Silas Chambers just shook his head and looked at his youngest son. Ralph was supposed to be his progeny and give him what his brothers had not. But the way he was acting lately just confused the shit out of him.
He couldn't help but wonder if the time Ralph spent away from home had affected his way of thinking.
He should have been a better parent and went after his youngest son. He should have swallowed his pride and made sure Ralph had been given every opportunity to become the Alpha he was meant to be.
Hanna stood and went to stand behind her mate. Silas' mood made her sad and she wanted to sooth his ache. She didn't feel the same as he did about Ralph.
He was young and he wasn't ready for the responsibility Silas wanted to give him. Reggie and Joe were well suited for the role of Alpha. Ralph didn't have it in him to rule a pack, much less deal with all of their needs.
Ralph sat looking dejectedly at his parents. They were disappointed with the news he had given them.
They were waiting for Alpha Dupac to join them. Charles had said it was an emergency and that he needed to speak with them immediately.
"Ralph; are you sure you want to keep this to yourself?" His father asked once more and his son nodded his head. The anguish on his face showed, as he tried to keep his composure.
A knock sounded at the door and Hanna opened it to let Charles Dupac inside.
"Please have a seat Charles. We hope that nothing is wrong that we can't help fix." Hanna said sincerely.
"There is no easy way for me to say this so I will just speak my mind if you please." He received an okay from Silas and he began to speak.
"It has been mine and my family's greatest pleasure to spend time with your pack over the last few weeks. But regretfully I must tell you that we will be leaving within the hour."
"Charles please its Christmas it's time for families to be together!" Hanna protested.
"Yes my friend; can't you wait until after Jackson and Megan arrive? You know they'll be sorry they missed you."
"It is the wish of my wife and daughter that we leave immediately. Persia has been hurt by the words she overheard your son speaking to his brother. She now knows without pretense how he really feels about her and she does not want to see him again."
"Charles we both know that is not possible. They are mates, how can you keep them apart?" Silas said standing now, his body showing his anger slowly rising.
"I can and I will do what's best for my child. She doesn't want to feel like she is cramping Ralph's lifestyle. What was her name? Yes Peggy I believe; am I right Ralph?"
The sarcasm in the Alpha's voice was palpable and Ralph cringed at his accusation.
"My daughter may have to mate with you when she comes of age, but right now, because you couldn't be more discreet, her heart is broken and I must protect her."
"Sir I did not mean to cause Persia such harm, please just allow me to say goodbye."
"No she doesn't want to see you. She is already on her way to Dallas as we speak. I will meet them there after I take my leave."
"Well I see that you have already planned everything well in advance Charles. My son's pain means nothing to you, but I feel for your daughter." Hanna stalked out and left the men to finish the conversation.
"Charles, I must say in my son's defense he is but a lad compared to you and I. What he is doing is not unheard of among our kind. Who can blame him for his impatience at finding out that his mate is a child?"
"I understand Silas, believe me I do. But I am acting on Persia's behalf. She will grow up and mate with Ralph. I only hope he does whatever it takes to gain back her trust."
"I am still here sir. I may be young, but I do understand the implications of the chaos my words have caused. I apologize to you and your family for causing you such pain."
"You know Ralph for a werewolf I find it hard to believe that you didn't know Persia was in the room. What is wrong with your sense of smell?"
Charles looked at the quiet young man shrewdly and finally took a seat.
"What did you do Ralph? Why would you hurt Persia on purpose that way?"
Ralph looked at his father and Silas sat back down as well. "You had better tell him son. You don't need your future father-in-law angry at you for seven years."
Sighing Ralph stood and faced Charles. "I did know she was there Alpha Dupac. Alisha had mentioned that your family was falling apart because of the way Persia was acting."
"So this was the only way you could think of to help us?"
"It was just a spur of the moment thing sir. Reggie went along with me and I explained it to him later. I couldn't stand by and let your family go through a hell I had caused."
Charles stared at the young man and frowned acknowledging his explanation.
"You know Ralph, Persia is now my little girl again. After crying her eyes out for hours she welcomed her parent's hugs and kissed with eagerness."
"I tried to get him to tell you outright Charles, but he didn't want you to know."
"I really love Persia Alpha Dupac, and I want to be near her. I have decided to follow you to France, but I will be going to school about three hours away."
"I see, so you have made your plans as well. If you plan to visit you must let me know well beforehand, I will try to run interference for you."
"Thank you Charles for being so understanding. He is usually much smarter than this. I just hope he didn't cause too big a rift between himself and Persia."
"I will talk with Aphasia and we will make sure Persia knows that Ralph is a good man, and she should at least get to know him."
"Thank you Alpha Dupac. I am so grateful that you are willing to help me."
Ralph shook the Alpha's hand and smiled for the first time since the meeting started.
"Well I guess I had better be on my way. I have a long drive ahead of me and a lot to think about."
"Thank you Charles and I will explain things to Jackson and Megan. I am sure they will see you soon anyway. You know we can hardly keep Stephan and Alisha out of the bedroom."
The three men laughed knowingly and Charles left the room. Silas looked at his son and smiled. He raised an eyebrow and relaxed back in his large chair.
"You know son, you did things the hard way. You could have sat down with that little girl and asked her to be more considerate of her parents. She is your mate and you must learn how to handle her eventually."
"Father didn't you hear what I told you before the meeting? Persia is going to be the death of me. She is stubborn, impatient and very intelligent." He stopped to take a breath and continued his rant.
"To top that all off she is so beautiful and she isn't even of age yet. I feel like a dirty old man every time I look at her and
I'm
supposed to look at her."
Silas laughed at his son's frustration and slapped him on his back.
"Let's try to get some more rest my boy. The festivities will begin shortly and I will have to be available to anyone who needs me."
"Okay Dad, but I wish Alpha Dupac hadn't figured out what I'd done. I thought I was being selfless and wanted his family to heal."
"Why do you think he is an Alpha my son? You have a lot to learn, and I hope that fancy school you plan on going to will help with that."
