Mated To My Boyfriend's Dad

Chapter 89: _ My Sin

"Isleen? Can I have a few minutes of your time?"

Lupe patted me reassuringly and urged me to go to him. Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and approached Gamma Rhett.

He glanced up at me and a flicker of something clouded his face that I couldn’t decipher.

"Thanks for listening to Lupe," I said, keeping my voice even and unsure of what to say to him.

He was staring so intently at me that I thought I might pee my pants anytime soon.

"Of course," he rumbled, his gaze continued to lingering on me for too long. "She’s taking it hard."

A heavy silence descended between us. I shifted uncomfortably as the intensity of his presence made the air uneasy. It was really hard trying to keep my cool in front of this man. My fingers were itching to touch him.

"So," I finally blurted out, hating how desperate I sounded for him to leave, "what did you want to talk about?"

He leaned against the wall, his broad shoulders shortly relaxed. "Thank you for answering, Isleen. You know, after last night, I thought you might loathe me and not be able to stand seeing my face."

Argh.

Was this the reason why he called me? To stir my emotions? I knew this game that he was playing way too well. I wouldn’t let him get under my skin or put ideas in my head.

"Of course," I mumbled, my gaze flickering around the room except for him.

Avoiding prolonged eye contact felt safer than getting lost in the depths of his intimidating eyes.

"Actually," he began, then hesitated. This hesitation was so uncharacteristic of the usually decisive Gamma Rhett. It kind of did a strange flip in my stomach. "There were a few things I wanted to ask you."

Ugh, here we go. "Shoot," I said, trying to sound indifferent.

He cleared his throat. "Did you have any... personal relationship with the deceased teacher, Mr. Fenrir, at your school?

A frown creased my forehead. "Personal relationship? Like what kind?"

A muscle ticked in his jaw. "Normal friendship, colleague-type relationship." His voice sounded clipped - almost strained.

My gaze drifted to the dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Maybe the whole ’powerful Gamma’ thing wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows after all. He did look like the type that would sacrifice his sleep for work many times.

Rest, man. We needed our Gamma Rhett safe and sound. I needed...

Shut up, Isleen.

I found myself staring, completely forgetting my earlier annoyance. I worried for him and forgot my surroundings until he spoke again.

"Isleen?" he prompted, reaching to touch me but I flinched away.

"Huh? Oh, right." I blinked, feeling a blush creep up my neck. "No, not really. Mr. Fenrir wasn’t exactly— friendly material if it was left to me. I mean, he’s friendly but not friendly the friendly way to me. You know, the normal friendly friendly..."

ARGH!

Get a grip, Isleen! What are you doing?

He looked almost so composed and here I was, stuttering and shaking.

There was a glimmer of something in his eyes – disapproval?

Intrigue?

It was impossible to tell. He scribbled something in his notepad and his brow furrowed in concentration.

"How so?" he asked gently but I thought I could hint at annoyance in his tone.

"He..." I faltered, searching for the right words.

He raised an eyebrow as impatience split his face into two. "He what?"

"He– well..." I stammered, my cheeks burning. How do I tell Gamma Rhett what Mr. Fenrir always tried to do with me?

It was embarrassing.

"Isleen?" he said sharply beside me, his voice snapping me back to reality.

"Oh, sorry!" I blurted, flustered. "He was always trying to flirt— with me, to put it mildly. Got on my nerves most of the time."

I trailed my gaze to Lupe and Liam who were seated on a couch now. Lupe was staring into oblivion and Liam, looking at us.

Tch. That boy...

I heard something like a low groan escape from Gamma Rhett at the mention of that. Deep lines appeared between his brows until he schooled his expression back into stoicism. _{𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒}

He tapped his pen against the notepad.

"Were there any other staff members who— mistreated you?" he continued with a strained voice.

Was it me or did Gamma Rhett sound like he was about to move mountains for me? He wasn’t taking our mate bond seriously, was he? I wasn’t his cup of tea if he must know.

"Mistreated? Not really," I clarified. "No sexual stuff, thankfully. But there’s always the usual bullying that comes with being an omega– I guess."

His posture stiffened, and I could practically see the anger simmering beneath inside of him. He fought to keep it in check, but the effort was evident in the tense set of his jaw.

Gamma Rhett, why don’t you focus on keeping the pack safe and not me? I wished I could say those words to him and remind him of his place.

However, his gaze flickered to my neck, at the spot where he’d marked me and I swallowed. Subconsciously, I touched and caressed the spot, and I saw a flustered smile grace his lips.

Arghhhhh!

He glanced down and began to blush like a happy little boy, seeing his mark on him. He probably thought I had intentionally left it open because I wanted people to see it.

Hell no, man. I forgot.

"Gamma Rhett?" I blurted out, almost eyeing him hard.

He took a deep breath, his gaze meeting mine. There, in the depths of his eyes, I saw a flicker of genuine concern.

This man...

"Sorry," he said gruffly. "Why didn’t you report these incidents?"

Why, because I knew the pack had other issues than to focus on an omega being bullied like Omegas didn’t exist to be bullied anyway.

"It’s not a big deal," I finally shrugged, knowing fully well that it was a lie. That shit had caused me to lose Kylo and the moon knew how many much more I had lost. "As long as they don’t get physical, I can handle it."

At that instant, my Wolf howled. She wanted me to tell him the truth. What was the deal with her?

Tell him the truth, huh?

I was the boss here. Somebody needed to tell her that.

"There’s a difference between handling it and allowing yourself to be disrespected, Isleen," he countered, his voice firm but not unkind. "Who knows what might have happened if you hadn’t been compliant?"

His words struck a chord deep within me. Surprise lined across my face. Was he - worried about me?

But then again, I thought he was here to investigate Lupe’s mother’s death. What were all these questions about me?

I turned to look at Lupe but I found that she was still in the same position as she had been earlier, looking lost into the empty space. This time around, Liam held one of her hands in his reassuringly.

Now, that was my boy. Providing solace for a friend in need.

"I can answer your questions, Gamma Rhett," I turned back to my sin, my voice regaining its strength. "But maybe you should focus on the actual investigation instead of asking irrelevant questions."

Okay. I had not in the least bit idea of how I got to found the guts to say that to him. It felt like I had gone too far.

However, to my utmost dismay, this man in front of me erupted into a booming laughter.

What the heck?