Present Day
Lucas returned to his father’s office after lunch, already wishing the meeting was over. Alpha Jake hadn’t budged on anything all morning, which only made Marcus more irritable. Lucas had endured lunch with his father and Landon, forced to listen to Marcus rant about Jake’s stubbornness and his “lack of respect.”
Honestly, Lucas couldn’t help but be impressed. Jake seemed completely unbothered by Marcus’s subtle insults and carried himself with calm authority. He came with a clear set of expectations and wasn’t wavering from them. Lucas found himself wishing he could learn more about how to be an alpha from Jake than from the man who had raised him.
When Jake returned to the office, he walked straight to the chair but didn’t sit. Instead, he ran his fingers over the scorch m
