Page 43 of The Alpha Wolf's Bullied Bride

My mate.

My fated mate.

I have to accept my fate.

***

“What do you want?” I ask warily as I near the house, the stone path suddenly shackling my feet when I spot Cynthia near the porch.

I haven't seen her since the night I was sworn in as the Alpha of Blood Moon. After our terse confrontation, she seemingly disappeared.

I've been better for it, with everything that's been going on.

“I—I was coming to see you,” Cynthia says, a salacious smile curling her lips.

A smile that churns my gut, twisting it into unimaginable knots that send bile rising in my throat.

“We need to talk,” she continues, coming down the path and meeting me halfway.

I take a cautious step back, my spine becoming ramrod-straight when her perfume overpowers the air I'm breathing. It's a scent I don't wish to inhale—the smell of a she-wolf who isn't my mate.

“Is it important?” I ask, mentally clicking my tongue disdainfully.

“It's…” Cynthia bats her eyelids at me the way she always did whenever she seduced me. “It's about us,” she purrs, taking another step forward that only forces me back.

With a begrudging frown, I glare at her with all the ferocity I can muster.

“Us?!” I spit sardonically. “There is nous,Cynthia.”

She's taken aback by the rage in my tone, a hand flying up to her neck in disbelief. “You don't mean that, Flynn…I know you—”

“You. Know. Nothing,” I grate out, low, becoming too agitated by her presence. I have no idea how I dealt with her for ten years. In hindsight, perhaps her lips were poisonous, and she had me under a spell. “If you aren't here to relay a message from the ex-Delta, then there's nothing for us to speak about.”

“Flynn—”

“Uh-uh!” I hold up a dismissive hand. “I am your Alpha. Don't forget that.”

With bitter words of contempt, I push past Cynthia and head to the main house, not sparing a single look over my shoulder. I couldn't care for the she-wolf—not anymore. Always at the forefront of the smear campaigns against Lila, I'd somehow been roped in by the Delta's daughter.

It will never happen again.

Especially after tonight.

I enter the house quietly, being careful not to make a sound in case I startle Lila. Though I've finally worked up the courage to speak to her, I don't wish to bombard her with the truth about who she is to me.

Not yet, anyway.

Until she knows that I'm truly remorseful for my past behavior, I can't let her know that she's my fated mate.

She might think that it's the only reason why I'm apologizing. Deep down, I know this is more than just fate. It's something I've wanted for a very long time. Something I've beendenying myself for the sake of an image that wasn't even mine to begin with.

Grandfather Tomas was right—I need to live in my truth. My authenticity. If that means that I was secretly attracted to Lila through the years I spent tied to someone I couldn't stand, then so be it. It's one thing to be physically attracted to a she-wolf who doesn't fit the standard dictated by society. It's another thing for that she-wolf to be the Alpha's fated mate.

It's a destiny I won't deny anymore. Even if she doesn't have a wolf. Even if claiming her through marking won't bring about those special gifts.

All that matters is that I finally become the Alpha I was meant to be, for my fated mate.

With most of the house shrouded in darkness, I steal toward the staircase when I stop midway, a rich fragrance capturing my senses. I turn to the kitchen, the aroma growing stronger and more distinct.

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