Chapter 2 : I Object
1043 Words
Rose's POV
The woman I followed disappeared into the palace crowd, leaving me frozen at the entrance. My heart pounded like a drum against my ribs as I took in the scene before me. Alphas, high-ranking wolves, and nobles filled the grand hall, dressed in luxurious silks and adorned with golden jewelry. The air smelled of exotic perfumes and expensive wine, but all I could taste was fear.
"This can’t be true," I whispered to myself. "Maybe she was mistaken… Maybe this is just some cruel joke."
But deep down, a horrible feeling twisted in my gut. I had to see it with my own eyes.
I pushed forward, determined to find alpha Scofield. But just as I reached the grand doors leading to the ceremony hall, two large guards stepped in my way.
"Halt." The one on the left, a massive wolf with a scar across his jaw, crossed his arms. "I don’t recognize you. Show your pack ID and invitation."
Pack ID? Invitation? My stomach dropped. As a rogue, I had neither.
"I…I need to get inside," I stammered. "I have to see Alpha Scofield!"
The second guard, taller and leaner, scoffed. "What business does a rogue have at a ceremony like this?"
I gritted my teeth. "It’s urgent!" I tried to push past them, but they grabbed my arms, their grips like iron shackles.
"Get back where you came from!" The scarred guard growled.
"Let me go!" I struggled, desperation surging through me like fire. My baby’s father was in there. My future was in there. I refused to be stopped by two overgrown wolves. With all my strength, I shoved one guard aside, ducked under the other’s arm, and sprinted through the doors.
Gasps and murmurs filled the hall as I stumbled into the grand ceremony room. My breath caught in my throat.
At the center of the room, standing arm in arm, was Alpha Scofield and his bride.
I barely registered the pack priest’s final words: “If anyone has any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
"I DO!" My voice rang out, loud and clear.
A shocked silence fell over the crowd. Hundreds of eyes turned toward me. Scofield’s head snapped up, his face was in shock for a split second before he quickly masked his surprise.
I took a step forward, my hands trembling. "Scofield, it’s me… Rose." My voice cracked. "I’m carrying your child."
A sharp gasp rippled through the room. Whispers spread like wildfire.
Scofield’s expression turned to stone. “I have never seen this young woman in my life.”
The words hit me like a dagger to the chest. My breath caught. My vision blurred. Did I hear him correctly?
"Scofield, don’t do this." My voice was barely above a whisper. "You said we’d be together. You promised."
His bride…a stunning woman with piercing blue eyes and a cruel smirk…laughed softly. "Oh, I’ve heard about rouges like you." She looked me up and down, her gaze filled with amusement. "Rogues always have the most desperate fantasies."
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
A noblewoman whispered loudly, "She thought she could trap an Alpha with a baby. How pathetic."
Another scoffed, "As if an Alpha would ever mate a rogue."
Alpha Scofield sneered. "A filthy rogue like you could never be my Luna. My ancestors have always mated with Strong Alpha's daughters, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. The bloodline must remain strong."
Tears welled up in my eyes. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. He wasn’t just rejecting me…he was destroying me.
I staggered backward as the guards grabbed me. My body went limp as they dragged me through the hall. The laughter and whispers followed me, slicing through my heart like knives.
The palace doors slammed shut behind me. I was nothing.
The journey home blurred together. My feet ached. My body trembled. But nothing…nothing…hurt more than the ache in my chest.
Scofield’s words replayed in my head.
"I have never seen this young woman in my life."
I barely noticed when I reached home. I pushed the door open.
Silence.
A deep, suffocating silence.
Mrs. Carter sat in the living room, her hands folded in her lap.
Jessica was gone.
I froze. My stomach dropped.
I didn’t need to ask. She already knew.
The air was thick…too thick. The kind of silence before a storm.
Mrs. Carter inhaled deeply, then let it out in a slow exhale.
"Tell me," she said, her voice deadly calm, "that what I heard is a lie."
I couldn’t.
She stood up, her movements slow, controlled. But her eyes…her eyes burned with fury.
"I raised you, fed you, clothed you, and this is how you repay me?" Her voice trembled with rage. "Spreading your legs for a man who doesn’t even want you?"
I flinched.
Her words cut deeper than any blade.
"Mrs. Carter, please…"
She slammed her hand against the table. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS WILL DO TO MY REPUTATION?!"
I staggered back.
"This inn…this business…is my life’s work! And now I have a pregnant rogue under my roof?!" She let out a humorless laugh. "What? Did you think Scofield would come here, swoop you up, and make you his Luna? You’re nothing, Rose. Nothing!"
Tears blurred my vision.
"I…I didn’t mean for this to happen…"
"Of course you didn’t!" she spat. "Because you’re weak. You’re stupid. Just like all those pathetic girls who think love will save them!"
Her words hit me like a whip.
I choked back a sob. "Please. Let me stay… just until the baby is born."
Mrs. Carter’s face twisted in disgust.
"Your decisions. Your consequences."
A sniffle caught my attention.
Gabriel.
He stood at the hallway entrance, tears streaming down his face.
"Mom, please don’t make her leave," he begged. "She takes care of me. She loves me."
Mrs. Carter didn’t even look at him.
"You think crying will change my mind?" She turned back to me.
"Get. Out."
I gasped. "Mrs. Carter…"
"GET OUT!"
The door swung open. A sharp gust of wind rushed in.
I looked at Gabriel…his small, trembling frame, his tearful eyes.
But I had no choice.
With a shattered heart, I stepped out…pregnant, homeless, and completely alone.
- Writer
