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Ha-joon

I fell a bit more for Ellie when she crashed my meeting and scorched the ground around me. I wasn’t sure anyone had done anything so amazing for me before. I was stunned… But honestly not surprised because it was her if that made sense.

And she made the deal a million times better. The only drawback was I didn’t bring as much to the future deal anymore. I was worried about that, but she gave me a few glances not to be silly.

Fuck, she was sexy.

Several times the wolves in the room gave me amused looks. Even Ha-yun plugged her nose and coughed while rolling her eyes at me.

Yeah, I was damn sure my pheromones were filling the room. I wanted my future mate.

Ellie just didn’t know yet that it was her.

One day she would.

One day she would even accept it. I would figure out a way to make that happen.

I had to. I couldn’t be a duffer who lost a woman this amazing.

First, I had to make our relationship real. That would be enough of a challenge, but we were in no rush.

Sure, sure, I just had to figure out a way to get my wolf to chill out.

I quickly pulled Ha-yun off to the side after the meeting.

“Handle Byeol however and I won’t jump on whatever Ellie fills me in on, but I’ll be home after I’m done seeing patients.

” I shook my head when she started protesting.

“We both know if I don’t take a stand on this and only you smack her, the next idiot will do something else— something worse and we could—”

“I understand. They did this to themselves,” she accepted. She sighed when I snorted. “I may not have acted as I should have as a sister, but I have never come for you, Ha-joon. I have not instigated or taunted you. I simply didn’t defend you or made petty comments. That is vastly different.”

“I could argue that and how it made you culpable to stand by and watch it but fine, not being the perpetrator is different according to the law,” I offered, not about to forgive her just because she didn’t start it.

She also never objected . She acted like stopping it was the only other option. It wasn’t. One word from her that she didn’t approve or like what was happening would have done a lot. She didn’t get out of it all just by saying she wasn’t the reason it happened.

No, she was part of the reason it didn’t stop.

I said goodbye to my mates and headed back to the hospital with Ellie, glad we could ride together. “I think we should discuss extending our contract now that we’re getting into business dealings.”

Her lips twitched as she drove. “Is that what you think, pup?”

“At least keep an open mind to it and give me a chance to persuade you,” I replied, trying to sound easy about it. I tried another tactic when she didn’t respond. “Do you have any complaints with how things have been going? I mean other than—”

“I have no complaints about last night. It was explained.” She cleared her throat and adjusted how she was holding the steering wheel. “I’m glad you’re not upset about today.”

“‘Upset’ isn’t the word I’d use, and I plan on showing you what I’m feeling tomorrow after I handle this shit with my family tonight.”

“Or I could give you permission to use the ASH warlocks on twenty-four-hour call since this was a last-minute thing in case you want to come back. I mean, if things get too hostile there and you think it’s best. I was also planning on giving you the code to my condo.

If you wanted to use me as your emotional support pillow. ”

“I do like snuggling you,” I whispered, almost like I wasn’t trying to spook her into changing her mind, but also I was surprised since I didn’t see this coming.

“Only Alan has the code for emergencies,” she mumbled.

“I wouldn’t abuse it.”

“No, you’re not the type,” she accepted. She gave an awkward chuckle. “Plus, you’re not an idiot who would write it down somewhere.”

“No, never,” I agreed.

She leaned over at a stoplight a few blocks from the hospital and gave me a quick kiss and told me the code.

She cleared her throat yet again and focused back on the road.

“I won’t wish you luck because you don’t need it.

Congrats on smacking idiots back into place and I look forward to hearing it went well.

In the morning because of the time difference. ”

“Thanks, Ellie,” I whispered, her faith in me meaning the world to me when so much else was a mess inside of me.

I held onto that and the step forward in our relationship that she trusted me with the code as I prepared for battle the rest of the day.

Ha-yun warned the family something was going on because it was almost eleven at night when I arrived, and not only was the immediate family all gathered, but about a dozen extended family. That shocked me and I focused on my parents, not even greeting them like normal which worried them.

“You want me to do this in front of them?”

Da just let out a long breath. “Ha-yun wouldn’t tell us what happened because it’s your story to tell and Byeol’s wrong that was committed. All we know is she’s been simmering with rage since she came home and beat the piss out of Byeol until your mum had to intercede.”

That shocked me beyond words, and I glanced at Ha-yun who intently focused on the fruit she was snacking on.

“I told you—and everyone here—that it wasn’t about you or Byeol.

It was about the line crossed ,” she said evenly but with a tint of anger.

“We are better than ever behaving in such a way, and while we have issues, we are family. You are not some affair baby—and that’s never the child’s fault. This risked the whole family.”

“Which is why we need to know what happened,” Mum snapped.

“You do, but I knew Ha-joon was coming home and we say enough behind his back. He deserved the respect to wait a few hours to be here,” Ha-yun mumbled, clearly repeating herself.

“So now you’re in business with him and you are all up his bum to be his lackey to—” my eldest brother, Myung, started to mock.

I was on him in a flash, laying him out before anyone could react but keeping him conscious. I moved my foot to his chest and smirked down at him, knowing he couldn’t move me, before looking out at the family. “Byeol—”

“Don’t you even think it, demon,” she hissed.

I met her hate-filled gaze with my own. “Name one thing I have ever done to you that’s valid and I won’t. Anything. Anything , Byeol!”

She couldn’t. We all knew it. It was all about power and me being better—the baby they thought was loved more, but it was bullshit. I was the most neglected and forgotten. I made my own path because I never felt one of them.

How funny was that?

“Byeol called Atlanta’s Alpha and told him the family wanted me to mate his eldest daughter and take over the pack,” I snitched. “The fucker knew I wasn’t on board and had already announced it was a done deal when I showed up for the new moon run.”

I had more to say but blinked and Mum was on Byeol beating her ass. We were all so shocked that none of us reacted for a good couple of minutes before Seo-yeon pulled her off of Byeol.

“A little help here,” she growled, looking to Ha-yun.

Ha-yun snorted. “I did the same. “Byeol is spoiled and hates Ha-joon for taking the title of ‘baby of the family’ from her. It’s fucking stupid. Of all the stupidest stupid we’ve been towards him, that takes the cake.

Let her get beaten. It could have embarrassed all of us if Ha-joon hadn’t handled it well. ”

“Stop!” Da bellowed when everyone tried to interject. “First, how did you handle it?”

I let my brother up and moved off to the side, not hiding my hurt and my lower lip even quivered. I took in a slow breath and wiped my eyes with the back of my forearm before meeting his gaze. “Fuck you, Da.”

His eyes went bug wide. “Fuck me?”

“Ya, fuck you,” I repeated, my voice cracking.

I gestured to the room. “Any of them you would check if they’re okay first. I’m always just an afterthought, not a planned kid who throws off the family.

It’s not my fault they’re all gits and do this.

Ya don’t even ask how I am? Do you have any idea how horrible that was for me? ”

“Your father knows it hurt, Ha-joon,” Mum tried to smooth over. “Of course it did and we’re both gutted. But you’re strong and—”

“Don’t excuse him, Mum,” I rasped. “You just enable him—all of them.” I met my da’s gaze and let him see that I was angry. “I handled it, Alpha.” He flinched and I didn’t care. “I told him that if he embarrassed the family that his head would be ours.

“To handle it as jumping the gun and he shouldn’t have listened to my sibling making a suggestion because he knew I didn’t know.

That you’d kill him just to make sure no one else tried to pull this shite on any of us.

Plus, I’m involved with someone you approve of and people know that, so he better clean up the mess and take the hit or pick out a burial plot. ”

“Good, good,” he sighed. “I’ll follow up and—”

“Oh, so you don’t care about your son, but you also don’t have the faith I really can handle it?” I cut in, annoyed when he growled that I was challenging him.

Yeah, well, maybe it was time to start.

I let out my power and didn’t back down when he did the same. I glanced around at my siblings who were all staring at me with their mouths hanging open. I’d never flexed like this against my father or challenged him as Alpha, only as family to do what I wanted with my life.

“Clearly, leaving the fucking country isn’t enough for you assholes to leave me alone and realize that I’m not the problem.

Clearly , my mistake was being passive about it and thinking you fucking bullies would get tired of this petty shit and grow the fuck up even if you were real adults when I was born. Apparently not.”

“Don’t throw us all in with Byeol,” Myung snapped.