Page 12 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
Something flickered in his eyes. Then, slowly and deliberately, he rose from his chair and walked around the desk.
"Your mother was the Luna of the Lunaris Pack," he said quietly. "She was fated to their alpha, my rival."
I staggered back a step. It felt like the air had been sucked from the room. "She was his fated mate?"
He nodded, his eyes pained. "But she loved me first," he said, his voice rising. "Before him, before the damned bond claimed her. We had something beautiful going, and I loved her."
"So, you killed her mate?" I asked incredulously, shocked to my bones. "And destroyed his pack?"
"She didn't love him!" he bellowed. "She was tricked by instinct, his magic, and the damned fate. I saw it. I saw her torn between what her heart wanted and what the bond forced her to do."
I stared at him, numb. "So, you destroyed them. The whole pack."
He didn't blink. "I took her back."
"You murdered the alpha, other wolves, and their pups. You destroyed a bloodline!"
"I did what I had to do," he said coldly. "The Lunaris alpha had no right to her. She was mine."
"She wasn't yours to claim!" I paced around the study. Everything felt like a cruel nightmare. No wonder Drew rejected me. "Do you know what you have done?"
He turned his back to me, fists clenched at his sides. "You wouldn't understand. You weren't there. You didn't hear her cry when I came for her."
"Did she cry because she was afraid?" I asked quietly. "Or because she knew wolves died because of you? She knew she would not survive without her fated mate, whom you killed?"
He whirled around. "Watch your tongue, girl."
But I couldn't stop now. He must see the repercussions of the evil he perpetrated. "You called it love, but all I see is obsession. You burned an entire pack to the ground because you couldn't accept that fate chose someone else. Now, Drew, whose pack you destroyed, is my fated mate. He, like you, is bent on avenging his lost pack. So he marked me and then rejected me and looked at me like I was filth, like the daughter of the man who destroyed his pack." I caught myself too late, but the words had already spilled out.
Something in my father's face changed. His face was red, and veins bulged in his neck. "He marked you? Who is Drew? Who is the filthy mongrel that marked you?" he hissed.
My pulse spiked. I tried to backtrack. "I mean…Drew, someone from the Lunaris Pack, marked me.
The room exploded with rage. He overturned the glass, scotch flying across the floor. "He dared put his filthy claim on my daughter?" he growled. "I should have burned them twice over!"
I would have shared his sentiment, but I was nothing but a tool between him and Drew. "I see no difference between what he had done and what you did," I retorted
"That doesn't matter! He touched you. He defiled you," He growled, his eyes bulging with fury.
I flinched. "Yes, you destroyed his pack. You tore his world apart before I even knew he existed, but that doesn't excuse what he did to me." I held his gaze, my voice trembling but fierce. "He had a choice, and he chose revenge over me. You both did."
His voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "I won't let this get out. I won't let you shame our name. You were supposed to marry Mark. I made plans for this family."
"You made plans built on blood and lies," I said.
"That boy, Drew, he won't live to see another moon," He stated with finality, his eyes dead set on me.
I stared at him, suddenly repulsed by his self-righteous anger. A part of me wished I had never mentioned Drew's name, but I needed to know the truth. I shook my head, the ache in my chest sharper than ever. "I'm done with both of you. I don't care about your war, your revenge, or whatever twisted history you share. I won't be your pawn anymore."
He didn't answer. He just sat back in his chair, his eyes cold and distant. I turned to leave with the necklace still in my hand. The weight of my legacy was wrapped like a noose around my neck. I wasn't just Ruby anymore. I was the cursed child of a stolen Luna, the daughter of a deranged alpha, and the marked and rejected mate of the last Lunaris wolf.
"Ruby, you're marked," he said darkly. "Which means no one powerful will take you now. You've ruined your chances at alliance, at legacy, at…"
"Oh, save me the bullshit!" I snapped. "You want to marry me off like some livestock? You want to control me just like you tried to control her?"
He went quiet, his expression cold and calculating, his fingers drumming quietly on the table."No one must know you are marked," he said slowly, "You'll stay here until I decide what to do."
I backed away. "You're not locking me up."
