Page 37 of Unknowingly Adopting the Alpha
“Milo knew I had a crush on Darius, of that I’m pretty damn sure. I don’t know what happened between Darius and Milo after they found out. But I think I’m the reason for it.”
“How could you be? Because you’re best friends? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Not to me either,” I admitted. “But I wanted you to know everything that I do; in case you could see something that I can’t.”
“Hmm,” he pondered, already over the fact that we were fated mates, and I truly loved that. He was so okay with basically being told that he was mine forever that he skipped over to my problem with Milo.
“I never told Milo my feelings for Darius,” I added. “But my dad knew, somehow.”
“I love that he knew,” Cass grinned at me. “It just shows how much he noticed you. How much he cared.”
And Cass’ own father hadn’t ever noticed him… I felt bad for pouring out my family drama, when Cass didn’t even have a loving parent who was alive.
“When did Milo and Darius start seeing each other? Or when did they know they were fated?”
“Well, I don’t know about the first one, but they kissed the day after I was chosen as Alpha. I came to find Darius and found them kissing.”
He grimaced. “That couldn’t have been fun to witness.”
I laughed. “It wasn’t. But it led me to you, so I take it as a win.”
“To me?” Then his eyes widened. “You saw the guy you liked kiss your little brother and then got hit by my car?!”
Laughing even harder, I nodded. “Best meet cute ever.”
Cass shook his head. “What a messy way for fate to bring us together.”
Shrugging , I said, “I love that I met you on the same day I saw them kiss. It didn’t erase the pain of seeing them together, but it helped me realize it was never meant to be. And now, you’re everything to me. It still stings to think about Darius and Milo being together, and I hate to admit that to you. But I also know whatever my heart felt for Darius will soon be nothing but adistant memory. There’s only room for you, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Knowing I’m your fated mate helps…it’s not fun to hear how you felt orfeelabout Darius, especially considering he’s still your best friend. But I’m grateful that you aren’t keeping things from me, even if they aren’t easy topics. We both want this to work long term, so full honesty is the best way for us to last and be happy.”
His fingers laced with mine and I felt so at ease now. Communication truly was important, and instead of Cass being sad or angry when he’d learned about my feelings for Darius, he’d understood.
“Maybe now is the perfect time to tell you that you and Daisy are staying here for good,” I said, smiling over at him.
He laughed softly. “Good luck ever getting rid of us.”
I beamed in victory.
“Dad?” I called, scenting his wolf was nearby.
Cass and I had just grilled some steaks outside and as soon as Cass went inside to plate everything for us, I’d scented Dad.
A rustling of leaves alerted me he was coming to talk. Normally he wouldn’t make much noise, but I figured Milo hadtold him about how scared Cass had been when he showed up in wolf form.
A few seconds later, his giant grey wolf appeared, prowling towards me slowly. Cass was still inside, so I urged him forward with a hand gesture. I knew Cass wouldn’t be afraid of my dad, not since he’d seen Milo and the cubs in their wolf forms. It was like he’d needed to see someone other than me before everything had clicked, and now it was a non-issue for him.
Opening the crate with clothes I stored next to the loveseat, I pulled out some shorts for Dad. He never seemed to get cold, so I might as well save the pants for when I needed them myself. As shifters we tended to store clothes everywhere we might need them, and I had a few in the garage, too.
Dad shifted and beamed a smile my way. “Hey, son. Hope I’m not interrupting your evening?”
“Not at all,” I grinned, throwing him the shorts. “Cass isn’t good with the naked thing, so put those on.”
I wasn’t okay with Cass seeing others naked either, so I figured the clothes would be a good thing for everyone. I had yet to see all of my mate, a decision that was fully my own since Cass seemed determined to tease me at every opportunity. My willpower was fading a little every day. If I wanted to wait with the claiming, I had to look away whenever he undressed.
As Alpha, I had to be an example, and it was seen as respectful to wait with the claiming until the pack had welcomed him as my mate. It was like that whenever a new pack member was introduced. Normally it was another wolf shifter joining from another pack, though. With Cass being the first human to join us, it was even more important that I kept my fangs to myself until he was officially pack.
With the shorts now on, Cass appeared. “Hi!” he said, stepping over to shake my dad’s hand in greeting. It was so obvious he’d grown up shaking hands whenever he met someone. That wasn’tat all what we were used to here, but Dad accepted the offered hand and gave my mate a kind smile.
