Chapter 15
“What did you just say?” Kira asked, her voice trembling as the air in the room grew heavy.
“You want to know why I erased everything about her? Fine.” Rolf sank into his chair, suddenly looking worn down. ’If you think your mother was a saint, think again, because she cheated, and the entire pack knew about it. She betrayed me p>
Kira stared at him. This was the man who had given her nothing but hatred all her life, yet now he looked painfully broken. The sorrow in his eyes, the slump of his shoulders, the way his voice trembled. Whatever memory he was reliving clearly weighed heavily on him.
She wondered, in that moment, what it must feel like to love someone that deeply.
“I gave her everything. My love, my time, my devotion. And what did she do? She cheated on me. She disgraced me in front of my court. She knew how much I loved her,” he went on, his voice bitter and raw. “She broke me. I forgave her. I did. We started again, tried to heal from all of it, and then you came and took her away from me.” His eyes hardened. “So you don’t get to stand there and talk about Lydia like that. She’s the one who put my broken pieces back together p>
Tears welled up in Kira’s eyes, and this time, she didn’t bother blinking them away. “Was that why you poisoned me p>
Rolf looked up sharply. “Why would I do that? You really think I care enough about your existence?” He scoffed. “If not for Lydia, you wouldn’t even be anywhere near me. You don’t know how good that woman has been to you p>
Kira couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was he talking about the same Lydia who hated her guts and the very air she breathed? “Maybe Lydia isn’t as good as you think she is, because someone was poisoning me from this pack, and I’m sure they had a reason p>
“The only reason anyone should poison you would be to get rid of you,” he spat, the venom flooding back into his voice. “You’re a psycho who would poison herself just to prove a point p>
“I didn’t poison myself,” Kira said firmly.
“You crave attention so much that you poisoned yourself so he would notice you, didn’t you p>
Kira shook her head. “No, I would never do that p>
“Of course you would,” Rolf sneered. “You once hung yourself and ran in front of an oncoming car to get my attention p>
Her cheeks burned with shame. “I was ten. I wouldn’t do that now p>
She remembered those days too well, the desperate things she had done as a child just to be seen. But they had only made everything worse. He had cut her off from the main house completely and stripped away her birthright, declaring her unfit to be his heir. She had grown past that now, learning to build her own happiness in other ways.
“Wouldn’t you?” he mocked. “Little wildcat didn’t get any attention from the Lycan king and decided to play tricks to hide her weakness p>
“I didn’t p>
“Tell me,” he cut in cruelly, stepping closer, “did you poison yourself to cover up your weakness? To blame aconite and fadevine for your inability to shift p>
“I didn’t,” Kira said, closing her eyes against the sting.
“You want his pity. You want him to love you. So you went ’poor little me, I’ve been wronged, please love me.’” His voice dropped low. “But here’s the truth. You’re not capable of being loved p>
“No p>
“No one loves you,” he continued mercilessly, “and no one ever will. You’re weak. You’re pathetic. You’re a runt p>
“Stop!” Tears streamed down her face, her chest aching.
“You’ll die miserable,” he hissed, “and one day, when he gets tired of your ugly face, he’ll snap your neck p>
Kira spun around and bolted from the room, his words twisting like knives in her chest. She flung the door open and ran straight into a brick wall, except it wasn’t a brick wall, but a man. She looked up through blurred tears to find Derek’s amber eyes staring down at her.
She hated looking so pathetic in front of anyone, but she couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking. The more she tried to stay quiet, the harder the tears fell.
Derek didn’t say a word, even though his beast, Leo, was stirring inside him and itching to comfort her. Derek hated how much his beast had been reacting to her since the wedding, as Leo rarely ever cared about the women he spent time with. He reined in the animal and turned to Kai.
“Get her to the car. I have some unfinished business p>
Kai nodded silently and guided Kira away. Derek then turned to the gammas who were holding Chloe and Lydia, motioning for them to follow him back into the office.
Rolf was pacing behind his desk when Derek entered, but he stopped abruptly, his eyes flicking to Chloe and Lydia before he bowed his head.
“Sign the contract,” Derek said coldly, taking a seat in front of the desk and looking completely calm.
Rolf nodded, grabbed the pen, and leaned down to sign, keeping his other hand flat on the desk.
Derek pulled a slim penknife from his breast pocket with the casual ease of someone reaching for a mint, and in a blur of silver and speed, he drove the blade straight through the centre of Rolf’s palm, pinning it to the mahogany desk. The Alpha’s howl of agony tore through the office, making Luna Lydia and Chloe shriek in terror as they watched crimson stain spread across the wood.
“You put scars on my queen,” Derek said evenly as he twisted the blade, drawing a broken whimper from Rolf. “That makes it personal. I don’t care if those were done before or after she became mine, it’s my duty to get justice for my wife. Consider this interest on the debt.” He pulled the blade free and wiped the blood casually on Rolf’s sleeve.
He rose then, smoothing his suit jacket with precise calm as if nothing had happened. “We will take our leave,” he said evenly. “I expect the first tribute payment within ninety days p>
Derek started to turn but paused, moving back to lean both palms on the desk and fixing Rolf with a snarl. “I asked for an heir, and you gave me the daughter you despise. You tried to fool me and insulted me to my face. So I will take your pack. If Kira does not conceive in one year, I will get rid of her and come take Chloe. Do well to keep her intact for me. Cross me again and die p>
He straightened, spun on his heels, and left with his men, leaving behind the cries and whimpers of the Moonfang Alpha’s family.