Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella
Chapter 62

The Glilies were finally getting their meeting with Alpha Evan.

He glared at the door he had paused outside of. Beyond it, someone was waiting for him to appear. Funny enough, it wasn't the Alpha of the Glilies family or even his mate. It was their daughter, Flicka.

Flicka called herself Evan's childhood friend since they used to romp together with all the other children, back when Evan was not yet an orphan and his father was still the Alpha. Even then, she had fancied herself his future mate. Evan had always been annoyed by that. After all, from the moment they first met when they were barely toddlers, she had insisted to all the other girls that he was hers. That wasn't normal childish behavior. Her parents, the money-hungry influence peddlers Gerald and Lenore, had clearly drilled it into their daughter's head from birth that she must shoot for the stars. Or rather, shoot for the money pile.

That attitude never disappeared. When Evan had taken over the Scarlet pack and claimed his rightful place, Flicka had been one of the few who had not been put off by Adrain's blood death at his hands. She simply fell into place as naturally as if she had always expected it and insisted on trying to get close to Evan in any way possible.

The Glilies were two-faced. They loved the profit from scraping clean all the conquered packs that lay in pieces in Evan's warpath, but they had never supported Evan's search for his fated mate. It was a moot point now since he had no interest in searching for an empty vessel simply to increase his power; Claudia was all he could ever want in this life, in all the lives he would ever live. But that double-sided, crafty, self-serving attitude of the Glilies family had always rubbed him the wrong way.

If he could only remember what his parents had thought of them, he might have dealt with them better. After all, before his uncle Adrain came to power and abused his authority for nearly a decade, Evan's father the Alpha must have had a method for keeping the unruly powerful families in line. Sadly, he had no idea how his father had done it, and until now, his method of dealing with the Glilies and any other distasteful family had only be to treat them coldly and keep them at arm's length.

That wasn't going to work forever. Flicka was poised to take over the family duties in the next decade, and her parents had doted on her for her whole childhood to prepare her in every way. She took after them in all possible dimensions, especially their entitled attitude, and they were all increasingly slavering after him more and more.

Oh, he could already guess what this was about, this urgent meeting they had insisted on. The message they had passed onto him through one of the Deltas made it clear.

Now he was going to set them straight.

"Alpha Evan! How nice to see you in good shape, we heard things have been rough but it seems nothing is a match for our Alpha." Gerald Glily rose from the chair and stuck out his hand for an eager shake when Evan approached, losing some of his polished composure in his excitement. "Thank you for meeting us on short notice, but we thought it would be a good idea to make the time when things are at a lull."

"And here is Flicka, of course," Lenore gushed as she pushed her daughter forward slightly. "She's been looking forward to seeing you even more than we have!"

Shameless as ever, Flicka only smiled at him, almost batting her lashes. Truly well-trained by her parents. She had the arrogance to believe everyone fell for her at first sight, either wanting her or wanting to be her. If not for her beauty and her family's wealth, her self-important demeanor would put everyone off in an instant.

"What is it you wanted to speak about." Evan took his seat in the other chair, and the Glilies all looked surprised as if they hadn't expected to be speaking in this temporarily converted classroom. This was no sitting room in the Scarlet manor where they would have been sitting on luxurious armchairs and couches, and the chairs were the mass-produced plastic kind with metal legs used by the students, but if the Glilies had expected vain comforts, they were to be sorely disappointed. "I don't have time to waste," he snapped. "Let's talk and talk fast."

"Ah! Of course, yes." Gerald cleared his throat and motioned for his family to sit back down. "I wanted to speak about something concerning I've heard lately. You see, the rumors reached me almost as soon as we arrived here that you and the half-breed girl have been... associating with each other."

"Half-breed."

Gerald missed the warning rumble in Evan's voice completely, nearly tripping over himself in his rush to hear himself speak. "This isn't a good thing for the Scarlet pack, both you as the sole survivor of the head family and for the rest of us, everyone. After all, we should be wary of unscrupulous mercenary women coming after your money and your influence, not to mention your power. And we have to think about your lineage. Isn't it time you take on a mate and produce heirs, a strong Alpha son to take on the reins when you decide it's time to step down? You'll need someone of good pedigree and not muddied genes, not to mention -"

If he had known Evan would rise out of his seat and advance on him, towering like a dark beast over his head, he would have shut up long ago. But it was too late now, and he pressed himself back into his seat, creaking the plastic. Evan caught the leg of the chair with his shoe, keeping the man from sliding back and retreating.

"One more word about her, and I'll make sure you never talk again. Is that understood?"

"WhaI-I'm sorry, Alpha, I just..." He caught himself and swallowed hard, throat bobbing with enthusiastic fear. Gerald's eyes shone like those of cornered prey, trapped in a corner with nowhere to go but straight toward its looming predator. "I apologize. I spoke out of turn."

"You did. Claudia is mine. I don't care what you think of her, good or bad. But you will keep your opinion to yourself if it's something I don't like, or else I'll have to replace someone to take over your sudden and unexpected vacancy. You are replaceable, and your opinion of whose company I keep is nothing to me." Evan clamped his hand on Gerald's shoulder and squeezed, leaning forward so the man felt the full warning power of his strength. "But I'm telling you now so next time, you know better than to irritate me. Claudia will be my mate. I am going to make her my Luna when the fighting is over, and she will become bonded to the Scarlet pack. Then she will be your Luna. Understand?"

"Y-yes, Alpha. I understand."

"And you?" Evan turned his glower upon Lenore, who paled and shrank back as well, no braver than her husband. "Answer me." "Yes, Alpha, of course, yes, I understand-"

He didn't bother looking to Flicka. She wielded influence over her parents and had her spoiled ways, and she was their heir when they passed on everything to her, but she had no power when it came to this. He didn't need to assert dominance when she was just a child holding onto her parents' coattails. If she knew what was good for her, she would do as they did and keep her mouth shut when it came to Claudia.

On second thought, Flicka had tried to bully Claudia before, hadn't she? Claudia had put her firmly in her place from what the secondhand and thirdhand reports claimed, but Evan had yet to catch her redhanded. He never would. She was too sly to actually do anything where he could see it, and she always had a whimpering excuse if anyone of superior rank tried to confront her. For someone who acted so proud when surrounded by those she considered inferior, she showed her true colors far too quickly as soon as she sensed an opportunity to kiss up for favors.

They might not cross paths again since he intended to put his all into finishing this war against the rogues in the next several days. He had no time for the Glilies and their games. While he was here, he might as well remind Flicka of her place.

"She already taught you a lesson from what I understand, but don't test her again," he said flatly, and the girl's eyes widened as if he had raised his hand to slap her. Why was she so surprised? She should have been on the ground already, begging forgiveness, but instead she dared to pretend this came out of nowhere. He wouldn't fall for it. "I'll say it again. If any of you try to do anything to Claudia, you will regret it."