Page 62 of Brutal Alpha Beast
“I think,” I say. “We should lift the spell. Just for him, if that’s possible?”
Penelope nods. “It is. But once we do this, we can’t go back. Too much tampering will mess with him too much. And then you’d also have to promise not to do lovemaking with him again, which, as husband and wife, maybe a little hard...”
Lacey snickers.
Love-making. I think she’s trying to make us cringe.
“I understand that this will be permanent,” I say, looking around the room. “Let’s lift it, only for him.”
I’m so grateful to have all these wonderful women in my life.
Especially with what I’m about to face.
Chapter 16 - Ellis
After I do a border patrol with Aaron, I check in on my dad.
I’ve been avoiding him a little over the past few weeks, and I realize it’s because I’ve been feeling like a failure.
The issue with our valley’s land is spiraling. No matter how much we work with the witches to try to eliminate the damage, more and more keep popping up.
For example, the other day, I noticed that a section of one of our lakes had dried up so much that there were a couple of dead fish lying lifelessly on the grass with their mouths open.
I was horrified, and I enlisted the help of a couple of witches to cast a spell that would fill the water, but it was only temporary. And there’s no way of predicting when and where it’ll happen again.
Everyone has been told to be on nature watch.
Then there’s the whole thing with Danielle. I don’t want to tell anyone about that, especially not my dad, but it’s eating me up inside.
Without knowing the whole truth, it's hard to defend Danielle or her coven from the rest of my pack. So I’m stuck. Even so, it’s been a while, and I miss my dad.
“Son,” he says, greeting me at the door. He gives me a nod, and I nod back—we’re not exactly the hugging type. “It’s been weeks!”
I chuckle. He’s being comically dramatic.
“It hasn’t been weeks, Dad.”
He heads to his fridge and whips out two ice-cold beers. I raise my eyebrows. “At this hour?”
“You need it,” he says.
He’s not wrong.
After we catch up a little and inevitably have to discuss the issues with the valley, the conversation eventually leads to the witches and then Danielle.
“So,” he says. “What’s been going on?”
I take a swig and lean back in the lawn chair. “Nothing’s going on. It’s a marriage out of convenience, nothing more.”
“Well, do you like her?” He asks.
I shift uncomfortably in the chair. I don’t think anyone has actually asked me if I like her. Do I? If she wasn’t lying to me and messing with my brain, then maybe I would.
“It’s not like that,” I tell him. “That’s not important.”
My dad chuckles. “You’re not a good liar, you know.”
I exhale and look out at the trees. I wish I could tell him what’s been going on, but I know he’ll only question my competency as a leader and the alliance. I don’t need those problems, and actually, the witches have been pretty good.
