The Alpha and The Fool

"Where have you been?" Father demanded when I walked into my bedroom. Sade was there as well.

"I was doing some work in the gym."

His thin lips pressed into a thin line as he gave me a narrowed eye stare. "You don't need to be doing any of that anymore. You're too hard. Men like their women to be soft and they most definitely don't want their women stronger than they are." I nearly snorted response, but I managed to control myself. I hadn't been soft in a very long time. "There is another gathering tonight. You have one hour, be ready - Sade do something to make her look less like that."

"Of course, Alpha."

"Good, I have a few prospects, and I don't want to scare them off," he said then left without waiting for anyone's response.

I let out a growl of frustration and sat on the bed. "It'll be okay," Sade said, patting my knee. "Jon will find someone." I looked up at her in surprise. She grinned. "Yeah, he told Wesley and me. We're in. You will do fine as our alpha and could handle any challenge. Also, you should never be forced to be with anyone who isn't your true mate."

"Thanks," I said then gave her a light push when my eyes got watery. "Damn it, stop with the mushy crap, or I'm going to end up getting soft."

We laughed, and she stood. "Go take a shower, Nic. I'll try to find something for you to wear tonight."

After the shower, I dressed in the blouse and skirt Sade had prepared for me. I was putting on my shoes when Wesley and Jon joined use. I stood, thankful I was wearing simple flats today instead of heels. "Tell me you've made some progress please," I pleaded with Jon.

He grinned looking very pleased. "Have I made progress?" He shook his head at the beta. "She asked me if I made progress. Can you believe it? Since when I've not delivered?"

"So," I said, crossing my arms and waiting.

"Of course, I've made progress. I've found the perfect candidate, and best of all, he's agreed to it."

I stood straighter, surprised. "Really?" For some reason, his smug expression made me wary. "Who?"

"Does the who really matter."

Now I knew I wasn't going to like his answer. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Jon."

He held up his hands. "Easy, it's all cool. His name, is, uh, Dean."

I blinked a few times. Dean... "As in the alpha's son?" Jon nodded. "You tol-why? Why would you do that? The idea is to find someone Father would approve of. He doesn't approve of Dean at all. According to Father, he's an idiot."

"Yeah well, your dad is in no position to be choosy. Nic, Dean is perfect. He an alpha's son, he's laid back, and best of all, he's your actual mate."

"Wait, what?" Sade said, her eyes wide. "Is that true, is the guy you hit your mate?"

I shot Jon a glare. Well, the cat was out of the bag now. I sat on the bed with a sigh. "Yeah, he is."

"Damn it," Sade said, grabbing her tiny purse and fishing out a twenty and handing it to a now smug Wesley.

I frowned not sure what was going on for a second then it dawned on me. "You two...made a bet on me?"

"Yep," Wesley said, pocketing the money happily. "I found it odd you'd straight up punched a guy. I've seen you take a bunch of crap from the guys without ever losing your cool. I suggested to Sade it had to be something like the guy was your mate. She disagreed, so we made a bet."

"Well I'm glad someone is enjoying this situation," I said, blandly. I really couldn't bring myself to be angry with them. "Jon, this isn't going to work. Father will prefer his 'prospects' before Alpha Brent's son." "Don't worry about that. Dean has had a few of his own ideas. We got this," he said and put his hands on my shoulders. "You just sit back and look pretty."

"Pretty, I'll get you pretty." I gave him a light punch in the stomach, enough to knock some of the air out of him, but not really hurt him.

The knock on the door cut off any comeback Jon might have had. Father stuck his head inside "It's time," he said and nodded when he saw my appearance.

"Yes, Sir," I said, and I followed him into the hall. He led me to the same room I'd struck Dean when I first met him. Thinking of it made my stomach tighten with guilt. I straightened my spine and tried to shove the feeling down inside me. "Do we still have to do this?" I asked we walked into the room and started to mingle with the people.

"Nothing has changed, Nic. You need a mate," he said and took my arm, guiding me towards two men, father, and son I presumed. "Alpha Richard." He dipped his chin in a small head bob. "I would like to introduce my daughter to you and your son, Nicole."

The older man offered me a kind smile and shook my hand. "This is my son, Desmond."

Hearing his name, the son looked up from where he'd been staring at my chest. "Right, nice to meet you and all that," he said, glancing to watch some woman pass us.

I hid my hands behind my back so no one could see them curl into fists. His father gave me a strained smile, but his eyes lightened from an emerald green to jade, clearly not pleased with his son's wandering attention. They spoke a little while longer. When Desmond wasn't participating in the conversation between our fathers, he'd either stare at my chest or some other body part of the nearest woman. He never once looked at my face or spoke to me.

They finally parted ways, and we were on our way. "That was a waste of time," Father spat.

"Agreed," I replied.

"No daughter of mine is going to be some man's plaything."

It surprised me, and I forced him to stop as I turned to him. "But isn't that exactly what you want me to be Father? That and their brood mare?"

"None of that is what I want, Nic."

"Oh, now who's lying, Father."

"I'm not lying." He pulled me closer to him. "I want someone who'll take care of you, not play with you for his fancy until he's bored," he said, his voice a low hiss. "I'm getting old and slow with no heir. I need to step down before I'm challenged, and it gets bloody. That is what I want. Nothing more, Girl." He gave my arm a little tug, and we continued to walk through the room.

Once again he stopped at a pair of men. These two looked to only a little younger than her father. One of them a big man. He had the build of a troll. He kind of reminded her of Wreck-It Ralph. "Greetings Alpha Maxwell and Beta Simon."

I swallowed eying the beta aka Ralph. This guy couldn't be possibly the prospect Father was talking about. I shook my head a little, glancing around the room. My gaze stopped on Dean, speaking with Desmond. What in the world was he doing? I frowned watching them. Perhaps it's nothing, I thought, but as soon Dean saw me watching he, winked at me. I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head before turning back towards my father and the other men.

As we left the two men, brothers apparently, I gave Father a sidelong glance. "You can't seriously be considering him?"

"Why not?"

"Father."

"We don't have a lot of options, here, Nic."

"Well we only need one, forget about this," I told him.

Again he turned to face me. "Quit acting like a spoiled child, Nic. I told you..."

He continued to lecture me, but my attention was on Dean chatting up Beta Simon. What was he doing? I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, nervous.

"Nic are you even listening to me?"

My attention snapped back to Father. "Yes, of course."

He narrowed his eyes at me and let out a breath through his nose. "This is important."

I resisted the urge to sigh. "Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir."

We walked around a few minutes more when we stopped by the future alpha Ryder and his mate. "Alpha Joseph, I was wondering if I could speak with you a moment," Ryder said. Surprise flashed over Father's face for a moment. "Of course, what would you like to discuss.

"I wanted to ask your opinion on the proposed stance on rogue prevention offered by the Alpha of Death Valley. It seems quite controversial and seems like a lot of the others are against it," Ryder said, holding out his arm for them to go and speak.

Father glanced back at me. I could tell he really wanted to talk to the future alpha, but afraid of what scene I might make. I start to tell him I'd return to the room when Brook spoke with a bright smile. "Don't worry, I'll keep your daughter company, Alpha Joseph."

I fought to keep my expression neutral. She and possibly the future alpha were up to something. Father hesitated, but it'd be an insult if he refused, so he dipped his chin. "Very kind of you, however, don't stay long Nic." His tone full with command.

"Yes, Sir." When they were out of easy hearing distance, I turned to the future Luna. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Brook said, but she might as well have a neon sign over her head which said 'I'm guilty.'

"So, I hear you're in need of a man," Dean said, startling me. I turned to see him standing behind me with his lazy, cocky grin.

I lifted a brow at Brook who was giving Dean an exasperated glare. "I do not need a man," I told him, glancing at Ryder who was keeping Father's back to us.

"That's not what I was told. I believe the guy's exact words were desperately needs a man."

If Jon actually said those words, I was totally going to have to kill him.

"By the way, what is your dad thinking? I mean, I'm not expert on men, but really? The first guy would sleep with anything female. The second one I'm not sure he's even a werewolf. He looks more like a troll. Trust me, I've watched enough Japanese porn to know how that would end."

"Dean," Brook hissed, her face red and eyes wide.

"What?" he said, shrugging. "It's true."

"Do you stop and think about what you're going to say before you start talking?" I asked him.

Dean flashed me another smile. "Why would I do that?"

"I thought so." I shook my head. "So what are you up to?" He had the audacity to seem confused. "You've been following Father and I all night, talking to the men he's introduced me too." "There's nothing wrong with socializing." Again he grinned then shrugged. "I might have been giving them reasons they don't want to accept your father's deal."

I couldn't help but snort with a laugh. "To what end? Father's determined to find someone."

"And we're going to make sure the only one he finds is me," he replied leaning in towards me.

"He doesn't like you," I told him, tempted to take a step back, but I didn't want him thinking he scared me or something.

"Can I be honest, Beautiful," he said, but didn't wait for an answer. "I don't really care if he likes me or not." He reached up and brushed his knuckles down my cheek.

It sent a wave of heat through me, and my mouth went dry as I swallowed. Dean started to lean closer towards me when Brook cleared her throat.

"Sorry, this was getting awkward for me, and I'm not sure PDA is the right choice at the moment."

My face flushed, realizing how close he was. I took a step back and blew out a breath. What just happened? I ran a hand over the top of my head, feeling strange. "Thanks," I told her.

"Aw, Brookie, you're always ruining my fun," Dean complained. "And don't thank her, it will only encourage her."

"The way I see it, that's not a bad thing."

"It's a very bad thing, Beautiful. I'm pretty sure if she'd shut up I would've gotten a kiss."

My face warmed, and I ducked my head to hide it. "No, you wouldn't."

He scoffed, leaned towards me again but whatever he was going to say was stopped when Father spoke.

"What's going on here?" He demanded, his narrowed glare on as he took my arm and pulled me away from Dean.

To my surprise, Dean returned the glare. "I was simply apologizing again for being so pushy the other day to Nic."

Father's grip tightened on my arm when Dean said my name. "Very considerate of you, but my daughter was the aggressor so need for apologies."

Dean smirked at him. "Right, but I don't see the harm in getting to know her and your people. Getting to know each other is part of the point, isn't it? Also, she did promise my father - the alpha- there wouldn't be any more violence."

Father stiffened and forced a smile on his face. "You're right, of course," he said with a strained smile, but his eyes blazed. "Sadly it's time we returned to our room. Good night," he bit out and pulled me away from Dean and out of the room. "Do you listen to anything I tell you, Girl," he snapped with a quick tug on my arm. "Did I not specifically say stay away from him."

"I didn't go to him, Father. He came to me. What am I supposed to do? Tell him my father won't let me play with him. Besides, if I insult his son the alpha may change his opinion about me punching his son." Father let out a breath noisily through his nose. "I don't like it," he said and narrowed his eyes. "What did he want?"

"Nothing really," I said, and so it wouldn't be a complete lie I added, "He was making some jokes."