Kyle stared ahead. He hadn’t been told why he was in the alpha’s office, but he could take a guess. There was only one reason for his alpha to talk to him so soon after his mother’s death.

Alpha Davis wasn’t even going to wait a week. Kyle wasn’t surprised, but that didn’t mean he liked it or that he knew what to do.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you to come to my office,” Alpha Davis said from behind his desk.

There were two guards by the door, as if the alpha expected Kyle to attack him. It was ridiculous because Kyle had never attacked him or anyone else, but Alpha Davis had always disliked Kyle. It had nothing to do with Kyle himself and everything to do with who his father was.

Well, that and the fact that Alpha Davis had been planning to marry Kyle’s mother until she got pregnant with Kyle.

Kyle should answer Alpha Davis’s question, but what was he supposed to say? They both knew why he was there. He was about to get kicked out of the pack. He wouldn’t have been if his mother was alive, but she wasn’t.

Grief tightened around Kyle’s heart. He’d lost the person who’d been most important to him, and he didn’t know how to deal with that. His life was missing something massive. How was he supposed to fill the hole his mother’s death had left? He didn’t think he could, and he’d have to find a way to survive the pain.

Even though Alpha Davis was taking his family from him, too.

Kyle swallowed. “You asked me to come, and I came.”

Alpha Davis was silent. 

Kyle could feel the man watching him, but he didn’t look at him. He didn’t need to.

“We all feel the loss of your mother,” Alpha Davis said. “You know how important she was to the pack and to me.”

Kyle almost snorted. Yes, he knew how important she’d been to Alpha Davis. He hadn’t cared that she’d never wanted to marry him. He hadn’t cared that her parents wouldn’t have forced her to and would rather have left the pack. He’d wanted to marry her, and he’d been set to do just that.

Until she’d gotten pregnant. Kyle couldn’t say that his father was any better than Alpha Davis. He barely knew the man, but he’d looked into him, and he disliked what he’d found. Alpha Carter had led the Green Hill pride with an iron fist, and the people who’d left didn’t make it a secret that they thought he was an asshole.

The last Kyle had heard, the pride members weren’t allowed to leave the house they lived in. At least that wasn’t something Alpha Davis had ever ordered. That would be too hard since the pack didn’t live in one massive house like the pride did. Besides, he liked that his pack earned money, because it meant he did. He didn’t have a job outside of being the alpha, which was fine. It was how things usually worked. That didn’t mean he had to take half the salary of every single pack member, though.

Kyle didn’t say that out loud. He couldn’t afford to, especially not with the guards standing by the door. “She was important to me and my family, too,” he muttered.

“And I’m very sorry for your loss. You have to look at things from my point of view, though. You’re a tiger shifter. The pack accepted you because of your mother, but you can’t expect them to continue doing so now that she’s gone.”

Kyle gritted his teeth. “Are you saying you want me to leave?”

They both knew that was what Alpha Davis was saying. Kyle wanted confirmation, but he didn’t need it. Decades had passed since Alpha Davis had to let go of Kyle’s mother, but he still resented her and, even more so, Kyle. Even when Kyle was a child, Alpha Davis considered him responsible for his failure to marry Kyle’s mother. His parents had prevented the marriage since she’d become pregnant by another man—another alpha. Kyle still didn’t know if she’d done it on purpose. He knew for sure that she hadn’t wanted to marry Alpha Davis, but she’d never wanted to talk about it. Considering how awful the situation had been, Kyle wasn’t surprised.

Alpha Davis cleared his throat. “It would be best for everyone. We tolerated you, but you never fit in, Kyle. People are nervous around you, and I don’t want my pack to feel like that. With your mother gone, there’s nothing  keeping you here, is there?”

Kyle almost snapped, but since he didn’t think Alpha Davis would take it well, he stopped himself before doing something stupid. “My family is here.”

“Well, of course, but they’re wolf shifters. Besides, I’m not telling you that you’ll never be allowed to come back. I just think it would be better if you found yourself a new pack, or even better, a pride. Why don’t you go to your father?”

Kyle wanted to jump up from the chair and run out. He’d known this was why he was here, and now that he had confirmation, he didn’t need to continue listening to this. But he couldn’t give Alpha Davis even one excuse to mistreat him and his family. He couldn’t afford to.

Even though Kyle had to leave, his family wouldn’t. They were wolf shifters. His grandfather, brother, and sister deserved to continue living the life they were settled into. Their home was here, with the wolves, and since Kyle wouldn’t put it past Alpha Davis to bother them if he didn’t obey his orders, he needed to keep himself in check. For now, Alpha Davis wouldn’t kick Kyle’s family out. Hopefully, he never would if Kyle went quietly.