian is — was? — the epitome of sweetness. She loves people, loves helping others, loves being loved. I thought… she was perfect in every way because, as my mate, she’d be able to love and understand why I planned on giving the pack to my brother instead of taking it for myself.

“After she found out… she… I thought she took it well but… I was so stupid.” A growl was coming from Cooper now as he struggled with the memory. Avery wished she could do something to alleviate his pain but all of this was in the past — there was nothing she could do. “The next thing I knew, she was rejecting me because her father said she was meant to be a Luna, not the mate of a wolf who couldn’t accept his place in a pack. I wasn’t good enough.”

Though Cooper had called his former mate the epitome of sweetness, Avery got the sense that Lillian was actually a very cold person — or weak willed — to be influenced by her father to the point she willingly rejected her fated mate. It meant, contrary to the father’s beliefs, she wasn’t fit to be Luna.

“Being rejected meant I couldn’t inherit the pack regardless of how I felt,” he continued. “Which was honestly fine by me but… all of a sudden it was like… there was no reason for my existence. I’d been raised, trained, and told that, one day, I would lead the pack — something I didn’t even want — and then my mate ripped my heart out and… I couldn’t… Why was I even alive? What was my purpose?

“My family tried to help but once my brother found his mate and he was on the path to inherit the pack… we realized my wolf wouldn’t bow to him; I was too dominant. So I… left.” Cooper fell silent, his face purposefully turned away.

What could Avery say? His needing to leave or risk a fight for succession when he didn’t even want to be Alpha? That made perfect sense. It was the rejection from his mate that was the real issue; it had exacerbated all the others. Chances were his wolf would have been accepting of a less dominant Alpha — his brother by blood — if the rejection hadn’t left them feeling vulnerable.

Should she empathize with him? Tell him it was all in the past and things would be better? That she wasn’t Lillian?

“You’re scared I’ll reject you like Lillian did, but why? I mean… what reason would I have to reject you?”

“Does it matter?,” he shrugged. “Lillian’s reason wasn’t even her own. It was her father’s.”

A smile started tugging at Avery’s mouth, which she readily squashed. Now was not the time. “You’re worried my dad won’t accept you because you’re not an Alpha?”

Another shrug from Cooper was all she needed as an answer. “Can you blame me…? You’re the daughter of an Alpha — it’s obvious. As a daughter… you’re looking for a lone wolf — your mate — to take over your dad’s pack to keep it going.”

“That might have been the case if all the stuff with the Council hadn’t happened.”

Cooper finally faced her again, this time with a curious expression. “I heard rumours about that but don’t know what actually happened. Something about corruption? Illegal spells?”

“A bit of both, and some other things,” Avery replied. “Dad was a witness to the events — he took part in bringing it all to light, actually — and has been busy cleaning up the mess ever since.”

He grimaced. “That’s… a lot to take on.” It was obvious this was pushing Cooper even further away; the thought of taking on the role of Alpha in a time when things were complicated… even Avery could understand how unappealing that was without the added issue of his not wanting to be an Alpha in the first place.

They were quiet for a few moments before Cooper broke it by saying, “If you’re hoping I’ll be Alpha of your dad’s pack…”

Avery laughed. “Dad is giving me the Mchezaji pack. I am going to be Alpha, not my mate or anyone else. Me. And I will not compromise on it. I’ve wanted to inherit our pack for as long as I can remember but couldn’t because I’m female. Then everything with the Council came to light and Dad decided to do things his own way instead of following laws made by corrupt wolves.“

“And his way… is for you to inherit the pack?” He sounded skeptical, which she couldn’t blame him for, as this was a huge change in how things were done.

“Yep,” she grinned, “along with a bunch of other changes but that’s the biggest one. Luckily, our pack is happy about it. Not having to worry about some strange wolf coming in and taking over is a relief for everyone.”

“What… would that make me?,” Cooper asked, a complicated look on his face.

About to say ‘Luna’, Avery stopped herself. That was the title of the she-wolf mated to an Alpha; what would the male equivalent be?