Mother

~Janessa~

I get home in no time. I'm usually way more put together than I just was. That man has way too much power over me. Maybe I should just fire him now. No one would think it was weird since I go through assistants like there is no tomorrow. Maybe if I get rid of Mr. Case now, I can spare myself any future humiliation that may come with him being so close to me at work. If I fire him though, I would also need to reject him. The thought of rejecting him makes my heart hurt and the air leaves my lungs. I can't fathom walking away from him even though I just met him this morning. I have no idea what to do.

I get out of the car and walk into the packhouse. I can hear voices to the left which happens to be one of our sitting rooms. There are two, big leather couches in there along with a nice coffee table and some art on the walls. It isn't a room people usually hang out in, though they are free to do so. As I get closer to the room, I can smell my mother. She has to be one of the occupants, but the other scent is not familiar to me. I decide the best thing to do is to ignore the room all together and head to my room. I should have known that would not be an option.

"Janessa, love, what a pleasant surprise. You are home early." I stop in my tracks and sigh quietly. I turn to the sitting room and tried not to let my feelings show on my face. Yes, my mother is in the room along with the dreaded Alpha Jasper Kent. I can't stand that man. He has been after me for a while now and I'd imagine my mother has a lot to do with that.

"Yes, mother. I had to handle some things here so Gemma will be filling in for me." My mother's eyes light up at that and I silently curse myself. If I was smart, I would have said that I need to rush back. Going back would mean being sideswiped by Mr. Case and his scent. I really can't win today.

"Well, Jasper was just here visiting. We are going to have lunch together. You should join us." I nod at Alpha Kent and catch him eyeing me. His gaze is going up and down my body and I'm feeling nauseous.

"No, mother. I have work to do and won't be able to do that. You two should enjoy your lunch though." I continue to walk towards the stairs until I feel a hand on my arm. My arm is pulled so I can face the person attached.

"Janessa, I don't think I need to remind you of your duties as an Alpha," my mother says in a hushed tone.

"You do not EVER need to remind me of my duties. That being said, my duties and your lunch are not aligned. Clearly Alpha Kent is here to visit with you so I have no duties here." My mother closes her eyes and purses her lips. I can tell she is not happy, but she is trying to keep calm since she has a guest. My mom opens her eyes and I can tell her wolf is sharing the spotlight.

"Janessa you have a guest in your packhouse. You need to be the Alpha you just HAD to be and entertain said guest," she said attempting to use her Luna voice to force my hand.

"First of all, YOU have a guest in the packhouse. I'm supposed to be at work. He is here for YOU to entertain, not me. Second…..need I remind you that you are no longer the Luna of this pack. That being said, do not try to use your Luna voice on me ever again. I AM the Alpha of this pack and I will decide where I am and am not needed." I pull my arm out of my mother's grasp and turn back towards the stairs. "I'm going to handle what I need to. Enjoy your visit." I start to walk up the stairs, but I don't make it halfway before I hear a growl from behind me. I turn and look at my mother and I can see her claws out and her mouth is starting to elongate. Fuck! I can't believe she is about to pull this shit on me right now. She knows there is no way I'm going to let her 'wolf out' in this packhouse. The last time she did that, we almost lost a pack member. My mother's wolf is really reckless and unpredictable. It is probably because my mom doesn't commune with her wolf much whether it is training or even talking. I turn back towards the stairs. "I will be back down," I say through gritted teeth. Shit, I can't stand her sometimes. I know my mother is happy to get what she wanted. I can hear her speaking to the Alpha in a very chipper tone.

I make it to my room and lay on my bed. I stare at the ceiling and try to figure out how the hell I woke up to a shit day. I wonder where my father is because if he had been here, I wouldn't be stuck going to lunch. He is very good with my mother and her wolf.

_Lana, where is my father?_

_I'm not sure. What's wrong?_

_Girl, I will fill you in later. If you see him, please, send him directly to the packhouse._

_The packhouse? What are you doing there? Why aren't you at the company?_

_Lana! Send my dad when you see him…..please._

I peel off my work suit and stand in the closet, trying to figure out what to wear. That man is a sleazeball to say the least and I really don't want to spend any time with him. I grab a pair of sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. I make sure it is a baggy pair, not one of my cute, fitted pairs. I go into the bathroom and take the makeup off of my face. There is no need to try to look cute. I don't want that man interested in the slightest.

_Janessa dear, we are waiting._

I, slowly, make my way downstairs to the dining room. My mother and Alpha Kent are sitting at the tables talking in hushed tones. I take my seat at the head of the table with Alpha Kent on my right and my mother on my left.

_Really, Janessa?! You couldn't make yourself look more presentable?_

I make eye contact with my mother, then turn to Alpha Kent and nod, "Alpha Kent."

"Ah…..Janessa. It is so good to see you again. Please, call me Jasper." He has a disgusting grin on his face and I just want to slap it off.

"Alpha Kent, nice you have time to visit my mother." I hear my mom gasp at me using his official title when addressing him and anger flashes quickly through Kent's eyes. He puts a smile on his face.

"It is always nice to visit the former Luna. Seeing you is an added benefit." I don't acknowledge his comment at all and keep my face forward. "You know Janessa, I have been hoping we could get to know each other better," He says while placing his hand on mine. His touch makes me sick to my stomach and I'm trying to hold it together. I remove my hand from under his and put both hands in my lap.

"We have a decent working relationship. I think we are good."

"Well, of course, I meant a more….personal relationship." I turn to look at Kent and he is eye fucking me.

"I don't really have time for personal relationships," I say curtly.

"Janessa!" Before I can respond to my mother, my dad walks into the room. Thank Goddess for small favors.

My dad walks over to my mother and kisses her on the head. "Hello love." He then walks over to me, giving me a big hug all the while keeping eyes on Kent. "Peaches, what are you doing home at this hour?"

"Peaches?" Kent says with amusement in his voice.

"I came home to do some work. Mother insisted I join for lunch."

My mother scoffs, "Janessa, I did no such thing. I simply stated that it would look good to join us." My mother will do and say all of the ugly things she can think of, but she never wants daddy to look at her in a negative way. I'm sure I will pay for this later. My father sits down next to my mother and an Omega brings him a plate.

"Peaches….I like that name. It suits you. It's very….adorable." I turn and look at Kent with disdain in my eyes.

"Only my father can call me that as he has since I was young. For everyone else, it is Alpha Janessa." I'm sure he picked up on the hint; anger flashed, briefly, in his eyes.

Alpha Kent clears his throat. "Well maybe, as we get to know each other, I can come up with a name that suits you just as well."

"Well, we do know each other. You can call me Alpha Janessa."

"Janessa! Must you be so rude to our guest."

"Not our guest, mother. Alpha Kent is your guest as he came to visit you." I stand up, pushing my chair back. "I have work to get to. If you all would excuse me." I nod to everyone and head to the door.

"Janessa, get ba….."

"Leave her love. Clearly she is busy. So, Alpha Kent wh….." I don't hear the rest of my father's sentence. I leave the room and hurry upstairs. I swear that woman pisses me off regularly.

When I get to my floor, I see Lana walking away from my door. "You want to talk now or you want to talk later?"

"Goddess," I sigh. This day has been too much and it is barely lunch time. "Let's have a small girls night when Gemma gets back. That way I don't have to repeat myself. You just missed a doozy downstairs."

"Girl, I can't wait." Lana's eyes glaze over and when she returns, she looks at me and shakes her head. "Duty calls."

"You know, you can always come work in the office." Lana snorts, rolls her eyes at me, and heads down the stairs. I enter my room and plop, face down, on my bed. I just want to sleep and have this drama go away. I swear I hate Mondays.