Page 36 of The Careless Alpha
I flinched as if she'd slapped me. She was right. My behavior had created the very secrecy that had allowed this disaster to unfold.
"I told her you were a good man," Mom repeated.
We weren't good,Ranger said with devastating honesty.We were selfish and cruel, and she deserved so much better.
"I was wrong about you being good," Mom continued. "A good man doesn't throw away his pregnant mate. A good man doesn't choose pride over love."
"I know—"
"Do you? You've treated that girl like an obligation since the day you claimed her. You've ignored her, dismissed her, humiliated her with your parade of other women." My mother's voice grew sharper. "Do you know what Scarlett said to her at the spring festival? She told Annalise that you were just waiting for her to turn eighteen so you could reject her properly and choose a real Luna. And you know what? Annalise believed her because you'd never given her any reason not to."
The words hit me like physical blows. I could picture it perfectly—Annalise's face crumpling as Scarlett delivered her poison, the hope dying in her green eyes.
"She's been enduring years of psychological torture from those she-wolves," Mom continued relentlessly. "They systematically destroyed her self-worth, convinced her she was worthless, made her believe she was just a placeholder until you could find someone better. And you let them do it. You enabled it by treating her like she didn't matter."
"I was going to change after her birthday," I said weakly.
"Good for you." My mother's voice was bitter. "You were careless, Marshall. Careless with the most precious thing you'll ever have. You thought you could treat her like an obligation and then flip a switch when it was convenient for you."
The word careless hit hard. That's exactly what I'd been—not malicious, but utterly, devastatingly careless with something irreplaceable.
"And when she finally tried to tell you about the most important thing that ever happened between you, you destroyed her."
Each word was a knife to the heart, but I deserved every cut.
"I can't change what I did," I said quietly. "But I can make it right."
"Even if you find her, even if you grovel and apologize and promise to be better, why should she believe you? Why should she trust the man who called her a whore and banished her while she was carrying his pup?"
I didn't have an answer. There was no answer, no justification for what I'd done.
"I have to try," I said finally. "I owe her that much."
"You owe her a lifetime of happiness that you stole from her," Etta said sharply. "You owe that pup a father who deserves him. You owe this pack a Luna they can respect and an Alpha they can trust."
She stood up, moving to the window that looked out over the pack territory. "Find her, Marshall. Find her and spend the rest of your life proving you deserve a second chance. But don't expect her to make it easy for you. Don't expect forgiveness just because you're finally ready to do the right thing."
"I won't," I promised.
"Good. Because that girl has already proven she's stronger than all of us thought. She survived years of your neglect, she survived your cruelty, and she's somewhere out there building a life for herself and your child. The question is: are you strong enough to deserve a place in that life?"
I left my mother's quarters with her words echoing in my head and a determination I hadn't felt in weeks burning in my chest. The time for wallowing in guilt and self-pity was over. Now, I will continue the search for Annalise and my son. Now, I will begin the long, probably impossible task of earning redemption.
It won't be enough,Ranger said sadly.But it's a start.
"It's a start," I agreed.
I’d been careless, but now I had to try to put the broken pieces of my relationship with my mate back together.
Chapter 13
Annalise - Age 18
The morning rush was in full swing at Rita's, and I moved between tables with practiced efficiency, balancing plates of eggs and bacon while trying to ignore the significance of the date. My eighteenth birthday. The day Marshall and I were supposed to complete our mating bond and begin our life together as Alpha and Luna.
Instead, I was four months pregnant, working as a waitress three thousand miles from home, and the man who'd claimed to be my destiny had thrown me away like garbage.
Today is ours,Sapphire said firmly in my mind.Not his. Not theirs. Ours.
