Tatum's Tears | On Hold

Chapter 9 - ❝Get a Mate and Get Married.❞

Chapter 9 - ❝Get a Mate and Get Married.❞

"Tatum, there's something I need to discuss with you." Alpha Basil Karas said by way of greeting as he sat down at the head of the table, and Tatum looked up to nod in response, her mouth full with the huge forkful of bacon she'd just shoved into it.

She chewed for a few seconds, swallowing her food down finally before replying, "What's the matter?"

"Uh," Basil looked uncomfortable, and Tatum already had a sneaking suspicion about what this might be concerned with, "Listen pup. I don't mean to be insensitive, you know me, but what do you think about next year?"

Next year was code for the passing of the Alpha title ceremony.

"What about it, Dad?" Tatum questioned, not quite sure where her father was going with this.

"Erm," Basil knotted his fingers as he placed his arms on the table, frowning as if he were choosing what to say carefully, "I . . .You, um," He looked up, crystal blue eyes the exact replica of hers meeting her own, "Are you sure you don't want us to wait a bit more before making you accept such a huge responsibility? I mean, are you ready?"

Tatum sighed, "Where's all this coming from, Dad? You were the one who suggested we wait until I turn twenty-one to pass on the title. Everyone I know, including the female heirs of the Mordecai, DeVega and Pineda packs took over at eighteen. So really, the fact that I'm a girl can't be your concern."

"It's not." Basil hurried to correct her assumption, nodding fervently, "It's just . . . well, it's just that—"

"—I don't have a Mate." Tatum completed that sentence for her father, finally putting him out of his misery.

"Well, that's one way of putting it." Basil raised his eyebrows, shrugging as if that wasn't how he would've termed it.

"So, what are you hinting at, Alpha Karas?" Tatum finally dropped her fork and gave her father her undivided attention, all business as she placed her arms on the table as well, mimicking his pose.

"You know that there are millions of humans on this planet. And so many of them lead a happy, fulfilled life." Basil shrugged once again, spreading his hands slightly in a 'see-what-I-mean' manner.

Tatum exhaled roughly this time, rubbing her palms across her face as his puzzling words finally made sense to her, "You want me to find a Mate. The human way."

"Yes." Her father looked at her carefully, taking in her every reaction.

"What makes you think I can even open up my heart to someone, who might not even be suitable for me in the end—might I add, having first-hand experience of the kind of pain I might have to endure when he leaves?" Tatum's voice was brusque and sharp; the off-hand quality to it might make one think she was discussing some insignificant detail of business, not the delicate matters of the heart.

"There are several things in that sentence that you are mistaken about, sweetie." Her mother said, floating into the room with a quiet grace to her steps like she always did. Tatum spun around in her chair to meet her mom's eyes with questioning ones of her own, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Falling in love is not what you think it is. You're not going to open up your heart to someone if he's someone who's not suitable for you and accepting of you. So the question of you risking your heart to someone who might be unsuitable is out." Maarika Karas smiled as she pulled out the chair beside Tatum's and took a seat, "But your relationship with him lasting forever, on the other hand? That takes a lot of work and yes, at times it doesn't work in the end and results in heartbreak." She placed her palm on top of Tatum's clenched fingers, giving them a comforting squeeze.