Alpha’s Rancor: His Forsaken Luna

Chapter 7

I didn’t see any wounds on her that could warrant treatment by our pack doctor. Ariella takes her job seriously, she has a passion for others, and choosing to study medicine has helped her a lot. I didn't think she could do it. She would come home crying about her patients when she first started, and she still does. She can’t help but be compassionate.

I don’t hear anything else said throughout dinner, and when I finally leave the table, Ariella follows me out. “Honey,” she tugs at my shirt. “She’s causing commotion,” she finishes for me. “Could you please check on her?” She pouts, “I did when she woke up, and she wasn’t interested, she seems taken with Beta Ronan’s death.”

“Ignore her,” I sigh. “Tell everyone near her to get ear mufflers or something.”

“Alright,” she nods. “Do you want to take a bath with me?” She smiles, her gaze hopeful.

“I would love to, but Vincent and I are going to look through the patrol reports on the north side, but I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay,” she nods, pointing to her cheek. I lean down and kiss her cheek, the habit always sickened me, it reminded me so much of Raelynn when we were little. Every time I upset her, she’d point to her cheek for a kiss, then her other, then her nose, then her forehead. I hate that all I see is her when Ariella does this, and I don’t have the heart to tell her to stop. “Don’t stay out too late, even Alphas need to rest.” She kisses me, pulling away with a smile.

“Car is ready,” I hear Axel say from somewhere behind me. “Vincent is staying in, so it's just you, me, and Gamma Nicholas.”

Axel and I spend a good three to four hours going through patrol reports, all normal, but having nothing exciting to go back home to, we take our time, chatting in between reviews, and we finally return home. It’s late.

The clock is nearing midnight, Ariella is asleep in my bed, curled next to the long pillow that she often cuddles with because I can’t sleep when she tries to cuddle, I’ve never been a fan of the act either.

Roughly thirty minutes later, the sound of Raelynn crying is all I hear. She seems to have gotten louder since we left.

I find Vincent at the top of the staircase, nursing a beer and watching a wrestling match on his phone. “How long has she been doing that?” I ask Vincent, taking a sip of his beer, then handing it back to him.

“Doing what?” He asks, muting his match.

“Making that sound with her mouth.”

“Oh,” he smirks. “About, I don’t know, maybe six hours?”

Six? She’s got a healthy pair of lungs on her, that’s for sure. “God, she’s looking for attention.” I hiss, sitting down next to him.

“I don't think so, she’s really hurt.” He hisses, “You know how close she was with her old man.”

“I know nothing about her,” I snap. Maybe if I say it enough, I’ll forget it all. Every thought of her that has crossed my mind since she left was unwarranted, just like her presence. “The Raelynn I knew died when she pushed that blade into Violette’s chest.”

“Well, that Raelynn,” Vincent motions to his left with his beer, towards some of the servants' rooms. “The one that you’re mated to? She’s her father’s daughter.” He tells me, “Uncle Ronan lived for that girl.”

He did.

Ronan was a good father, he doted on all his children and knowing what I know now, I can’t appreciate that about him, knowing he conspired to take that from me. I haven’t known or felt my parents' love since I was ten years old, all thanks to him. “He killed my father,” I spit. “Ronan is a bastard, after everything my family gave him, he chose to repay them by taking their lives.”

“True,” Vincent takes another sip of his beer, “But to her? He is simply her father, and not the man who committed treason here, he’s the man who raised her with so much love and tenderness, of course she’s going to cry.”

“Isn't it a bit much?” I frown. “She’s been crying all day.”

Vincent chuckles, throwing me an amused smile. “You cried all week,” he reminds me. “Have you forgotten how bad it was?”

“I was a child,” I defend myself. I was Ten years old, had lost both my parents, my youngest brother, and the sibling I never got to meet. Of course, I cried all week, I was grieving more than just one person. “You can not compare the two situations, Vince. My parents were wrongfully murdered, but her father deserved to die.”

He sighs, shaking his head in disbelief. “I still can't believe that, he fooled us.”

I nod, finding out Beta Ronan had my father, his best friend murdered changed something in me. That man was family. He stood by me at my family’s funeral and consoled me, and the whole time he was behind everything? “I trusted him,” I painfully recall. “Aside from Grandpa Cassian, he is the person I trusted most. I backed his wishes to keep his daughter’s crimes unpunished.” I gritt through my teeth. “Valerie didn't speak to me for weeks after that, and I endured it, all for what? For a traitor.”

Vincent sighs, “Oh, you my friend are living a very exciting life,” he says, slapping my shoulder and using it to balance as he rises. “And you know what? As much as I want to stand by you in this difficult time, I must leave. I am tired, and will be crashing in a hotel tonight, the house is a little…echo-ish.”

“You can't be serious.”

“Sleep tight,” He blows me a kiss, jogging down the stairs. “If you can.”

I retreat to my room, but I can’t sleep, I can’t look at Ariella knowing I f****d up our lives, so I head downstairs for some peace and quiet. But the being is gone, and the quiet has been replaced by loud uncontrolled sobbing.

I plan on ignoring her, I really do, and for a while it works, until my wolf picks up on her distress and I’m struck with the need to find her. My feet seem to have a mind of their own, despite me talking myself out of going to see Raelynn, they lead me there. Right to the source of screams that could break even the strongest of men.

Raelynn is crouched beside her bed, sobbing into the mattress, her body shaking from how hard she’s crying. “Stop crying,” I tell her, unconsciously reaching for her, the realization hitting me a second too late. “Don't you think it's enough? You’re making unnecessary noise.”

“Leave me alone!” She snaps, jerking away from my touch. “What more do you want for me?” She sobs, her face streaked with tears and snort. “You already took everything.”