Page 49 of Betrayed Alpha Bride

“He went very quiet, and I knew things were about to get really bad,” I say. “He told me that if I saw you again, he would personally destroy you and make your life a living hell. He said if we tried to be together, he’d dig into your past, slander your father’s name, and leave you without any standing in the pack. He’d turn everyone against you, until even I didn’t want to stand by your side.”

Clara cocks her head a little, narrowing her eyes. “Was that a possibility?” she asks.

I shake my head violently. “Never! But he said if I tried to run away with you, he’d chase us. He’d hurt you to punish me. He told me to break it off with you immediately, or he would make all his threats come true.”

“And you did,” she whispers. “You went and broke up with me on that very night.”

“I did,” I say, my voice firm and strong. “I shouldn’t have done it… I shouldn’t have caved in to him. Especially since I knew that soon, I’d have control of the council, even of the higher families, and no one—not even my own father—would be able to stand against me. I always planned to come back to you and tell you the truth, but the next day, you were already gone.”

“I left immediately,” she remembers. “After you left, I cried until I thought my chest would crack. Then I gathered my things and took my foster mother’s car.”

“The next morning, when I realized you were gone, I thought Father did it,” I remember, my chest tightening with rage. “He didn’t confirm or deny my suspicions, so I blamed him completely, almost as much as I blamed myself. I fought with him, brutally, and refused to speak to him after that. Within just a few weeks, he was dead, I was the alpha, and I had no idea where you had gone.”

Clara looks at me with a steady gaze, her bottom lip trembling. “How did he die?” she asks. “Even though you hated him, it must have been hard, especially under those circumstances.”

“I loved him,” I answer truthfully, running a hand through my hair. “And I hated him. We don’t know exactly how he died. He was found in the woods, torn up as if he’d been fighting. There was an investigation, but we never discovered who did it.”

All is silent for a moment. “Galen,” Clara says softly.

For a moment, I’m afraid that she’s going to push me away, call me a coward, and tell me I’m not worthy of her.

It’s exactly what I deserve.

Then she opens her arms and beckons to me, and the surge of joy that floods through me almost knocks me off my feet. She sobs as I pull her against my chest, linking her hands behind my back and squeezing me as hard as she can.

“Oh, Galen,” she murmurs. “I’m sorry.”

Pain lances through me, and I pull back to touch her cheek, shaking my head. “No, Clara, no! Don’t you ever apologize to me! I am in the wrong here. I should never have hurt you like that, for any reason. I also can’t forgive myself for not searching for you when I found out you were gone. My heart was broken, and I believed that you never wanted to see me again. I wasn’t worthy of you.”

And I’m not. Even now.

“Galen,” she says, stroking my cheek. “I understand. I do. I don’t know where we go from here, but thank you for telling me all of this. We both have terrible wounds that need to heal before either of us understands what we want.”

I fight the urge to shake my head.I know what I want.

I cradle her in my arms, reveling in the soft feel of her skin and her thick, sweet scent. Even though my mouth waters and my body hardens, I make no move to turn the hug into something more. She owes me nothing, but I owe her the world.

Chapter 15 - Clara

Stumbling back towards the RV, I feel shaky and numb at the same time, like I’ve just survived an explosion.

I’m still alive, but I’ve lost everything I ever knew—and it might be a good thing.

“Are you okay, Clara?” Galen asks, putting a hand against my lower back.

I murmur a small response, not really able to answer the question.

He guides me down the cemetery path, back through the iron gates and out to the street where we parked the RV. I’m shaking even worse by the time I get there, as if I’m trying to reenter the world of the living after spending a night on the far shores of the river Styx.

“Clara, you’re scaring me. Please tell me you’re okay.” Galen’s voice is soft and gentle, but with urgency behind it.

I clumsily reach for his hand and give it a squeeze. “I’m okay. I mean, I’m not really, but I just need a minute.”

He nods as I let go of his hand and lean on the side of the RV. After a few deep breaths, my hands stop trembling, and the tightness slowly eases out of my chest.

Remember why you’re here. The one thing you still have in this world after all this mess.

Nico.

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