He Hates Me, He Loves Me Not

Damon watches in silence as his childhood home welcomes him from a distance.

The view from inside the car is not enough to showcase the wide expanse of the villa, but there's nothing here that he hasn't seen before. The Lin family home is still the same from Damon's memories: a little too grand, a little too full, and way too big for a child to be left alone with only the servants to accompany him. Perhaps, the only facet of this place that changes are the flowers that bloom in spring, yet even that is obscured by the winter snow.

It doesn't often snow in Nysus City, being more centrally located than its northern counterparts. Nevertheless, it is the appropriate weather for the night they are about to have.

Damon spots his stepmother waiting for him by the front door. She's bundled up in nothing but a single coat, barely enough to protect her from the chill, yet she looks more than happy to watch as the car comes closer. White snow is sprinkled atop her mint green hair like a powder, but none of it is on her beautiful face, untouched by time except for the smile lines that appear upon seeing Damon alight from the car.

When Damon meets his stepmother's kind, grey eyes, he feels an unfathomable emotion well up inside him. He knows that Suzie is not to blame for anything that happened in his childhood, but it's not that easy for the resentment he harbored for years to disappear.. He avoids her gaze in favor of lending Heath a hand, offering his assistance as the Beta alights after him.

Suzie watches with sparkling eyes as they come close, wringing her ungloved hands. Although her fingers look cold, she doesn't complain. Instead, she offers a small smile while asking, "You're here? Was the ride difficult?"

"It was nothing." Damon doesn't bother with the pleasantries. "Is father inside?"

"He's in the study," she says before opening the door behind her. "Come inside."

They follow, shedding their coats and handing them to the maids. After they are given indoor slippers to change into, Damon decides it's best to meet his father first.

"I'll be in the study," he tells Suzie while giving Heath a small side hug. He doesn't wait for her to reply before leaving.

Behind him, he hears Heath saying, "Thank you for having me over," as if he hasn't been in the main house a thousand times before.

Before the lady of the house changed, Heath used to barge in like he owns the place, dropping by unannounced and refusing to leave without a long-winded coaxing from his nanny. He practically grew up within these walls, keeping Damon company on lonely days and lonelier nights, so hearing him say such polite words sounds like a joke to Damon's ears.

It doesn't take him long to reach his father's study. With three firm knocks, he opens the door and greets the only other Alpha in the house.

"You're here?" A middle-aged man turns around from where he's looking at the shelf. "Was the ride difficult?"

There's no denying that Alexander Lin is Damon's father. It's almost as if they are a carbon copy of each other, sporting the same sharp features and identically fit body. Damon's only advantage is his younger appearance and that his dark, green hair doesn't have his father's grey strands yet.

Damon repeats his words from before, "It was nothing."

Their main difference, however, is the color of their eyes. Damon has amethyst eyes whereas his father has aquamarine ones. The younger Alpha also doesn't have a bonding mark peeking from the side of his neck—a silver, intricate pattern that blooms all the way from Alexander's scent gland to the back of his ear.

"That's good." Like Damon, Alexander isn't the type to dawdle, so he passes Damon an envelope while saying, "This family is interested in forming a business relationship with the Lins, and they want to start by requesting assistance from our finance group."

They say that the size of the bonding mark indicates how compatible two people are. Most bonded mates have marks that are the size of a palm, some smaller, but Damon knows his father's mark crawls below his collarbone. It's evidence of Alexander and Suzie's high compatibility.

Alexander continues saying, "I want you to look into why they were rejected by the Quinas and make a decision."

Fated mates, people call them.

("What are you sorry for?")

("Because I'm your fated mate but I can't help you when you need me.")

("I need you, yes, but don't be mistaken, fated mates are nothing but an urban legend.")

There it is again. Damon feels like he blacked out although he's conscious, missing whatever it is that his father said. He only catches the last syllable: "-ter."

Damon nods, sure that whatever it is he needs to do is written inside the envelope.

"Let's go down," Alexander says while already moving for the door. "Dinner is ready."

Damon doesn't ask how his father knows that. He doesn't want to be reminded how strong Alexander and Suzie's connection is.

--

Five people sit by the dining table in silence.

Alexander, as the patriarch of the family, sits at the head of the table. To his left is his first son, Damon, sitting next to Heath. To his right is his wife and mate, Suzie, sitting next to his second son, Dylan.

Except for Suzie asking questions every now and then, no one speaks. Not even the younger Omega acts like usual—no longer snarking at his older, Alpha brother.

Although he doesn't show it, it truly concerns Alexander how quiet his youngest has gotten. Ever since taking a break from work, he hasn't left the house, moping in his room and not letting anyone in. He feels the worry of his wife through their bond, and it pains him that there's nothing he can do.

Dylan refuses to tell them what's wrong as well. Whenever they try to bring up the topic, he stinks up the house in sad, sorrowful pheromones. Suzie, as the only other Omega in the house, is the only one allowed to walk through the floor that Dylan's room is in, bringing food and comforting their depressed son.

Still, Alexander thinks it's an improvement that Dylan came down to have dinner with them, although it did take a lot of coaxing and pleading.

As Alexander focuses on finishing his soup, he hears Heath ask, "What's your next project, Dylan?"

The atmosphere grows heavier in the dining room. Suzie's nerves flare through their bond, clearly angered by the insensitive question. Even children on the street know that Dylan—no, that Primo Alca is on a hiatus. How careless is he to ask that when something is obviously wrong?

"And why should I tell you that?" Not only is Dylan's tone harsh, but even his pheromones spike in agitation.

Damon, never backing down against his younger brother, releases his own. The two clash, one Alpha versus one Omega, filling the room with cloying scents that are enough to make the Beta servants cover their noses if they are present. Thankfully, the dinner is private.

Suzie urges him to do something, signaling with her eyes and their bond. He knows how much his wife wants to have a peaceful dinner as a family, so before the situation truly detonates, Alexander decides to drop a bomb of his own.

"I'm retiring," he says with no preamble.

It's sloppy but it works. The pheromones in the air die down. All heads turn to him, even both of his hard-headed sons.

Seeing as how he has their attention, he explains, "I'll pass on the rest of the company to Damon. I'm too old to be working."

They have various reactions. Suzie isn't surprised, she knows the real reason why Alexander is retiring—he wants to spend more time with her, that's all. Heath looks happy, Dylan is shocked, and Damon is dubious.

"What's the condition?" Damon asks, hand tightly gripping the spoon.

Alexander knows not to play jokes with his eldest son, so he doesn't hide it when he says, "Marriage and a grandchild."