Kieran's POV
Being the most feared and respected Alpha in the kingdom apparently means nothing to the woman I call my mate. For such a tiny little thing, she can be infuriating. Many are the times I have had to storm out of the room to prevent myself from doing something that might bring a war to my hands.
And now everyone seems to love her. Including my son, Taylor. He looks at her like she is hung on the moon or something. My mother also has spared no praises to describe the little rascal who is hell-bent on making my life hard. And it doesn't help that my wolf wants his mate. Yesterday I couldn't rise to the occasion with Janice, despite what we did. I knew my failure to sprout an erection had something to do with my wolf wanting to teach me a lesson. He after all did threaten to hurt me for making our mate reject us and for not doing anything to repair the bond.
The crazy part is, ever since I laid my eyes on Daphne and recognized her as my mate, my protective side kicked in. But not an ounce of lust. I have never sexualized her, which is weird, for she is my mate. I guess the fact that she is scrawny with no sizable boobs or ass is the reason.
But what I hate most about Daphne is her insubordination. The girl is a spitfire. With a sharp mouth. Sharper than a new razor. She always has an answer to everything and doesn't care that I am the Alpha. I guess coming from the kind of family she does, titles aren't shit because everyone is someone there.
My office door burst open and the she-devil 'blessed' me with her presence.
"I need to talk to you." She growled, her eyes flickering dangerously.
"Don't you know how to knock?" I shot back heatedly, but she didn't back down. If anything, she became angrier.
"Keep your whore on a leash," Daphne screamed, surprising me for a moment. Was she talking about Janice? I wondered. "Can you imagine, the bitch showed at the school to threaten me?" She scoffed in disbelief before her eyes clouded with something else. "And why the hell did you tell her I was your mate?" She turned on me. I was tongue-tied. For a minute at least.
First, I didn't tell Janice about Daphne and I being mates. And secondly, how dare she go after Daphne and in an elementary school to make it worse? I looked at Daphne's furious face, and I was sure she wasn't going to believe me, regardless of what I say. So, I choose violence.
"If you ever barge into my office again without…"
"What will you do?" She challenged, cocking her head to the side as she narrowed those beautiful forest green eyes on me. I don't know how it happened, but one second she was glaring at me hatefully and the next, she was clutching onto her bruised cheek in disbelief. She stepped back, keeping her wary gaze on me, before she turned and left. After the door slammed behind her, that is when it hit me. I had slapped my mate. And more importantly, I had hit a woman. I have never felt shittier.
I know I am known for my ruthlessness, but I am no abuser. And what I just did makes me no different from my fucked up old man, who used to beat our mother every waking day. I shuddered to think what my mother will think when she learns what I have done.
Determined to salvage the situation somehow, I got up and rushed out, hoping to catch up with Daphne. I had to apologize. By the time I got to her, she was in the house and locked in her room. She must have run to get back so fast. I knocked on her door repeatedly, but she didn't answer. I threatened to break the door, and she promised by the time I do that she will have called her father. That, of course, got me backing down. I knew she wasn't bluffing and if she feels even a little threatened, she will call for help. I hated that she had locked herself away where I couldn't see her.
Strangely, I found myself wishing that she was screaming at me instead of hiding away. I would give anything to hear her call me every bad name she can think of because I deserve it. I will never love her as a mate, but it didn't give me a reason to mangle her bony face. I decided to wait for her to cool down before attempting to apologize again. I didn't bother going back to the office.
****
A few hours later, my son rushed home to look for her. He claimed he hadn't seen her at school in the afternoon, and he missed her. I grimaced, thinking what he would think of me if he asks Daphne how she got the bruise, and she says I gave it to her.
I told him that Daphne was resting, and he shouldn't bother her. That didn't stop Taylor from knocking on her door and shouting her name. Barely a minute later, the door opened, and he was dragged inside before it was shut on my face as I attempted to follow.