His Daddy’s Fated Mate

12. A villain

Hannah’s POV

Alpha Liam loomed above me, his presence suffocating, like a predator toying with its prey before the kill. The office was cold, but his aura was colder sharp, calculating, utterly devoid of humanity.

How could someone so striking with the kind of face and body that could command any room be so vile at his core? His every word dripped with contempt, a man who wielded cruelty as effortlessly as he breathed.

Was he always like this? Or was this his real face, unveiled now that Jane was gone? It had to be. His kindness, whatever shred I thought existed, must’ve been for her benefit alone. The thought coiled around my stomach like a snake.

Maybe that’s why Tucker turned out the way he did… arrogant, heartless so quick to reject his best friend without a flicker of remorse. Like father, like son. Tucker didn’t inherit his name but he clearly inherited his disregard for others.

This man, this cruel and wicked Alpha, he wasn’t even born into the title. He was a freaking rogue. That’s what they called him before Jane made the mistake of choosing him. And now he stood here, a wolf ruling over innocent people as though he had any claim to decency.

If only they could see what I saw, see the monster lurking beneath his polished exterior. Maybe then they’d send him back to the wild where he belongs. But dethroning him would leave Tucker in charge, and wasn’t that just trading one poison for another?

Neither was fit to lead. The pack deserved better but there was no better option in sight. It’s either Liam or no one else. Tucker would rule everyone to the ground because of his arrogance.

"None of them is better," Angel, my wolf, murmured in my head. “We both know that deep down, Alpha Liam is the rightful leader. He’s not our Tucker anymore; you need to stop thinking of him as your friend."

The words burned because they were true. Tucker wasn’t my friend anymore, not since he turned his back on me. But that didn’t make Alpha Liam any less detestable.

Liam’s voice cut through my thoughts like a blade. My hands curled into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms. This is ABSURD.

“Don’t think this isn’t humiliating for me too, Juliet. I feel disgraced. She took advantage of me when I was drunk, no less and made me mark her. Do you think I’d have done it if I were in my right mind?” His tone was cold, but underneath it simmered a quiet, lethal rage.

He leaned forward, his next words dripping venom. “Do you think I want to be tied to a girl I watched grow up? Someone two decades younger than me? I’m not a monster. I don’t want this bond. But your daughterforced it on me. The desperate little girl couldn’t resist.” His jaw clenched, and for a moment, his eyes met mine. If he saw the hatred burning there, he didn’t care.

Desperate. He had the audacity to call me desperate? The mark on my neck HIS mark, spoke volumes of how possessive he was. Did he think I had carved it into my own skin? My chest burned with fury but I held my tongue. Not for him, not for myself but because my parents were here.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mother shrink away, her hand slipping from my shoulder as if even the faintest contact burned her. The movement was subtle, almost imperceptible, but it carried the weight of a thousand accusations.

It wasn’t just a hand retreating; it was the final strand of hope snapping, leaving me floundering in a sea of betrayal. The rejection hit harder than I thought it would, a blade twisting in places I hadn’t realized were still tender.

A lump swelled in my throat, tightening like a vice until even breathing felt like a battle I was bound to lose. The tears burned at the edges of my vision, hot and unrelenting, but I refused to let them fall. Not here. Not now. Not in front of him, who stood there like a victor basking in his triumph. Not in front of my parents, who had once been my sanctuary.

Once. That word felt heavier than it ever had before. My parents, who had cradled me when I cried, who had told me I was their world, now sat as though they didn’t recognize me. Strangers in the faces of the people who were supposed to love me unconditionally.

It wasn’t that they were outright cruel. It wasn’t even that they looked at me with disgust though that would have hurt less. It was the complicit quiet, the way their heads tilted slightly as though trying to reconcile the daughter they had known with the image Alpha Liam was painting.

Their unwillingness to ask, to even try and hear my side of the story cut deeper than if they’d outright called me a disappointment.

I felt naked under their judgment, as though every mistake I’d ever made was being cataloged and stacked against me. But this? This wasn’t my fault. This wasn’t something I chose. Yet here I was, standing trial for a crime I hadn’t committed, being sentenced by the very people who should have defended me.

The room was suffocating, the air thick with unspoken accusations and barely concealed disappointment. My mother’s eyes darted toward the floor, avoiding mine entirely, as though meeting my gaze would make her complicit in whatever crime they believed I’d committed.

My father on the other hand, didn’t bother with avoidance. His eyes bore into me, his disappointment practically radiating from him in waves. It wasn’t anger, not fully. It was something colder, something heavier, and it settled in my chest like a weight I would never be able to shake.

I wanted to scream, to demand that they look at me, really look at me, and see the daughter they had raised. I wanted them to see the girl who had only ever wanted to make them proud, who had tried so hard to be everything they wanted, even when it meant losing pieces of herself along the way.

But they wouldn’t. They couldn’t. Because that girl didn’t exist to them anymore.

Instead, I stood there, rooted to the spot, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails bit into my palms. The pain was grounding, a reminder that I was still here, still standing, even as the world around me crumbled.

I could feel Alpha Liam’s gaze on me, a silent mockery of the emotions flickering across my face. He looked satisfied, as though this was exactly the reaction he had hoped for. I hated him for that. I hated him for so many things, but most of all, I hated him for turning my parents against me.

No, that wasn’t fair. They had turned against me on their own. All he had done was give them the excuse they’d been waiting for. And maybe that was the worst part of all.

The words I wanted to say lodged in my throat, unspoken and heavy. Apologies I shouldn’t have to give. Defenses that would fall on deaf ears. Pleas for understanding that I knew would never come. They wouldn’t believe me.

Not over him. Not over their Alpha. I was the easiest target, the scapegoat they could pin their shame and disappointment on, and they wouldn’t think twice about doing it.

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat nearly choking me as I forced myself to stand taller. My mother’s hand might have fallen away, my father’s gaze might have been condemning, and Alpha Liam might have been reveling in my humiliation but I wasn’t going to let them break me. Not here. Not today.

But the truth was, I was already broken. They just didn’t know it yet.

The tattoos had already alienated them. My years in the human world had widened the chasm. And now this? This was the final nail in the coffin. The fragile bond between us shattered, and I could feel the shards cutting into me with every passing second.

Liam’s voice broke the silence, cold and commanding. “This is why I’ve come up with a solution. She will be my maid instead of my mate. The pack will think it’s punishment, and it is but for a different reason than they’ll ever know. Taking advantage of your Alpha is a crime, and she’ll pay for it.” He turned to pace the room, his back to us now, as if his decision was final, indisputable.

He continued, “No one outside this room will know she’s my mate. Do you understand?”

My parents both murmured their agreement. I stood frozen, unable to process what I was hearing.

“Cover the mark.” Liam added, turning to me with a glare that dared me to argue. “I don’t want anyone to see it.”

Tears blurred my vision but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Bowing my head, I tried to swallow the sobs clawing their way up my throat. My parents had chosen him over me.

After a tense moment, Liam left the room, but his presence lingered like a stain. My father turned to me, his face red with anger. “First, you ran away. Then you covered yourself in TATTOOS like some… some human delinquent. And now this? What were you thinking, Hannah?”

I didn’t answer, knowing it wouldn’t matter. His opinion of me was set in stone.

When I stood, the rage inside me broke free. “Believe whatever you want. Let him humiliate me. But don’t you dare pretend to know me.” I spat the words, not caring how much they stung. “I regret one thing that I ever thought you’d stand by me. You don’t deserve me.”

Without waiting for their response, I stormed out of the room. I was done. Done with Liam. Done with them. Done with it all. If this pack wanted a villain, I’d give them one.