Free Web NovelChapter 161: Alpha Thorton II
After all, Damon was an alpha, and no alpha wanted to be brought down to the point where they had to beg another alpha to save their own pack. It rankled at their base instincts.
I tried to transmit a sense of calm. Damon was not an embarrassment; he was brave to put himself out there, swallowing his ego, all for the sake of giving his pack a better chance at survival. That was a sign of a good, strong alpha. I was proud of him, and so was Blaise.
"Yes, I do need help," Damon said with gritted teeth. "I could go and get supplies from other human towns, but I do not want to risk my supplies being sabotaged by vampires or hunters." freeweɓnøvel.com
Alpha Thorton nodded. I guessed he understood Damon’s point of view, but I highly doubted that he would be so kind as to let Damon get what he wanted so easily. And I was sadly proven right by his next words.
"What can you and Fangborne offer us in return for our supplies?" Alpha Thorton asked, tilting his head curiously. He wasn’t even asking to cause trouble; I detected a hint of genuine curiosity in his tone. "As you can see, Thunderstrike lacks nothing, so we need nothing from you."
I saw that for myself. With such opulent wealth, Thunderstrike could woo even the most hardhearted of humans to their side. What Fangborne could offer was a mere drop in the ocean for them. Money was not the answer, and Damon knew it too.
Damon paused and offered something else. "We have skilled warriors―"
Alpha Thorton held up a hand to stop him, his lips twitching in amusement. "So do we. Are you implying that our warriors are somehow lacking in comparison to Fangborne’s?"
"No, of course not," Damon said, falling silent. I could sense his growing unease. "But now, we have also gotten access to Ironclaw’s silver mines and their weaponry. It would be an added advantage for any pack to get access to it. I am willing to offer you fifty percent of the proceeds from the mines, as long as Thunderstrike offers to provide the equivalent value in provisions."
Alpha Thorton mulled over Damon’s suggestion, but to my dismay, he shook his head.
"That is simply not enough incentive, Alpha Damon. Silver is all well and good, but you know better than anyone that we wolves cannot eat it. If it comes down to the wire, food is one of the most important components of a pack’s survival. What you’re offering in value is not worth cutting into my own supplies, especially when this will disadvantage my own pack members."
"Daddy! Can’t you help Damon just a bit?" Dahlia pouted, tugging at his arm. Alpha Thorton tutted with disapproval, but I didn’t miss the fond look he shot her from the corner of his eye despite her immature behavior. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
This was a man who adored his daughter. I wondered how that felt since my own father never cared for me at all. For a brief moment, jealousy reared its ugly head, and I had to squash it down before it showed on my face.
Meanwhile, Dahlia continued to try to convince her father to give Damon, and Fangborne, a chance. She pouted, pleaded, and whined, and eventually, Alpha Thorton sighed and raised his hand to stop her from talking.
"There’s only one way I could possibly agree to provide Fangborne with the necessary supplies for as long as you need," Alpha Thorton said after a while.
I guessed Dahlia managed to sway his stone heart after all. I felt my opinion of her skyrocket significantly― if she really managed to get Fangborne the supplies we needed, we’d have to worship her as a goddess.
"You’ll only need to do one thing for me, Alpha Damon," Alpha Thorton continued.
"What is it? If it’s within my means, consider it done," Damon promised fervently, a light in his eyes as he realized success and salvation was in his grasp.
"It’s definitely within your means," Alpha Thorton said, his lips quirked up into a half-smile. "My request is simple― marry my daughter Dahlia and make her Fangborne’s Luna, and you’ll get all the help you need. When it comes to family, I am far from a stingy man."
A stunned silence met his pronouncement. My mouth fell open as I gazed at Damon’s shell-shocked face.
"Daddy!" Dahlia exclaimed, her face redder than a cherry. "How could you ask Damon this? Oh god, it’s so embarrassing! I will have to drown myself to wash away the embarrassment!"
"This is embarrassing?" Alpha Thorton rolled his eyes at his daughter’s dramatics. "Don’t be ridiculous. The reason why nothing came out of your attempts was that you were too indirect and cowardly to make a proper first move. Now, don’t say I never did anything for you."
"I would never say that! Oh, Daddy!" Dahlia wept and hugged her father. "Thank you so much!"
Well. Now I could see where Dahlia inherited her bluntness from. If her attempts at chasing Damon were classified as indirect, I wondered if Alpha Thorton wooed his mate by knocking her over with a club and carrying her away like a caveman.
Damon cleared his throat, but no one paid him any attention.
"Is there any other alternative that you would accept?" Damon asked, and Alpha Thorton turned his gaze back to him, a wrinkle of displeasure forming on his forehead.
"Why? Are you unwilling to marry my daughter? Do you think my daughter is not good enough for you?" He demanded, slamming his hand against the table.
"No, Dahlia is wonderful," Damon said, but I sensed he said it as though his teeth were being pulled out painfully one by one without anesthesia. "But she is not my fated mate. It wouldn’t be fair to Dahlia or my fated mate."
"And have you already found your fated mate?" Alpha Thorton raised a challenging eyebrow. "I have not heard any news of Fangborne crowning a new Luna."
