Chapter 5

***Dimitri***

As soon as the office door closed behind that girl, my daughter, I slumped back in my chair, and sighed. That was the first time she has looked me in the eyes in years. I can’t remember the last time I saw her face, and her eyes. I forgot how much she looks like her mother, my fated mate. The woman I loved more than anything in the world. She had been my everything for the short time we had together. After Brinna died I couldn’t bare being around our daughter for long. She was like her mother in everyway. It killed me.

Her being an Omega was only an excuse to get her away from me. The older she got the more she reminded me of Brinna, and I just couldn’t take it. Her not being in the same living quarters as myself helped me a lot. It removed the main reminder of the mate I had loved, and lost all too soon. It was easier for me, and I didn’t even think about how it might have effected her. It didn’t matter to me.

Aurora didn’t help matters either. She hated my daughter being in our living quarters. She said it wasn’t fair to her, or our family to have a reminder of the woman that tore us apart for 4 years living in the same home. She went as far as to turn our sons against their own sister. Jax excluded as he still did his best for my daughter, Colby completely ignored her, and Braxton. Well Braxton was down right mean to his own sister. I guess it didn’t help that I never stepped in to stop any of it, but I was dealing with my own grief. I couldn’t deal with their nonsense too.

I figured moving my daughter out of our living quarters would be what was best for her, and would protect her from the hate she was living with. After seeing her face today, I’m starting to wonder if that was the truth. I didn’t acknowledge the bruise of the cut on her cheek, but I saw it none the less. I don’t know where it came from, but I definitely saw it. I will admit that I had never seen any one abuse her until the day John raised a hand to her. I admit that I should have stepped in, but I just didn’t. I didn’t want to show her any favoritism or kindness for worry about how Aurora would react.

I will also admit that I have heard all of the women in the house scream at, and belittle her, but I didn’t feel it was my place to step in. She’s an Omega. She had responsibilities, and expectations. Just like the rest of us. If she couldn’t stick to them, then she deserved punishment.

With another sigh, I leaned forward toward my desk, and opened the folder again. I quickly scanned over everything in it. She hadn’t been lying. She had maintained a 4.0 GPA all thru school. She also had multiple, glowing recommendations from teachers, and nurses. I had no idea that my daughter was so intelligent, caring, kind, and well respected outside of this house.

Flipping the folder closed I opened the right top drawer of my desk that I usually keep locked. Before dropping the folder into it, I looked down, and saw the photo I kept there of Brinna. My Brinna. It was from the day our daughter was born. She was glowing, holding our little girl in her arms. Smiling from ear to ear. I was right beside her, grinning wide, with my arm around her, and my big hand at the back other our daughter’s tiny head.

“Oh Brinna. What have I done? What do I do about our daughter?” I asked the picture quietly.

I knew I would get no response, but still I looked at the picture. I studied Brinna’s beautiful face, and my heart pinched. Even 15 years later, I still miss her. I miss the life we had together. I miss the life we would have had together if not for the car accident. With another sigh I place the photo back in the drawer, and place the folder on top of it. Just as I closed the drawer, and locked it, my office door opened. I looked up to see Aurora enter my office.

“Hello Aurora. I thought you were having dinner with everyone else to celebrate Fiona’s graduation.” I asked, watching her walk around my desk.

In her younger years Aurora was beautiful. She had gorgeous blonde hair, and the perfect color hazel eyes. Her face was fresh, and young. She was tall, with elegance, and grace. These days she looked less and less put together. She also looked more and more angry each day. I knew that had a lot to do with me. I haven’t touched her in years, beyond the casual.

Honestly I can’t stomach it, and haven’t been able to for years. I had never planned to take her back, but I did for our sons, and because I felt my daughter needed a mother. I thought Aurora would be good mother to her as she was with our sons. I thought she would love my daughter because she had always talked about wanting a daughter. Sadly that was never the case. She only did what was required, until my daughter was move out of our quarters. By that point I hadn’t touched her in 7 years.

The reason for that comes down to Braxton. She does not know that I know that he is not my son. I discovered this several months after his birth. When he was born I found it strange that he did not look like our other two sons. He was even born with blonde hair instead of brown like Jax, and Colby. She explained it away that it would eventually fall out, and become brown like the rest of us. After several months, he features, and hair color did not change. Finally one day I did a paternity test in secret. I was not surprised when it turned out he was not mine. Braxton also scents as a regular wolf. He does not have Beta blood which is why he is not being trained as a Beta. At that point I couldn’t bring myself to kick her out. I couldn’t do that to Jax, Colby, or my daughter so I kept it quiet. I haven’t touched her since.

What none of them know is that once Braxton is 18, and has graduated high school, if he graduates, I am ending my relationship with Aurora permanently. She thinks I don’t know that she has been cheating on me all of these years. She has tried to turn me into a laughing stock among our pack. What she does not know is that the ones she sleeps with (and there are multiple) have my permission to do so. They are aware that I do not want her, and she is still in my home only because of Braxton. Like it or not I have raised him as my son his whole life. He is conceited little asshole, who brags about the Beta blood he does not have to every one, forgetting, everyone can scent that he is not. Then again he may not even be aware that he is not of Beta blood. I doubt his mother has told him the truth, nor will she ever, With his behavior it would not surprise me if he attempts to challenge Jax for the Beta position when he comes of age. He will lose badly if he does as Jax is most definitely mine, and a strong Beta.

Jax I am certain is mine. The only one I am unsure of at times is Colby. He has the scent of a Beta, but it’s not as strong as mine or even as Jax. I also know that he will never challenge Jax for the Beta position, as Jax has wiped the floor with Colby on multiple occasions over the years. At this point I can only hope that two of my three sons are mine. I’ll never know though because I can’t bring myself to ask Colby to do a paternity test now. It would break his heart, and potentially make him hate his mother. As much as she disgusts me, I can’t let her children hate her.

Aurora pulls me from my thoughts as she starts to walk toward me in a manner that I assume is meant to be seductive. When she is close enough for me to scent her it takes all I have not to cringe. She has some how managed to come up with a watered down version of my Brinna’s scent of calla lilies, and strawberries. It’s awful. Especially mixed with her own natural scent of cinnamon, and cloves.

“Well my love. I thought since everyone is out for the evening, we could go up to our room, I could cook us dinner, and we could connect the way we used to. That you could finally put your mark back on me.” Aurora purrs, as she leans over me when I push away from my desk, trying to get away from the smell of her.

I do my best not to gag at the thought of her cooking, as my wolf rolls his eyes in my head. My wolf, Damion has not liked Aurora from the start, and never even tried to bond with her wolf. He says her wolf is annoying, and stuck up. She, like Aurora thinks she is more than what she is, simply because of her relationship with me. I push my chair back, and stand as Aurora attempts to straddle me.

“As much as I appreciate the offer, I still have a great deal of work to catch up on from being gone most of the day, for your niece’s graduation.” Silently I add, and my daughter’s.

“Oh. I miss you Demi. We never spend time together. I miss feeling you in me, and on me. I miss your mark on me.” Aurora pouts at me.

Resisting the urge, again to gag, and roll my eyes, I reply, “I’m very sorry dear, but duty calls. Why don’t you call some of your lady friends, and go have a drink together?”

“Fine, but please make sure to join me in our bed tonight. I’ll be ready, willing, and waiting for my Beta to claim me.”

“Yup.”

I watch as Aurora walks out with an over exaggerated swing of her hips. Flopping back down in my chair, I growl. I pinch the bridge of my nose. One of the biggest mistakes of my life was ever being with that woman, and taking her back. I should have never taken her back. I never did remark her. I just couldn’t do it. No one deserved that mark after my Brinna was gone. Aurora has brought it up so many times, we’ve even fought about it, but I always used the loss of that bond as the reason not to. The truth was I couldn’t stomach marking her. I should have listened to Damion from the beginning.

“About time you admit I was right.” Damion growled at me.

“Yes, yes I know. But if I hadn’t we wouldn’t have Jax, and Colby.”

“Don’t you dare bring up that conceited little bastard Braxton. He is NOT ours. I knew it from the moment that whore said she was pregnant. She smelled different than she did with the other two.”

“Why did you never say anything?”

“I tried. You wouldn’t listen.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Now we’re going to have a conversation about the way you talked to our little girl pup today.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No Damion!”

“Yes we are. What you did today was wrong! She has a hard enough life, and gets hurt enough. You just added to it. You broke her hope. She didn’t deserve that.”

“Damion enough.” I snapped, and blocked him out.

With a sigh, I got back to work, and did my best to ignore the folder in my drawer showing just how well intelligent and like her mother my daughter is.