Page 27 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
“You did this! You greedy, little—“
My blood boiled with rage, and I shot to my feet.
“Don’t you dare call me greedy!” I retorted. “You never loved my father! You were only using him for his money.” I raised my hand and jabbed an accusing finger at her. “You’re nothing but a gold digger who can’t even squeeze out a few real tears the day of your husband's death.”
Evelyn and I stepped toward each other, both of our bodies beginning to tremble—a sign that we were going to shift into our wolf forms.
“How dare you say that to me,” Evelyn said in a steely voice. “If I can’t contest the will, then you are to marry Ivy. She is your Fated Mate. The Moon Goddess has destined your coupling. Then, I can at least get some of the moneythat I’m owed.”
An image of Ivy in a white dress walking down the aisle toward me flashed into my head. It was just like last night had started out, but a completely different ending this time.
No.
I had made the right choice by rejecting Ivy. Even if my heart was aching with regret. Evelyn had just shown her true colors, and after her insistence that I marry Ivy, I was certain that they were working together.
“You really do have some nerve.” I slowly shook my head, unable to believe a person could be so greedy. “I will never marry Ivy.” Those words felt wrong coming out of my mouth, but I pressed on. “I’ve already rejected her because she’s no better than you.”
I paused and had to collect myself before continuing. This could get heated fast. No matter how much I hated the woman before me, I couldn’t attack her. I’d regret attacking a woman unprovoked.
“You and Ivy need to leave.” I ignored the small pang in my heart when I said Ivy’s name. “I’m the Alpha of this pack now. You have until tonight to pack your things and leave. If you two aren’t gone by sunset, I will make you leave.”
“And he will have help,” Lyle said. He rose to his feet and walked around the table to stand next to me. “Asher is our new Alpha. Everyone will stand by him.”
Evelyn looked between us and opened her mouth like she wanted to argue, but then closed it.
“You will regret this,” Evelyn threatened in a low, dangerous voice.
“No, I won’t,” I countered. “But I’ll make sure you regret manipulating my dad.”
Evelyn scoffed and left the room, her veil fluttering behind her.
I shook Lyle’s hand and thanked him for his support. When I left the meeting hall, the emotion that filled me wasn't victory from besting Evelyn or grief from today.
My father’s death had numbed me to everything. Of course, I was happy that my father’s business was safe and Evelyn had ended up with nothing.
But as I walked back to the hospital to sign some forms for HealerEmery, a desensitized feeling started in my heart and spread throughout my body.
If I were being honest, I was having a hard time feeling anything at all.
Besides a vague sense of worry about the Mate I’d rejected last night.
Chapter 9
Rooftop View
Ivy
The sunrise was beautiful atop the tallest building in the city. The sky was a riot of colors as the sun made its ascent—deep orange, pale yellow, dark purple, and maroon. I tried to focus on the beauty of the sky and the twinkling lights of the buildings surrounding me.
But all I could think about was last night. Memories from the mating ceremony kept running through my head. The piercing bite of the knife as I cut my hand. Asher’s look of dismay and the way he had stumbled back when he realized I was his Fated Mate. The agonizing pain in my chest after Asher broke our bond. Even now, my heart still throbbed with pain. How was it still beating after what Asher had put it through?
How could Asher sleep with me, pretend like we hadn’t spent the night together, and then reject me in front of everyone?
The judgmental whispers of everyone in the pack after Asher rejected me were a constant buzzing in my ear. How could I ever face them again? Everyone—including the man whom the Moon Goddess had chosen for me—thought that my mother and I were greedy gold diggers. Even I had suspicions about my mother havingnefarious desires, but I’d never had any ill intentions toward Russell or Asher.
I sighed as I leaned my elbows against the smooth metal of the hotel roof railing. I'd spent most of the night running through the woods in my wolf form. When the forest began to wake up, I found a clothes station in one of the waterproof metal containers that were spread throughout our woods. As I dressed in black shorts and an oversized pink shirt, I thought about how good an idea it was to have these kinds of stations in a shifter community. My old pack didn’t have them. When I started wondering if they had been Asher’s idea, I began to run again, this time in my human form.
As the sun began to peek through the clouds, I had a strong desire to see the sunrise. The tallest building in the city was a fancy hotel—thankfully not the one that the gala had been held in. I didn't even want that slight reminder of Asher. But even now, as I stood on the roof, staring at the sunrise, a soft breeze caressing my face, the only thing on my mind was him.
