Chapter 21: It Doesn’t Work!
~ Constantine/Cameron ~
Home … every time I was with Victoria, I felt at home. I kissed her lips and exhaled her scent. I could die happily here and now. What else could a man need? Nothing else mattered when a beautiful, strong, loyal, courageous, and intelligent woman was beside him. But before I could do anything else, my father suddenly called me.
‘Cameron, come to my working room.’
‘Yes, Father. I’ll be there in a half hour from now.’ Victoria tickled my ears, and I laughed.
My father immediately snapped, ‘Now, Cameron. We need to discuss an urgent matter.’
‘What is it, Father? About Lisa? We have discussed this, and Nate will be my replacement, right?’
‘It’s not that. Come to my room quickly.’
I kissed Victoria’s forehead. “My father called me. It’s urgent. I must postpone the fun. But rest assured, I will return as quickly as possible.”
“Okay, I understand. Now, go! I will warm your bed and wait for you to come home. But if you are late, I don’t promise I’ll still be here.” Victoria pouted.
“Naughty girl. Don’t go anywhere. It’s your house anyway.” I immediately pulled her and kissed her lips. “I’ll be back soon. But if it’s an important case that will take a lot of my time, please know that I’d prefer to be with you.”
“Really? What if Lisa comes? What if your father asks you to choose her?”
I shook my head. “It’s impossible. The family ceremony that made Nate my family has tackled about it.”
“Hm?”
“Nate will mate Lisa.”
“But—”
Before I could hear what Victoria said, my father contacted me again. ‘Cameron, what took you so long? Are you in bed with Anna?’
I let out a long sigh. ‘No, Father. I’m on my way.’
‘Hurry!’
I kissed Victoria’s forehead. “Be good at home.” Then I rushed to my father’s house.
When I arrived, my father walked back and forth in the living room. He opened the door quickly but said nothing. I frowned, as he used to be calm and collected. What happened?
Before I could sit, my father groaned. “It doesn’t work!”
“What doesn’t work, Father?”
“Nate!”
I frowned as I didn’t get what my father meant. “What do you mean? Nate is the best man I’ve ever known.”
“It’s not about Nate. It’s about the Shadows.” My father slouched his back on the couch and then let out a long sigh. He looked tired and older so suddenly.
“Father, what happened?”
“Lisa doesn’t want to accept Nate. Instead, she insisted on having you as her mate. Even after our messenger told her that Nate would soon be an Alpha, Lisa refused him.”
“Why did she do that?” I creased my forehead. “I have never touched, seduced, or promised her anything.”
“Maybe it’s her ego.”
“What?! But Nate will be an Alpha too! He is more patient than me. I think Nate is more suitable for Lisa as he can handle her temper.”
My father sighed again. “I agree with you. But you and Lisa almost did the marking ceremony. If Anna didn’t stop it, Lisa would already be your mate.”
“I’m glad Anna stopped it. But I can’t be Lisa’s mate, Father. Right now, maybe Anna has already had your grandpup in her womb.”
“If the Shadows insist, you can have two mates. It will only be a political marriage with Lisa, while it will be a love marriage with Anna.” My father stared at me for a few seconds. “You love Anna, don’t you?”
“I do. Father, I have promised to protect Anna for the rest of my life. No matter what, I can’t be Lisa’s mate.”
My father said nothing. But then he frowned again. “However, Anna is a bad influence on you.”
“What?! How?”
“You forget your role as a Beta and enjoy yourself with her until you ignore your obligation.”
“Father—”
“Let me finish first. Did you or didn’t you spend time with Anna when I called you?”
I sighed. Here we go again. “Yes, Father. I was with her.”
“She distracts you. The peace treaty is important to us. If we must sacrifice peace and go to war because of a she-wolf, I want her to be worthy of all this!”
“Father, Anna is my world. I will do anything for her.”
“Including giving up your pack and position?”
I gaped. Why did my father suddenly threaten me with the pack and the position? “What do you mean, Father?”
“If the Shadows insist on having you as Lisa’s mate and you insist on rejecting it, then the only way to deal with that is one thing. I must cast you out of the pack. It’s the sacrifice I should make.” My father closed his eyes.
I kneeled before him. “Father, I won’t ask you or our pack to sacrifice for me. But I have promised Anna; she is the only one I want to spend my life with. So, if casting me out of the pack is the last solution, I’m willing to accept it.”
My father pulled me, so I stood. Then, unexpectedly, he hugged me. “But I don’t want to exile you. You are my first son! For years, I have prepared you to be my successor.”
“Father … I know your hard work. I’m sorry I caused so much trouble for you.”
“Then, accept Lisa! You can visit Anna here. I think Lisa will understand. You only need to treat Lisa politely, as if you were treating your aunt from a distance family. She will be your Luna in name only.”
I shook my head. “But I can’t do that, Father. I have hurt Anna before. I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes.”
“Why hadn’t you mentioned Anna to me before? Am I a bad father to you, so you can’t be honest with me?”
“Father, it’s not that. It’s a long story, and I don’t know where I should start.”
“Then you can start from the beginning. Tell me what you did to hurt Anna, and why you have never told me about her. I don’t understand you. Before, you had no problem to be Lisa’s mate. But after Anna stopped the marking ceremony, it was as if a bolt of lightning hit you and changed your mind suddenly.”
