Kneel, Alpha: She's Not Forgiving You Yet

Chapter 7:

WREN

"Miranda!"

I barely had time to register the shout before the slap landed across my face.

The pain spread across my cheek as a loud ringing filled my ears. For a second, all I could hear was my own heartbeat.

Slowly, I lifted a hand to my face and looked at the woman standing before me.

Someone nearby whispered, "Luna."

The word caught in my mind for only a moment before I forced myself to let it go.

I had always known Elias would eventually choose another mate. An Alpha was never meant to remain without a Luna forever. I just never expected to stand in front of her one day.

She was beautiful, confident, and everything the Pack wanted standing beside its Alpha.

Then my eyes drifted to the bond mark on her neck. For a few seconds, I couldn't look away. I knew exactly what it meant to wear one, and I knew exactly what it felt like when the person who gave it decided you were no longer enough.

Miranda glared at me, breathing hard.

"You've got some nerve showing your face here," she spat. "Walking through this Pack beside your Rogue like you still belong here."

Everyone watched, waiting to see if I would defend myself. I didn't.

"There isn't a single day my uncle isn't dead because of you," she continued, her voice shaking. "You should've stayed gone."

Uncle Rob...

The memories came without permission.

He used to bring food to the medical wing whenever we forgot to eat. He always joked that doctors were worse than warriors when it came to taking care of themselves.

He had been kind to everyone, one would think he had birthed us all. I still haven't forgotten every smile.

But if I tried explaining the truth now, would anything change? No. They had already chosen what to believe.

Miranda mistook my silence for guilt. "What gives you the right to come back?"

Beside me, Ash leaned closer until only I could hear him.

"You know, I'm happy to return the favor. I don't mind hitting women."

I smiled, driving my elbow into his ribs.

He winced. "Ow."

"Behave." I gave him a warning look.

Being tortured for hours clearly hadn't improved his personality.

Miranda suddenly raised her hand again. This time I caught her wrist before it reached me. She struggled, but my grip only tightened.

Three years in the Silver Pits had taught me far more than how to survive.

I stepped closer until only she could hear me. "Where were you... when he was dying?"

The colour drained from her face. She stopped fighting, because she knew. If Uncle Rob had truly meant as much to her as she claimed, she would've been there.

She wasn't. She only arrived after everything was over, believing every lie they told her. Her lips parted, but nothing came out.

I released her wrist and stepped back. I wasn't looking for revenge. At this point, I was simply tired.

Ash looked between us. From the expression on his face, I could tell he wasn't completely buying the tension between Miranda and I.

"You done?"

"Yes."

"Can we leave now?"

"Please."

He slipped an arm around my shoulders again, partly because he still needed the support, partly because everyone needed reminding that I wasn't standing alone anymore.

I could still feel their eyes burning into my back as we walked toward the gates.

This time no one stepped into our path.

****

ELIAS

The moment Wren walked into that holding room, my wolf made his choice.

Mine.

Three years had passed. Three years of convincing myself I had done the right thing. But one look at her, every decision I'd ever defended suddenly felt heavier than before.

She looked almost the same, until I looked closer. The Silver Pits had changed her. The softness she'd once carried was gone, replaced with something colder.

My eyes moved to her neck out of habit. A sense of relief washed over me as I saw no mark on her skin. Which meant she had no mate, and no one had claimed her yet.

"You abandoned our mate." My wolf had reminded me every day for three years.

I answered him the same way I always did; I did what had to be done. The pack needed my protection. The elders needed someone to blame after the verdict.

Standing beside Wren would've destroyed both of us, and losing my position wouldn't have saved her either. It would've only buried us together.

My wolf never accepted that answer.

Then, she claimed the Rogue was her mate.

Something inside me snapped. Before I realised what I was doing, my hand had found the silver wound on his shoulder.

I pressed harder than necessary. Hard enough that any ordinary wolf would've screamed. To my surprise, he didn't. Instead he stared back at me like I wasn't worth fearing.

For one dangerous second, I wondered how easy it would be to end everything right there. The thought frightened me enough that I buried it before it could become action.

As though that wasn't enough, he threatened Damon. He stood between Wren and everyone else. And when I looked at her, she stood in front of him just as quickly, protecting him.

By the time they left the holding room, I still couldn't shake the weight sitting inside my chest.

Halfway across the courtyard, the Rogue glanced back. A faint smile appeared on his lips, like he knew exactly what I had lost.

"Kill him." My wolf growled the words over and over.

Then the sound of a slap reached me from outside, followed by Miranda's high pitched voice, loud enough to pull down the entire building.

I got Miranda inside before the situation turned into something none of us could undo.

Then I let her talk.

She repeated every accusation, every reason Wren should never have returned. I nodded when I was expected to, spoke when necessary, but I wasn't truly listening.

My thoughts kept drifting back to Wren.

To the way she'd looked at me without warmth, the way she'd told me to stop following her, the way she'd walked away without once looking back.

She had every right, that was the part I couldn't escape.

Eventually Miranda calmed enough for me to leave. I claimed I had reports waiting, and she accepted the excuse, or pretended to. I honestly couldn't tell anymore.

I wandered into the east corridor before finally stopping. I closed my eyes and took a slow breath.

Get a grip, I told myself.

The thought had barely formed when Miranda's furious voice exploded through the mind-link.

"Stop f*****g looking at her like that!"