Mated To My Alpha Stepbrother (A Sunwoo ff) ✓

Chapter Thirty-Eight

˚₊໒🌙꒱Sunwoo₊˚

If Sunwoo hadn't promised Jihyo that he wouldn't kick Soojin out, he would have already done it.

He'd never had a shewolf, or wolf, defy him so openly. Did she truly think that Jihyo was in on it, or was it jealousy? He had no idea, but before it all ended, he'd make sure Soojin was in her place.

Sunwoo and Jihyo walked over to his dad's house for dinner, because they needed to run some wedding planning ideas by Sunwoo.

Jihyo sighed when they made it onto the porch and Sunwoo stopped her, putting his hands on each side of her face. "Just ignore your mother's pettiness, Jihyo."

Jihyo placed her palms on the outside of his. "I think my mother knows so much more than she is saying, and it's rubbing me the wrong way, Sunwoo. My wolf is antsy, and it's making me crazy."

"I understand. But we'll get through this together. It's just a meal, and we have the excuse of the upcoming meeting tonight if we need to leave."

"That's not for hours, Sunwoo."

"They don't know that. They aren't in with the pack like the younger wolves because I think the older wolves have earned their spot to relax. Everything is okay."

Jihyo pressed the doorbell, and turned towards the door. Mrs. Lee opened the door several seconds later, wearing an apron and a smile. She was awfully chipper to be someone hiding something, but maybe she'd had plenty of time to perfect it over the years.

"Hey, guys! I'm so excited you made it."

She opened the door, and ushered them toward the kitchen. Sunwoo's dad was placing the last bit of food on the table and Sunwoo noticed how happy he looked. He'd hate to start anything with Mrs. Lee over her late husband, but it was important to their pack.

"Take a seat, kids," his dad said. "I'm grabbing the drinks and I'll be right back."

Mrs. Lee took off her apron and sat down beside Jihyo. Once everyone was seated and the food was passed around, Mrs. Lee cleared her throat. "Okay, guys. So your dad and I were talking about having a small ceremony here. Maybe near the pool in the field? Would that be something the pack would be okay with? We obviously don't want to step on any toes, or make plans without asking, but it's a lovely time of year and the flowers in the field are beautiful. I've always wanted a summer wedding."

Jihyo shoved her mouth full of food and glanced over at Sunwoo. Sunwoo cleared his throat. "Of course you could have it there. We'll do whatever we need to do so it can happen," Sunwoo said.

Mrs. Lee beamed and took a bite of her food. The minutes ticked by and Jihyo cleared her throat. "Mom, we went to The Mermaid's Tale last night."

Her fork clanked against her plate. "You what? You went to that dirty place, Jihyo? Why on earth would you do that?"

She stared at her mother and Sunwoo felt irritation rising. "You must not realize the seriousness of the situation, Mother. The wolves in that rogue pack are sneaking onto our pack lands and plotting something. Do you want the pack to get attacked? I guess I'm confused on why you don't want to offer up anymore information. Four rogues are locked in cells under the infirmary. Were you not aware?"

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Jihyo, that place is a dirty place. I guess I need to spell it out for you, Honey. Your dad was not a good wolf before he met me. He was involved in shady stuff, and even after we mated, and you were born, I'm not sure he completely left that life behind. I'm sorry I loved your father, he was my mate, but he wasn't the man you thought he was."

Jihyo's face fell into an emotionless void. Sunwoo felt her bouncing all over the place. Sadness. Hurt. Heartache. Anger. He reached over to touch her arm, but she shot up from her seat and glared at her mother. 

"So have you always hated Dad? Or is it since you moved into another pack with another man? I refuse to believe that you felt that way about him while he was alive. He loved you. Adored you. I saw it every day. How dare you turn your back on him because he died."

She shook her head. "That's not the case. I didn't want you to hate your father or have ill feelings towards him, Jihyo. That's why i never told you, but since you must bring up this tattoo and the past, there it is. You dad was a rogue and I'm not sure what he was involved in."

A tear raced down Jihyo's cheel. SHe tore from the kitchen towards the back door. "Don't shift!" Sunwoo's father screamed. "I just got the stairs fixed."

Jihyo made it to the door when her wolf came out and she landed in their backyard, howling into the sunset. She ran towards the woods and Sunwoo shifted after her and followed.

He couldn't let her go off by herself, even if she needed time alone because he didn't know if another rogue would show up and hurt her.

She jumped over roots and upturned trees and ran so long that even Sunwoo felt tired when she finally stopped and rested her head against the dirt. His wolf wanted to comfort her, so he bent down and nuzzled his nose against her head. She whimpered and finally shifted and curled into a fetal position against the dirt.

Sunwoo shifted with her and brought her into a spooning position and curled her body into his. "I'm sorry, Jihyo," he whispered into her ear.

"I don't understand," she said, turning to look up at the canopy of trees above them.

Sunwoo did the same, intertwining his fingers with hers, while he stared at the moonlight peeking through the trees. "My father loved my mother. Why is she saying all these things about him?"

"Maybe she is telling the truth," he whispered. "Maybe she didn't want you to think badly of him."

Jihyo turned to face him and her dark eyes were full of tears. "I hate her for this. I grew up thinking the world of him and he was a rogue?"

"Not all rogues are bad, Jihyo. Some were kicked out by bad alphas-"

"That's not what she is making it sound like," she whispered. "I don't even want to be in her wedding anymore. I want her to leave this pack and let me be."

Sunwoo pushed his fingers into her hair and kissed her forehead. "I know, little fox," he said. "Your mother thought she was doing the right thing. I think you're more upset that he wasn't what you thought he was."

Jihyo closed her eyes and nodded, resting her head against his shoulder. "You're right. It hurts me to think that he would do anything bad. He'd been my hero all of my life."

Sunwoo hugged her close and played with her hair, until her eyes closed and they both fell asleep on the dirt and leave covered ground.

Sunwoo woke up when something pulled at his mind. It was familiar, but with sleep fogging his mind, he struggled to grasp it. Sitting up, Jihyo groaned beside him and he realized they'd been asleep longer than he realized.

'Alpha,' someone said through the mind link.

"I'm here," he whispered. "What's going on?"

'We made it to the meeting place. it's worse than we thought. There are hundreds of them, and none of them are the ones in charge. they're answering to someone that isn't here. And they did send the rogues to spy on us. We think they have a mole in the pack.'