Nerd's Badboy Alpha novel Chapter 14

I look at my Uncle Alfred to see if there was clarity more forthcoming from his direction. He sighs and says, "Well, Melody, your Luna and I have chosen a mate for you. You do not have to marry right away. In fact, I prefer that you don't. I want you to finish high school first."

I could have been pounded into the floor by a giant fist. I look at the super-hot guy who meets my gaze and gives me a shrug. Oh great. "Oh. Well. I guess I can cancel my subscription to Tinder, then."

I don't have a Tinder account. I barely use my mobile phone for any social stuff. I mostly use it to look up shit on the internet and watch weird videos. One time, I got stuck in a ten-hour TikTok rabbit hole. That was basically my entire Saturday.

"Names should be exchanged, I think?" I propose warily.

"Right you are," said our Beta with a grin in my direction. He steps forward and puts his arm around the young male unknown to me. "This is my son, Kaden Watanabe. He grew up with his mother's pack in the Bay Area, but he wants to live down here with me now. He just graduated with a bachelor's in Computer Science from UC Berkley."

So his price for living down here to be with his dad is marrying his Alpha's loser niece? Steep. He is really one good-looking dude. Like New York Fashion Week good-looking, since the Eurasian look is so hot right now. Very Vogue Editorial.

My Uncle Alfred puts his hand on my back and pushes me forward. "And this is my niece Melody Gabrys, the daughter of our previous Beta. She's graduating from high school next year. She's seventeen years old, very bright, has never been in trouble, and-she likes to read. When are you turning eighteen, Melody?"

Oh, God, someone please kill me. Why is this happening? "In five months, Uncle."

"Perfect," he says. "And you graduate in June, right? Great. If we start building now, we can have a house available for you and Kaden to move into by July. There's an open lot close to the library. Would you like that?"

I raise my hand. "Can I just-I just need to go outside for a second." Without waiting for a response, I escape from the living room and out of the door.

I brace my arms on the bannister of our Luna's patio and peer at the ground before me. Twenty foot drop. Damn, I can survive that. What the hell? I shove my fingers in my hair. Okay, can I just go back to being ignored now?

The door opens and Mr. GQ strolls out, his hands in his pockets. He tucks his hair behind his ear before coming up to join me on the bannister. "Heavy shit, huh?"

"A little."

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He offers me one, but I decline. "Do you mind if I-"

I shrug. "Go for it."

"Thanks," he says with the cigarette already between his lips. He touches the flame to the end of it, then returns both the cigarette pack and the lighter to his pocket. He takes a deep drag and releases the smoke through his nostrils. "So, what's your deal?"

I laugh. "What's my deal? What's your deal? You seem like a guy with a good head on your shoulders. Why are you being suckered into marrying me?"

He takes another drag of his cigarette and squints at me. "Are you joking? I'm next in line to be Beta after my father and you're the Alpha's niece. Your father was the previous Beta. It's just the natural progression of things." He chuckles. "I mean, you're a little younger than they led me to believe, so yeah, I think we should wait a little, jailbait."

I shudder, not because of him, but at the very idea of getting married so young. "Computer science, eh? What are you going to do with that?"

He laughs and slaps me on the shoulder. "You are a funny girl. I like you. I can tell we're going to get along. I don't know... work for Google or something."

"No. She's dead," he says flatly.

I stop walking and he sidesteps me, so he doesn't crash into me. "She's... dead?"

He looks at me for a moment, nods, then shifts his gaze forward. "Car accident in college. She was out joyriding with friends and the driver had a little bit to drink. The car spun out of control, broke through the metal railing, and slid down the embankment, hitting a tree at full force. There are some injuries even a wolf can't recover from."

I squeeze his arm. For some reason, I think of Alex and what I would do if he were to receive an injury he couldn't recover from, and my chest tightens. "I'm sorry, Kaden. That's terrible. I can't think of anything worse." Well, yeah, I can. Dead parents.

He shakes his head and draws on his cigarette. "It's been a couple of years. When my father presented this opportunity to me, I thought, why not. Settle down with a nice wolf girl, have a couple of pups. Live in peace." He blows the smoke from the side of his mouth away from me.

I look up at him and nod. "That does sound nice. Only... did they tell you I'm a dud?"

He squints at me. "What do you mean?"

"I was born a wolf pup and spent my first year as one. After I shifted as a toddler, I haven't been able to shift back ever since." I frown, surprised at the ease with which I narrated that story. I didn't even sound bitter.

"Whoa, they didn't mention they're pairing me up with a future Luna."

I stumble, but he catches me before I fall flat on my face. "What the hell are you talking about?"