She Eyed My Spot, My Alpha Let Her

Chapter 6: The Aftermath

Leia’s POV

The moment the Alpha command settled over me, I felt something inside me go still. It was not calm or peaceful. It was a tornado of emotions just about to erupt. I felt like my mate was breaking me deliberately. Since when was a verdict given without hearing two sides?

With his Alpha command again, a part of me had simply stopped resisting. I had to walk away. If my mate wanted to break me, then fine.

I didn’t look at Pete again. I couldn’t. If I did, I wasn’t sure I would be able to hold myself together the way I needed to. The tears were already burning at the back of my eyes, threatening to fall at any second, and I refused to let them fall in front of Sharon, who already had that signature triumphant smirk of hers.

I turned without another word and walked out of the living room, my steps steady even though my chest felt tight. Each step away from them felt heavier than the last, as if I was dragging something unseen behind me.

The moment I reached the hallway, I exhaled a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My room felt colder than usual when I stepped inside.

I placed the shopping bags slowly on the bed, my hands lingering on the fabric of one of them. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at them as if they didn’t belong to me. The dress and the jewelry I thought represented his apology now felt like unacceptable items to me. Like they were just decorations. Everything I had picked out earlier with a small, foolish sense of hope now felt vague.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the dress out of the bag. The soft fabric slipped through my fingers, smooth and beautiful, exactly the kind of dress I would have loved wearing on a special night. A bitter smile tugged at my lips. “Special?” Was anything about this still special?

I folded the dress carefully and placed it beside me, then reached for the small envelope that held the receipt for the cake. My name was written clearly on it. Leia W.

For a moment, I traced the letters with my finger. I thought my birthday was going to be meaningful this year, with my mate beside me. I had gathered that hope again a few hours ago. But now? Everything about it already felt distant, like something that had been taken from me before it even happened.

My throat tightened. I lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as the events of the day replayed in my mind. Pete’s voice. His anger.

Above everything else, what broke my heart was the way he didn’t even hesitate to believe her but wouldn’t even give me a chance to explain my side of the story, except to Alpha command me at will.

My chest ached. I turned my head to the side, pressing my face into the pillow as the tears I had been holding back finally slipped free. They came quietly at first, then steadily, soaking into the fabric beneath me.

I didn’t know how long I stayed like that. Time felt blurred, stretched out by the weight of everything I was feeling. At some point, the tears slowed, leaving behind a dull, hollow ache.

A soft knock sounded at the door. I froze. For a brief moment, a small part of me hoped it was him. That he had come to apologize. That he had come to say he was wrong. “Come in,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

The door creaked open, and instead of Pete, one of the maids stepped in hesitantly. “Luna Leia,” she said softly, lowering her gaze. They only pretended to call me Luna when no one was around, maybe because they thought I would snap at them or something. “Alpha Pete asked me to inform you that dinner will be served shortly. You are to come down and assist.”

Assist? Not join. Not sit. But assist. Pete knew how much he had trampled on my dignity, and now he still wants me to work like a slave? In his eyes, I don’t even deserve a private moment to myself.

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat. “I understand.” She nodded and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.

I sat up slowly, wiping my face with the back of my hand. My reflection in the mirror caught my attention, and I forced myself to stand and walk toward it. My eyes were red. My expression was tired. I was unrecognizable. The sparkle from earlier on at the mall was gone, replaced by emptiness in my eyes.

I stared at myself for a long moment. This was not the girl who had once climbed snowy mountains with her childhood friend, praying to the goddess for a shared future. This was not the girl who had believed so wholeheartedly in fate.

I straightened my shoulders slightly, taking in a slow breath. If nothing else, I still had myself, even if everything else was slipping away.

I turned away from the mirror and made my way toward the door. As I stepped out into the hallway, the sounds of quiet movement echoed from downstairs. Voices, soft laughter.

I paused at the top of the stairs. Sharon’s voice carried clearly from below. “…you really didn’t have to do all this, Pete,” she said, her tone light, almost shy. “It’s nothing,” Pete replied. “You’ve done more for this pack than anyone else lately.”

My fingers tightened slightly around the railing. More than anyone else? So my toiling and doing every demand of theirs lately isn’t even anything to him?

I took a slow breath and forced my feet to move. One step. Then another. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, my expression was calm again, carefully composed.

Just the way they preferred it.