CHAPTER 66: 66-HUNGRY FOR MY SQUADMATES.

Clementine:

Present Time:

"Look at her, she is my daughter," my father said, pointing at me as I followed him inside the mansion. It felt strange to see him act like he cared, because I knew he didn’t. But what could I do? I had to pretend I was fine, or I wouldn’t be able to get any information from him or anyone else.

"And look, she brought in so many Alphas with her," my father said as he pointed at my squadmates one by one.

The pack members were just watching and whispering to each other. Whenever I looked at them, they would shy away. They were all treating me so differently, like they suddenly respected me.

"Where are Glinda and Leysa?" I asked my father, watching his beta, Ross, follow him.

My father looked around awkwardly. I guessed they hadn’t followed his instructions because they didn’t want to welcome me.

"They’re inside. Why do you care? You’ll get to meet them, don’t worry," my father said in a cheerful tone. The minute he patted my back, I felt like throwing up. I didn’t want him near me. After what Haiden had told me, I couldn’t understand how he was acting like everything was fine. Was he not bothered by Haiden’s presence, or did he not even recognize him?

And I was right. The minute we sat down in the living room, my father pointed toward my squadmates.

"Don’t you want to introduce them to us?" he asked. Now it was just Beta Ross and my father in the living room.

"Sure. There’s Alpha Ian, Alpha Troy, you must remember him, he used to be my friend. Then there’s Alpha Yorick." I stopped because my father had started chuckling. I looked at him. I knew what he was laughing at.

"That’s the one, he used to be her boyfriend. They only dated for a month," my father said to Ross, who hid his smile behind his hand like it was too funny. They were acting like teenagers gossiping.

"And who is this young fella?" my father asked, looking at Haiden, who sat separately on the couch, his eyes fixed on my father like he might get up and poke his eyes out.

"Alpha Haiden. He is Alpha Haiden," I said, watching my father closely for a reaction.

He zoned out for a second, then shrugged.

"Welcome to my pack. I’m so proud of you all. I did get the news that you guys performed tremendously in the North," my father said, showing no guilt, or any sign that he recognized Haiden. And I guess that upset Haiden, because after ruining his life like that, my father didn’t even remember him.

"And honestly, I was so shocked when the headmaster told me you wanted to come back to your pack," my father said, watching me with pride in his eyes.

The fact that he thought I’d forgotten how he dragged me out of the pack in the middle of the night was just insane. It only showed how little my father thought about others.

"Actually," I didn’t expect Ian to start talking here too. He looked so comfortable, sitting back, one hand stretched across the back of the couch, the other resting on the armrest.

"She came here to give you good news," he said, eyeing me to remind me that I needed to tell my father about Haiden and me. If only Ian wasn’t part of our dorm, it would’ve been so much easier to handle this.

"Really?" my father said. "There’s more news?"

He looked at Ross, kind of giving him a look like, Do you see how proud my daughter is making me?

The same daughter he had fucking gotten kidnapped.

But before we could make any announcement, my stepmother walked in with Leysa behind her. They both looked like they were in a foul mood, until they noticed how many Alphas were in the living room. Then their eyes lit up. They had probably already heard from the warriors that all my squadmates were Alphas, and bachelors, at that.

"Pardon me. We took a little too long getting ready. You know perfection takes hard work," my stepmother said, flipping her hair to one side as she eyed each Alpha one by one.

It made me so uncomfortable.

Then there was Leysa, wearing a short black dress that ended above her thighs. She probably had a makeup artist and stylist booked for the day. And yes, I did notice some of my squadmates watching her a little too intently, mostly Haiden and Yorick.

"Hi, welcome to my pack," Leysa said as she stepped forward. My father immediately made eye contact with my stepmother. I guessed they were speaking with their eyes, but I couldn’t understand why they’d want to set her up with any of my squadmates. The Crusaders weren’t taken seriously, everyone knew their lives hung by a thread. One minute they were alive, the next they might be dead in the North. So I had no idea what my parents were trying to do. But of course, Leysa was their dearest child. If she wanted to mess around with someone, they’d let her. She’d had multiple affairs in the past, and both my father and stepmother had actually supported her. They even helped her set up dates with Alphas and Betas, then tried to cover up the rumors afterward. All in all, she was very liked and very spoiled by my parents.

"Nice to meet you," Yorick said, fixing his hair and crossing one leg over the other. Even when Yorick and I dated for that one month, we never introduced each other to our parents.

"What was the other good news my sweet sister was talking about, prior to us interrupting your amazing conversation?" Leysa asked. Even though she was using a sweet tone, her words were clearly condescending.

I straightened my back. I was about to hit Haiden where it would hurt the most—cock-blocking him.

"Oh, actually, we came here to let my father know that I’ve found my fated mate," I said, watching the smile fall from Leysa’s face.

"And it’s Alpha Haiden," I added, pointing at Haiden, who looked slightly disturbed.

Was he seriously interested in her that quickly?