I have warned you about dating this girl. I told you that if it caused problems, I would not allow it, and if you think I'm above going over and talking to that girl's mother? Think again."
"Gabby said her mom's cool with what we do."
"Then Gabby's lying," Kim told him. "She also doesn't know what you are! How do you think she'd feel about dating a dog, huh? And the kids at school? Oh, those would be some great jokes. There's Roman - come, boy. Sit. Stay. Play dead."
He huffed at her. "You don't know what you're talking about."
I wasn't about to let him brush this off that easily. Teen hormones were no excuse! Letting my lip curl, I clenched my fist at my side, every muscle in my body tensed. I could walk this line. His parents were the ones who should discipline him, but I still intended to make sure this kid understood he'd pushed my authority for the last fucking time.
"Are you willing to risk your family's place in my pack for this? Your home?" I leaned a little closer, proving that his childish threats didn't bother me at all. "Your life? Because I made it very clear. This is a command. It is non-negotiable."
His eyes still held mine.
That in itself spoke volumes. His next words, however, sent chills down my spine. "You can't keep a beta from his rightful partner."
"She's not a wolf," I snapped.
He lifted his chin a little more. "And yet neither Olivia nor I can stay away. Explain that, huh? Xander's been trying to claim Olivia as his for a year now, and she always said he wasn't her match. Gabby? Both of us feel her pull." He took a deep breath. "And I love her."
"Her mate loves her. Her beta obeys her. And she's not a wolf!" I said again, because this brat was still trying to defy me. "She's just a girl. A completely normal, human girl, and I will not have you risk my relationship with her mother because of this."
He shook his head. "I can't. I'm supposed to be with her."
"You're sixteen years old. You don't have a clue what you're supposed to be doing!"
"You had your betas by then," he countered. "Pax and Trent had been acknowledged. That happened when you were children, and everyone knows it."
"And they're wolves," I reminded him. "Natural-born, raised to complement me. You? You can't be linked with a human. It doesn't work that way."
"Why not?" he countered.
I wanted to shove him. I was dying to let this rage go, and that made it impossible to control my voice. "Because she's human!" I yelled.
He was scared of me but unwilling to give this up. "So was my dad."
Clearly, the poor kid was confused. "And now he's not, but he's still not an alpha," I snapped.
Then I paused, pulling in a breath because I could make this a teachable moment. That was what a good alpha would do. It wasn't easy, but I managed to lower my voice to something more closely resembling a normal tone.
"It doesn't work like that, Roman, and you know it! Converts are lucky to make it through the change able to shift back to human. Leading? Impossible. They never get that much control over their wolf form. They're lucky if they keep it over their minds."
"Being an alpha isn't about being a wolf," the boy countered. "It's about being strong, and smart, and everything else she is. It's about being a part of our pack, even if she doesn't know it. I didn't mean for this to happen, but you're the one that told me to watch out for her, and that's what I'm going to do. I don't care if you roll me over and tear me apart. I love her, and you can't make me stop!"
"And that's where you're wrong. I can make you stop." My skin was tingling with the need to shift, begging me to let go of my emotions and give the rage its best form. "I can send that family away, and I will if I have to. See, I'd still get to see Elena if she lived across town. That's the benefit of being a grownup."
"I have a car," he reminded me. "And I'm not going to just let her go. I told you, we're meant to be together."
The chemistry between these kids might be real, but it was a very imperfect thing, and at Roman's age? It was more about hormones