2. Marrying Me Off To A Grandpa

Rayna~

Father paced the length of his study, each step a thunderclap, each breath thick with fury. The air itself felt angry, suffocating.

“I told you not to stay with him,” he growled, voice echoing off the walls. “But nooo—Rayna is her own person. Rayna knows best, right?”

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat thick as glass. I didn’t know best. Not at all. My relationship with Dario wasn’t rebellion—it wasn’t defiance—it was love. Pure, reckless, consuming puppy love.

Love I still felt, even now, though it burned like acid.

“Dad—” I started, desperate to explain, but he cut me down with a glare.

“I warned you. I told you never to show your face here if you left.”

“I know, Father.” My voice cracked. “I know. And I’m ready to face the consequences of my actions. Punish me as you see fit.”

He huffed, a bitter exhale, and flicked his wrist like I was nothing more than a pest.

“Get out.”

I scrambled to obey, slipping from the study with my breath ragged, relief and shame knotted in my chest.

This was our routine since I’d returned: Father called me in, glared, cut me open with his disappointment, and dismissed me like a child. I cowered. I left.

It was exhausting. Maybe I deserved it. But no matter what he thought, I was the one in pain. I was the one who had been shattered.

Dario had signed the divorce papers without a fight. That alone gutted me. It hurt more than his betrayal—that he hadn’t even loved me enough to pretend, to fight, to at least hesitate.

Shameless bastard.

“You know, Dad’s just worried about you.” Ralph’s voice cut through the storm of my thoughts.

I glanced up. He stood near the swing opposite mine, watching me with those soft, steady eyes that had carried me through more than one hurt.

“He sure has a lovely way of showing it,” I muttered, bitter.

Ralph sat down, leaning forward on his elbows. “Ray, have you gone out of the house recently?”

I shook my head. Asides the courthouse, I had made it my new ritual to lock myself in my room, only coming down when Father demanded it.

“Your name is being dragged through the mud,” Ralph said carefully. “And Father can’t do anything to stop it. Not really. Even though you never came out publicly as the Blacaris daughter.”

I stayed silent, but the weight in his voice cut deep.

“And you know Dad,” he went on, “whatever he can’t control eats him alive. The only thing on his mind right now is how to give his daughter back her honor.”

That was it. The dam cracked, and the tears I had promised myself I wouldn’t shed spilled all at once. Ralph was across the space in an instant, arms wrapping me tight, pulling me into the safety of his chest.

“It’s okay to cry over spilled milk,” he murmured against my hair, “but it’s not okay to leave it rotting on the floor.”

I nodded, even as the sobs wracked me harder.

I had met Dario in kindergarten. He’d been weak then, the other kids always picking on him. And me, stupid little me—I’d fought for him. I had beaten up Calum Baron, the Beta’s kid, just to protect him.

Would my life have been different if I hadn’t?

Maybe I wouldn’t have hidden my wolf from him. Maybe I wouldn’t have tried to spare him the truth—his mother was killed by a black wolf, and my fur—

I cursed under my breath, jerking away from Ralph, scrubbing my face with shaky hands.

None of it mattered anymore.

“I’m not going to cry over this anymore,” I declared, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.

Ralph chuckled softly, ruffling my hair like he always did. “That’s my girl.”

He leaned back on the swing, studying me for a moment, then added, almost too casually,

“And Rayna… the annual Alpha meeting is tomorrow. I think it’s time to show yourself as our family.”

I froze. My heart stuttered against my ribs.

The Alpha meeting, similar to wives of the alpha retreat was an annual event that I never felt interested in. Father had always tried to get me to tag along but I never budged.

My need to build a name for myself without the Alpha’s daughter tag following me around was much stronger than the pride that came with being one.

Ralph was right, it was time to show myself to the people.

—

Being here didn't do anything to change my mind about the meeting. Boring.

Alpha families from different packs socializing, gossiping and subtly degrading low rank families.

I hated the ranking system within the different pack territories but it helped with orderliness and I couldn’t deny that fact.

Our pack, The Nightshades wasn’t the biggest but we were the second most powerful in Iowa, and that earned us respect.

Dad walked with an unshakable authority, and when he took the podium the room silenced instantly.

“We are gathered today to celebrate the 663rd Annual Alpha meeting and I’ve chosen to present someone important to you, my fellow alphas.”

He gestured to me to come next to him and I did, my head high.

“Meet my daughter, Rayna Blacaris.”

The air cracked with murmurs. Gasps. Disbelief. Some craned their necks for a better look, others exchanged whispers sharp enough to cut.

“Hayden has a daughter? Since when?”

“She looks too young—was she hidden?”

“Why now?”

I kept my chin high, my face calm, though inside my stomach twisted. This wasn’t a coronation, wasn’t revenge. It was simply fact. Truth. And if they couldn’t swallow it, that was their problem.

Suddenly a certain couple that I had been avoiding came to view.

Dario and Lola.

They sat together near the front, his arm draped loosely over the back of her chair. Her hand was laced in his, her chin lifted with a pride that made my teeth grind. The shock on his face when he realized who I was nearly undid me.

I wanted to scream at his face. He'd chosen an E Rank Alpha’s daughter over me, a B rank.

I masked my gloat with indifference, letting the room adjust to the new information they just received

“That's not possible,” Dario’s voice rang out, slicing through the murmurs. He stood now, his eyes fixed on me like I was some stranger wearing his wife’s—ex wife’s face. “I met her father on our wedding day.”

I offered him a small smile. “No, Dario. You met Uncle Dave. He was the only family member who agreed to be present that day.”

A ripple of whispers spread across the hall. Dario’s brows furrowed, confusion flashing before it twisted into something nastier. He pushed through the crowd until he stood right in front of Father and me, his mate clinging nervously to his arm.

“I get it,” he sneered. “You want revenge so badly you’ll spin lies to get it. But claiming to be an Alpha’s daughter?” His lips curled, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Despicable.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but I didn’t get the chance.

Ralph was suddenly there, his fist connecting with Dario’s jaw in a clean, brutal crack that echoed through the room. Gasps broke out as Dario stumbled back, clutching his face.

“Don’t you fucking come close to my sister, you fucking mutt!” Ralph’s voice thundered, fierce and unshakable.

For the first time since I’d walked into that hall, I felt above everything else.

The room was still buzzing from Ralph’s punch when Father finally raised his hand. The chatter died instantly. His voice carried, steady and absolute.

“I let my daughter live her life for twenty-four years,” he said, every word deliberate, every syllable a command. “And now she’s back under my roof. I’ve decided she’ll be getting married.”

For a heartbeat, I thought I’d misheard him. My head whipped toward Ralph, searching his face, but his expression was as shocked as mine.

“Dad?” My voice cracked, confusion splintering into dread.

All around us, murmurs sparked up, their burned holes through me, waiting patiently for his revelation.

Even Dario—still half sprawled on the floor with Lola hovering uselessly beside him—looked just as stunned. His swollen lip parted like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard either.

“What… what do you mean, married?” I demanded, my gaze darting between Father and Ralph.

But Father didn’t look at me, looked at the other Alphas in the hall, as if I were a bargaining chip being laid neatly on the table.

“Yes, darling,” he repeated, his tone smooth as steel, “Alpha William here has taken a liking to you.”

My stomach twisted. My head snapped toward the man, and the room blurred around him.

Father had picked someone’s grandfather as my husband.

The man looked at me like a hungry beast ready to devour his prey.

What the actual fuck?

I forced my gaze back to Father. “You can’t be serious.”

I wasn't ready to remarry, even if I was wouldn't it be best to inform me first about your desire to arrange my marriage?

His eyes didn't soften as he continued with the details, not for me or for anyone and from that look alike, I already knew I had to plan my escape.

Across the hall, Dario’s low laugh carried, bitter and cruel. “Fitting, isn’t it? From my wife to his trophy.”

Ralph moved so fast I barely saw it, his fist slamming into Dario’s jaw again. Gasps rippled through the hall, guards tensed, but dad didn’t stop him this time.

My chest heaved, my nails biting into my palms. And for the first time since walking into that hall, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry… or set the whole damn place on fire.