Chained By The Alpha Jessica Hall

"Both," he admits, and the honesty in his voice stings more than any lie. "But mostly, it's a father trying to protect his daughter from the fallout of his own mistakes."

"Protect me by marrying me off?" I stand abruptly, knocking his hand away. "By binding me to someone I barely know, let alone love? Someone who isn't my mate?"

His expression softens, and for a moment, I see the burden he carries the weight of leadership, of decisions made I'm not privy to. "Love can grow, Cleo. And Boyd... he's not a bad man, an idiot, but not bad."

"Maybe not, but he's not..." I trail off, realizing

that who I am going to say is the one person I want to be with but can't. My thoughts drift momentarily to Zayn's touch, the way my skin sings under his caress, the heat of his skin. But those memories feel like a world away now

"Cleo," his voice is low and burdened. "What I've done... it was to protect us, to shield our pack from an unseen storm, I made a mistake but at the time I was out of options."

"L want to know what you did?"

He moves back to his chair and sits heavily in it

"T've been the treasurer of the council for over a decade until that was handed over to Dane, not long before Zayn took over from his father." He

begins, and I know exactly what he's done

"You stole the council funds, and he caught you, didn't he?" I ask him, and he turns his gaze

away from me

"Among other things, but yes, Alpha Dane put the money back, then your mother died, and Linda came into the picture. I couldn't keep up with the bills or payment arrangements I had with him and..."

"You did it again. You wiped out the council

treasury for the city." He nods, looking at his hands

"It's also why I refused Zayn's pack protection; I couldn't afford it. We needed protection, so I went to Samuel. Linda convinced him. But I didn't realize Samuel was also paying the extra to put our borders on his patrol list. Samuel became another person to whom I owed money

I was trying to protect the "

"Don't! You weren't trying to protect us? By

stealing from the very community we vowed to serve?" My words are sharp as claws, unsheathed by betrayal

"Every Alpha faces trials that threaten the fabric of their pack. Sometimes, survival demands difficult choices." He stands, moving closer with the predatory grace that commands respect even now© NôvelDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

"Difficult choices?" I echo incredulously. "Or reckless gambles? How 1s it possible to blow through that much money?"

"Just listen to me! Let me try to explain," His command slices through the tension

"The treasury funds were meant for emergencies, for development, for aiding others

But what of our own people? Our pack was bleeding, Cleo. We faced crises that demanded I

do something, so I used the funds, the council was defaulting on taxes to the human government, I thought I could recoup the money in time."

"Then why hide it? Why not seek counsel?" I demand, fists clenching at my sides

"If the council knew the depth of what I owed, they'd strip us of our land and appoint overseers

I couldn't allow that. The werewolf council came under fire for tax evasion to humans, the government's; we have to pay a certain amount each year to ensure the council remains under pack control," His eyes burn with anger that frightens me. My mind reels at the revelations, and I'm torn between understanding his actions and feeling betrayed by the secrecy

"You should have told me," I say, my voice shaking with emotion. "I could have helped you

come up with a plan. We could have figured this out."

"T couldn't risk it," my father replies, his voice almost a whisper now. "If the Council found out, they would have taken everything from us

Our pack would be left with nothing."

"But you took everything from them," I say bitterly. "You betrayed their trust."

"I know," he says, bowing his head in shame

"But I had to do something. Our pack was suffering, and I couldn't just sit back and let it happen."

I can see the desperation in his eyes, and suddenly, all my anger dissipates into worry for him and our pack

"How much do we owe?" I ask, trying to sound

calm even though my heart 1s racing

"Enough that if we didn't pay it back, we'd lose everything. Alpha Dane helped cover up the initial amount." My father replies grimly

"We'll figure something out," I say firmly. "We'll come up with a plan to get the money back, then come clean, Dad. Zayn is on the council, Greyson; they'll back us." I tell him, but he shakes his head. "Zayn definitely won't if he finds out."

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused. He shakes his head

"L kept getting extensions. Eventually, they caught onto the fact that the city hadn't paid in years. I had no choice at the time. Cleo and I would have lost our pack's place on the council

I can't ask Greyson for help, the..."

"Is your pride worth more than asking for help?" I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks

"Pride is all we have left. Without this alliance, the pack faces bankruptcy and the pack will be dismantled. It is already past that point. The only thing ensuring the pack remains in our family is with you marrying Boyd." He steps forward, crowding my space, the scent of pine and authority enveloping me