Chapter 9: Alpha Rising

Lainie groaned when she heard her father call her name. She should have known she wouldn't be able to slip inside of her house unnoticed. Her father seemed to have a sixth sense of knowing when his children tried to avoid him, and Lainie had done her best to do just that ever since his big announcement of pairing her up with Miles Hemingway for the rest of her life. Her father hadn't even asked her! He just assumed she would be the dutiful daughter and obey his wishes for her future, so he could better his business connections. It was bad enough that Fitz fell for their father's machinations. Lainie refused to be their father's bargaining chip. Hopefully, he got that hint Saturday night.

As soon as she walked into her father's study, however, she knew she should have known better. Daniel Everest did not take hints. Or suffer disobedience. When he set his sights on something, he bulldozed his way to his happy conclusion.

"There's my good girl," her father said as soon as she passed through the open doorway, his arms open as if expecting a daughterly hug. "I invited Lars and his son, Miles, here so we can discuss your future." Her father stood there, smiling, as if he was actually doing Lainie a favor. She did not hug her father.

Lars stared at her with narrow slits as if he studied a piece of meat at the butcher's shop trying to decide if the cut was good enough or not, his hands clasped behind his back, lips pressed into a thin line.

Beside Lars stood Miles, his personality as greasy as his dark hair. He smiled at her, bouncing his eyebrows a couple of times as he stood there, probably thinking her dreams had come true. This was not a dream she ever had, more like a nightmare where she woke up screaming in a cold sweat. She made a mental note to check the department's database when she went to work tomorrow. Surely, Miles was on some sexual predator list somewhere.

Lainie offered the older Hemingway a smile, ignoring Miles as he moved closer to her. She needed to be careful here, phrasing her disapproval in a way that would get her point across without embarrassing—and thus angering—her father. He wouldn't cause a scene while the others were there, of course, but he would definitely cause one when they left. "Hello, Mr. Hemingway. Miles." She then turned to her father. "I thought we discussed this Saturday night?" Maybe just jogging his memory would get her out of this nightmare. Surely, her father wouldn't be this brazen, would he?

He would.

"Ah, then you do remember our conversation," her father said smiling as he clapped his hands together as if his job there was done. "Great. Saves us the time of discussing the expectations again."

Okay, that so didn't work. "Dad, I really have somewhere to be right now," she said, her tone clipped and rushed. "Dimitri said he needed me to give him a ride. Something about his truck not starting. I'll have to talk to you later about this." Just get out of there. That's all she had to do for now, was get out of there.

Miles stepped up to her, sniffing her, his hands clasped behind his back, just like his father's, as he leaned in and sniffed her again. He actually sniffed her! What the hell?

Lainie did her best to ignore him as every muscle in her body tensed, and her panther hissed. She tamped down on her animal's urge to shift and claw the man's nostrils open. It would do her no good to cause a scene. Her father would be pissed, and who knew how he would pay her back. He was not above revenge, even against his own children. Especially against his own children.

"Nonsense," her father said, waving off the notion of her leaving. "Dimitri can wait or call that hoodlum friend of his, Josh. Now is the perfect time to discuss your mating with Miles here. You two can get to know each other while Lars and I hash out the gritty details of this arrangement."

Miles oozed his way behind Lainie, leaning in and sniffing at her back as if savoring the aroma of a buffet he was about to enjoy.

Lainie closed her eyes, doing her best not to shiver at how creepy Miles seemed right then. This was getting out of hand fast, and her father was leaving her little room for diplomacy. This was more than just creepy; it was disgusting.

"Um, no," Lainie said, her impatience in every word. "I already know everything I need to know about Miles."

"Good, then that saves us even more time," her father said, grinning as if all his plans were just falling into place.

Lars stood there, a leer stretching across his face, which made Lainie shudder. Somehow, she felt as if this was a family package deal and that just grossed her out. She'd have to check the database for both their names. This could be a sick case of the son being exactly like the father. What the hell did it say about Miles anyway if his father had to find him a wife? What did it say about Fitz for that matter?

"No," she drawled, drawing the word out while keeping a tight rein on her temper. And her revulsion. "The thing that will save us time is the fact that I'm not doing this. Remember me telling you that this weekend? I'm not marrying Miles. I'm not even going out on a date with him."

"Don't be ridiculous," her father said, waving off her refusal as if she were being silly. "You'll marry who I tell you to marry…"

Miles started at her neck and sniffed all the way down her back, his nose barely an inch from her body.

"…and do as you're told," her father finished. How the man could just stand there while this idiot sniffed his daughter, Lainie wished she knew.

Miles reached her ass, stuck his nose in her crack, and inhaled deeply.

Lainie spun. "What the hell?" She gripped his slimy head of hair, yanked his face up, and kneed him in the crotch as hard as she could, making Miles scream out as he doubled back over, clutching his groin with both hands. Lars yelled out his son's name as Lainie's father called out her name. "Never do that shit again," she growled as she shoved Miles away from her, causing him to tumble over, falling hard onto the floor. She spun on her father, her body tense, shaking with her anger. "I told you no. Hell to the no, actually. I will not be stuck to this asshole for a minute nevertheless the rest of my life. Unfucking believable!"

"Look what your daughter just did," Lars screamed out as he moved over to his son, reaching out to comfort Miles' wounded…ego.

Miles just remained doubled over on the floor, clutching his family jewels as he moaned.

"Lainie, apologize right now," her father demanded, taking a step toward her as he pointed to a writhing Miles. "This is unacceptable."

"And him sticking his nose in my ass is acceptable? Hell no! I'm not apologizing for a damn thing. That dipshit stuck his nose into my ass for crying out loud. He's lucky I didn't yank his pecker off and stuff it up his own ass." Lainie moved away from the men and toward the door, her anger pumping through her veins as her panther hissed within, ready to do more than just knee the man in the groin. "I said no, and I meant no. Nada. Nope. Not going to happen. Phrase it any way you want, but get the damn message." She kept walking, fists clenched as she rushed for her escape. Where the hell was Dimitri when she needed him?

"Lainie, get your ass back here this instant!" her father called after her, but Lainie never slowed down.

Her mother appeared in one of the doorways off to the side, eyes wide as she noticed her daughter storming by. "Lainie, what's wrong? What's with all the yelling?"

"That ass stuck his nose in my ass!" Lainie yelled.

Her mother opened her mouth, then closed it as she looked back down the hall where Lainie just came. "Wait. Who put their nose where?" She turned back to Lainie who never even slowed down. "Lainie what happened?"

"Your husband happened!" Lainie continued to march through the house, storming her way out the front door and down the steps, into the humid night. "Un-fucking-believable!" she shouted as she hit the walkway and turned toward the woods. Her panther shoved its way to the forefront, and she felt the shift start as the tawny fur of her animal slid out from under her skin. She was just about to give into the transformation, allowing her panther to run out her anger when she heard Dimitri call out her name. She turned, noticing her brother getting out of his truck. Great. Now, he decides to show up.