Father is hurting!

The Thornton's Household

Alpha Theodore Claude Thornton

"This is the report you requested, the details of the hospital visit, and the exact date and time of birth. I hope it helps." Mike handed over the thin file to his boss.

Theo took the file, looked over the contents, and thought, 'Oh, this helps a lot.' He looked at Mike. "Thank you, Mike, for getting back to me."

And just as he suspected, his Athalia was already pregnant at the time of the conference, and he chose to attend the conference instead of going to Athalia.

Theo waited for Mike to leave and rose abruptly from his chair behind the desk as soon as he did, causing it to fall backward.

Theo's hands formed a fist, his muscles bulged beneath his short-sleeved shirt, and he made a guttural sound, clearing all the contents on his desk.

The loud noise of everything falling to the ground reverberated through the office space. *Clatter, Clang.

When that was not enough, he snarled, turned, and repeatedly punched the wall behind him.

Goddess, he would have known had he gone to her. Had he not listened to his father or his stupid wolf.

Theo was livid. He swiped his bloodied hands through his hair haphazardly. Then he let loose an anguished sound the next instant when he flipped his desk.

Still hyped and pained, Theo stalked towards a stacked bookshelf and ripped it off the wall.

"Oh, Talia, I should have come. I should have looked harder for you even after I couldn't find you," he uttered to no one in particular, sounding like a dying animal.

He should have gone regardless of the protest from his father and Osouf.

Since Theo began to suspect this, he hardly spoke to his wolf. This had suddenly piqued his interest when he looked at Aubrianne's date of birth.

Theo was redoing his will and updating his life Insurance information to include his daughter when he came across her date of birth. This time, something struck a chord with him, as it was not the first time Theo had seen Aubrianne's delivery date.

He saw it over a year ago after he met her. He had his team look into her and gather all the information he could find. He was curious to learn everything about his baby girl.

After all, he'd decided to wait a year before he could have her close to him.

Nevertheless, Theo was putting together a timeline. Once he got the statistics, he would know for sure.

And until then, Theo wanted nothing to do with his wolf because, if he was right, around the time of the conference, it was when Athalia was already pregnant.

He should have gone to her instead, like he was dying to.

Theo clearly remembered the fight and pushback from his wolf, Osouf, and his father, James. Had he gone on the trip, he would have known she was pregnant instantly, and they would have led a very different life, raising their kids.

Aubrianne would indeed have been their first of many, the way Athalia would attack him or how he constantly craved to have her, and the distance never made it easy.

Sometimes, for his entire trip, they would never make it off the bed, only to shower and eat, and they would be back at it again, making up for lost time.

He was ready to give up his wolf. Yes, he met his mate but had he had a choice, he would have chosen his pup.

'And besides, I never even felt that strong pull towards Christen. It was more so, Osouf,' Theo thought.

As his mind continues to rage with 'what ifs, he scans the mess he made and mind-links the house manager to have the pieces of furniture replaced and a crew to clean this mess.

He then sighed shakily, strolled to his untouched liquor section, and poured himself a neat drink, downing it in one go. He grimaced at the burning sensation in his throat, eyes squinting.

He poured another, downed it, and poured another before settling on his couch; he laid his head back, his mind still racing, when one thought slithered in again, 'Why are you still married to a woman you feel nothing for? Surely the kids are grown.'

Theo grieved for Athalia in private.

Aubrianne and Timothy

"Why don't I show you our rooms, and then we can get something to eat," Timothy leaned forward with the pool stick in his hands; he lined up with the eight ball as he moved the rod back and forth.

Watching the board, Aubrianne saw that he had one more ball, then the eight ball, "the game is not over yet, buddy."

Confident his rod lined up correctly, Timothy moved the stick back, then forward with force and precision. He hit the eight ball, which slammed his last ball, sending it into the pocket, and a second later, so did the eight ball.

Timothy smirked, eyes sliding towards Aubrianne, "It is now," Aubrianne rolled her eyes and sighed, "Guess you are right, so lead the way, brother."

After the call, Aubrianne drove over right away; she chatted with her father in his study, and he told her he was doing some work there as his office was being redone.

She wanted to check on him as she was already there visiting Timothy.

And during their time together, she sensed that her father was not in a good mood today; something was on his mind, 'Father is hurting.' Leia had said.

They could at least feel his emotions even though he was trying to hide them and put on a brave face for her.

She kissed him on the cheek and told him everything would be ok. Even though she did not know what bothered him, Aubrianne figured it was something people say to offer comfort.

However, her father paid enough attention to her to notice something different, though he could not quite place what. He asked, "What changed?"

When Leia said, 'The wh*re f*cked Daniel, that is what changed, and she is no longer a VIRGIN.'

Aubrianne slightly flinched at Leia's sudden words, 'Would you shut up about it now before I block you again?' Aubrianne threatened. Since she removed the block, Leia has been on her case about what she did.

How could you? You slept with Daniel. She had accused. Our mate will find us, she snapped.

Leia had even gone all out and talked about Daniel not being able to mark them and that they must mate with their mate for them to fully realize their true powers.

To Aubrianne, it went like, blah, blah, blah, blah...blah.

Aubrianne only ignored her and didn't respond because she was not feeling guilty about it and wanted to do it again and again.

Daniel had the magic stick. And just the mere thought of Daniel and what he did to her had her creaming and wetting her panties.

Which had her using Jada's famous trick to hide her arousal regularly. Else she would have been mortified hanging out with her brother and talking with her dad.

As far as she was concerned, who knew if or when she would meet her mate? Meanwhile, she would make up for lost sex.

Nevertheless, she had simply brushed her father off, claiming it was the workout. It really helps her. She felt great and would be ready to train with him as soon as he was ready.

Yes, Miss Slick Aubrianne knew how much her father wanted the opportunity to train her, and she knew it would be the perfect thing to distract him with.

Though she planned on screwing Daniel every chance she got, she did not want the world to know, let alone her father. This was private; this was her exploring herself and her sexual wants and needs.

And just as expected, Theo had taken over the conversation with his plans for the first day.

Then suddenly, he steered the conversation to her mother, asking what she was like coming down to the end. And at that moment, Aubrianne wondered if her father was still living in the past.

Again Aubrianne was plagued by the thought of her mate having a great love like her father; what would she do?

Was her father still grieving? Was her presence making it more difficult for him?

Nevertheless, Aubrianne quickly told her father more stories about her mother while growing up.

Soon after, she left him and found the games room that was on steroids and Timothy in it.

Things were awkward at first, very tense even. They had started with the foosball machine...