Human Belonging to the Alpha Chapter 784

Bonus Chapter - Aria & Sebastian （11） “There will never be anything as nerve-wracking as meeting your partner ’s parents for the first time. ” Unknown It took Aria at least ten seconds to overcome the sheer panic that was coming face-to-face with Sebastian ’s father for the first time. She whipped her head around to find Sebastian, and her stomach sank when she caught sight of him, completely engaged in conversation with one of his pack ’s elders It didn’t look like he was coming to save her anytime soon So, with a lump in her throat, she mustered up every bit of courage she could to look Alpha Bellevue in the eye and say, “Yes, I’m Aria.” He looked her up and down, his arms crossed. It wasn ’t a lecherous look like she was used to getting from men, but he certainly was assessing her. Sizing her up like she was a cut of meat, and he was trying to figure out if she was good enough. Or good enough for his son, that is “T’m not too familiar with your father, ” Alpha Bellevue said, “I can’t remember our paths crossing. ” “They probably didn ’t,” she replied, “My father liked to... ” It took her a moment to find the words before she settled on, “Keep to himself. ” What she wanted to say was: my father isolated himself and our pack from anyone else who didn ’t share his traditionalist views, which is why your paths never crossed Still, Alpha Bellevue seemed to pick up on the subtext just fine “Sebastian has told me about you and your family, ” he said, and his eyes narrowed, “I know your father was a traditionalist, but do you share his views? ” The question felt like a slap to the face. Not a harsh blow, but definitely a question she hadn ’t been expecting However, before she could even think of a response, he continued, “Traditionalists breed weak, oppressed women, which is not what my pack needs. ” He leveled her with a stare. “It’s not what my son needs either.” （3 Now, that felt like a harsh blow Aria wasn’t sure what to say. What could she say to that? Alpha Bellevue ’s gaze felt suffocating, and fiddled with her shirt collar nervously.

There were too many people crammed into this room, too many bodies, too many - “T think that ’s enough,” Sebastian’s voice cut through her stifling thoughts, and his immediate presence was like a weight off her chest She could breathe again His hand found its way to the small of her back, and she couldn ’t help but lean into his warmth Alpha Bellevue ’s eyes cut to his son “Aria isn’t weak,” Sebastian said, and suddenly raised his voice so the entire room can hear, “I know some of you are curious about my mate, but I ask that you show her the same respect you ’ve always shown me She’s still adjusting, but... ” Sebastian glanced at his father. “She will be your future Luna. ” There were murmurs of agreement and nods throughout the crowd, and even Alpha Bellevue turned away to disappear into another conversation “Are you okay? ” Sebastian asked, peering down at her with worried eyes. “I know you weren ’t expecting to deal with all these people, and honestly, I wasn ’t either. I thought it was just gonna be my parents. ” “I’m fine,” she replied, even if she didn ’t feel that way. She took another look around the room. The pack was mingling amongst themselves, but she could see the way that some of them were peeking at Sebastian, eager for their future Alpha ’s attention But he was too busy making sure she wasn ’t crumbling under the pressure “You know what? ” She said, “I don’t want to be rude, but I ’m exhausted from all the traveling. Do you think there ’s somewhere I could take a nap?” It wasn’t a complete lie. She was tired from all the traveling, but it was mostly an excuse for her to get out of Sebastian ’s way. She could tell she was the odd one out, and as long as she was down here, Sebastian wouldn ’t truly get to enjoy time with his pack “Of course,” he answered immediately, “My mom already set up one of the guest rooms for you, and I can help you get settled in too, send these people home - ” “No, it’s okay,” she cut him off, placing a hand on his arm, “If you point me in the right direction, I ’m sure I can find it. You should stay down here, and catch up with your friends and family. They ’ve missed you, and they ’ll want to hear about your sister too. ” Sebastian didn ’t look particularly happy about that. “Are you sure? I have all the time in the world to catch up with my friends, but I want to make sure you ’re okay.” “T’m okay,” she repeated, a little more forcefully, “Really.” He stared at her for a moment, and although he didn ’t seem convinced by her explanation, he eventually let up. “It’s up the stairs, the second bedroom on the right. ” Aria nodded, and just as she made to walk away, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “If you need anything, you ’!! call for me, right? ” She smiled, “Of course.” With that, she followed Sebastian ’s directions — up the stairs, second bedroom on the right. She didn ’t miss the wandering eyes that stared at her curiously as she passed by, but she wasn ’t brave enough to greet any of them. She wanted to be though As she walked up the stairs, creaky and worn from years of use, her eyes were drawn to the photos on the wall. More specifically, the baby photos of Sebastian. Sprinkled between framed photos of what had to be his sister, Lily, were snapshots of his childhood: him as a chubby- faced baby, him as a toddler running through the woods, him receiving some certificate at school, and him in what looked like graduation photos There was something so endearing about seeing her mate in each stage of life, and it took everything in her not to linger in the hallway for hours Eventually, she made her way to the second bedroom on the right, and when she flicked on the light, she stopped in her tracks Was this the bedroom Sebastian meant? Surely, it couldn ’t be..