Page 50 of The Alpha's Chosen Fate

"She died because ofmychoices, choices I made because I couldn’t let that be your fate.By rejecting you, I was trying to save your life."

“But you still sentenced her to death.”

I couldn’t stand the female, but I would never wish her to die on her birthing bed.

“Ivy, she knew.”

My eyebrows rose to my hairline.“What?”

“She knew.”

“And she still chose to mate with you?”

“I told Ruby everything Theia told me.Laid it all out before offering her the position of Luna.”

“That’s … that’s insane!Why would she go through with it?”

“Ambition.Denial.Take your pick.She believed I was just trying to make up an excuse so I wouldn’t feel bad about forsaking my true mate.She also believed I wanted her that badly.Nothing could have been further from the truth.”

Briggs scooted to the edge of the chair.“I am not a good man, Ivy.I felt only the slightest twinge of something over her delusions.I didn’t care much because the only thing I cared about wasyou.As long asyouwere safe, I could survive.I had no other thoughts about it.No specific plan for what I would do after Theia’s vision came to be.If you think I consciously made the decision to put you on a shelf and only take you down when it was finally convenient, I didn’t.I only knew you had to live and that someday in the future I would need to earn your forgiveness.

“Then, when I lost my son, too, all I wanted was you.All I wanted was to see you and know you were safe and close enough to watch over.I was so desperate I sent Baylor.”

He'd lost his mate and his child.The pain of that was unimaginable.And yet, a small, selfish part of me whispered that he'd been willing to sacrifice me, too.

I didn't know what to feel.Anger, betrayal, sorrow, pity.They all warred within, leaving me shaken and confused.

I sat there trying to reconcile this new information with the years of hurt and anger I'd carried.The revelation broke cracks into the ice around my heart, but it didn't completely erase the pain of his rejection.

"And what about now, Briggs?What do you want now?"I asked, purposefully using his name.

He inhaled sharply, gaze intense."Everything."

I turned away, my emotions running high.A part of me longed to fall into his arms, to let the past fade away.But the wounds, old and new, were still there.

“Say something,” he pleaded.

“I can't just forget everything that's happened.”

“I don’t expect you to.”

"I-I need time to think," I managed, my voice trembling.

Briggs nodded, his expression carefully blank."I understand."

He stood, gathering the rest of his discarded items and went to the door.

"For what it's worth, Ivy, rejecting you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.I had to make it real, make sure you hated me because I don’t think I could have stayed away from you otherwise.It was my own weakness that kept me from telling you beforehand.It was never about not wanting you.Never."

The truth changed everything and nothing.Briggs had tried to protect me, but in doing so, he'd caused so much pain.

And now here we were, our lives fractured and our futures uncertain.I didn't know how to move out from under the boulder sitting on my chest.

"Get some rest, Ivy.We'll talk later."

He left, closing the door softly behind him.The click of the lock engaging reignited my ire.

I stood and made my way to the door.I tried the handle, knowing it was futile, but needing to confirm I was still a prisoner.

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