Page 61 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
I clenched my fists."Everything you built was on lies and blood," I retorted, angry at his self-righteous stance. There was no point arguing with him. It would do me no good. "Let me go, father. Let us go. We don't belong in your games anymore. We never did."
He raised a brow, stepping closer, his voice like velvet laced with poison. "I gave you everything. And you threw it away for what? Love?" His lips curled. "You made me look like a fool."
"Because I had no choice, father," I spat. "Trying to force your daughter into a political marriage like I was a pawn and demanding I terminate my child, too? I did what I had to do."
He studied me for a moment. "And yet here we are again, history repeating itself—you running away and me dragging you back."
"I don't want anything from you," I said through gritted teeth. "Let me take my child and leave. Please."
He sighed. "I had hoped, truly, that motherhood would have softened you and that I'd get a sincere apology, but I see the past still clings to you like a disease."
"You know nothing about me as a mother," my voice wavered. "You rejected the child, remember? She's everything you are not."
His jaw tightened. "Well, now, she's everything I need."
My stomach twisted. "What do you mean?"
His tone shifted. It was harder now. "The past doesn't matter anymore. What matters is your child. The one you've been hiding."
My blood froze.
"She was once an inconvenience, but now, she's a gift. The key to reclaiming what was lost."
He stepped closer, and something cold uncurled in my gut. I tried to steady my voice. "What do you want from her?"
"She carries something ancient," he said, eyes gleaming. "A dormant power blood-tied to the Lunaris line. She's the only one who can unlock the sealed Lunaris chest that contains a key that can open a vault in the abandoned Lunaris mansion. It's the vault your mother's pack protected until the end. Inside is power, wealth, and secret documents I had promised to give to some members of the Council to turn a blind eye so I could destroy the Lunaris pack. I couldn't do it because the vault was sealed. But now, with her ability, I can get everything I need to finish what I started."
I recoiled. "No. Absolutely not."
He continued. "Your little rebellion may have ruined my plans, but now I have something even better. A vault sealed by power and protected by bloodlines. Liora can open it, and she will open it."
I shook my head slowly. "She will do no such thing."
"I'm not asking," he said sharply. "You will convince her, or she dies."
My knees nearly gave out. "You're insane."
He smirked. "Possibly, but I'm not the one who let Drew lead her to this. Speaking of which…" he turned his back to me, walking to the window like he was admiring the view. "Drew's dead."
The words didn't register at first, not fully. I blinked. "What…?"
He turned, too casually. "Yes. This time, for good, or did you really believe he'd outsmart me twice?"
The room tilted. I gripped the bedpost. "No. You're lying."
He gave a small shrug. "Who do you think sent him the SOS? Who lured him back to the pack just in time to miss the ambush?"
My lips parted, but nothing came out.
I had feared it. I had told myself to stop hoping, and yet hearing it from his mouth, spoken so carelessly, like it meant nothing—it gutted me.
"Why are you doing this?" I rasped.
"Because you owe me and because she's my ticket to regaining my political ambition," he retorted and smiled coldly. "And because, if you won't guide her, I'll take what I need by force, even if it kills her."
My blood ran cold.
"You're threatening a child?" I breathed. "Your own granddaughter?"
