NOVPUB
Chapter 167: _Conflicting Feelings
Kylo stood up, his gaze fixed on Gamma Rhett. The tension was almost suffocating, causing me to subconsciously hold my breath.
After what felt like one of the most anxiety-driven few seconds of my life, Kylo finally sighed. "Very well, father. The pack needs more hands in the fight against those blood-sucking monsters. If enlisting young blood is the best move forward...then so be it."
I felt my heart drop. No. This couldn’t be happening. There had to be another way. I had to make sure Kylo was safe.
"Thank you for understanding, son." Rhett’s face beamed with a proud smile. "The training will begin in two days from now. You can go get-"
"I’d like to volunteer!" I chirped in, cutting off Rhett. I managed to surprise even myself with those words.
When I saw Rhett and Kylo giving me confused looks, I decided to clarify. "I want to volunteer to enlist in the pack’s army."
My eyes were filled with determination, unwavering as I stared into Rhett’s eyes. I watched his facial expression contort with stupefaction, but then It was replaced with something akin to amusement.
"Isleen, no way," Kylo spoke up first before his father. "Dad clearly said it’s for the firstborn males of each family. You-"
"So, you think just because I’m a woman, I can’t fight?" I snapped, my wolf already growling inside me.
The betrayer! It seemed to only show its presence during odd moments when I really didn’t need it.
"It’s not that you can’t fight, Isleen." Gamma Rhett spoke up next, sounding a bit stoic. "Women can’t join the pack’s army because it’s too tasking. Men are simply more physically capable. Besides, you’re an omega. Sending you to the battlefield would be a death sentence, and I don’t want that blood in my hands."
Now I wished I hadn’t heard anything Rhett just said.
’Men are simply more physically capable’? Bullshit! Male wolves might have the physical advantage, but females made up for that with our higher speed. Besides, I’d seen female wolves in action on the day of the attack. Lupe had proven how ruthless she could be against the vampires and did a good job fending off the vampires before she was outnumbered.
This was all just misogyny in disguise as ’ tradition ’. And the fact that Rhett, my supposed mate, was the main supporter of it all didn’t sit well with me. Was this the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with?
I turned my gaze to Kylo, who neither supported nor called out Rhett for his words. He instead looked away, scratching his neck awkwardly.
Fuck this! I wasn’t giving up.
"But, Gamma Rhett, I-" I tried to speak again, but Rhett paused me with a raise of his palm.
"No, means no, Isleen. I’m sorry." His tone was firm, but yet held a softness that told me he really meant what he said.
I twisted my lips, looking away in annoyance.
Just then, Kylo faked a cough. "I’ll be taking my leave now, father."
Without looking at me, he stood up and walked out the door. I’d hoped he’d say something more to me, anything, but it seemed he decided to show his father’s stubbornness right now.
I stood up too, hoping to catch up with him. A pull on my wrist caused me to gasp out in surprise. I turned back only to find Gamma Rhett holding my arm, concern written on his face. 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝔲𝔟.𝔠𝖔𝖒
"Why did it seem like you showed more concern towards Kylo than me, his father?" He tilted his head, his voice almost a whisper. He stared deep into my eyes, a deep longing that I’d begun to grow used to flickering through his face.
I harrumphed with annoyance, ignoring my wolf’s howls of excitement at our mate’s touch.
"Probably because unlike you, I actually care about him!" I spat, not caring if I raised my voice. "How could you be so emotionless? So heartless even to your own son? To me?"
Rhett clenched his jaw, his eyes wavering away from my gaze. However, he still didn’t let go.
"That’s not fair." He sounded hurt. "I care about my son more than anything else in this world. You should know that if you’re my mate."
I scoffed. "Please! I barely know anything about you. You are an enigma, Gamma Rhett. One minute, I think I’ve gotten a better understanding of you, and then the next you go back to being someone different. It’s driving me crazy, I can’t take it anymore."
And that was the truth. I and Rhett were from two different worlds. Apart from the fact that he was old enough to be my father, he held far different views than I did. His fixation on sticking with tradition irked me to no end.
I tried wriggling my hand out of his grip, but he didn’t let go. That only managed to irritate me even more.
"I would appreciate it if you let go of me now." I tried to sound as calm as possible as my eyes went back and forth from Rhett’s arm to his eyes.
Slowly, he released me from his grip, and without a second thought, I turned towards the door and walked out of his office.
A few soldiers looked my way, their gazes judging. But I ignored them, as my eyes searched for Kylo around the precinct. He’d already left.
Not caring about the surrounding soldiers, I sprinted out of the precinct, hoping I’d see him. Turning my head left and right, I tried desperately to spot him, hoping he hadn’t gone too far. Finally, I spotted him talking with a guy, one of his colleagues from work.
I couldn’t help wondering if they had something together, but I shook my head. I couldn’t care less about that right now.
"Kylo," I called out when I got closer.
He turned his head slowly to me, as he exchanged a few more words with the man. Finally, he walked towards me, a smile on his face.
"Seems you and Dad had some other things to talk about." His eyes lingered on my face, scrutinizing me closely.
Oh, Kylo. We barely had the chance to talk about anything else because we were so busy talking about you.
Saying I was confused was an understatement right now. Why did I feel so driven to ’ protect ’ Kylo from this war? Why did I latch out at Rhett, as if any of this was his fault? I was conflicted. I needed to understand my feelings before I unintentionally drove away both father and son.
