I've Been Too Easy on You

Chapter 5

Donovan’s POV

   I had a willing Omega in my bed when Dad interrupted me. He always does this shit. I couldn’t finish after he got into my head, and I told her to come back later. She was just as disappointed as I was, but I would make sure to find her again as soon as Dad finishes his lecture.

   It seems like that’s all he does these days. He’s giving me no peace at all, always nagging at me to pay attention and learn how to balance the books for the pack. I just want to enjoy myself while I can; surely he can understand that.

   I knew he wanted to talk, but he had seemed pretty calm in his link earlier. The minute the door flew open, I saw that he was worked into a rage. What the hell happened to get him so worked up?

   “Dad, what’s going on. Why are you so pissed?” I asked as he slammed the door closed behind me.

   “Anything you want to tell me, Donovan?” he snarled out as I sat in the chair in front of his desk.

   “Nothing that I can think of, Dad,” I replied, leaning back in the chair and trying to act as if I were calm. As long as I played innocent, he usually believed me.

   There were a number of things that I had probably done lately that he could potentially be pissed off about. There was no way to know exactly what he was angry about this time. I needed him to give me a hint, or at least a little more information. There was no way that I was just admitting to doing something. Especially when I knew that it would only make him angrier than he already was if I ended up guessing wrong. Best to let him give me a clue first, and then try to placate him.

   “Anything you want to tell me about Eva, Donovan?” he growled out, and I was instantly relieved.

   Eva didn’t matter to anyone here at the Stone Fall pack. She's been the victim of too many pranks, and if Dad actually cared about her, he would have put a stop to it. He knew that she had been injured more times than I could remember. If he actually cared about what we did, he would have put a stop to it, but he never did. If anything, that was on him.

   He has told us on numerous occasions that he just wanted to punish her because he lost his best friend because of her. He just wanted her to suffer and be miserable before he ended her life himself. I was no longer worried about why he was pissed anymore. He's probably just angry because he can't find her to make her clean something. Eva has never mattered, not to me, and certainly not to him.

   “Oh, her. I heard that she ran away, Dad, and frankly, I’m glad. I was sick of looking at her. She’s been nothing but a curse for the pack. We’re better off without her. You don’t need to worry about her anymore,” I replied.

   I was relieved that that was what he'd been angry about. He was too pissed for me to admit that Claudia had killed her with my blessing. Claudia hated Eva for years. When she found out that Eva was my true mate, she came unglued. There was no way that Claudia was ever going to let Eva just leave the pack. She was terrified that I would go find her if she allowed her to leave.

   She was right to worry. I’ve wanted Eva for years. The pull towards her was almost too strong to resist. I had to start getting with other girls just to keep my wolf, Raff, calm. He didn’t like it, but he didn't have a choice. I couldn’t accept Eva as my mate, and he knew why that couldn't happen. The only reason he'd accepted Claudia at all was that she didn't have an issue with my wandering eye. She told me that as long as I kept them under wraps, I could keep doing exactly what I have been doing. 

   The punch Dad threw at me caught me by surprise. I never even saw it coming. I slew out of the chair and hit the door hard. I lay on the floor looking up at him in surprise, rubbing my sore cheek. My father had never hit me before in my life. Mom has always doted on me. She was disappointed that she couldn’t have another child despite all her efforts. She put all her love and attention on me. Whatever I wanted, I got. Dad always deferred to her, and I was the beloved son of the Alpha couple for the entire pack.

   I couldn’t believe that Dad would do that to me, not over Eva. It just didn’t make any sense. He was the main reason that she was so hated by the pack. Yet he stood there, chest heaving, looking like he wanted to rip me apart. He was fighting to stay in control, and I felt fear claw at me. I really need to start training harder. Dad really did look like he was going to kill me.

   “What the hell, Dad?” I asked as I got up off the floor.

   “I want to know exactly what happened with Eva last night, Donovan. I also want you to know that I will know if you're lying to me. If you choose to lie to me about what happened to her, expect me to hit you again. Now tell me, what did you do?” Dad snapped out.

   I’ve never seen him this angry before, at least not with me. I swallowed and thought about what I was going to say. I desperately needed to downplay what happened. Getting rid of Eva had really been what was best for the entire pack, and for me. I think the best idea is just to tell him the truth. He wouldn’t want his only son to be tied down with the pariah of the pack. He wants what’s best for me, and Eva was definitely not the best for me, no matter how attractive she was.

   I started talking while Dad continued to pace the room. Sometimes he would pause next to me, but I was watching him closely now. If he went to punch me again, I was going to dodge it this time around. The punch he landed had hurt like hell. What was odd was that he didn’t calm down while I spoke. If anything, he seemed to get even more angry with me. How was that even possible? I couldn’t understand why he was so upset. The problem is gone now; he should be happy with what we have done.

   “So, let me get this straight, Donovan. Eva was your Goddess-given true mate, but you didn’t inform me, or your mother, that you had found her. You sensed your mate was going to run away from our pack. You decided in your infinite wisdom that the best thing to do was to allow Claudia, who doesn’t have an empathetic bone in her body, to kill your mate. Not just that, but you also killed the only children of the Alpha couple of the Mystic Shadow pack. Which means that Keefe was going to be taking over the pack after he met his mate. Thus bringing war right to our door. All without telling me what you were planning to do? Does that about cover it?” Dad asked.

   His voice was calm, and it seemed like he had finally calmed down. I nodded my head at him to let him know that he understood everything correctly. I didn’t expect him to lunge over his desk and knock me out of my chair. He jumped on me and rained punches down on me. The heavy blows hurt pretty badly. I think he might have cracked a rib or two. Why was he so pissed? He had just told me to tell him the truth. If it wasn't what he wanted, he should have told me that.

   He stood up and growled, “I've been too easy on you, Donovan. I let your mother spoil you too much, and look at you. You are not worthy of leading this pack. Until you're able to grow up and start taking things seriously, I won’t be turning the pack over to you. The only thing you have to be thankful for, Donovan, is that you're my only child. If I had another child, I can assure you that the pack would go to them. Stop thinking with your dick, and straighten up, or so help me, you’re going to be sorry. The next time I come for you, I’ll make sure you end up in the hospital.”  

   “Dad, it’s already done. There is nothing we can do, Eva’s dead now,” I hissed out in pain at even trying to breath. The pain in my ribs was intense.

   “According to you, she was dead before midnight, Donovan. If that were the case, how could I feel her presence here in the pack this morning? She was here until about an hour after I woke up this morning. Then someone breached our pack and took her. I have a really bad feeling that I already know who did it, and if I'm right, things are going to get much worse for us. Because that means that she's alive. If her parents get her back before we can find her, we're in a great deal of trouble. There's no way to defend ourselves from them,” he replied.

   “How could she still be alive? It’s impossible. Plus, she's an unwanted orphan; she doesn't have parents, Dad. Besides, the bond is gone, broken. I can't sense her anymore,” I replied.

   “You were given a beautiful, powerful mate, and somehow you've managed to destroy everything. I’m sure you lost the bond. The Moon Goddess probably took pity on her and took the bond back. What kind of mate kills the very blessing that the Goddess herself gave him? I’m seriously considering having your cousin Eric come here and take over the Alpha position instead of you. You’ve ruined all my plans with a single, ignorant act. I’m absolutely disappointed in you, son. Go, get out of my sight, Donovan. I need to think about what I need to do next. We will talk later, I'm too angry with you at the moment to tell you the truth of the matter right now,” Dad told me.

   I was shocked that he just said he would bring my cousin in to take my place. If he did that, I would lose everything. I couldn’t allow that to happen, not now, not ever. I would kill Eric first, and then Dad, to make sure that didn't occur. Then the pack would automatically fall into my hands. I had three people killed last night without getting blood on my hands. I don't mind doing it again. I limped out the door of his office, holding my side. I jerked as he slammed the door shut behind me. He was furious.

   In less than ten minutes, my life has crashed down around me. I can’t believe that Dad was this angry about what happened last night. His words didn't even make sense. Eva didn't have parent's what the hell was he even talking about? Even if she were alive, what could she possibly do to us? He was just being paranoid. He needs to calm down. It's fine. I didn't need her in my life anyway. 

   The second my wolf Raff heals me, I’m going to make sure Claudia finds out just what I went through today. This whole thing had been entirely her idea. Her jealousy of Eva had caused all this. So I won’t be the only one to suffer for her terrible idea. She should just be glad that I’ll be the one to do it, instead of Dad. He might actually go too far and kill her.